《The 3 B&#x27;s- Beauty, Brains and Bravery》


 Chapter 1: Fate of women...

    Chapter 1: Fate of women...

    "Brother , please don''t leave my hand ."

    "The train is running fast , I will fall down !"

    "I don''t want to die brother !"

    " I promise I will never sing again "

    "Please ! "

    "No !"

    ; screamed the 13 -year old little girl ...

    "You should''ve thought that when you took part in this stupid Reality Show in this country just for singing and fullfilling your so-called dream.....

    " A woman from a family like ours should be sitting at home with grace and manners and not unting herself in front of the world like you did !

    "The fate of women should be serving her husband. You are dead to the Rong family from today"

    "Go die !"

    [The man released the girl''s hand and she fell down ! ]

    [The moment her body hit the cold railway tracks , blood started flowing through it endlessly .]

    [Maybe due to shock or betrayal , but she wasn''t able to even voice out her pain ! ]

    [More than the pain in body , there was the pain of helplessness and hatred. ]

    [Hatred towards her own family .]

    [ No one came to her rescue throughout the entire night. ]

    [ Next morning , some locals found her unconscious and took her to the local hospital .]

    "She is alive ! " the doctors eximed with an amazed expression as they hadn''t expected that at all.

    "Please contact the patient''s family ." assistant doctor said to the receptionist as he gave her Rong Xinghe''s phone and went into the operation theatre.

    The receptionist switched on the phone and browsed the emergency contact list .

    It had six names .

    Su Rogguang

    Mo Zixuan

    Zhi Xi

    Zhi Bo

    Zhi Al

    Lu Wei

    The receptionist contacted the 6 men unknown to the reality that she was calling the most influential identities of not just Country X , but the world .

 Chapter 2: "Save My Sister...."

    Chapter 2: "Save My Sister...."

    It had been four hours and Rong Xinghe was still in the O.T.(Operation Theatre). At this time , heavy footsteps were heard in the empty corridor of the local hospital ...

    Business tycoon Zhi Xi and industrial businessman Lu Wei arrived with a team of 20 surgeons. Concern was clearly evident in their eyes .

    "Save my sister" ; Zhi Ximanded as the team of doctors entered the O.T.

    16 hours...

    It took 16 freaking hours for the surgery to end.

    Among all the battles these two men had fought in their lives , this was the toughest one .

    Theirdy-luck , their kiddo-sis was lying pale-faced on the death bed without any movement.

    They were desperate to simply hear herugh.

    They were hoping to see her tease them.

    They so wanted to hug her.

    But now , they had to wait for these 16 painful hours just to know about her survival.

    "When are Bo and Al arriving ?" Lu Wei asked .

    "Their chopper willnd in approximately two hours." Zhi Xi answered.

    [The Zhi family had three sons. Zhi Xi , Zhi Bo and Zho Al. Zhi Xi was the eldest brother who had took over his family business at the age of 21 , Zhi Bo was the middle brother and was a world renowned artist whose art ranged from paintings to calligraphy. And the youngest was Zhi Al , who was a software developer as well as an ethical hacker/coder. ]

    The other two brothers of Rong Xinghe , Mo Zixuan and Su Rogguang kept calling Zhi Xi and Lu Wei to get an update on her situation. They both were in USA and couldn''t arrive there easily due to legal formalities.

    Mo Zixuan was a journalist and was doing a correspendence cource in crime journalism in USA. He was an orphan and only had Rong Xinghe as his family because she considered him as her brother. Basically she was his only family.

    Su Rogguang was a doctor and was doing his post-graduation in USA. Even though he was a doctor , he still couldn''t courageously look at his own sister Rong Xinghe getting a small injection , let alone be a surgery.

    One thing was a given , all the six brothers of Rong Xinghe went through a torture of 16 hours along with her. Reason was simple - Love.

 Chapter 3: I am sorry

    Chapter 3: I am sorry

    "How is she ?", Lu Wei asked anxiously to the senior surgeon who had just walked out of the O.T.

    " She is alive...", the surgeon answered hesitantly.

    "Can you make it clear ?!" Zhi Xi fumed up ," What do you mean by ''alive'' ?"

    "Honest Condition !", Lu Wei demanded in a bone-chilling and cold tone which was enough to make the doctors tremble with fear.

    Lu Wei and Zhi Xi were the people whom the surgeons couldn''t afford to offend. There was a reason that they were known as the ''Kings'' of business world , after all.

    " Um ... Mr. Lu , Mr.Zhi ..." the doctor mustered up all his courage before speaking up ," Ms. Rong has lost a lot of blood throughout the night due to her injury at back. She is extremely weak now. She also hit her head on some hard surface resulting in dtion of blood vessels in brain... so she may develop a migraine. And her legs were hurt badly as well. So , her ability to walk again depends on her willpower... and..."

    "And ?" Lu Wei asked with thest bit of strength left in him after hearing the situation of his sister.

    "She is in a vegetative state now , that is , her life is supported by the medical technology and she might be ina for a long and indefinite time. So, about the consent of patient''s family..."

    "Keep her alive ! Don''t you dare to turn off the venttor.", Zhi Xi warned in a threatening tone.

    " Get out." Lu wei ordered to everyone in the corridor.

    ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

    The moment the people exited the corridor , a defeated and scared expression appeared across the two men''s faces.

    "These doctors know nothing ! They are scaring us , brother. Our baby girl would never leave us , right ?", came the voice of Zhi Al from the end of the corridor at this time.

    He had tears welled up in the corner of his eyes as he could show his vulnerable side only in front of his elder brother.

    Beside him , stood Zhi Bo with the same frightened expression stered across his face.

    "Can we see her ? " Zhi Bo asked.

    "Hmm.", Lu Wei nodded and the four men entered the room where the little girl was lying.

    In the dark room , came the little bit of sunlight which touched the soft and tender yet bruised skin of the 13-year old.

    All the four men looked at the girl as they surrounded her bed.

    The girl who would''ve jumped towards them the moment she saw any of them , didn''t even moved for once this time.

    It pained ...

    It pained a lot to see her like that.

    Their hearts ached when they wondered as to how many times she must''ve had screamed their names throughout the entire night when she was groaning and crying due to that unbearable pain.

    "I am sorry", all the four said subconsciously as guilt and regrets flooded their hearts.

 Chapter 4: Who the hell did it ?

    Chapter 4: Who the hell did it ?

    Next day , in country X :

    The media was on fire and the headlines were as follows ;

    "Famous and young singer Rong Xinghe ina !"

    "The young heiress of Rong family pushed down from a running train in Country I ! ".

    "Murder attempted upon the most admired youth icon : suspects not known till now ."

    "Thousands of fans wept the pain suffered by Rong Xinghe: marched with banners and candles throughout the country for the entire night !"

    Rong Xinghe had gained a lot of fame in the one year of her reality show in the whole world as the show was broadcasted in almost 112 countries across the globe. The fans were obviously terrified and devastated when they got to know about what had happened to their idol over the time period of just one night...

    ...

    Meanwhile , In country I :

    Doctors told the girl''s brothers that the first three months would be the time duration when there was the highest chance of the girl waking up from hera and that they could transfer her from Country I to Country X if they wished.

    The four decided to do the same.They were going to hold onto thisst sliver of hope , no matter what.

    Soon , they arrived in Country X two dayster and with all the resources Zhi Xi and Lu Wei could put in , they transferred the girl to a hospital with the best medical facilities which was specifically capable enough to keep the media and fans away from the girl.

    Lu Wei gave up his opportunity to study further in Howard University* and Zhi Xi gave up the chance to study in Princeton University* , as they both opted for the universities in Country X itself. Su Rogguong returned to country X and continued his post -graduation in Neuro Surgery there only. While , Mo Zixuanpleted his Journalism course and returned back as well.

    Basically , all the 6 sworn brothers of this 13-year old girl gave up the best in their life for the best in their life.

    Two months passed by:

    All the six men used to visit the girl daily and conversated to her with the hope that she would listen to them and wake up once. They constantly worked hard in their respective careers to tell her that they had made the best world for her to live in.

    During this duration , they all tried to find the culprit behind the incident and had their suspicions on Rong family because it never shared a good rtionship with Rong Xinghe. Rong family , on the other hand, never came to visit Rong Xinghe during these two months , even though they knew that she was alive. This further increased their doubts.

    The Rong family thought that Rong Xinghe would eventually die sooner orter...

    s ! Their bad luck was about to be started.

    The six brothers rushed to the hospital with nervousness and anxiety. The nurse had just informed them that their angel , their Xinghe had got back her consciousness not too long ago.

    As they walked into her room , they saw that the girl was lying on the bed and was staring at the sunrise...

    Her body had got thinner over these two months but the bruises on her body were almost treatedpletely.

    But even now , she had that same magical gaze as before.

    "Kiddo !" ; Zhi Al called out nervously as the other five simply tried to ept the reality they had dreamed of the most...

    Upon hearing the voice , the girl turned her head around and looked at the entrance door of her room as she saw the six stunning figures standing tall , providing her with the warmth which only a family could give.

    Yes ! It was true that they were not connected by blood , but were still connected by heart.

    It was true that none of these six men were blood-rted to her , but they shared a bond deeper than that of blood.

    Subconciously , the girl''s eyes turned red as tears rolled down her cheeks. Su Rogguong rushed towards her with concern , and being the doctor that he was now , asked "Where does it pain?"

    Mo Zixuan approached the 13-year old ,"Who the hell did it ?"

    Lu Wei frowned at the man ,"Why are you making her remember that?"

    Zhi Bo nodded in approval ," Yeah ! we can investigate it in other ways."

    Zhi Al sighed as well ," Don''t increase her pain , bro."

    "Zixuan is right guys. That is the only thing on her mind. She needs to let it all out. ", Su Rogguangmented.

    "Rong Yufan !"

    Just as the six men were debating among themselves , a raspy yet soft voice uttered two words. An endless stream of tears was flowing down Rong Xinghe''s eyes by now. Only she knew how much courage it took her to utter those two words.

 Chapter 5: "I will make him clown and dance like a monkey in the middle of the road"

    Chapter 5: "I will make him clown and dance like a monkey in the middle of the road"

    Pain....

    The only word they could think of....

    The pain she felt when she was thrown like a trash from the train , the pain she felt when she screamed but no one heard her throughout the night , the pain of these two months....

    It couldn''t be expressed...

    " I f**king knew it" , raged Zhi Xi.

    "I am going to kill that dastard" , fumed Lu

    Wei.

    "What do you want ? " Mo Zixuan asked to the girl holding back his anger on the bunch of wolves called Rongs.He couldn''t possibly hurt her family without her consent .

    "Did anyonee to meet me ?"Rong Xinghe looked at her eldest two brothers -Lu Wei and Zhi Xi willing to know weather it was just Rong Yufan or the whole family .

    "I am going to say painful truth rather than sweet lie kiddo-sis." Lu Wei said solemnly

    " They expect you to die. They never came to see you for the past 2 months and my sources tell me that even if the n was executed by one person , it was mainly plotted by your grandfather and grandmother. They believe that you spoiled the respect of Rong family by singing in front of thousands of people in country I. You know they look down upon industry people."

    The little girl looked at Zhi Xi and he nodded in approval indicating Lu Wei was speaking the truth.

    The girl was not shocked but hurt. The Rong family had a very narrow mindset and her grandparents despised people in entertainment industry.

    But they didn''t hated her love for singing , but they hated her herself the most.

    ...because she was a girl.They hoped for her father to have a son so he could take over the Rong business empire. But she was born with her twin sister Rong Xiao.

    Now , Her grandparents hoped for the illegitimate son of her second uncle , Han Yufan to be the heir and she was the biggest threat because she was legitimate and expected throne-holder as her father Rongming was a very broad-minded man.

    This attack was just a leeway for her grandparents and the Rong Family to get rid of her.

    After a long amount of silence , the girl said ,

    " I will never cross the threshold of Rong family mansion again."

    All the six men were stunned by their sister''s reply. When they looked at her , there was no uncertainty , fear or hurt but hatred and a strong decisiveness.

    ''Whatever,we were not going to let her see those wolves again , anyways'' thought the six.....

    Zhi Al : " I''ll make him a clown and dance like a monkey in the middle of the road. "

    Zhi Bo looked at the rascal brother of his and then at his sister, there was a beautiful and innocent smile on her face ,and immediately understood the unexpected change in the situation.

    Zhi Bo : " And i''ll definitely beat him until he starts remembering all the gods of world."

    Her smile grew wider.

    Mo Zixuan : " I am going to make him wear a Qi Pao "

    The girl giggled.

    Su Rogguong : "Shhhhhhhhh....."

    Zhi Xi : " ...."

    Lu Wei : "...."

    Rong Xinghe : (rolling her eyes) Wierdos.....

    Everybodyughed.

    This was the bond these six people had with her.

    The one where they would go out of the way just to see her smile....

    Not like that of Rong Yufan , who had the audacity to mercilessly kill his own sister ...

 Chapter 6: The Koel stopped singing....

    Chapter 6: The Koel stopped singing....

    Time passed on...

    Rong Xinghe , when she was merely 14, opened an NGO for educating the poor and orphan kids .....

    About the finances , with her contacts in Entertainment industry , she formed an alliance group named ''Youth Team'' all around the globe, in which ,the artistes used to perform concert and donate 20% of their earnings to this NGO and Rong Xinghe used to organise and manage all these concerts providing artistes with a massive and positive image in front of media....

    This huge scale humanitarian act was appreciated by government officials and military figures.

    She was awarded a lot of national awards...

    When 15 , she was off the wheelchair with the constant care of her six pirs of love , care and strength...

    At first , she wasn''t interested in her family business at all but then , she realised that just giving away the business empire to a person like Rong Yufan would be an injustice to her twin sister Rong Xiao , who was studying abroad so she started taking the bits of knowledge from her business tycoon brothers Lu Wei and Zhi Xi , who were obviously happy to help in their field of interest.....

    To their amazement , their kiddo-sis was amazing at strategy formation , far - sightedness , ying with the opponent''s brain as well as a cunning risk-analyst and risk-taker...

    Then Again , why wouldn''t she be ....

    She had an IQ of 210 and was a hard-worker who didn''t feared starting from the scratch...

    And as for her singing , she left it because even though she firmly broke off all the ties with Rong family , still somewhere there , deep in her heart , the incident affected the confidence she had in herself for singing....

    The *Koel* stopped to sing...

    The fans around the world were mourning for the death of their inspiration , their idol because she retired so soon...

    She was like the beautiful bright full moon who covered them in its beautiful light but was itself covered in dark ck clouds.....

    They were dying to know the name who pushed their idol from a running train , the bastard who snatched their idol away....

    And then came the ''beginning for the end'' part for Rong family....

    At the same time ,

    in a police station awsuit was filed against the ''heir'' of Rong family , Rong Yufan for attempted murder of own sister Rong Xinghe...

    Yes ! The six brothers were done with the investigation and had the evidence in their hands...

    The Rong family anxiously hired the bestwyers to save their son....

    But who were they up against ?

    The Zhi family and Lu family was obviously better at it.....

    Not to forget , the Mo Zixuan who shook the world of Journalism in just two years ...

    The media was going crazy by the breaking news this Rong family scandal was going to make....

    The fans were raging as well ...

    How insensitive!

    Hurting their own flesh and blood.

    Just for the narrow-minded thoughts.....

    The people from entertainment industry also started publicly despising the Rong family.

    Afterall , they were looked down upon by the Rong family as well.

    Public became outrageous .

    Some wanted justice for their idol while others wanted justice for a 13-year old angel''s suffering...

    This was the power of Media Ma Mo Zixuan- the power of media.....

    The judiciary worked on this high profile case and under the solid evidence Rong Yufan was dered ''guilty of the crime of attempted murder of victim Rong Xinghe.''

    Guilty !

    **[Koel - It is an Asian Bird known for her beautiful voice.]

 Chapter 7: Little Lady Devil....

    Chapter 7: Little Lady Devil....

    But punishment ?

    Just because the victim was hurt but not dead , the court decided to fine Rong Yufan of 2 million rmb.

    This decision was criticised by the fans and public.

    Afterall, the pain and suffering of the victim was quite deep.

    This action was simply injustice.

    But the six men , who were expected to be the most furious were calm like still water.

    Their mission behind filing thewsuit was plished!

    They simply wanted to dere Rong Yufan guilty.They wanted to prove him a murderer. They didn''t cared about imprisonment.In fact , they wished for him to be free.

    Because they nned to make his life a living hell ! ! !

    A HELL!

    They nned to tell the whole family what it meant to y around with the life of their sissy ....

    Of course , they ensured two things.

    One, that Rong family woldn''t have the custody of Rong Xinghe as she was merely 15 and needed a guardian ording tow .They had sufficient evidences to prove in the court that the Rong family didn''t deserved it.

    So , the court gave the custody to the six of them as it believed their intentions for her.

    And Two , that once Rong Xinghe was 18 , she had the right to hold the chair of the CEO of the Rong Business Empire and she could fight for it .

    They had observed her brain , after all.

    As the support system they were for her , they obviously intended to keep her career options open so that she would be capable of doing anything she wanted.

    Rong family couldn''t fight against these demands as the six men were reasonable in the eyes ofw.

    Two years passed by ,

    In these two years , Rong Xinghe worked upon learning differentnguages. It was interesting to her.

    The six men were naturally going to fulfill her every demand.

    This 17 - year olddy now could speak 11nguages in total :

    English , Mandarin , German , French , Japanese , Hindi , Russian , Arabic , Hungarian , Novajo , Spanish .

    And each and everynguage , with utter fluency. It was her way to change herself for best .

    She never forgot the incident four years ago and hence, kept herself busy with the NGO , Youth Team concerts , academics and extra co-curricrs just so she could run away from it.

    But she had also developed a new hobby ---

    '' Forcing Her Six Single Brothers to bring her sweet Sister-inws.''

    Like a little devil , she used to run after them all day just showing picture of girls matched on matrimonial site with her brothers with an iPad in her hand containing collection of suitable girls.....

    But who made the matrimonial ount ?

    Obviously ! the littledy devil ;-)

    No matter what , one thing never changed - her mischieves never changed.

    No matter what her age was , she was still thedy - luck , the strength of these six men.

    But the same year , something happened.

    Something ....

    ....that changed the life of Rong Xinghe .

    A decision she took that changed the history of Country X or maybe the WORLD.....

 Chapter 8: " I will be the trial case "

    Chapter 8: " I will be the trial case "

    Four years after the incident , when Rong Xinghe was 17 , the winds started changing directions in the political and military structures of Country X.

    Country X was known for its history , culture , education , knowledge , and many other things.

    But one of the biggest strengths that made the world look upto the country was its military.

    Although it had amazing military equipments , bestmando , brilliantbat , it had one drawback.

    It didn''t ricruit women as a soldier.

    Only men were trained .

    Country X was going through a major change because women empowerment was the biggest burning issue .

    And being a democratic nation , political parties supported itpletely to form a positive image in front of public.

    Now, the women all around the country started to fight for their right to serve the army.

    They firmly believed that girls had the right to serve the nation as well and not just sit inside homefortably feeling proud of the strength of their armed forces.

    They also wanted to be the ones whom the world was proud upon.

    This demand was reasonable , because there were many countries in the world that had female soldiers in their military.

    Politicians came forward to support this idea...

    But....

    .....Military was against it.

    The army expected the '' Political topics '' to be kept away from it.

    The higher ups of military thought this idea was just making fun of military and that women couldn''t sustain through the basic training of a soldier...

    This was a very sensitive issue to both the parties...

    ''Women Empowerment groups'' and the ''Military'' itself.

    The media heated up the issue even more....

    For almost a month there was a constant debate everyday on each news channel between a feminist/politician and a military higher-ups/retired soldiers.

    The parliament of Country X was filled with these discussions all the time as well.

    Then one certain day :

    The Military Chief of Country X revealed a statement to media .

    This statement shook up the media. The headlines next day were : -

    {Military Chiefments , " If any woman undergoes andpletes the 5 - year training of country''s highest position as Military Chief sessfully , he would immediately resign from his position leaving the position to thedy. And the doors to the army would open up for women as well as men there and then. "}

    { " Women to be allowed in the army but on a certain condition" , says the Military Chief }

    { Which onedy would take the future of millions of other women on her shoulder?}

    {Is there a chance for women to enter the armed forces ? Keep reading the article to find out. }

    {Who will be the TRIAL CASE ? }

    This decision seemed to be idiotic , but it was not.

    The training of Country X''s Military Chief was considered to be the toughest.

    The trainee officer for this post was expected to be best with EQ , IQ and personality.

    The person was given the training of an Air Force Officer , Navy Officer , Soldier , and a Combat Officer , all at once .

    As much as tough it was , it was dangerous or to be precise , life - threatening as well.

    s !

    It was a well calcted decisions by the army

    If a woman decided to go for the training , and she failed it , the chances for women to join the Military would end as well.

    No woman dared to voice out their names.... They just couldn''t take the responsibility.

    And they didn''t felt it was worth dying.

    3 days after the statement was released by the Military Chief , one more statement was dered to the media : -

    { BREAKING NEWS ! ! ! }

    { Former youth singer and heiress of Rong Empire ''Rong Xinghe'' takes a BIG decision}

    { The Rong Xinghe looks in the eyes of the Military Chief Zhao ! ! !}

    { SHOCKING ! A 17 -year old shoulders the respinsibility of future of women }

    { " I will be the trial case " : Rong Xinghe }

 Chapter 9: The oath

    Chapter 9: The oath

    Five yearster ,

    In the grand hall of president house of Country X , honourable members of media were snapping the photos now and then .

    Today was an extremely chaotic event.

    The history of the world was changing. The future of their country was changing...

    A battle was won today....

    The Vice President of Country X stood in front of the podium and briefed out the world about the events that were going to take ce today through the medium of media....

    As the Vice President was done with his part of speech ...

    ..... A 40-something year old man , regret all over his face , came upon the stage and in the focus of the contiuous camera shes , signed a document held by the Prime Minister.

    He was regretting his arrogance five years ago....

    Hell ! He was going to regret his over-confidence for the rest of his life.

    Damn!

    He shouldn''t have underestimated the willpower of women ever....

    After the official procedures , Prime Minister walked towards the podium and announced the resignation of current Military Chief of country X.

    But this was not the most awaited moment.

    The most awaited moment was what happened next .

    The Prime Minister then announced , " In context to the contract signed by the former Military Chief Meng Zhao , the conditions have been fulfilled by thedy involvedpletely proving the strong willpower and capability of women to serve the nation.

    "From today onwards, Country X will ricruit men as well as women in the defence services of country X .

    "And now , just as the country cannot live without the President and Prime Minister , it cannot survive without the strong defence under the leadership of a Military Chief....

    ....Therefore, i , hereby invite the respected future Military Chief to dutifully ept one of the 3 highest authorities of Country X..."

    The moment Prime Minister ended his part of words , all the members of media and politicians present in the magnificient hall subconciously started looking towards the entrance door..

    It opened .....

    Opened by 4 military officers .....

    And then entered a figure followed by the three Generals of the Navy , the Air Force and the Armed Forces.

    The woman who entered was just indescribable.....

    Bold aura but Elegant in footsteps .....

    Fierce eyes but Modest gaze .....

    Dominating-presence but Noble appearance...

    Thisdy was just 22 years old , but seemed tough to simply reach upto. Her steady footsteps towards the podium was the only sound that could be heard in entire hall.

    The photographers got so caught in just admiring the woman that they forgot the job in hand. Aftering back to senses , the whole hall was in a crazy uproar. The photographers started taking photos furiously. The videographers were already doing a live stream to show the world.The journalists kept their mikes in check as they were not allowed to ask questions till the ceremony ended.They were impatient !!!

    Here , thedy arrived to the podium , saluted the President and the Prime Minister just like a military soldier would do.

    She was wearing the military uniform specially designed for the Military Chief of Country X , which made her appearance even more noble and charismatic. The 21 badges on her breast pocket told the story of 21 sessful life-threatening missions she went through during the course of these 5 years.The g of Country X printed on the arms exined that she would be responsible for the Country''s security from today...

    She turned to face the media ,

    and with a visible confidence in eyes said in solemn and strong voice :

    " I, Rong Xinghe , hereby solemnly swear that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of Country X , as byw established and that I will, as in duty bound honestly and faithfully, serve as the MILITARY CHIEF of the Union of Country X and go wherever ordered, bynd, sea or air, and that I will observe and do all in my power to safeguard the life of the citizens of Country X. I , Rong Xinghe , from today will take the responsibility of Armed Forces , Navy , Air Forces , Combat Forces and Bureaucrats on my shoulders " .

    SHE TOOK THE OATH.....

    She changed the history of whole Country X .

 Chapter 10: Introduction Or Interrogation ?

    Chapter 10: Introduction Or Interrogation ?

    This oath was what exined the victory !

    Victory of women !

    This oath the biggest change in the history of the world...

    The first woman to sit on the highest position of a country''s army....

    The youngest Military Superviser of the world ...

    Victory !

    Only one name ....

    '' Rong Xinghe ''

    The hall erupted in cheers and tears of happiness ....

    The dream of millions of girls of country X could now be fullfiled.

    It was indeed a battle won....

    Thanks to '' Rong Xinghe '' .

    Now was the time for press conference :

    The new Military Chief faced the media withplete confidence.....

    After calming down the crazy audience ....

    The questions started .

    Reporter 1 : " Who does the Military Chief give the credit for her sess to ? "

    Rong Xinghe : " All the people out there who watch dreams. Having a dream is what is the toughest. But after that , my six brothers and theirplete support. "

    This answer was not what they expected.

    Reporter 2 : " So does the military chief not acknowledge her family ?"

    This was a tricky question. If she would say she didn''t acknowledge Rong family , the media would make it a hell of stories iming bad rtionship between Rong family and Rong Xinghe. And being in media disputes for the highest authority of country the moment she sat on the throne was definitely a bad idea.

    If she would say that she acknowledged them , then it would prove that she found such petty and cruel behaviour like that of Rong family eptable .....

    A smile appeared on her face...

    The media still hadn''t changed .....

    Rong Xinghe : " I do. I do acknowledge my family of 92.7 million. They are my inspiration. "

    The reporters were stunned speechless.

    High IQ indeed !

    ying Tai Chi around their questions. She didn''t consedered Rong family as her own.

    She considered the whole Country X her family. A quality that was a must in the Military Chief of the nation.

    Damn ! This woman wasn''t easy to be tricked.

    Many different questions started to be asked after that .

    Reporter 3 : " What does Military Chief n for thebat units of the army ? "

    Rong Xinghe : " With increasing defense threats everyday , Country X needs the bestbat units more than ever. There will be a Combat Forces Training Centre (CBTC) setup soon in City A for the purpose. I n to ricruit more than 300batmandos this year. "

    Reporter 4 : " What fighter jets do the Air Forces are going to introduce this year? "

    Rong Xinghe : "Sorry. Confidential and ssified information. (smiles)We need to wait and watch. "

    Reporter 5 : " Do we have the permissions to ask personal questions to military chief ? "

    Rong Xinghe : " Depends on the question. "

    Reporter 5 : "Does the military chief have a boyfriend ? "

    Quite an intense one .

    Rong Xinghe : " I have given my breath to my country. But in case of love , I am yet to give my heart ..... "

    Reporter 6 : " What kind of men do the Military Chief like then ?"

    Rong Xinghe : " The type who can handle the torment of my six brothers , all at one time , just like i do. "

    All the people startedughing.

    Reporter 7: " What will be the reaction of six brothers of yours , if one day , you get a boyfriend ?"

    Rong Xinghe : " Simple. He won''t be introduced to them. He will be interrogated by them (like a criminal) ".

    Again theughter and happiness filled the hall.

    The interview ended on a happy and satisfied note.

    Now, was the time to meet her family. Her six brothers .

    Her eldest two had married already. Lu Wei , the industrial business tycoon , fell in love and married a national treasure actress Ningtao. While , Zhi Xi , the trade businessman , married an amazing wedding organiser Songyan and was happily in love.

    Ningtao hated rich people and Songyan hated Zhi Xi himself from the beginning.

    But how they each became couple ?

    Easy !

    All the six men had their personal cupid. She became the ''love guru'' for them and made them realise their feelings for the two women and also helped them impress thedies .

    But it was not a selfless , in fact , it was selfish. After all , she was extremely desperate toplete her goal of having six sister - in ws .

    And her rtionship with them was actually way better than the rtionship of her brothers with their wives .....

    She actually found two sisters in these five years ...

    Now , one more goal .....

    Pushing the remaining 4 towards the marriage and , about these 2 ....

    .....pushing them to have kids....

    Heheheheee....

    She was going to stop at nothing ...

    She still had to give the tag of ''Little Lady Devil '' some face .....

 Chapter 11: "You were not the reason I married you ! "

    Chapter 11: "You were not the reason I married you ! "

    Meanwhile , the whole country was in an uproar.

    The women were celebrating the sess of achieving one more milestone in betterment of their condition .

    Only thanks to their hero , their idol Military Chief Rong Xinghe .

    9 years ago , she ruled their hearts with her voice and today she ruled it with her capabilities , willpower and nobility.

    She was like a ray of sun , who made their life even more brighter than before. She was the fire who ignited their desires to go out and fight for what they were , what they wanted .

    And what about men , they werepletely taken aback by thisdy .

    Afterall, she was the perfectbination of Beauty , Brains and Bravery .

    ALL IN ONE ! ! !

    Overnight , Rong Xinghe got an army of fans. Die hard fans. Those fans who have had been following her from the times when she was a singer , felt like their life was revived again. Their idol was back.

    Social madia was on fire. Facebook , Twitter , Instagram. ''Rong Xinghe'' was one of the most searched names on every site. #myXingheIsBack , #MilitaryChiefRong , #WomenInArmy were one of the trending trends.

    On the other hand ,

    In the Military Chief Residence of Country X :

    Six men were staring at the screen in a daze ....

    Even they found it tough to digest ....

    They had been requested toe here by the Prime Minister because the security of the national authority was on line and she wanted to meet them.

    This was a crucial time for her .

    Maximum attacks on highest authorities of Country X took ce in the initial time-frame of their joining ....

    And these six were the first ones who had her security as their priority.....

    Zhi Al : "Our Sissy is strong buddy !"

    Zhi Bo : " She has always been like that Al "

    Su Rogguang : " Why do i feel tears ?Damn it !

    Lu wei : " This girl has always been like this. I learn things everyday from her. "

    Zhi Xi : " Our kiddo-sis actually did it ! "

    Mo Zixuan : " But is it a good idea ? She has practically put her life at stake. There are going to be regr attacks on her from now onwards. "

    Zhi Bo : " She has been trained for that ? hasn''t she ? "

    Lu Wei : " We will still have to be alert. Knowing Xinghe , she will definitely let her guard down around us. And that is exactly what should happen. She should feel safe with us because she is our family."

    Suddenly there were two voices of women :

    They weremanding the food staff and chefs ,

    Songyan: " Prepare Xiaolongbao , Chowmein , Peking Duck , Spring Rolls , Ma Po Tofu , Stir sauce Tofu , Wonton , Dumplings , Sweet and sour Pork , Spicy shrimp and ground beef buns and Fried Mashi for her. She likes these dishes the most "

    Ningtao : " Yes ! keep all these dishes in mind. These are her favorite. Else than that , for dessert make Hong Dou Tang , Water Chestnut Cake , Fritters , Tangyuan and Onigiri. She loves to eat sweet dishes ! "

    Songyan : " Yes ! And please get an Indian Chef. She loves Indian Cuisine the most. "

    Ningtao : " And you should always know how to cook Italian Cuisine , American Cuisine , Roadside food , and Mexican Cuisine as well ! "

    Songyan : " You should have skill with all the types of tea and coffee. She is a regr drinker."

    The Chefs were stunned. They didn''t knew how to even react. Thesedies knew almost everything about likes and dislikes of the Military Chief.

    Aftering back to senses , they nodded and headed to the kitchen wondering how the 22 year old girl could actually eat that much and how did these twodies remembered each and everything about her on tips?

    One thing was clear , Military Chief was definitely associated with very powerful people whom they could not offend.

    Lu Wei came to his wifey : " Tao, she is not that picky and foodie ."

    Ningtao : " I am seeing her after so many days. Can''t you see on TV , she has got so thin .The military sure is cruel .You just wait , i will feed her myself. I can''t tell you how excited i am to see her. My heart is beating so fast!!!! "

    (excitement clear on her face )

    Lu Wei looked helpless.

    This woman was an A-listed actress in industry with a lot of fans. But whenever it came to their home , she would goplete fangirl to meet his sister.

    Songyan : " Same Tao Jie ! Our sister -inw is so awesome. Her voice , her demeanour , her decency , and now her coolness. Ah ! i am so happy ."

    Zhi Xi : (knocking Songyan''s forehead) "Hey woman ! You better remember your sexual orientation ! You are straight ! Don''t drool over my sister. I don''t want my angel to be my love rival. Don''t forget you married me. "

    Songyan : (cunning smile) " Mr. Zhi Xi ! You were not the reason i married you. "

    Zhi Xi : ( taken aback by the creepy smile) "Then?"

    SongYan : " I married you because you are the brother of ''The Rong Xinghe''(dramatically). I just wanted to get close to her and know her more ! "

    Both Lu Wei and Zhi Xi rolled their eyes .

    Okay we ept defeat !

    Yeah !

    You guys love her more than we do !

    We dare you toe here Rong Xinghe !

    You damneddy charmer ! ! !

 Chapter 12: Long Live the Military Chief

    Chapter 12: ''Long Live the Military Chief''

    " Bros ! ! ! "

    An excited voice rang from the end of the hall.

    The girl came running inside the Military Chief residence.

    Herees the trouble , the six thought.

    Hey , you are 22 , stop acting like a 15 year old already !

    As soon as she entered ,she hugged her eldest brother Lu Wei. He was not just his big brother but an amazing advisor and her father figure.

    Lu Wei looked at his sissy tenderly and said , " I am proud of you ! "

    One by one , she hugged each and everyone of them.

    As she looked at these six men , tears started to well up in her eyes , these six had always been there with her. After that incident 9 years ago , none of them ever left her alone. Whatever decisions she made they were always the one she could lean on for support. A brother and sister''s rtionship is never discussed with that importance , but ording to her , they were the best in her life....

    Well.....

    second best .....

    "My dear sissy !!!!!!"

    "My Xinghe ! My Love ! "

    Came the voice of two woman from behind her.....

    The girl turned.....

    " Sis Tao ! Sis Yan ! " the girl also leapt towards them quickly ignoring her six ''pirs of support''pletely, hugging her sister-inws....

    All the six were like ,

    Bah ! Women !

    Stop reacting like its a reunion after 30 years....

    You met just 15 days ago....

    Crazy !!!!

    Ningtao : " I have made your favorite food. And i told everyone that no one is going to eat anything before you arrive."

    Songyan : " I also prepared your favourity dessert ! "

    (Rong Xinghe raises her eyebrows slightly)

    Xinghe : " You both cooked !?!? "

    Ningtao :(hesitantly) Um ! Chefs did !

    Songyan :(shy) Uh yeah ! we just told them what to cook .

    Xinghe: (taking a sigh of relief ) THANK GOD !

    None of her two sister - in -ws could cook.Neither did her brothers allowed them to enter kitchen. Fortunately , her brothers were pretty good with cooking and culinary skills.

    Hearing her sigh of relief , everybody started tough.

    She was indeed the same Rong Xinghe , the lovely life but just one thing changed , the tough five-year military chief training trained her to control her emotions and hide her pain , which was not good for her .

    Meanwhile , the military officers who respectfully escorted their boss to the Residence were stunned speechless by the warmth and harmony between the six men and their boss. It was same for the servants , chefs and the other staff.

    Maybe , just maybe , their boss was not actually that strict as she was with them.

    Rong Xinghe was the person they admired and feared at the same time. Her anger was not something even the stone-hearted terrorists could go through. Her sharp gaze was something that could see through a personpletely. Not to even mention herbat skills.

    But right now , it was clear that she could perform every role withplete perfection.

    When Military Chief , the cold , noble , enpredictable , fierce , and strict , all at same time.

    But when a sister , charming , lovely ,passionate, carelfree , and considerate .

    This incident made them wonder , what more was their boss capable of ?

    No !

    What was their boss not capable of ?

    Like a loving family , they sat to have dinner .

    Xinghe was simply speechless by the presentation of dishes on table. She looked at her brothers one by one suspiciously , because they knew her way too much to do this.

    She turned to look at her right and almost choked her water to see the expectant and starry eyes of her two sister-inws.

    Damn it ! She should have known it ! They were odsessed with stuffing food in her mouth.

    "I am not that foodie ! " Xingheined to them.

    " I told you ! " Lu Wei said to Ningtao.

    " Yeah ! you guys are always overreacting" Zhi Xi taunted.

    Ningtao and Songyan both started making a very hurt and sad face as if they were gonna cry right now and were wronged by their husbands.

    Rong Xinghe looked coldly at her two brothers , " How dare you guys taunt them ? Who gave you the right ? They are my people. Apologise ! Right now ! "

    There was ground rule in the family , no brother of hers were allowed to taunt their wives.

    How dare they hurt her amazing sister-inws .

    When they heard their sister say ''my people'' , Lu Wei and Zhi Xi along with the other four almost puked blood.

    What the hell?

    It sounded like she war running an underworld gang and she was the gang leader who didn''t allowed her men to get hurt!

    They were wronged as well !

    Were their feelings so easy to ignore ?

    But then they met the chilling gaze of the little devil who was capable enough to make their life hell. They had no option.

    Lu Wei and Zhi Xi : " Sorry ! "

    Rong Xinghe then turned to the twodies , " Sorry Yan , Sorry Tao ! I was very insensitive to you both. Of course , it was your concern for me. But i really can''t eat everything .Can you feed me ? "

    The sad expressions instantly changed to happy ones in one millisecond.

    Both Ningtao and Songyan started to feed Rong Xinghe and she started to eat like a child being taken care of by its mother innocently.

    The six men :"___"

    Chefs:"___"

    Servants :"___"

    Staff :"___"

    Wasn''t this too much !

    Being feeded like this.Zhi Al almost thought that Rong Xinghe was an ancient king whom thedies were trying to impress by feeding themselves.

    Worst was the situation of the two men.

    Hell!

    We were never treated like this.

    '' Long Live The Military Chief ''

 Chapter 13: Where is that idiot ?

    Chapter 13: Where is that idiot ?

    After the dinner was over , the six had to leave .

    Afterall , all of them were big names and had a lot of work to do.

    Rong Xinghe , amongst all of them was the busiest. She had to manage the security of the country , ''the Youth Team'' and the Youth Team NGO.

    She turned to her assistant , " Where is that idiot ? "

    The assistant understood who the boss was referring to , " Military Chief , master William has been busy with the dance rehersals. "

    " Tell him to meet me in my study in 2 hours " Rong Xinghe said.

    William Young , he was the american best friend of Rong Xinghe. He was a well-known dancer in Asia as well as Europe. He was one of the members of ''Youth Team''. He used to donate 50% of his concert earnings to the charity and NGO.

    But...

    he was the most known flirt in entire entertainment industry.

    This young man believed that flirting was good for his health and it was a skill that every individual should have...

    He was probably the only person brave enough to flirt with Rong Xinghe , for which , he had gotten beaten up many times....

    He used to manage the finances of NGO when Rong Xinghe was in training for five-years .

    He was basically one of the trustworthy people to Rong Xinghe .

    2 hourster

    A tall figure with silky brown hair entered study room of Rong Xinghe....

    " Hey looser !!!! Proud of you. Did you miss your to-be husband , naughty girl ?"

    Just as the man was going to hug her , Rong Xinghe dodged , " I dare you to call me ''naughty girl'' again Mr.Young ! I wanted to discuss uing events of ''Youth Team'' with you. Does our NGO need newputers ? "

    "You just became the Military Chief today ! Are you kidding me? Doing ''Youth Team'' work already. Woman , you need to treat me and our other friends to party! Today should be the night of celebration. NGO is not going to be sted withoutputers ! !" , William sounded agitated.

    Rong Xinghe looked helplessly at this man. Parties was the biggest priority of this person. He would stop at nothing , if she wouldn''t treat him and all other friends to treat.

    "Alright ! What do you want me to do? " Rong Xinghe asked.

    "I want you to do nothing but look pretty. I have organised everything. I have called our friends , i have booked the hotel , i have hired the staff , BLABLABLA ....." William started telling .

    "Get Out !" Rong Xinghe''s anger had started to show up. If he had done everything already , why did he y that '' damsel in distress '' act.

    William knew this girl too well and he definitely didn''t wanted to lose any part of his body by getting beaten up by her .....

    "Look as hot as you can tonight , i am gonna get you a boyfriend tonight ! " William told his ultimate mission and eloped from the room.

    Xinghe was stunned. Boyfriend ?

    Where did this came up from?

    Apart from her six brothers , the only rtionship she savoured the most was friendship.

    Her friends also stood up by her side everytime , maybe , because they had a heart of gold. They all believed in social services and hence , willingly gave up their earnings to the orphan kids in NGO , which was basically the reason they were aqantained with Rong Xinghe.

    She could have never thought , that this party was gonna bring her a chance to meet her soon-to-be soulmate.

    In the evening ,

    Rong Xinghe got out from the five hour long cab meeting , just to see her phone filled up with hundreds of missed calls and messages .

    Shit ! the party started !

    She was going to be killed if she ditched these idiot friend of hers!

    She rushed home to quickly change the clothes.

    .....

    At the party !

    William Young was in his full form !

    Dressed up like a gentleman , surrounded bydies expecting for him to just kiss their hands.

    He loved these type of parties !

    He loved to be a celebrity.

    But , as much as a flirt he was , he was definitely very career oriented. An amazing dancer , who was entertaining the audience by his dance moves and jokes at the same time.

    He nced at his watch!

    Damn !

    Where was that girl?

    And....

    Where was that man ?

    He wanted them to meet !

    It was a long time since he was friends with Rong Xinghe , and she never got into serious rtionships.

    "Master William !"A servant came running towards him ,"Mr. Xi Yuan has arrived with his siblings !"

    Suddenly , there wasplete silence in the whole room !

    Who did the servant said had arrived ?

    Did they heard it right?

    Was it really Xi Yuan ?

    The man who ruled the business world of country X?

    The heir of Xi bussiness empire?

    The man whose name had been appeared in Forbes'' list of richest men in world for more than six times?

    The man who had been listed as the most handsome man in the world by the famous magazine ''The Times'' .

    Damn!!

    After this silence , there was again excited shrieks of girls present there !

    Oh my god ! They were going to see the man of their dreams in person !

    Men were also anticipating to meet this sessful man.

    There was a silence again when the doors opened .

    Footsteps of three pair of shoes and one pair of heels could bepletely heard .

 Chapter 14: "Real Prince Charming ! ! ! "

    Chapter 14: "Real Prince Charming ! ! ! "

    Two men entered with ady inside the hall room first. The two men were named Xi Fang and Xi Wei and thedy was Xi Ying.

    Xi Fang and Xi Ying were twins , hence both were 21 years old .

    Xi Wei was the youngest of the Xi siblings and was 20 year old.

    Xi Wei was typically the William Young of Xi family.That''s why , he was friends with people from entertainment industry and had dragged his other three siblings to this party even though none of them wanted toe .

    The twins were slowly filling up in the shoes of their elder brother Xi Yuan and each handled , different businesspanies of Xi family on their own.

    Xi Wei ,on the other hand, was just a frencer.

    Loved to mess around.

    His siblings used to simply clear that mess after him.

    HEHEHE!

    By the looks of it , men were already drooling over Xi Ying and women were head over heels just for those two boys , let alone be the man who was about to enter just after them.

    Just when the crowd had started to dream of making family with these three , a strong , lean and king-like presence was felt. A tall man entered in the hall , with a bluetooth earpiece attached to his ears .

    It seemed he was taking some important calls.

    Damn!

    The hotness !

    It was as if the temperature of the room suddenly heated up.

    The man was wearing a three-piece business suit and was followed by about 8 bodyguards behind him , as if he had arrived from a meeting.

    He dismissed them as Hotel Paradise was one of the most secure ces in Country X.

    Fatigue was clearly visible on his face , due to the exhaustion of the day , perhaps.

    The girls'' hearts instantly hurt to see such a handsome person suffering .

    They instantly shot William a disgusted look .

    How dare he be so insensitive ?!?!

    William felt chills run down his spine when he felt those killing gazes!!!

    What the hell ! what did he do ?

    It was that bastard Xi Wei who must''ve forced him toe directly here.

    Bro, there was no such rush. He could''ve taken a shower at least .

    Why are you putting my life at stake?

    He was the one wronged here !

    The moment the Xi siblings had arrived , all the girls surrounding him had ignored him and started to think of ns to pester them.

    And now , when the eldest of them , Xi Yuan arrived , his existence was extremely negligible to them .

    Hell !

    Even the three Xi siblings were forgotten the moment this crowd of morons saw this handsome young man.

    The man ended his call , and with a tiresome voice , said , "Where is the washroom ?"

    He needed to rejuvenate his energy.

    Xi Wei , this party freak , had done a lot of melodrama just to bring him here.

    He wasn''t that much of a party lover anyway. So he had refused him already.

    But when he refused for the fifth time , Xi Wei practically threatened him with his life.

    Eventually , he had to give in.

    But now he was actually very tired.

    He had been constantly busy in meetings after he came back to City A.

    Today ,he had already attended meetings for almost 17 hours , non stop.

    And these three bastards had dragged him here.

    This was too much !

    But now that he thought.....

    ...maybe he could actually use a drink.

    Still , he wanted to freshen up first.

    The staff had instantly booked him the hotel''s premium suite , just so , he could use the washroom there .

    He just needed to be escorted there as he was unfamiliar with the ce.

    Meanwhile , the moment the girls heard his voice , they went even more crazy !

    He actually had such a deep voice. He was so perfect. Ah ! their prince charming was finally here.

    But there was only one problem , he was too hard to be approached. No one could just simply walk up to him to strike a conversation.

    William quickly went to Xi Yuan and said , "Come bro ! I will take you there !!"

    Xi Yuan nodded and then nced at his three siblings consenting them to enjoy the party as he went with William Young.

    The girls'' line of sight followed the young man until he disappearedpletely !

    The crowd finally found its voice.

    Girl 1 : " Damn it ! why did he go ? "

    Girl 2 : " Master Xi seemed to be tired ! He will be back soon. "

    Girl 3 : " Don''t be too concerned for him ! stay away from him. He is mine. "

    Girl 4 : " No worries girls ! He is just gone to change and freshen up ! He will be back soon. We will all have our chances ! "

    Girl 5 : " Let''s see who wins his heart ."

    Girl 6 : " Master Xi is so handsome!"

    Girl 7 : " Ah ! ! ! I am falling in love with him. "

    Girl 8 : " He is my real Prince Charming ! "

    Men on the other hand , couldn''t help but feel impressed by him. Some admired his nobility , some admired his power , some admired his money , while some were even starting to like his body !

    There were also many men , who were burning with the jealousy. Since the party was organised by William Young , many people belonged to entertainment industry and in entertainment industry , looks mattered. But , now , they could not evenpare to a businessman in terms of looks. They werepletely overshadowed.

    On the other hand,

    The three siblings felt sad for their brother.

    But they had to do it !

    They were here on a mission , after all !

    They had to make their brother meet thisdy.

    They had to find a sister-inw for him and ording to them , their brother deserved the best.

    They just hoped that these two people liked each other.

    They had to make their brother socialize more , because he had to find his true love before their parents made him do an arranged marriage with some stupid heiress of some rich noble family.

    And their brother was least concerned about matters like love , he was practically in love with the business and nothing else.

    Their brother was very simple with matters like these.

    He just needed a woman who could warm up his heart , and increase the pulse rate of his heartbeat .

    But thedy was yet to arrive , so they started to mingle in the crowd.

 Chapter 15: Just who was this woman ?

    Chapter 15: Just who was this woman ?

    Some timeter , the man came back , now in prettyfortable state.

    He was wearing a ck and White tuxedo style fashion designer clothes which made him look even more handsome.

    As he walked into the party arena , it gave a vibe as if a king was walking with his minsters following him.

    He had that nobility to him that no one couldpare to.

    He didn''t stopped to make small talk with anyone. He went straight to the bar area , where drinks were being served and sat to calm down his mind that was bursting with exhaustion from the day''s work.

    Girls looked awkwardly at each other !

    They have had been preparing themselves about how to speak with him , which topic to start their conversation with , they had been redoing their make up again and again .

    But....

    They had been ignoredpletely by him .

    He was clearly not in a good mood.

    So no one dared to offend him.

    Everyone just stood and looked at him.

    He was an eye candy anyway !

    They were still gonna look at him and give feast to their eyes.

    Meanwhile , the three siblings who were ignored by their brother just like the crowd , looked helpless.

    Why couldn''t he give face to atleast them.

    But they couldn''t just let him be alone , so all the three of them walked towards their brother and sat with him with expectant eyes hoping that he would join the crowd.

    He noticed their reactions and simply didn''t react .

    He just rolled his eyes.

    You three ! Do whatever you want ! Just don''t get me into this crap.

    Suddenly ! Their was a loud shriek from the end of the door !

    A young industry artiste came running , " Sis Xinghe is here ! ! ! Ah ! She is so beautiful today ! "

    The whole group got excited again .

    Oh My God ! Thedy of the hour is finally here !

    This woman was capable of doing something that no other person could ever gather courage for!

    She changed the destiny of country X with one decision she took.

    Almost everyone here today was her fan !

    All eyes started looking expectantly towards the door.

    After two minutes , a tall figure entered the party premises. "Sorry guys , it took a bit of time to park the car. " she said.

    This woman in front of them was just.....

    Beautiful....

    Rong Xinghe was wearing an Elegant Red Lace Vintage Tea length off shoulder gown.Her long ck jet hair were open and falling down till her waist.

    Was she really the woman who was in control of the army ?

    She looked so delicate , and pretty.

    Her perfect red lips , her perfect figure made the crowd think that this girl might have never even picked up a knife in her life , let alone be revolvers , rifles and military weapons.

    How could it be !

    She gave off sensual as well as a distant and noble aura ...

    ....As if she was impossible to reach to...

    Earlier , if women were head over heels for their ''Prince Charming'' Xi Yuan , then now ,

    all the men in the party had Rong Xinghe to be in ''Deep Love With''.....

    William reached towards the woman and wrapped her in a big hug....

    " Congrattions ! Military Chief Rong ! " He made the gesture of saluting as if he was on a military field.

    Rong Xinghe looked at him and rolled her eyes , " You are high again!"

    She knew that her bestie couldn''t handle alcohol but she never understood why he used to drink so much even though he knew he couldn''t.

    Indeed an idiot !

    William stood her in the middle of the crowd to deal with her ''fans'' who started pestering her and questioning her like the bloody media.... and walked away !

    Just like that !

    Bastard !

    This guy was dead ...

    She also started talking to the other friends of ''Youth Team '' present there ....

    .....but she waspletely unaware of the set of two eyes that never left her.

    Xi Yuan had been looking at the woman from the moment she entered the ce ! He observed her each action , her each movement.

    When she talked to a small girl and raised her eyebrows ever so slightly pretending to be shocked by her words , his heartbeat stopped.

    When she smiled , he felt a weird warmth flowing through his body....

    Just what was happening to him?

    Just who was this woman?

    Her eyes and the smiles on her lips....

    Her nobility and decency ....

    Her furiousity and calmness surfacing over itpletely ....

    Everything...

    Just everything about her was unique .....

    Xi Yuan was looking at the woman , and the the Xi twins and Xi Wei were looking at their eldest brother .....

    Was he really the Xi Yuan they knew....

    One second ! Not even for one second did his eyes left the woman....

    Their minds wentpletely nk ...

    They didn''t even knew how to react ....

    They forgot , that in such a situation , their responsibility as the younger siblings , was to tease their brother.....

    Xi Wei finally said something , "Bro ..."

    Xi Yuan : [Ignore]

    Xi Ying : " Bro ,this wine tastes amazing , isn''t it? "

    Xi Yuan : [Ignore]

    Xi Fang : " Bro ! The stocks of our rivalpany are gradually going up in the market ! What to do about it ?"

    Xi Yuan :[Ignore]

    Holly Hell !

    Even business couldn''t distract him !

    She was the one...

    She was the only one who could be their sister-inw.

    All the three didn''t even needed to talk to the man , his eyes were clearly answering the questions they had ...

    They have had heard about ''love at first sight'' but today they were watching it happen in front of them.....

    They came to the conclusion they wanted toe to !

    Mission aplished ! ! !

    Their n with William Young was aplished finally .

    All the ''three siblings'' of Xi Yuan and the ''best friend'' of Rong Xinghe were grinning ear to ear at the current moment.

    Meanwhile , Rong Xinghe''s head started to hurt. She actually needed a breather now. She could not talk anymore with these people.

    She had actually got a ''ThankYou Phobia'' tonight.

    She needed to drink something ....

    The girl turned towards the direction of Xi siblings and started to walk towards them after excusing herself from the crowd .....

 Chapter 16: Bartender ! Make me a drink !

    Chapter 16: Bartender ! Make me a drink !

    Everybody was confused to see Rong Xinghe go towards the direction of Xi siblings....

    No one dared to disturb any of them , no one could offend them.....

    Did Rong Xinghe knew the almighty Xi Yuan ?

    Even the Xi siblings and William were confused.

    Wait a second !

    This wasn''t the n.

    All the people closely observed each and everything !

    Pin-drop silence was left in the entire party hall.....

    No one wanted to miss upon the details of what was going to happen next....

    Rong Xinghe reached towards the Xi siblings in no time and stood directly in front of Xi Yuan.....

    "Bartender ! Make me a drink ! " the girl said to the man .

    Xi Fang , Xi Ying and Xi Wei spit out the wine altogether as they clearly heard what the girl said to their brother.

    Did she just called him a ''BARTENDER'' ?

    The whole ce was stunned !

    Did she actually said that aloud ?!

    The Ace Boss of business world was just a ''Bartender'' to her?

    This girl and her way of looking at people was surelymendable ...

    But of course , the person shocked the most was Xi Yuan himself ?

    He was like ....

    Who ?

    Me ?

    This was all the fault of ck and White tuxedo he was wearing , but whatever ....

    Xi Yuan smirked...

    The moment the threeckeys of Xi Yuan saw him smirk , they were frightened to death !

    Their brother normally smirked when he would be having any cunning or destructive thoughts ....

    Damn !

    What to do ! ?

    But something more shocking was yet to happen ?

    Just as the three were going to disclose their identity to Rong Xinghe .....

    ...to their shock , Xi Yuan stood up and walked towards bartender''s side of table...and asked ," Sure ! What would the lovelydy like to have ? "

    Eh ?

    Now , what was this ?

    Wasn''t he supposed to be angry or something?

    Being a bartender ?

    Bro !

    What are you doing ? !

    Rong Xinghe : " A Virgin Mojito ! Please make it cool and minty. "

    Xi Yuan : " You have a very good taste madame ! Do you want alcohol in it ? "

    Rong Xinghe : " Nope. Just a bit of white rum ."

    After two minutes ,

    Xi Yuan : " Here it is ! Your Virgin Mojito ? "

    Rong Xinghe took a sip of her drink as she raised her eyebrows and looked at Xi Yuan who was clearly nervous .

    " Damn! You are good ! After you are done bartending at today''s party and if you don''t have any other job , I would love to hire you ! " Rong Xinghe said.

    William Young and the whole crowd almost puked blood after hearing these words.

    Woman !

    You wanna hire the CEO of Xi business empire as your bartender ?

    The man who has provided employement to millions of people around the world , you want to employ him !?

    Listening this , Xi Yuan raised his eyebrows .

    Interesting girl !

    Xi Yuan : " Really ?"

    Rong Xinghe nodded her head .

    Xi Yuan : " I''d love to serve you ma''jolie !"

    Rong Xinghe was satisfied as she smiled at Xi Yuan , which made his heart beat even faster.

    He rubbed his hand on it to calm it down , but in vain.

    This statement actually left the three siblings , William and whole crowd dumbfounded .

    Wait a second !

    Are they both crazy ?

    Xinghe might not know him, but , he just heard who she was , and he knew who he was.

    She has beenmanding him and he has been epting each and everymand of hers ?

    Are they nning something or what?

    By now , William had lost all the effect alcohol had on him.

    Before she could say anything more weird , he quickly rushed towards her to tell her his real identity .

    "Xinghe , do you know who he is ?" William asked as he came near .

    "Who?" Rong Xinghe asked as she took another sip of her tasty Mojito .

    "He...he...is...um...Xi Yuan ! "

    The moment she heard this name , Rong Xinghe choked on the drink in her mouth and started coughing heavily.

    What the hell !

    Was he the Xi Yuan who took over Xi empire at the age of 18 ?

    She looked at the man in front of her !

    Now, that she observed him more intensely , she felt that it might be true .

    He had that king-like presence that a businessman ought to have.

    The way he stood out from the crowd ....

    The softness and calmness in his voice.....

    He clearly was a man of few words .....

    His eyes .....

    His height ...

    His smirk.....

    His personality.....

    His decency .....

    It all proved the things this William was saying.

    Wait !

    Why was her heart beating so fast ?

    What the hell was happening ? !

    Back then , when Lu Wei and Zhi Xi told her things about business , they tried to make her remember faces and names of each businessman ....

    ...She refused to see because she thought other than her two brothers , every other one was either shady or creeps.

    But here stood this man , proving her wrong.

    He was neither shady nor creepy.

    She had heard from Zhi Xi about a boy named Xi Yuan though !

    So she knew his name but she had never seen him.

    But then why did he listened to her stupid bber and didn''t told about him himself?

    That was not the point !

    She actually called a businessman a bartender.

    She was the one who was at fault right now.

    Rong Xinghe : " Mr. Xi , Apologies .I should have .... "

    Before she could finish , the man said ,

    " No worries ! I liked to conversate with you Miss Rong .It''spletely understandable if you didn''t knew me.I just returned from Mauritius. By the way , I was not lying when I said I would love to be your personal bartender. "

    Rong Xinghe : " Really ! i would love to hire ...."

    All the three siblings of Xi Yuan and best friend of Rong Xinghe were speechless yet again .....

    What the hell was happening...

    This girl...

    She didn''t even gave any special treatment to Xi Yuan even after knowing his identity.....

    Unlike other women , did she not cared about his money or power ?

    She was very special !

    And this young man ?

    Did this person who was such short worded man , actually talked so much ....

    .....to a someone he just met?

    This was going to be a good show to watch.

    Their brother actually gave face to a woman in his life....

    Rong Xinghe ''s phone suddenly rang. She picked it up and seemed to have an intense conversation. It seemed like there was an emergency at Military Chief Office.

    She looked apologetically at the crowd and told them that she needed to leave...

    All the fans unwillingly sent her off....

    But what about Xi Yuan....

 Chapter 17: The Military Chief....

    Chapter 17: The Military Chief....

    It was the first time , that someone walked out of an event without greeting him .

    Xi Yuan was actually ignored !

    She was the first woman to ever ignore him.

    All thedies of high socialite families , practically threw themselves at him.

    Thousands of women would just wait for years just to get an opportunity to see him....

    But this woman....

    She didn''t just called him a ''bartender'' but also fleed away like he didn''t existed....

    She also had no excessive change in behaviour when she came to know about his identity.

    She actually didn''t cared about his money...

    ''The woman is definitely something'' thought the man as a smile appeared on his face...

    The whole crowd was yet shocked again to see him smile....

    He actually enjoyed being called a ''bartender'' ?

    Wait !

    He was so stunning and charismatic with this smile of his....

    Why did he smiled just now?

    And why didn''t he smiled more often ?

    The Xi siblings looked at their elder brother smiling like a man crazy in love while looking at the direction the girl left...

    Uh.....

    " Bro , do you like her ?" Xi Ying , the sister asked her brother.

    "Yes ! " Xi Yuan said without any hesitation.....

    Xi Wei and Xi Fang were stunned speechless...

    Did this man just epted his feelings for a woman ?

    Did he actually said that out loud?

    Hehehe...

    Extemely sorry ! Miss Rong Xinghe !

    You have no choice but to be the daughter-inw of our Xi family....

    We will help you bro !

    ......

    Meanwhile at Military Chief Office ,

    Rong Xinghe changed her party clothes intofortable ones required and rushed towards her office....

    Four military officers were already waiting for her there.....

    As soon as she entered , everyone stood up and saluted her courteously.

    "What is it ? Lieutenant Zhao ? " Rong Xinghe asked .

    "Military Chief , we''ve got the terrorist who was wearing a bomb jacket and was about tomit suicide attack in the middle of the crowd of almost 1000 people at the dance concert. " Lieutenant Zhao said.

    " We''ve diffused the bomb , Military Chief ,and we have been interrogating this terrorist for 7 hours now , but ...." another officer said hesitantly.

    "But ?"

    " But , he is trained to go through the military interrogations. He is not uttering even a word. We just don''t know , how at this pace, are we going to get to their boss " Lieutenant Zhao said defeatedly.

    "We need your guidance , Military Chief. "

    After ten seconds of silence ,

    Rong Xinghe : " Did you get the information about his family ?"

    Lieutenant Zhao : " Yes boss ! He has a wife , both parents and a two year old son. They are currently navigated in Country X itself."

    Rong Xinghe : " Get his family ! Threaten him with their life. Especially , with the two year old boy''s life ! "

    Lieutenant Zhao was stunned. What was she speaking ? How could she be so bold to get a person''s family involved in ordet to get information?

    And here he thought , women were extremely sensitive and emotional. How naive !

    But he still thought that this was a childish decision.

    The terrorist was trained to go through the pain given by a ruthless army .Would he even care about his family ?

    Lieutenant Zhao : " But we cannot hurt the families , Military Chief. "

    Rong Xinghe : " And we can afford to let thousands of people get hurt ? If we don''t get the name of the real mastermind behind this n and his exact locations , many families will definitely suffer. And who knows , one of those families would be ours! "

    Lieutenant Zhao : " But why would he care for his family ? "

    Rong Xinghe : " Maybe not family , but definitely his two year old kid. ording to this report in front of me , he got to be father after a wait of 14 years. He will definitely speak ! ! ! "

    Lieutenant Zhao saw the woman in front of him. It was a scary sight.

    She waspletely certain as if she had predicted the future.

    The sharp and destructive gaze could actually make a man shiver.

    No mercy !

    No sympathy !

    No tenderness !

    She sure knew what she was .

    She was even more intimidating than the other Military Chief he had worked with .

    As a result , he followed the orders of the boss!

    Just half an hourter , the interrogators called to inform that the terrorist had told the exact location and name of their mastermind as soon as he saw his son crying in the arms of soldier. When the soldier took out the revolver and pointed it towards the head of the small child , the terrorist started to pour the whole information like a parrot !

    The information was verified to be true.

    Half an hour !

    It took just half an hour for their boss to handle the matter , whereas they had been interrogating him for seven hours.

    Lieutenant Zhao looked at the youngdy in front of him with a lot of admiration as well as surprise .

    How calctive !

    How Cunning !

    How Meticulous !

    She was indeed ''the Military Chief''.

    She knew very well , how to y with the mind of her opponents .She was good with pcychology !

    And why not ?

    She was the sister of Globally ranked - 1 , neurologist and pcychologist Dr.Su Rogguong.

    She might have learned a thing or two from him.

    Rong Xinghe didn''t reacted much after getting the news.

    She informed the soldiers to let go of the family of the terrorist safe and sound.

    She knew very well , that none of them ever had an idea that they have had been living with a terrorist themselves.

    She was not a psycho who would hurt the innocent. But she was also not the one who would allow the innocent to get hurt.

    So, she had to take such harsh decisions like involving families into military procedures.

    Afterpleting the military formalities and signing some documents , Rong Xinghe headed toeards her home.

    The day was too exhausting for her !

    First the oath taking ceremony , then giving speech to the whole army , then the party in evening andstly , this terrorist issue.

    She waspletely unaware ....

    ..... that a ''tornado'' was waiting for her in Military Chief residence.

    Her dreams of having a nice sleep were soon going to be shattered by a certain someone.

 Chapter 18: "You will have atleast 100 husbands"

    Chapter 18: "You will have atleast 100 husbands"

    Just as she entered the Military Chief residence , a flower vase came straight flying towards her !

    Rong Xinghe instinctively dodged , thanks to her immensely alert senses she was trained for in these five years....

    What the hell !

    Then came a te !

    Next a spoon !

    Rong Xinghe found the unprofessionalism of the ''attacker'' quite funny.

    She quickly did three consecutive cartwheels one after other and reached towards the ''attacker'' in no time and tied his hands with the scarf she was wearing. Then she sat on his back like a queen and asked angrily to the already angry man.

    "Mr.William Young ! What sin did this pitiful servant of yoursmited now , to make his royal highness so furious ? " Rong Xinghe asked dramatically.

    "Damn ! Woman ! You ditched me at the party !

    And that is something i am used to. But how could you call him a ''bartender'' ? You spoiled all the n. " William screamed at the top of his lungs.

    "What n?" the girl asked with a threatening tone .

    William : "...."

    Rong Xinghe : " Bastard ! You again tried to matchmake me ! This is happening for the 47th time now. I told you many times i am not in the mood of rtionships. I have prioritised the Country''s security and then my brothers.

    Do you think i have time for this crap ? "

    William : " What ? ! You need romance to be happy. You are a 22 year old now and you''ve still not dated a single man. Come on ! i am not gonna let you go through this pain. But , whatever, you already spoiled my n .How the hell did you thought of him as a bartender ,by the way ?"

    Rong Xinghe : " So what if i called him a bartender ? He was wearing a ck and white tuxedo. It was his fault , not mine "

    William : "Yeah right ! But ! If you die single some day , it will definitely be your fault ! You romantically deprived woman ! "

    Rong Xinghe : " What did you just call me , young man ? " , threat clear in her voice.

    William obviously sensed it .

    William : " I said you will have at least a 100 husbands , youngdy. "

    Rong Xinghe : " But you are mine tonight , my royal highness ."

    Saying this, she started punching William one after other as if he was cotton .

    The whole whole Military Chief residence filled with a man''s screams in no time.....

    ....

    In a seven star hotel ,

    A man looked outside the floor-to-ceiling window in a daze....

    "Bro her name is Rong Xinghe. She is 22 years old. She had a very frightening past.

    Doesn''t keep any contact with Rong family."Xi Ying said.

    " Bro, She is currently one of the three highest authorities of Country X : Military Chief. Today was her celebration party. " Xi Fang reported.

    " And yes brother ! Military officers say that she has amazing marksmanship andbat skills. She has a record of dealing with 93 soldiers in one go !! She is super amazing bro ! " Xi Wei said excitedly.

    While the three people were reporting about Rong Xinghe to him as if they were analysing a crucial business matter , the man was in his own thoughts.

    He was still not able to believe !

    He had never seen a girl as beautiful as her.

    It was as if she hadnded from the heavens all of a sudden.

    Was she actually a reality?

    At the party , he was stunned when he saw her. Amongst the crowd , she stood out shining like a diamond amidst the gold.

    Her eyes ...

    Her elegance....

    Her smile.....

    Her figure...

    Her wavy hair.....

    Her voice...

    He was attracted more to her the moment she called him a bartender ....

    Xi Yuan , a man who had been mature and resonable all his life was suddenly feeling like a young boy who had seen his crush for the first time and had fallen for her , which , even he thought was immature and unreasonable.

    Damn ! Woman!

    What did you do to me ?

    The three siblings were bbering on and on and on ....

    After sometimes , they realized that they were being ignored .....

    Sigh!

    Fine ! You are in love !

    We singles are of no importance to you!

    Xi Fang put his hand on his brother''s shoulder which made Xi Yuane out of his daze.....

    "Bro , do you want us to investigate her ? Her past ? " Xi Fang asked.

    "Nope ! I will respect her privacy. She will tell me herself if she ever wants to share. Don''t intrude her past. " Xi Yuan instructed.

    "Just tell me about her likes , dislikes and allergies. And also , her current family and friends. "

    "Give us one day brother. We will inform everything tomorrow withplete uracy. You need to have some rest , bro. And sorry , for forcing you toe to the party." Xi Wei looked worried as he observed his brother''s sleepy eyes and fatigued face .

    He shouldn''t have forced him like this.

    " No need to apologise , Wei. I willingly came with you all. And ..... I saw her today .....thanks to you..." Xi Yuan said patting Xi Wei ''s back as he could clearly see through each and everyone of his siblings.

    As soon as he heard it , Xi Wei started acting like he was the king of the world as he realized that he actually was the reason that his brother saw his soon to be sis-inw.

    The sudden change in behaviour of his youngest brother made Xi Yuan regret his decision of thanking this moron !!

    What a bastard.....

    ....

    Military Chief residence .....

    At 3 am....

    The girl was sleeping soundly just like an angel ...

    Suddenly , her brows furrowed ....

    [ "Brother , please don''t leave my hand "

    "The train is running fast , I will fall down!!!"

    "I don''t want to die brother!!!"

    " I will never sing again brother "

    "Please"

    "No"

    ]

    The incident nine years ago...

    once again,

    appeared in her dream....

    The train , the man , the blood.....

    The girl started to scream in sleep , " Brother , no!"

    "Please ! Bro !!!"

    "Help! "

    "Bro Wei !!! , it pains."

    "Bro Xi , Bro Bo , Bro Al ! "

    " No ! !"

    "Bro Rogguong , my leg hurts ! "

    "Bro Zixuan ! i don''t want to die !"

 Chapter 19: The familiar feeling of warmth.....

    Chapter 19: The familiar feeling of warmth.....

    The girl''s body stiffened.

    She screamed even louder.

    Lu Wei had just checked upon her and left her room not too long ago when he heard the cries of the girl.

    He quickly ran back inside to see her!

    He reached to find her shaking and struggling in sleep as if she was drowning.

    He took steady but soft steps towards her bed and sat at the edge of the bed .

    Slowly , he took her cold hands in his warm ones and ced his other hand on her forehead tenderly.

    The girl could still not calm down.

    The moment he heard her say , " Bro Wei ! It pains !" , Lu Wei felt an unbearable pain in his heart.

    That night , was she screaming just like this whileying on the railway tracks.

    She expected her six brothers to be there for her , but none of them was near her.

    He had failed as a brother.

    They had failed as brothers.

    His guilt , regret and self- me couldn''t be exined.

    Lu Wei gentlyid besides Rong Xinghe as he covered her in nket and hugged her. He ced her head on his shoulder .

    This little action was quite helpful for her...

    The girl started to calm down.....

    This.....

    This was the familiar feeling of warmth .....

    Someone she trusted was near her...

    Her brother was besides her.

    She knew it !

    Lu Wei whispered in the girl''s ears as he observed the change , " Xiao Xinghe , Brother is here. Calm down ! ! " .

    This one sentence was enough to calm down the girl.

    Yes ! She was not all alone.

    She had someone besides her.

    With these subconscious thoughts , the girl drifted back to sleep.

    Meanwhile , Lu Wei just looked at her sleeping soundly.

    She still wasn''t able to forget that incident and that frightening night .

    She was merely 13 year old , when she had suffered that pain.

    She was still going through the after effects of that incident.

    She had started to get those dreadful dreams of that night almost every now and then.

    Even though ,she broke off all her ties with the Rong family , she was still suffering.

    This girl had grown up to be a strong woman , who would stand against the world and fight for the right cause.

    But to him , she was still his kiddo-sis who had looked in the eyes of death.

    His heart hurt for her.

    Today , the whole world was singing the glory of legendary Rong Xinghe.

    But he had seen the most painful chapter of her story .

    He had seen the toughest time of her life.

    He had seen her crying every night with the longing of a mother and father by her side.

    He had seen her weaken , when she saw grandparents being over-protective of their grandchildren.

    To her , these six was a family , but he still couldn''t deny the fact that she had gone through a hell of pain and he couldn''t decrease it...

    .....

    Next day ....

    In Military Chief residence ....

    "What?You actually called him a bartender!?"

    Songyan looked shockingly at Rong Xinghe .

    Was this girl for real ?

    "Do you even know who he is? He is XI YUAN , madame Xinghe !!!"

    Rong Xinghe shook her head like a little child who was being scolded for something she had not even done intentionally.

    Don''t you dare appear in front of me , William!

    You traitor !

    How dare you tell her ?

    "Xiao Xinghe , he is the eldest son of Xi family. He is a very decent man. You might not know , but other than you , he is the only one person in the world who has been trained by your Bro Lu Wei and Bro Zhi Xi in business management. He has expanded the business in multiple directions and in multiple countries. You actually called him a bartender and made him make you a drink ?!" Songyan bbered all the information she had about Xi Yuan .

    "What''s the big deal ? " , suddenly came the voice of Zhi Xi from end of the door.

    "I know him and he is not that petty to take things like these to heart. And even if he is offended , he would know who he is dealing with. He won''t have the guts to plot a revenge against her. She has six brothers , not to mention , she is military chief herself. Chill down ."

    Then he looked at her sister and gave her a thumbs up , "I am proud of you ! "

    Zhi Xi''s phone rang and he went out to pick it up while Songyan pouted like a small kid and looked in other direction.

    Her husband was too much ! Not just supporting her but provoking such behaviour !

    There should be limits to spoiling her .

    Meanwhile , Rong Xinghe rolled her eyes. Brother , there was nothing to be proud about !

    But , she couldn''t do anything. ording to the temperament of her brothers , they wouldn''t care even if she burnt a house !

    Rong Xinghe could not understand just one thing .....

    Just who was this man ? Because of him , she was being scolded by her own people fromst night till now ?

    First her ''best friend'' and now ''sis-inw''....

    Bah!

    She had no time to deal with it ,she had to go to Military Chief office, but, she couldn''t leave her sister-inw upset just like that.

    She had toe up with something quick.

    "Yan Jie , I love you!" Rong Xinghe made puppy eyes.

    "Hmphhh!" , Songyan was still angry.

    "Yan Jie , so what if i called him a bartender ? At least , i thought of him as a ''Woah ! What a hot guy'' bartender." Rong Xinghe said without thinking anything else.

    Songyan''s attitude took aplete 180 turn , "Really?!" , eyes full of ns taking birth in her mind at the moment.

    She waspletely surprised and excited after hearing this.

    Wait , What did I just say? Did I actually called him that ?

    Whatever , as long as she was happy again.

    "Yeah ! ! ! My sis-inw sure has eyes for men ! " Songyan waspletely satisfied.

    At least she still had a chance of living a normal life.

    At least , she could still date like a 22 year old should.

    She could still have a boyfriend!

    ....

    Rong Xinghe immediately rushed to the Military Chief office.

    Today , she had a meeting with all the higher ups of Country X''s Navy.

    She had to deal with the security crisis and equipment supply to the Naval Forces. She also had toe up with production n of submarines for the year and had to discuss the structure of the new aircraft carrier with the engineers working for Navy.

    She also had to introduce herself to the staff of Military Chief office.

    It was going to be long day ....

 Chapter 20: It had just started......

    Chapter 20: It had just started......

    At Military Chief office ,

    Rong Xinghe evaluated all the reports of the army situation , observed in thest twenty years after she was done with the meetings with Navy higher-ups.

    She didn''t looked impressed at all .

    "What kind of joke is this ? Even though government has been giving such high finances to the army , why has its situation only deteriorated in these years. What has the former Military Chief been doing ?

    "With the amount of capabilities and human capital we have in this country , why hasn''t it been utilized properly. This is extremely disappointing ! " Rong Xinghe asked her assistant Shou Wu who was a bureaucrat as well and was pretty well-informed regarding the Country''s Military administration.

    "Military Chief , there have been happening many under-handed schemes in the military for quite a few years now. As glorified our army looks at the surface , it ispletely shallow. Strong from outside , but empty from inside , thanks to former military chief Zhao. The finance that was provided to the army by government for its strengthening all used to go in the pockets of military higher ups.

    "Each and every soldier joins the forces withplete faith in patriotism but these higher ups let their spirits die. As impossible as it seems , the almighty army of Country X has been corrupted by these monsters.

    "It is almost impossible to stop these schemes to continue further. This whole thing has theplete system involved. Many politicians are a part of this. " Shou Wu clenched his teeth while reporting to Rong Xinghe.

    "Hmmm. That exins the hostile etiquette of those higher ups of Navy in today''s meeting. " Rong Xingheughed to herself.

    Seeing her reaction , Shou Wu was confused. Shouldn''t she be angry or something ?

    "Mr. Shou" Rong Xinghe smiled and closed the documents on the table.

    "What are the orders , boss ? " Shou Wu asked.

    " Make a list of all the corrupt military officers andmand the two hundred bureaucrats under me to make evidential reports of all the corruptions they havemitted until now differently. Tell them to make sure that the confidentiality of the task is maintained." Rong Xinghe said.

    " What are we gonna do with the list and reports , Military Chief ?"

    "Easy ! The corrupt higher - ups will be fired on the spot. And , the minor people will be punished ordingly ..... maybe appointing them on the most dangerous borders of country X..... or maybe cut their sry for four-five months. You know we can''t fire them all , otherwise , we will be left with no army. " Rong Xinghe said her mind.

    " Fi ... fir...firing the Military higher-ups ?! " Shou Wu stumbled as he tried to digest what the boss just said .

    " Yep ! Its high time military and whole country X epts the fact that the tides are gonna change here , no matter what they want. Military is definitely thest ce where i am going to tolerate corruption and schemes. I , Rong Xinghe , will never allow anyone to gamble with the lives of soldiers standing on the borders. These douchebags are not worth it .

    " And if they think they are irreceable , they are highly wrong. Our country X has millions of poption , a part of it serving in army. Many are capable to take these positions with dignity. " Rong Xinghe concluded with traces of danger clear in her voice.

    Shou Wu gulped .

    A chill ran down his spine.

    This woman in front of him was definitely not to be offended ever.

    She just took over the position , and terminating the higher - ups of military was one of the first few decisions she took.

    She was very scary and fear or uncertainty was thest thing that could be seen in her eyes.

    Ah ! Please save me lord !

    But he was admiring her as well .The way she stood her ground and never let anything affect her conscience was immenselymendable.

    " And one more thing , Mr. Shou ! " Rong Xinghe said as she stood up and walked towards her office window.

    "Yes , Military Chief ?"

    " Please schedule my meeting with Education Minister for tomorrow. It would be better if he shows himself here ."

    "Alright. But why Military Chief ? "Shou Wu was confused as to what was the connection between Military and Education Ministry.

    " Mr. Shou , you have a tendency to ask a lot of questions , i see. " Rong Xinghe smiled

    " Apologies , Military Chief ! Your orders will be carried out. Anything else ?"Shou Wu instantly apologized.

    "Not much. Just tell my schedule for the rest of the day ." Rong Xinghe started stretching as she asked .

    "Ah ! Up next , you have a meeting with a businessman. Then , you have a meeting with the aeronautical and aerospace engineers regarding missiles. After that you would be off for the day , boss." Shou Wu listed out her other ns for the day.

    " Hmmmm. Who is the businessman and when is the meeting? " Rong Xinghe asked as she picked up her tea cup and took a sip from it .

    Shou Wu : "The businessman is Mr. Xi Yuan and the meeting is in two minutes."

    As soon as Shou Wu''s words left his mouth , Rong Xinghe spit out the tea .

    What?

    XI YUAN ?

    Why he , out of so many businessmen in the world ?

    Was he here for some revenge ?

    No!

    He didn''t seemed so petty to mind something like that.

    But he wouldn''t be wrong if he was offended. After all , she called him ''bartender'' in front of so many people.

    From what she knew , he was respected by almost everyone , even his rivals and enemies.

    No one looked down on him .

    And she ?

    She on the other hand must''vemitted a sin , in the eyes of all the admirers and well-wishers he had.....

    Damnit ! ! !

    She cursed herself under the breath .

    But , she couldn''t send him back. She was the military chief of the country and she had to face things sooner orter. Moreover , she couldn''t go back on her words.

    So let''s just get over with this now.

    She signalled Shou Wu to send him in.

    But ....

    ...she was very wrong.

    She couldn''t possibly get over with it so soon.

    It had just started.....

 Chapter 21: I want to know you the way no one ever did .

    Chapter 21: I want to know you the way no one ever did .

    Shou Wu left and after sometime a handsome man entered the office .

    The man was wearing a Dark Blue three-piece business suit. He had a SmartWatch on his wrist which was flickering time now and then. He walked in with an extreme calm demeanour. He had a ssy and decent approach to him.

    Rong Xinghe nced at him and then pretended to be extremely busy .

    She quickly reverted her eyes back to the files in front of her , "Please , have a seat Mr. Xi .We meet again ."

    Xi Yuan smiled as he knew she was doing a pretent.

    How cute !

    Xi Yuan : (in a threatening voice) " I am here for a very important discussion , Military Chief Xinghe ! "

    Sh*t ! He was definitely here for revenge !

    Rong Xinghe : " Please , carry on ."

    Xi Yuan : " Aboutst night ...."

    Rong Xinghe :(nervous) " Aboutst night ? "

    Xi Yuan : " I never ...."

    Bam!

    Rong Xinghe closed the files she was reading with a thud....

    Rong Xinghe : " I know you never thought that something like that would happen to you ever, Mr.Xi. But i apologised to you ! And I apologise again ! I know i was wrong but it was your fault as well.....why did you wore such clothes ? "

    Hearing Rong Xinghe bbering about his clothesst night , the man raised his eyebrows and startedughing .

    Eh?

    What was it ?

    He was so wierd. Serious at one moment ,ughing at the other.

    Xi Yuan controlled hisughter with a lot of difficulty and said ,"I intended to say i never got a call from your assistant or manager ."

    Rong Xinghe : " What call? "

    Xi Yuan : " To discuss when i needed to join as your bartender and to discuss my sry. "

    Rong Xinghe : " ....."

    Xi Yuan : " I am not going to take a cent less than 10,000 RMB a month. I am telling you already. "

    He continued to tease her.

    She had said that she wanted to hire him as his personal bartender.

    He remembered everything she had said to him.

    Was he for real ?

    What a wierd man , Xinghe thought.

    One of the most famous businessmen of Country X , was sitting in front of her discussing the sry he wanted as her bartender.

    What was going on ?

    She just didn''t knew what to say to him ...

    " Don''t worry , I am just kidding " Xi Yuan said when he observed the girl''s tensed shoulders. He was not there to make her feel ufortable , after all.

    Xi Yuan : " I simply wanted to ask if i could donate anything to the military. "

    Rong Xinghe raised her eyebrows , " Donate? "

    Xi Yuan : " Yeah ! My cousin sister is getting married three monthster , and it is a custom in Xi family that we donate money to the family of martyrs. Can that be arranged ? "

    Rong Xinghe was very delighted to hear him say that.

    She had always been working for the betterment of Country X and its citizens and she actually liked the people who worked with the same purpose.

    ''Youth Team'' was her idea and she believed that a human''s life is useless if it has never helped another human in its whole lifetime.

    A genuine smile urred on her lips.

    Xi Yuan''s heart started racing extremely fast when he saw her smile with such purity and innosence.

    Damn ! Not again !

    Rong Xinghe : "Of course , it can be arranged Mr. Xi. I will personally make suitable arrangements. "

    Xi Yuan : " And i have one more request , Ms. Xinghe "

    Rong Xinghe : " Yes ? "

    Xi Yuan : " I want to join ''Youth Team'' , is that possible ?"

    Rong Xinghe was confused .

    Youth Team ?

    Why ?

    Donating to the army might be ritual in his family , but being a part of ''Youth Team'' ?

    It was very tiresome because each and every member of ''Youth Team'' had to get personally involved in the way it worked. It was not as if he could just write a cheque

    and walk away.Did he even had that much time to get involved with the orphan kids of NGO ?

    Rong Xinghe always was conscious about those kids , so she asked cautiously ," Why ? "

    Why ?

    Because i want to get close to you .

    Because i want to get close to your heart.

    Because i want to know you the way no one ever did.

    Xi Yuan , of course , could not say these things to her yet so he said , " Because i would love to know their story. I know it seems as if i would just give money and walk away but trust me, it is not like that. I sincerely want to be a part of their life. I have done my research on ''Youth Team'' and i know that i have to invest my money as well as my time in this. And i am ready to do that ."

    " Seems like Mr. Xi is quite interested in social welfare. Nice. How do you think you would invest your time in the NGO ? "

    Rong Xinghe said.

    " I am not that good in conversing with kids. So , I would love to handle all the administrative work of the NGO. "

    Xi Yuan said.

    Rong Xinghe : "You think you can take time out from your busy schedule ?

    Xi Yuan : " Don''t you manage to get time out of your busy schedule , military chief ? "

    Rong Xinghe was stunned for a moment.

    He had actually done a lot of research on Youth Team and the NGO .

    He was even ready to shoulder such a huge responsibility for the kids .

    But that didn''t mean she hadn''t done research.

    This morning , she had asked her brother Lu Wei about him and he had said that he was a responsible man without any shady personality.

    He was actually genuine and had no ill intentions for the kids.

    She started to observe him closely.

    This man was not at all egoistic. He never took the incident past night to heart.

    He had calm eyes .

    He was good with words.

    He was quite intimidating , just like a noble king.

    Not to mention , the way he carried himself. It was very decent.

    Other than her six brothers , she had never seen a man like this .

    She was actually starting to get curious as to know what exactly was this man like ?

    She was slowly starting to get impressed by him.

    Rong Xinghe stood up from her chair ,

    " Alright then , Wee to the ''Youth Team'' , Mr. Xi."

    Xi Yuan felt a sense of joy in his heart as soon as he heard her say that.

    But Wait ! Something was wrong!

    Xi Yuan : "Thank You. But I would appreciate if you would call me Yuan from now on , Xinghe. "

    Rong Xinghe was dumbfounded the moment the man called her in such an intimate tone.

    And what more ?

    He wanted her to call him by his name !

    Rong Xinghe : " Huh?!?!"

    Xi Yuan : " As far as i know , the members of ''Youth Team'' are said to be the friendship goals and are known for their unity. If that is the case , i am your friend from now on.

    Wouldn''t this ''Mr.Xi'' and ''Ms. Xinghe'' be a bit too formal ?"

    Rong Xinghe thought about it and said with a smile , " Yuan ".

 Chapter 22: "Military Chief Xinghe sure has got hell of courage ....."

    Chapter 22: "Military Chief Xinghe sure has got hell of courage ....."

    "Yuan ! "

    When he heard his name from her mouth , Xi Yuan felt a sudden warmth in his heart ....

    He never felt as happy to hear his name as he was feeling today....

    He felt that her voice beautified his name even more.....

    So, this was what love felt like.....

    Even hearing your name from your lover''s mouth gave such a sense of happiness...

    He actually was acting like a young boy in love.

    The smile on his face got even more wide...

    Xi Yuan : " I ''ll leave first then. See you soon , Xinghe. "

    Rong Xinghe : " See you soon. Please leave your contact details to my assistant outside. I will tell the Youth Team members as soon as i reach home today. Then i''ll contact you to discuss the details further. Bye , Yuan."

    Xi Yuan nodded and left.

    As soon as he left the office , Rong Xinghe felt something was amiss.

    Was he here to join the ''Youth Team'' ?

    Or was he here to be her ''friend'' ?

    And why did she felt butterflies in her stomach when he said her name ?

    And why were they acting like they were some long lost friends , who had just met each other ?

    It was just their second meet , and they were already on the terms where they were calling each other their friends.

    Bah!

    Whatever !

    She had many things to do other than thinking about such small matters.

    Let it be .

    .....

    At night ,

    As soon as Rong Xinghe returned to Military Chief Residence ,

    She quickly took a shower , changed her clothes and rushed towards the kitchen ...

    The chefs were surprised to see the boss there .

    "Do you need anything , Military Chief ? " the head chef who was in his fifties asked her.

    "Um , just call me Xinghe , elder Yi. I just wanted to cook myself. " Xinghe said.

    " There is no need , Ms.Xinghe. The food will be ready in half an hour. " Head chef looked worried .

    How could he let the boss cook ?

    " Its fine. I will be fine. You guys should take rest. I will cook food myself. " Rong Xinghe said .

    The chefs were about to retalite when they saw that their boss was ring at them. Her eyes dared them to reject her ''friendly request ''.....

    They shuddered and quickly walked away.....

    As soon as the staff left , Rong Xinghe put on the apron and chef hat on her head and started cooking.

    She loved to cook very much....

    When she was going through her Military Chief training , she had to disguise herself in different roles so as to be a part of the crowd where she used to perform the sting operations...

    She learned to cook some local dishes from the natives ....

    Today , she was going to treat herself to a grand hotpot feast.....

    Reason?

    Did she needed a reason to treat herself ? No.

    HEHEHE....

    But there was just one problem.....

    "Seems like Madame Xinghe has got a lot of guts ....."

    "Yeah ! I mean she seems to have acquired the audacity to cross the threshold of kitchen ...."

    " Military Chief Xinghe sure has got hell of courage ..... Huh ? "

    Three familiar yet dangerous voices came from her behind.

    As soon as she heard them , Rong Xinghe froze on the spot.

    She didn''t even dared to take a breath....

    She turned to see three men looking at her with a smile which definitely was a ''you''re so dead ,dy devil'' smile.

    "Bro Xi , Bro Bo , Bro Al !!! Hi ! Uh.....I was just... Those chef just ran away , i don''t know why. I was just trying to cook whatever i can ..... HAHAHA " Rong Xinghe quickly put all the me on Chefs andughed awkwardly .....

    What to do ?

    Her brothers could allow her to get into Battle Field , Entertainment Industry , Business , Journalism , Ethical Hacking , Art and any field she wanted to get into....

    ...except kitchen ...

    None of her six brothers allowed her to cook.

    They believed that she simply needed to sit like a princess and order around and eat as much as she liked....

    But she was not to get into the kitchen ....

    She also felt this gesture of her brothers very warm so she never said anything to them , but, she really wanted to cook!

    The smile on their faces grew even more wide as soon as they heard her exin herself...

    These six could read her like a book.

    So , obviously , this time was no different .

    Zhi Al raised his eyebrows and said in a surprised tone , " Really ? They just ran away ? ".

    Rong Xinghe nodded as if she was innocent .

    Zhi Bo said in a lovely tone , " Then howe i heard someone saying ''I just wanted to cook myself. '' Could it be that my ears are hearing wrong? "

    Rong Xinghe broke out in a cold sweat.

    Damnit ! They heard her !

    She was over.

    Zhi Xi : " Maybe we both need to visit doctor , Bro Bo. I also heard something like ''I will be fine. You guys should take rest. I will cook food myself '' .

    Zhi Bo made a surprised reaction , " Ah! how could ears of the both of us have had heard it wrong ? "

    Both Zhi Bo And Zhi Xi looked at this rebel in front of them with clear usation.....

    Zhi Al , the youngest brother amongst the three , walked towards Rong Xinghe and acted like a judge , " Does the used have anything to say in her defense ? "

    Rong Xinghe shook her head.

    What was the point ?

    She couldn''t possibly fool them. They already knew everything.

    Zhi Al smiled and dered , " And the used is hereby dered guilty for the crime of entering kitchen premises in the Court of Family. We have strong suspects namely Mr.Zhi Xi and Mr.Zhi Bo."

    "I just wanted to cook , bros." Rong Xinghe took a sigh of helplessness as she looked at them.

    All the three were way more helpless than her .

    Wha to do about her !

 Chapter 23: This was so there Xinghe .....

    Chapter 23: This was so there Xinghe .....

    Zhi Xi walked towards her and said with a tender tone , " Kiddo , we can''t allow you to cook. God knows how many times you have burned and cut your fingers whenever you cooked.We might trust you with nuclear weapons , but not the kitchen knife. "

    Hey ! I was just a kid when i used to burn or cut my fingers. I am 22 now !

    But was there any point telling them that ?

    ording to them , she still was theirdy-luck who needed to be doted upon by them ....

    Zhi Bo said to the girl in an extremely gentle voice , "Yeah ! We can''t let you cook. But there is a second option. We can cook for you. Will that be fine ? You can stay and chat with us while we cook. "

    Both Zhi Xi and Zhi Al nodded in eptance.

    Rong Xinghe gave this idea a thought .

    Although , she wanted to cook , that was not possible now .

    So why not make them cook ?

    After all , all of them were good with cooking!

    Anyway , something was better than nothing .

    So the girl also epted the arrangement .

    All the three quickly got into the role of chef while she sat on the table opposite facing them.....

    And my god !

    How natural they were !

    The speed with which they chopped vegetables....

    The way they mixed the ingredients...

    No one would ever believe that one of them was a Businessman , other was an Artist and thest one was an Ethical Hacker!

    They were simply the best chef she knew at that moment.....

    Rong Xinghe enjoyed to see them cook...

    They looked so wless when they were cooking in the kitchen ....

    To her , her six brothers were the best ...

    They all had learned to cook after the incident nine years ago.

    Rong Xinghe couldn''t get off wheelchair for almost one year and her immunity was also affected adversely .

    They were notfortable with chefs cooking food because they always thought that they were not capable enough to give her the experience of home-made food....

    So all the six learned to personally cook for her...

    With their skills , in just a short amount of time , they had mastered different cuisines around the globe .

    Other than basic food , Zhi Xi was extremely good with Italian cuisine , Lu Wei was amazing with Mexican food , Zhi Bo was skilled in Japanese and Chinese cuisine , Mo Zixuan had a speciality in French cuisine whereas Su Rogguong had a way with Indian food and Zhi Al had aced the field of American cuisine.

    It was as if Rong Xinghe had her personal six chef ready to serve her anytime she wanted.

    And it helped a lot. Rong Xinghe recovered speedily after she started consuming healthy food everyday.

    Yep!

    They learned to cook , just so that , she would enjoy home-made food !

    That was the level of love and care they had for her.

    Rong Xinghe was practically the apple of their eye.

    But of course ,the biggest benefactor were going to be their wives.

    Ningtao and Songyan obviously liked their husbands all the way more , because , just like Rong Xinghe , they were also not allowed to step into the kitchen in their home.

    And they both couldn''t cook anyway.....

    ...so they had one less thing to worry about.

    HEHEHE.....

    "Sissy , i got something to tell you. " Zhi Bo said while chopping onions.

    "Shoot ! " Rong Xinghe made a gun gesture with her fingers.

    "I saw a girl that day at my art exhibition. I .... well ..." , Zhi Bo hesitated.

    "You like her , right ? Her name is Ruo Cy. She is an event organiser and a very famous one , at that. She just has a mother. No family. She is a very good dancer as well .And also is exremely creative. She has written a webnovel recently , which has been trending on the inte for quite some time now. She is 26 years in age..." , Rong Xinghe started to tell all she had investigated without giving time for the three men to digest.

    "Wait ! How did you know ? " , Zhi Bo was stunned when he came to know that this dy devil'' already knew more about the girl than he did .

    "I have my sources , Bro" , the girl smiled , "That day when i returned from myst day of training , you seemed to be zoned out. So , i just found out who could be so special to takeplete control all over your mind. "

    Zhi Bo was shocked.

    Did she have to be so observant ?

    Just as he was about to say further , he noticed that two men were ring at him from the sidelines.

    Zhi Xi and Zhi Al , both seemed angry .

    Howe they didn''t knew anything , even though , they were living under same roof.

    You Bastard !

    Bloody Traitor !

    What happened to the ''Bromance'' and ''Bro Code'' they had ?

    A chill ran down Zhi Bo''s spine.

    He was definitely dead tonight .

    Rong Xinghe giggled as she saw her three brothers acting so childish .

    How Cute !!!

    This was rare !

    She then cleared her throat , "Anyway , i need to meet her personally to see if you guys can bepatible. After all , no one knows you better than me Bro Bo."

    Zhi Xi stopped staring at this bastard brother of his and looked at Rong Xinghe , " Right ! We need to see if she deserves Zhi Bo. "

    Rong Xinghe : " Nope ! We need to check if Zhi Bo deserves a woman like her ! "

    Zhi Xi : " ... "

    Zhi Bo : " ..."

    Zhi Al : "..."

    This was sooo their Xinghe .

    She had a perspective different from other women.

    Other sisters would think highly of their brothers and would be too picky about a sister-inw.

    But this kiddo ....

    When matters like this came up , she thought for the future of those women and would always make sure that they would not regret a life with her brothers.

    What to do about her ?

    ...

    Meanwhile ,

    At the Elite Saphhire Penthouse ,

    Xi Yuan was standing in the balcony looking at the starry view of lights from buildings beneath him ....

    Xi Fang and Xi Wei were looking at their brother in shock ...

    Did he actually went to Military Chief Office to meet her ?

 Chapter 24: His love story wasnt a normal one !

    Chapter 24: His love story wasn''t a normal one !

    And he just didn''t went there , he even became the part of ''Youth Team'' association .

    Being a member of ''Youth Team'' was practically the best way to get close to her.

    And here they thought that this man didn''t knew anything about love....

    " Information ! " , the man said .

    Right ! They had to get information on Rong Xinghe''s current family and friends to him.

    "Brother , she has six brothers. None of them are rted to her by blood , but love her more than they love their family. Else than that , she has two sister-inws. All the people in her family are in different career fields and sessful in each one of them....." Xi Fang said.

    "Yes bro ! You will be stunned to know who her family is !

    Do you remember Mr.Lu Wei and Mr.Zhi Xi ?", Xi Wei asked excitedly.

    The man raised his eyebrows and asked in a confused tone , " Senior Lu ? Senior Zhi ? "

    Zhi Al continued , " Yes ! They were the both who trained you in business management , weren''t they ? Bro , they both are eldest brothers of sister-inw. In fact , she considers them both as her father figure."

    As soon as Xi Yuan heard this, his brows furrowed. He pinched the space between his eyes. How could it be ?

    After the death of his grandfather , they were the ones who willingly guided him in business world. If not for them , he wouldn''t have been where he was today.

    The Zhi family and Lu family shared an extremely close rtionship with the Xi family. And his grandfather knew the capabilities of Lu Wei and Zhi Xi in business very well. So , he had requested them both to train Xi Yuan in business management. It was hisst wish.

    They both respected his grandfather very much , so they fulfilled hisst request withplete sincerity. He was trained under them for almost an year.

    He remembered !

    He remembered that they usually used to talk about a girl''s health situation very intensely !

    Crap!

    It was her !

    Why did Rong Xinghe had to be their sister ?

    This was a disadvantage for him.

    They knew him more than his own parents did.

    How was he supposed to impress them?

    Alright !

    He took a deep breath and gestured Xi Wei to continue .

    Bring it all on !

    Xi Wei then said , " Then her next brother is Mr. Zhi Bo. Brother , he is an artist. His recent painting , ''The Fire Of Desire'' was sold at the cost of 3,00,000 Million dors to the royal family of United Kingdoms. Although , he seems to be a harmless man , he is extremely influential in creative world and is Red Belt in Judo. HEHEHE...

    "After that , her fourth brother is Dr. Su Rogguong. He is a globally acknowledged Neurologist. He is known as ''the man who performs miracles , not surgeries '' in the Science world. It is said that he has never failed any surgery he has taken upon till now.....

    "And fifth brother of sister-inw is Mr.Zhi Al. Bro , even i am bing his fan. He is an ethical hacker and web developer. His coding skills are simply amazing. The whole cyber crime department of Country X and many other countries looks for him if they are not able toe up with any solution to any technical problem. He is a frencer , though. He is not associated with any MNC.

    "Andstly , Mr. Mo Zixuan , i don''t need to tell you anything about him. You know him yourself ".

    Of course , he knew who the ''Media Ma'' Mo Zixuan was. This man had actually destroyed many politicians , businessmen and known personalities with his sharp tongue. He was feared by almost everyone .

    He had no family. Just one sister. Rong Xinghe. So, he doted on her way more than the other five.

    Because, for the rest of her brothers , she was a part of their family , but to him , she was his only family.

    By now , Xi Yuan was feeling a headacheing.

    Why did Rong Xinghe had to have these six men as her brothers?

    When he heard all the names , including her sister-inws , even he didn''t knew how to react.

    All the people in her life currently, doted on her a lot.

    They all respected her decisions and opinions.

    The mostmendeble quality of her brothers was that they always intended to make her an independent and strong person.

    They never restrained her.....

    The amount of love she had got from her family was so much that her heart must have beenpletely contented with it.....

    This woman was doted by her brothers so much.....that he was afraid that she might not need anymore people in her life.....

    This would definitely make his path to her heart even moreplicated.....

    He was a little bit certain earlier.....but now.... he waspletely unsure .

    All the six brothers of hers were highly educated and extremely influential in the society.

    They obviously had a broad mindset.....

    But he was a brother as well. He had a sister too .

    It was not like he didn''t doted on Xi Ying at all. He loved her very much. In fact , amongst all the siblings of Xi family , he was closest to Xi Ying the most.

    He would definitely have to understand the obstructions that these six brothers of his girl would make and the resentment they would have towards him , the moment theye to know about his feelings for her .

    He would have to ept their every test.

    Because he would do the same to the man who woulde in Xi Ying''s life !

    Yes!

    This was a basic nature of brothers. If they shared a healthy rtionship with their sisters , they would tend to be extremely over-protective.

    They would think that no man was capable enough to take care of their sister.

    But he never thought that it would be even more challenging for him.

    His woman was not an ordinary woman and nor were her brothers.

    He had a lot to face before she would stand with him , helping him to face the world.

    One thing was clear in his head .....

    His love story was not a normal one at all !

 Chapter 25: "Just like she never gave up ...."

    Chapter 25: "Just like she never gave up ...."

    The next day ,

    William escorted Xi Yuan and the other three Xi siblings to ''Youth Yeam NGO''.

    When he arrived there , Xi Yuan was simply surprised.

    There were almost four hundred kids around and the liveliness in this NGO was just amazing.

    There was no trace of sadness on these kids'' faces. Just what had this woman done to make them forget that they didn''t had a family ?

    Unlike any other NGO , this was a family in itself.

    But , they were not just given a happy life .

    Each and every kid here was trained to find his/her strengths and excel in that field.

    It was evident from the certificates and medals that each one held.

    Some were good with self-defence , while some were mini chefs .Some excelled in studies while some were trained for sports.

    Some even used to do stand-upedy .

    The motto behind the formation of this NGO was extremely pure and beautiful.All these actors and artistes who used to contribute their earnings willingly to these kids , never wanted these children to be dependent on anyone.

    Needless to say , Xi Yuan knew it very well where this strong sense of independence must have came from.

    The most amazing thing he realised at that time was this huge organisation was the idea of his woman !

    The way she joined two extremely different things like social welfare and entertainment industry benefiting the both was just praiseworthy !

    No one would''ve ever thought about such an unique way to find investments in order to make an organisation this huge run !

    Even he couldn''t have hade up with such a n!

    Oh My God !

    His girl could actually make an amazing businesswoman !

    She had six brothers , and none of them were short on money but she still opted for this method rather than asking them for it .

    Her six brothers aimed to make her independent and she aimed to make these kids independent.....

    Such a beautiful soul...

    Just as he was praising the girl in his heart , Xi Yuan heard the voice of a piano.

    All the other three siblings also subconsciously looked in the direction where the voice wasing from.

    They followed the voice ......

    As they reached the room , all of them were stunned by the view in front of them.

    Around 20-25 visually disabled kids were surrounding a piano...

    .....and a girl was sitting in front of it.

    Her fingers were dancing over the keys of piano with an extreme smoothness.

    She was singing the song ''In My Blood'' by Shawn Mendes and the kids were hearing her with serious expression on their faces....

    {{{{{ "Help me, it''s like the walls are caving in

    Sometimes I feel like giving up

    But I just can''t

    It isn''t in my blood

    No medicine is strong enough

    Someone help me

    I''m crawling in my skin

    Sometimes I feel like giving up

    But I just can''t

    It isn''t in my blood

    It isn''t in my blood

    I''m looking through my phone again, feeling anxious

    Afraid to be alone again, I hate this

    I''m trying to find a way to chill, can''t breathe,

    Is there somebody who could help me ,

    It isn''t in my blood

    I need somebody now

    It isn''t in my blood

    I need somebody now

    It isn''t in my blood " }}}}

    Her voice .....

    He knew that she had been a singer once....

    But he never expected her voice to be so melodious , mncholious and sweet !

    It was a shame she gave upon the entertainment industry.

    The industry had lost a diamond and it even didn''t realised that.

    She looked even more pretty today.

    Rong Xinghe was wearing a Navy Blue colour frock .

    She was not the person he had met a day before , she was just someone else.

    The woman today had love and care in her eyes , but the woman the day before had a fire in her eyes.

    She was extremely capable to differentiate between her personal and professional life.

    "Did you liked the song , hooligans ? " the girl asked in a mischieveous tone to the kids.

    "Yes ! ! ! " All said collectively .

    "Hehehe....Good ! Now tell me what conclusions do you guys have regarding the song ? " The girl asked as she smiled at the innocent faces.

    Girl 1 : "He needs a strong medicine , Sis Xinghe ."

    Boy 1 : " No ! he should just stop looking at the phone if he is feeling anxious ! "

    Girl 2 : " He needs an inhaler Sis Xinghe ! He said he can''t breathe. He must have asthama ! "

    As soon as the girl heard their weird opinions , she burst outughing.

    Medicine?

    Phone?

    Inhaler?

    Asthama?

    This is what they havee up with?

    Kids sure had a very different perspective than grown ups !

    She then controlled herughter , and looked at the kids seriously , " Nope ! What the singer is trying to convey is that no matter how anxious and helpless we are , giving up should not be an option. We are not made to give up. We need to keep fighting. Giving up isn''t ''in our blood '' or we can say it isn''t in our mind ."

    A young boy raised his hand , " Just like you never gave up , Sis Xinghe ?"

    The girl became quiet.

    Every child in the NGO knew what happened to her nine years ago.

    So she was basically their role model.

    Yeah ! That was right !

    She never gave up.

    She never stopped believing in herself.

    She never considered herself as a victim ! She always considered herself as a fighter !

    "Yes ! Just like she never gave up ....." The girl heard some heavy yet steady footsteps approaching her from behind .

    She turned to see a man walking towards her.

    He smiled at her , " Good morning , Xinghe ! "

    Xi Yuan was wearing a ck colour business suit. He looked extremely ssy .

    The moment the girl saw his smile , she went into a daze.

    She kept staring at him .

    Soon , the man came close at an appropriate distance and stood in front of her.

    Rong Xinghe realised she had been staring at him for a while now.

    She quickly reverted her gaze .

    What the hell !

    " Good morning ,Yuan ! " , the girl smiled back .

 Chapter 26: Sister-in-law is the best !

    Chapter 26: Sister-inw is the best !

    " Good Morning , Yuan "

    The moment the three Xi siblings heard this , they were dumbfounded.

    Same was the situation with William when he heard him call her , ''Xinghe''.

    Ah?

    Now what was this ?

    Calling each other so intimately ?

    Is this how it should be ?

    So soon ?

    The Xi siblings looked at their brother as if they were looking at a ghost.

    Who are you and what did you do to our brother ?

    Their brother didn''t just joined ''Youth Team'' , he actually got on friendly terms with her .

    The person who was in the worst condition was , obviously , Xi Wei.

    Bro , i am the yboy in the family .

    How could you be more good at this than me ?

    How did you pull it off ?

    Meanwhile ,

    The visually impaired kids became quiet. They could sense that someone had intruded their time with sis Xinghe. Who was he ?

    Rong Xinghe sensed their difort and said to the kids , " Hey people ! This is our new friend ! His name is Xi Yuan. Say hi to him. "

    All the kids became excited again. If sis Xinghe trusted this man , then he was their friend as well .

    "Wee to the ''Youth Team'' , bro Yuan ! " all the kids said together .

    "Thank You " , Xi Yuan smiled as he looked at these little creatures whose happiness mattered so much to this girl.

    Girl 1 : " Sis Xinghe ! What does he look like ?"

    Boy 1 : " Why ?You want to marry him? "

    Girl 1 : " Why not ? If he is handsome. "

    Girl 2 : " He must be very handsome ! Didn''t you hear his voice ? "

    Rong Xinghe pped her forehead .

    Damnit !

    Kiddos , can''t you act a little shy or something.....

    Jumping straight to the intention of marriage ?

    Xi Yuan was first stunned when he heard these observant kids. Even though they couldn''t see the world , they were very sharp as to predict his face by his voice .

    Ha ! Marriage ?

    Sorry little girls ! I am reserved.

    Then he saw Rong Xinghe pping her forehead. She was so adorable when she felt embarassed.

    After sending the kids to their dorm , Rong Xinghe strolled around with Xi Yuan and his threeckeys in the ''Youth Team'' mansion.

    It was a huge ce that her six brothers had gifted to her on her 10th birthday.So, she put it at the best use after her ident by opening this organisation.

    She looked at the three Xi''s following them who were way more interested in this NGO than Xi Yuan.

    Rong Xinghe asked him , " They also want to join ?"

    All the three nodded vigorously .

    Yes ! They loved what their sister-inw had done to this ce .

    She had arranged for a cozy library , a football court , a swimming pool , self-defence sses and even a spa !

    It was a perfect ce for anyone to take a break !

    Xi Yuan asked back , " Do you think they are worth it ?"

    What !

    Was this the voice of their brother''s ?

    Why did they sensed a betrayal ?

    Just because he got a woman , they were practically unworthy to him?

    Hey ! Bro !

    You were the one who handled us the petrochemical , telemunication and an entertainment industry agency business !

    Now , you need to know our worth from your woman ?

    Rong Xinghe burst outughing when she heard the man .

    "Siblings are the best when they quarrel ! But I liked these three. If they ever want to take a day or two off , they can spend their time here ! I have no issues !!! " The girl said as she nced at the three.

    Ah!

    Sister-inw is the best !

    Even best than their brother who is unting his PDA.

    But there was one more reason other than their love for the ce .....

    She said she liked them....

    From their childhood , these four siblings had never spent too much time with their parents.

    So , when the three heard her say that she liked them , they felt a warmth in their heart .They suddenly felt that , maybe , she would be more important to them than their brother in the future.

    "Ok" , Xi Yuan put on the seal of approval.

    He looked proudly at his siblings.

    At least , they were capable enough to impress her .

    It seemed they were not that useless in his love story !

    Suddenly , a small fluffy boy came running towards Rong Xinghe !

    He hugged her legs tightly !

    He was crying !

    Rong Xinghe sat on her knees and made a hand gesture asking him what had happened .

    The boy pointed in the direction of a kid near the door who hid himself as soon as he saw Rong Xinghe.

    He started telling her something with signnguage between his sobs.

    It seemed that the boy was deaf and mute.....

    Xi siblings were worried that she might not understand what the boy was trying to convey so they quickly took out their mobiles to google it but .....

    To their surprise , before they could even open the app ....

    Rong Xinghe started to reply the fluffy boy....

    .....in signnguage !

    What !?

    She could even understand signnguage ?!

    Damn !

    She genuinely cared for these kids so much that she tried her best to understand them in every way she could !

    Their sister-inw was indeed the best !

    All the three quickly looked at their brother !

    What was his reaction ?

    What was the reaction of the man , who got the most perfect woman in this world ?

    Xi Yuan was a little surprised first when he saw her initiating the conversation in signnguage but then he quickly looked at the woman and kid tenderly .

    What else was expected from his woman ?

    The moment he saw her first time at the party , he saw fire , confidence and nobility in her eyes .

    Just like a queen !

    Second time , in Military Chief office , her gaze was so domineering that even he felt a bit intimidated.

    Just like a warrior !

    And today , the third time , her eyes were radiating purity ,passion and innocence .

    This was indescribable....

    He was just wondering , how much more would hee to know about her ining days.

    One thing was for sure .....

    She had no facade !

    She never pretended !

    Unlike the women he hade in contact with earlier , she never faked her true self to convince others .

    She knew who she was very well .

    This was the quality he liked the most about her...

 Chapter 27: A lasting impression .....

    Chapter 27: Asting impression .....

    After exining the way ''Youth Team'' and the NGO worked to Xi Yuan , Rong Xinghe took her leave.

    She had a lot on her te....

    She was the Military Chief of the country , after all.

    Even though , Xi Yuan didn''t wanted to get apart from her , he had to understand her situation and he couldn''t push her too , so , they both *bid their adieu* to each other .

    As they looked at their brother''s sunken expression , the other three were even more worse.

    Don''t look like this , Bro !

    It feels like you are getting separated from your wife against your will ....

    You will get more opportunities to see her...

    Only when the four people reached their cars , did Xi Wei started jumping excitedly, " Sis-inw is so cool ! She even knows signnguage ! "

    Xi Ying joined him as well , " Yeah ! And she likes us too. Ah! Her voice ! I am falling in love with her as well ! "

    Xi Fang was also quite impressed , " She loves to help people. No matter what , impressing our family wouldn''t be too difficult for her. "

    Xi Yuan''s expression turned dark .

    What difficult ?

    My woman is not going to impress anyone !

    .....

    At Military Chief Office ,

    As soon as Rong Xinghe entered her office , she saw a man in his sixties sitting in front of her chair.

    Shou Wu whispered in her ears to inform her that he was the education minister .

    Rong Xinghe walked towards her chair , " Good Morning , Mr. Yi. What would you like to have ? Tea ? Coffee ?. "

    The man looked resentfully at the girl in front of him.

    His name was Yi Feng and he was known for his arrogance in the political world.

    Still , he had been waiting for her for almost an hour now. Who did she thought she was ? He was the education minister of the country , not some rookie. He would definitely teach her a lesson today !

    A bitter smile appeared on his face.

    Yi Feng :" Seems like Military Chief Rong was quite busy with her personal time ! "

    Rong Xinghe could obviously sense the resentful tone .

    Rong Xinghe :" What makes you think that ? "

    Yi Feng : "Nothing. I would like to know the reason , for which , Military Chief called me here ."

    Rong Xinghe : " Yes ! About that , I wanted to discuss the changes that are going to take ces in education system."

    Yi Feng : " Changes ? "

    Rong Xinghe : " Yes ! I am not going to interfere uptill higher education. But about graduations , i was intending to discuss it with you ."

    Yi Feng was extremely angry by now .

    She was just a 22 year old.No experience , yet giving opinions in politics !

    Just because shepleted an easy Military Chief training , she had started to think too highly of herself .

    Yi Feng growled , " Who do you think you are ? ".

    Rong Xinghe raised her eyebrows , " Excuse me ? "

    Yi Feng still didn''t stopped , " What i mean to ask is who does military chief think she is , to intervene in matters like these ? Let me tell you one thing. You were not even born when i started my career in politics! Just went through a training for five years and acting like queen of the world already ! I have been sitting here for an hour and you arrived sote like the typical youth nowadays. Don''t you dare tell me what should and shouldn''t be done ! "

    Rong Xinghe had arrived in the scheduled time for meeting but this man had another meeting scheduled already. So , he came an hour before assuming that Rong Xinghe would already be there.

    It wasn''t her fault.

    The moment Yi Feng finished his sentence , there wasplete silence filled in the office.

    Shou Wu who was standing in the corner of the room , was frightened to death .

    Damn !

    What was this old douchebag thinking when he opened his mouth ?

    You don''t know her , old man , but i do.

    She is merciless !

    She doesn''t fear to fire the higher ups of army !

    Who the hell do you think you are !

    A smile appeared on Rong Xinghe''s face which sent chills down Shou Wu''s spine.

    This man was over !

    "Assistant Wu ! " , Rong Xinghe called him inmanding tone .

    "Y....Yes , Military Chief ?"

    "Please prepare the termination letter of current Education Minister of Country X , Mr .Yi Feng , right away ! " , Rong Xinghe said as she looked directly into the eyes of the old man sitting in front of her.

    F*ck!

    He never thought of situations to take a turn like this.

    What to do ?

    Should he call Prime Minister ?

    Or directly the President ?

    This was politics after all !

    Even though he was trained for situations like these , Shou Wu still fell into a panic !

    " Y....You....! " Yi Feng became even more angry , " You cannot do that ! You do not have the power to do so ! " .

    Rong Xinghe startedughing when she heard it. After sometime she stoppedughing and got up from her seat.

    "Don''t tell me that the Education Minister of this country ispletely unknown to the powers that Military Chief of the country upholds. Alright then , Mr. Yi Feng , I will exin you what i can and cannot do.

    "The Military Chief of this country is the core decision-maker for the Naval forces , Air Forces , Border Forces and even the Combat Commandos. So basically , I am in control of the entire army !

    "How much time do you think it will take for any of these soldiers to assassinate a mere politician who has once had been involved in smuggling gunpowder to the neighboring country under the nose of country X''s army ?"

    As soon as Yi Feng heard the woman stating the smuggling case he had been a part of in the past , which was obviously an international matter of security and defense , he broke out in a cold sweat.

    What more , she even indicated that she could kill him for it !

    Yi Feng practically started to tremble with fear !

    Being killed by the army of Country X was thest thing he would want !

    It was frightening to even think about it !

    Damn !

    This girl was not just a beginner , in fact , she seemed to be a professional .

    Why did he even tried to y with the fire ?

    Meanwhile , Rong Xinghe was satisfied by the minister''s reaction.

    Fear was the only thing she wanted to see on his face .

    How dare he act arrogant in front of her !

    She was going to leave asting impression on him for his entire life today !

 Chapter 28: How could a woman be so frightening ?!

    Chapter 28: How could a woman be so frightening ?!

    "So , if i can assassinate you without even lifting a finger , don''t you think resignation is already a mercy. Look , such a good person i am !"Rong Xinghe continued with a grin.

    She was just enjoying his pale reactions !

    Rong Xinghe''s tone suddenly became extremely domineering and intimidating ,

    "Now , let''s state the facts , Mr. Yi. Country X has a constitution but the military doesn''t. Army never follows a set of rules. We soldiers follow only one rule : Safety .And in order to maintain that ,we can fight with people outside as well as inside the country .

    " You won''t believe when i say that , but i am capable to make even the Prime Minister and the President resign if they ever cross the security limits of Country X or they are found to have any ill-intentions for the citizens of the country.

    "Then who the f*ck do you think you are ? The courage you have to look into my eyes and unt your experience in politics makes me sick. How dare you question the highest authority of this country ? "

    Rong Xinghe especially raised her voice during thest part of the conversation ...

    Until now , the man in front of her was so terrified by her words that he couldn''t help but shiver like a patient .

    He couldn''t utter even a word.

    All his arrogance hadpletely vanished till now.

    Oh My God !

    Just who was this woman !?

    Her rage !

    Her sharp tongue !

    Her every word !

    In his thirty years of experience in politics ,it was the first time that he was fearing someone so much !

    How could a woman be so frightening at such young age !

    She said , she would not even hold back if she ever needs to make Prime Minister or President resign for the country !

    She obviously didn''t cared about him or his position !

    The worst part was, unlike the other military chief country X have had , she knew very well what she could and couldn''t do !

    She was not the type of person who would just go with the flow !

    Instead ! she believed in fighting against the storms !

    He had a gut feeling that he had wronged a woman he shouldn''t have !

    How naive he was to think that just because she looked pretty , she could be looked down upon !

    Rong Xinghe looked at the shivering old man !

    But she didn''t felt even a bit of sympathy for him .

    Such ministers were the reason for the battle that took ce in country X twenty years ago.

    They were just traitors to her !

    But she was the highest authority of the country for a reason. She could control her anger and be calm , when no one could .

    She took a deep breath andmanded ,

    " You will do what i will tell you to do ! "

    As soon as the minister heard her , he nodded his head vigorously .

    Maybe he could still save his life and hold onto his position at the same time !

    Rong Xinghe said ; " All the graduation courses will have total of 3 two hour sessions of the military from next semesters. Army needs human capital and a skilled one at that. Students need to have at least a basic idea about the army , or else , they would not even consider this option. Am i clear ? "

    Yi Feng nodded again .

    Now , that he thought about it , he could''ve listened to her earlier .

    She had a very valid reason for this meeting , yet , he refused to even listen to her .

    Who wouldn''t be furious ?

    How could anyone just walk in and challenge her authority .

    But today , his arrogance ended up putting him in her bad books.

    " Get out now ! You''ve already wasted my time so much ! And no word of what happened in this room today should be heard by me outside !" Rong Xinghe pointed her index finger threateningly towards the man .

    He nodded in understanding and ran away as soon as he could !

    ............

    Meanwhile , in the building of Xi Corps ;

    " CEO Xi , thepany''s stocks are showing a steady growth ! Thanks to your amazing n of letting the sess to get the best of rival''s skills. Wee back , Sir ! "

    The assistant Bei Ming was reporting to the young man looking at his phone in a daze. The girl in the photo he was looking at had a pure smile on her face .

    She was the most beautiful thing happened to him in his entire life of 25 years .

    Bei Ming kept on telling him the performance of Xi Corps in Country X in the past years , unknown that his words were unheard by a certain someone .

    "Have you ever loved someone ? " Bei Ming was dumbstruck when he heard his boss ask him such an out-of-the-box question .

    Love?

    Did he just heard his cold and aloof boss asking about love ?

    Wait a second !

    His boss was actually zoned out when he was giving him a business update !

    That had never happened before!

    Was it actually connected to ''love'' ?

    Oh man !

    Even if it was just a possibility , he had to help the boss to the fullest .After all , it was the first time his boss had taken an initiative in such matters .

    He slowly digested the question and looked at his boss as he answered cautiously , "I had an arranged marriage , sir. So i never had the opportunity to impress a woman or n a proposal. But i do love my wife now after four years of marriage. "

    " Oh ! " , Xi Yuan frowned a little .

    Was there no man around whom he could rte to ?

    Then he thought about something , " How does it feel to have a family ? "

    Bei Ming was stunned yet again !

    What had happened to boss today ?

    Love ?

    Family ?

    As in a family after marriage ?

    Oh god ! Thank You for keeping me alive to see this day .

    "Uhh....Sir , having a family is indeed an amazing feeling. Having a woman who you know , will support you no matter what pain or stress you are going through is the best thing a man could get. The warmth radiated by the family is indeed the best source of energy ..... "

    A genuine smile appeared on the man''s face .

 Chapter 29: You will see her tonight .....

    Chapter 29: You will see her tonight .....

    Xi Yuan thought about his assistant''s words and instantly imagined , what would it be like if that girl would always be by his side ....

    A woman whose smile was enough to warm up his heart , he wondered just how much her presence would warm up his life ....

    Xi Yuan couldn''t help but smile when he imagined his future with her.

    Meanwhile , Bei Ming was stunned when he saw his boss smile.

    He had never smiled in front of any office staff ever !

    Was there actually ady in his life ?

    Did he really developed a liking towards someone ?

    This was a big news !

    Who was going to be their futuredy boss ?

    Was it some heiress of a socialite family ?

    Or was it any actress from entertainment industry ?

    Or was it boss''s any childhood friend ?

    Just when Bei Ming was thinking of all the possible female candidates for his master , the man said in an assertive tone : "Don''t you dare to tell mom or dad about this conversation ! "

    "Huh ? "

    How did the boss knew that he was nning to tell the Chairman Xi and Madam Xi about what happened today .

    "What he means to say is zip your mouth regarding this matter , just like i did. "A voice came from behind him .

    "Third master , long time ." , Bei Ming quickly greeted Xi Wei .

    Bei Ming was overjoyed to see Xi Wei.

    Because even though Xi Yuan was the brain , Xi Wei was basically the life of Xi empire and its employees.

    He was the only one who would save the employees from the wrath of big boss if they ever under-performed.

    No one would approach the boss directly for a leave , instead , they would ensure that they had the backing of Xi Wei .

    The lively man approached and gave a huge bear hug to Bei Ming ; " Uncle Ming ! I missed you so much that i used to cry every night and drink beer in your despair ! "

    This was probably the only thing that he hated about the third master .

    He always overacted .

    Uh !

    And what was that whole ''i missed you so much'' act ?

    It sounded so ambiguous !

    Xi Yuan rolled his eyes at the sight of this reunion !

    Could you guys just do it outside my office ?

    "Let me tell you a secret , Uncle ! " Xi Wei whispered in Bei Ming''s ear , " My brother is in love. "

    "What ? ! " Bei Ming was stunned .

    As expected of boss''s reactions from morning !

    That''s why he had a different charm on his face today !

    It was all the game of love !

    " Who is it , third master ? "

    " Pfft ! " Xi Wei startedughing uncontrobly , "Look brother , you have been single for so long that even Uncle Ming is curious to know about sister-inw. Ah ! and then there is me. I have been with so many women that no one even cares anymore whom i am with ! "

    Bei Ming looked awkwardly at the big boss who simply nced at him once and indulged himself back into the files in front of him .

    He then turned again to face third master , "Who is it , third master ? "

    " Why do you think i will tell you , Uncle Ming ? Even though we Xi siblings find you trustworthy , we know very well that your sincerity lies with our parents more than us. And we n to keep it under wraps until brother sessfully proposes sister-inw and she epts him ." Xi Wei shrugged his shoulders .

    Bei Ming shook his head vigorously , " No third master ! Please trust me ! I won''t tell anyone ! Not even the chairman and madam ! "

    Even though Bei Ming was extremely mature and sensible , he was still very gossipy when it came to matters rted to boss .

    He was thirty years old but he was reacting like a kid to know the name of the woman , boss had liked .

    Xi Wei called him uncle just because he liked to tease him. This man always had a worried expression on his face , thanks to big boss , so , Xi Wei usually made sure that Bei Ming wouldn''t lose his mind by his brother''s side.

    "Nope ! We don''t trust you here ! " Xi Wei crossed his arms .

    " Please third master ! What should i do to guarantee my sincerity to you ? " Bei Ming thought he would die from anxiety if he won''t be told the name ofdy boss .

    " I will tell you how you can guarantee your honesty " Xi Wei said as he took out his phone and started the sound recorder " Repeat after me , I , Bei Ming , pledge that i will never disclose any information regarding my futuredy boss to the chairman and madam until the great and honorable and brave and handsome third master , Xi Weimands or allows me to ! "

    Was it a prank again !

    Third Master , boss''s romantic life is not something that can be joked around about !

    Bei Ming looked at his boss who was clearly agitated by the useless conversations going on in front of him .

    A chill ran down his spine !

    Shit !

    ....

    Xi Yuan thought about it .

    He will know sooner orter , so , he said impatiently , "You will see her tonight ! You can leave now ! "

    "But bro , he hasn''t given the statement of confidentiality ! How can we ..... "

    "I would love to see his guts ! " , the man said in a manner like that of a king with traces of challenge and danger in his voice .

    Bei Ming gulped .

    He obviously wouldn''t tell anything to even a corpse !

    He had a family to look after !

    How could he even think of offending the big boss ?

    He would just be happy to see the futuredy boss !

    It was already the blessings of his ancestors on him that a mere mortal like him worked so closely with a man like Xi Yuan , what more , he could see hisdy boss and that too with boss''s permission .

    "Thank you , boss. I''ll leave first , then. " Bei Ming walked cheerfully out of the office.

    Uhh okay !

    Maybe no guarantee was needed at all !

    His brother''s piercing gaze was enough indicate Bei Ming what he should and shouldn''t do !

    The type of man his brother was , obviously no one dared to go against his will.

    Also , Bei Ming had worked for him for so many years now that he knew more than anyone how Xi Yuan was like !

    Let''s wait and see .....

    ...the reaction of Uncle Ming tonight ...

    Xi Weiughed to himself .....

 Chapter 30: My woman is so amazing !

    Chapter 30: My woman is so amazing !

    In Military Chief mansion ,

    Rong Xinghe had just got off the meeting with thebat soldiers .

    She rested her head with the support of her hand as she read a book about bureaucracy kept on her table .

    "Military Chief , your schedule is clear for today. Do you want to head back to military chief residence ? " , Shou Wu asked anxiously as he was in a dilemma whether he should speak his mind .

    Rong Xinghe , obviously , sensed the ufort in the man''s tone .

    "Ask , whatever you wanna ask !"

    Shou Wu was stunned , she knew that he wanted to ask her something .

    "Um .... Military Chief , I just was not certain why you let the education minister off the hook even when you had the evidence in your hand ? I mean why did you let him free ? " Shou Wu asked hesitantly.

    "Are you questioning my decisions , Mr.Wu ?" , Rong Xinghe smiled as she asked .

    "No...No.....Military Chief ! I didn''t mean that ! Its just that i had been thinking all day long and couldn''te up with any possibility ! I am extremely sorry , Boss ! " Shou Wu quickly apologised .

    Damn!

    How could he offend a person like her ?!

    He was such an idiot !

    Rong Xinghe then said , "Elections are going to take ce in four months. So even if i had made him resign today , he still could make aeback soon ."

    Shou Wu asked back , " Then how do you n to stop him , boss ?"

    "Have you ever heard the name of '' Media Ma '' Mo Zixuan ? " Rong Xinghe thought of her brother with pride.

    Shou Wu was stupefied when he heard the name !

    He was the man almost every politician he knew dreaded !

    When he came to know that his boss was this man''s sister , he had feared the possibility that she would also be as ruthless as the man .

    s !

    She was even more ruthless than him !

    But he had to ept the fact that his boss had extremely influential people in her life.

    " Yes. " , Shou Wu said .

    "He will expose all the information in my hand against the minister , after the ministerpletes the task i have given him , in front of the whole Country X .

    " Military doesn''t need to deal with bastards like him personally. The ck sea of cameras and public is enough for him .

    " Election Commission will have to remove him permanently from politics and judiciary will have to take legal actions. I will make sure he gets a life imprisonment , at least.

    "I simply told him this information to manipte him to do my work as soon as possible. " Rong Xinghe said a matter-of-factly.

    When Shou Wu heard her , he subconsciously shivered a little .

    F*ck ! She never intended to let him off the hook !

    She was just ying with his brain and took advantage of his fear .

    She indeed was the only person worth the position of Military Chief !

    She had a very calctive and far-sighted mindset which made her confident about each and every decision she took.

    Even though he was a bureaucrat who was believed to be a man of high intellect in the society , he still couldn''t help but feel inferior to the woman in front of him.

    "Understood , Military Chief ! " Shou Wu bowed in front of her indicating that he will always stand by her side from now on in the world of military .

    "Alright then , Mr.Shou. I ''ll take my leave now. My friends are here to pick me up. Don''t worry about my security. I have my revolver with me. " Rong Xinghe said after she quenched the man''s queries.

    ...

    Meanwhile ,

    Inside a ck SUV ,

    "Sir , why did we stopped in front of Military Chief office ? Dody boss works in the army ? " , Bei Ming asked unable to handle his excitement .

    "Hmmmm"

    "That is good boss ..... Nowadays , girls are serving in the army as well. Thanks to Military Chief Rong Xinghe. You know , she was the trial case and only after her training , did the military started recruiting girls. I am a fan of hers ..... " Bei Ming started bbering .

    "Pfft...." , Xi Wei let out a giggle , " Uncle Ming , you will be stunned to know who my brother likes ! "

    Xi Yuan''s expression softened when Bei Ming went all fanboy for his woman .

    My woman is so amazing !

    Bei Ming thought that maybe boss had developed a liking towards some femalemander or lieutenant in the army !

    Good !

    That was a start ! He would support his boss fully but never in his dreams could he have imagined that the woman he wasplimenting like a crazy fan was the same woman his big boss had eyes set upon !

    After sometime , a figure appeared in their line of sight !

    The girl was wearing a ck legings ,a white crop top and upon it a Navy Blue zer. Her jet ck hair were open. This made her look like a celebrity. She had dazzling smile on her lips which could stop anyone''s heart.

    Xi Yuan frowned when he saw Bei Ming stare at his woman .

    How dare he look at my woman like that ?

    Wasn''t he married ?

    Bastard !

    But , it wasn''t like what Xi Yuan was thinking !

    Xi Yuan was just jaleous !

    Bei Ming was simply dumbstruck when he saw the woman walking towards them .

    How could it be ?

    Was boss actually .....

    He quickly wiped off his wild thoughts and quickly started the engine of car , fear clear on his face .

    "What are you doing , Uncle Ming ?" , Xi Wei asked as he realised that Bei Ming was about to start the car .

    "Third master , you don''t know this woman ! She is the Military Chief Rong Xinghe i was telling you about ! She is my idol ! As much as i would like to meet her , we can''t approach her like this ! She is a national authority , after all ! I can''t put you and big boss in any danger or problem ! We need to quickly leave ! " Bei Ming spoke in a robotic tone .

    What if she had seen CCTV cameras and thought that they were here to attack her or any military officer ?!

    This was the military and she was the Military Chief !

    She could kill them almost instantly.

    " Don''t move the car ! " , suddenly he heard themand of big boss .

    What ? Why ?

    At the same time , Xi Wei startedughing uncontrobly .

    Bro ! your assistant is gonna be scared to hell when he woulde to know about your intentions for his '' idol '' !

    HEHEHE.....

 Chapter 31: Was she the future lady boss  ?!

    Chapter 31: Was she the ''futuredy boss '' ?!

    Just when Bei Ming was trying to understand the meaning behind his boss''s words and third master''sughter , the girl came closer to the car and knocked on the car''s window .

    Xi Yuan slid down the window and said , " Hi Xinghe !" , with a smile .

    "Thank You so much , Yuan ! I really needed to get away from that ''Oh! Let us protect the Military Chief '' vibe. All the officers are practically going to suffocate me like this. " , the girl said dramatically .

    Xi Yuan giggled when he saw the girl''s acts and opened the door , " Its alright Xinghe. Hop in ! "

    The girl quickly sat in the car and looked at Bei Ming , " Please drive to the pharmacy shop first. "

    Xi Yuan had a worried expression on his face when he heard her. He asked the girl in an extremely concerned tone , "Are you alright , Xinghe ? "

    Rong Xinghe was surprised when she heard the concerned tone of the man , " Oh no !

    I ampletely fit and fine ! It is just that my Bro Lu''s mom has a problem of high blood pressure , so , i need to restock her medications. "

    "Oh !" , the man felt relieved as he looked at Bei Ming , "Drive ! "

    Bei Ming started to drive subconsciously !

    His brain had wentpletely nk by now !

    Oh My Devil !

    Was this actually happening ?

    Was his inspiration , his idol actually sitting in the same car that he was driving !

    He couldn''t believe his eyes , his ears and even any of his senses anymore !

    He and his wife had been nning to meet this goddess since she had joined the industry .

    He never thought that this moment woulde so soon !

    And what more , big boss liked her !

    Wait !

    Third master had said that boss loved her !

    What to do ?

    How is this possible ?

    But judging by the worried expression boss had when she said to go to pharmacy , this was the only possibility !

    This was the first time he had felt so nervous in his entire lifetime !

    Was she the '' future

    Xi Wei was enjoying the view on the sidelines .

    He was expecting exactly the same reaction from Uncle Ming !

    HEHEHE .....

    Yep buddy !

    She is my to be sister-inw .

    Xi Wei turned around to look at Rong Xinghe , "Xiao Xinghe , we never had a formal introduction , did we ? My name is Xi Wei. I am the cutest , handsome and smartest son our Xi family could ever have. My parents thanks god every morning that they got the opportunity to give birth to me. My bro Yuan cannot live a day without hearing my voice , you see ! HAHAHA...."

    Rong Xinghe startedughing when he heard the young man , " HEHEHE...That is true. You are indeed cute , smart and handsome. Just like a Panda ! I like you too .... "

    Xi Wei : "Really ? If you think like that , then you can call me Panda from now on ! "

    Rong Xinghe : " Nice to meet you , little Panda ! "

    Xi Wei was so happy that he was practically flying on cloud nine !

    Panda !

    What a cute nickname !

    He had a gut feeling that he and this sister-inw would be the best prankster team in near future .

    Meanwhile , a certain person ignored by his ''friend'' rolled his eyes .

    Panda ?

    Seriously !

    ?

    From the time when he was a child , Xi Wei never liked nicknames. He felt that such names spoiled the reputation of a person and so , he had never allowed anyone in the Xi family to call him by any nickname .

    Now he was fine with a name like that ?

    Just because his woman gave this bastard such a name ?

    Now your reputation is intact ?!

    Moron !

    He actually snatched her attention from him !

    Rong Xinghe finally turned her attention back towards the man , " By the way , you know my Bro Lu and Bro Zhi , right ? My sister-inws told my not too long ago. What a small world !"

    "Indeed a small world ! Senior Lu and Senior Zhi have always been my inspiration. The way they handle business is just brilliant. I wouldn''t have been anything without their support. " Xi Yuan said .

    "Nonsense ! Bro Zhi tells me that you were always an amazing businessman. It was just a matter of time that you ruled the business world. Bro Lu believes that too. " , Rong Xinghe refuted.

    "Really ? You think so ? " , Xi Yuan raised his eyebrows .

    " Of course ! " the girl nodded without listening to the question the man asked properly .

    " Thank You !" Xi Yuan grinned at the girl .

    Wait !

    Did he just made her praise him !

    He intentionally diverted the topic from her brothers to himself.

    The girl coughed lightly !

    He actually fooled her !

    "Its an art to make peoplepliment you , Mr. Xi. And you seem to master it. " , Rong Xinghe pouted.

    Xi Yuan chuckled when he saw her pout like a kid .

    So adorable !

    "I indeed have this skill but i experiment it only on the most beautiful and alluring women of the world ! " , Xi Yuan said .

    Rong Xinghe : " .... ".

    This man was tough to win a debate against ...

    He had an extremely smooth tongue.....

    Whereas , Bei Ming and Xi Wei both were dumbfounded as they stared in the distance ....

    Was the man sitting on the backseat actually the person they knew .....

    Xi Wei had never seen his brother talk so much ...

    But today .....

    this man was not only making someoneplement him , but also ....he was flirting !

    Woah !

    This scene needed to be shot on cameras ...

    On the other hand , Bei Ming had got shocks , one after the other , today. Seeing his big boss speak that much for the first time was already unexpected ....

    But the sight of him flirting broke thest straw .....

    He was distracted and the road was also quite silent .

    Suddenly ! A car approached their car with high speed from who-knows-where !!!

    Bei Ming was terrified as his sweaty hands on the steering wheel slipped suddenly and the car took a sharp turn !

    He quickly handled it and the other car sped off quickly .....

    But....

    Because of the sudden change , Rong Xinghe lost her bnce and hit her head to the window of the car !

    ....

 Chapter 32: " She will be fine , Brother "

    Chapter 32: " She will be fine , Brother "

    As soon as she hit her head to the car window , a pair of strong arms reached towards her and pulled her in a warm hug trying to protect her ....

    Rong Xinghe didn''t knew why , but she felt dizzy andfortable in the embrace of the man beside her .

    It was getting tough for her to just keep her eyes open so she closed her eyes and slowly fell unconscious ....

    When Xi Yuan saw the girl lying unmoving in his arms , he felt an unbearable amount of fear growing in his heart.

    Xi Wei turned to look at the people behind him when he digested the incident that had just taken ce....

    His brother was holding his sister-inw in his arms worriedly and...

    ...She was lying unconscious !

    Shit !

    Nothing should happen to her at any cost !

    He quickly ordered Bei Ming , " Drive to the hospital ! Quick ! "

    ...

    At Curie Hospital ,

    The girl was still lying unconscious in the hospital room as the doctors checked her .

    The man was sitting calmly outside the room waiting for the diagnosis ....

    But beneath his calm demeanour , was an immense fear ....

    When the incident had happened , he had reflexively held onto her. He hadn''t cared about his life at all at that time.

    His only concern was his love , yet he couldn''t prevent her from getting hurt.

    When he had seen her motionless body in his arms and the stream of blood that was flowing through her forehead , he was frightened to death !

    He had never felt this worried in his entire life , but today , it was as if he himself was going through the pain his girl had endured.

    He wouldn''t be able to forgive himself if anything would happen to her !

    "Bro , you are bleeding as well ! Please do a proper check - up. I will take care of sister-inw. " , Xi Wei was extremely worried when he saw his brother''s shirt soaked in blood in the area of his right shoulder .

    But Xi Yuan was giving such a cold re to the nurses or doctors who approached him, that they shivered from inside and didn''t dared to initiate a conversation .

    What should he do ?!

    Who the f*ck was driving that car ?

    He would definitely kill the bastard if he appeared in front of him !

    Xi Wei clenched his fists .

    He knew his brother won''t even drink a ss of water until he would be informed that sister-inw was fine.

    "Bro Yuan ! " , Xi Ying''s voice came from the end of the door.

    Both twins , Xi Ying and Xi Fang , had rushed to the hospital from the meeting as soon as Xi Wei informed them about the ident .

    "Bro , are you alright ? Damn ! Where are the doctors ? Why isn''t your wound treated until now ?! " , Xi Fang was shocked to see the amount of blood on his brother''s shoulder.

    Xi Yuan maintained his silence.

    Xi Ying sat besides him and held his hands tenderly , " Brother , is sister-inw fine ? " .

    Xi Ying knew Xi Yuan more than the other two , when it came to his emotions. Her brother was the type of person who would never be concerned about him at a situation like this .

    What more , this matter involved his woman''s life !

    She was his biggest priority right now .

    Xi Yuan finally reacted , proving her right .

    He looked at her and said , " Ying , i don''t know. "

    The amount of helplessness and pain in his voice was evident !

    He couldn''t calm down himself anymore .

    He couldn''t hide his vulnerable side anymore.

    He couldn''t be the almighty king of business world anymore .

    He just had no energy left in him for that !

    All the three siblings'' heart ached when they heard him.

    It was rare to see Xi Yuan so defeated .

    In fact , this was the first time that these three had seen him in such a state .

    He was always the mature one in the family , no matter what the situation.

    Xi Ying hugged Xi Yuan and patted his back ,

    " Brother , she will be fine. "

    "Yes brother ! She is military chief of this country. Her body is stronger than all of usbined. She might have fainted because of shock ..... " , Xi Wei said.

    At the same time a doctor came out from the room Rong Xinghe was in .

    "Who is the patient''s family ? " the doctor asked.

    Xi Yuan stood up from his seat and looked at the doctor .

    "We are her friends " , Xi Wei said.

    "I am the patient''s family ! " a stern voice came from their behind at the same time.

    " Dr. Su Rogguang ! " , the doctor was stunned at the sight of the man approaching him.

    Su Rogguang was basically the man that every medical student dreamed to be like. He was extremely influential in the world of science and was a globally acknowledged Neurologist .The doctor who was treating Rong Xinghe considered this man as his role model. He was obviously startled to see him there....

    When the Xi siblings heard the name ''Su Rogguang'' , all of them froze on the spot .

    Sh*t !

    They were not prepared for this at all !

    Su Rogguang walked towards the group of people and said to the doctor who was looking at him in awe , " Where is she ? "

    It wasn''t just Xi Yuan who had the girl as his priority.

    The doctor quickly came back to his senses and took Su Rogguang inside the room where the girl was .

    After some time , Su Rogguang came out and informed the doctor about the medications the girl would need.

    Then he looked at the four Xi family members with sharp eyes.

    Finally , his eyes stopped at Xi Yuan.

    His expression turned cold , " You guys are friends with her ?"

    Xi Yuan nodded .

    "What the hell was she doing with you at this time of night ? " , Su Rogguang asked .

    Xi Yuan took a deep breath and told all that had happened to the girl''s brother.

    He had the right to know , after all.

    After hearing the young man , Su Rogguang raised his eyebrows , " So you are the infamous Xi Yuan ? Huh ? Alright , tell me who was driving the car that attacked you people ? Your business rival ? "

    Xi Yuan shook his head indicating he didn''t knew anything.

    " How is she ?" , Xi Yuan asked as he realised his girl was still inside.

    He had no time to care what her brothers thought about him at this moment. He had his girl to be worried about.

    A smile appeared on Su Rogguang''s lips.

    At least , thisd was genuinely concerned for her.

    Su Rogguang said , " She is alright now. She has migranne , so , obviously this incident shouldn''t have happened. But , she is out of danger now. She might feel exhausted more often for few days after she gains her consciousness. But , she will get through that."

    It was now that Bei Ming and the other three Xi siblings took a breath of relief. But the man didn''t reacted much .

    Instead , he asked , " Can i see her ? " .

    " Yeah ! You can. But.....what about your wound ?" , Su Rogguang said as he pointed at Xi Yuan''s shoulder.

    " I will be alright. " the young man said as he walked inside the room.

    Bro !

    Sister-inw is fine !

    Can you now let the doctors check on you ?!

    The four people immediately followed behind Xi Yuan .

    Meanwhile , Su Rogguang also stared at the man as he walked inside.

    Why did he suddenly had a bad feeling about this ?

    At that moment , his mobile rang. He connected his bluetooth as he took off his White medical apron and walked out of the corridor ...

    ....

 Chapter 33: " Are you an idiot ?! "

    Chapter 33: " Are you an idiot ?! "

    The man clenched his fist as he entered the icy cold room .

    The girl was lying on the bed. It seemed like she was sleeping soundly. She was covered in a nket and some injections were ced on the sidetable.

    Xi Yuan sat on the edge of the bed and rested his hand on her hands.

    She was fine.....

    He could feel her breath ....

    Thank God !

    He could have lost his woman today !

    Until now , he had thought that he had just a crush on her.

    But today , when he almost lost her , he ralised that it was not a crush.

    It was love.....

    He had fallen in love with her !

    He couldn''t even imagine his life without her !

    He slowly leaned down , inching closer to the girl''s face and gave a soft and tender kiss on her lips .

    I love you , Rong Xinghe !

    I do !

    Meanwhile , the three Xi siblings werepletely stupefied by the scene that unfolded in front of them just now !

    Did he just kissed her ?!

    As in , a physical contact ?

    A kiss on the lips !

    After some moments of silence , a voice echoed in the room :

    "I am extremely sorry , boss. I know I was distracted for a moment but I reverted my attention back to driving. I really didn''t knew that this would happen. Its all my fault , boss .I hurt thedy boss. " , Bei Ming had a terrified expression on his face as he knew that this was the moment of justice.

    Xi Yuan''s expression softened a little when Bei Ming called Rong Xinghe ''dy boss ''.

    "Bro , Uncle Ming is innocent ! In fact , his presence of mind was what saved us today ! Please don''t me him !" , Xi Wei defended Bei Ming.

    " I want the name of the perpetrator within 2 hours. Investigate ! " , Xi Yuan said in a cold bone-chilling voice .

    "O...Okay , brother! " , Xi Wei said as he left the room with Xi Fang quickly.

    Crap !

    The devil was back !

    The man who held onto the reigns of business world was back !

    The helpless and vulnerable Xi Yuan was nowhere to be seen.

    They would better keep their guards up !

    ....

    Meanwhile , inside the room ,

    The girl moved her fingers beneath the man''s hand !

    He quickly looked at her with nervousness.

    Due to the sudden stimuli , the girl flinched her eyes before opening them. She slowly opened her eyes to see a man by her side. Everything was blurry and it took her quite some time to get used to the surrounding.

    Xi Yuan became worried when he saw the girl struggling with the change.

    "Ying ! quickly call the ...." , he was about to call the doctors when the girl said in a raspy and shaky voice , " Yuan ! ".

    The man stopped when he heard his name. The girl was looking at him with shock. She tried to sit on the bed , but in vain , but she kept on trying .

    How could he let her do things she couldn''t , on her own. So, Xi Yuan supported her by arms and helped her sit up .

    "Doctors told you to rest ! Stop messing around just when you get up !" , Xi Yuan said with concern.

    Rong Xinghe : " Are you an idiot , Yuan ?"

    Xi Yuan was speechless when he heard her. What did he do now to be called an idiot ?

    Xi Ying was even more shocked .

    Sister-inw , what made you think of my handsome, dashing and smart brother as an idiot ?!

    First , it was ''bartender'' !

    Now , an ''idiot'' !

    How many more names do you n to give him that no one would ever dare to even think about ?

    Rong Xinghe continued in angry tone , " For god''s sake , Yuan ! Are you a robot that doesn''t feel pain ? Look at your shoulder ! It is bleeding. Why haven''t you been treated yet ?! Who the hell are doctors here ?"

    Xi Yuan looked down as he still held her hand , " I am sorry ! "

    Rong Xinghe thought he was apologizing for taking his health for granted.

    But he knew in his heart that this sorry wasn''t for the wound on his shoulder , instead , it was for the wound on her forehead , which was a result of his carelessness and inability to protect her.

    Rong Xinghe was even more agitated , " Stop the sorry crap ! Go and let the doctors do a checkup. Now ! "

    Xi Yuan felt a lot more better now that she spoke to him. Even if she was angry , it was fine with him as long as she just talked to him .

    He knew that she was fine now .

    "Okay ! " , the man nodded as he got up from her bed. He had to fulfill each and every order and demands of his queen now.

    He turned around and went for the checkup after ncing at Xi Ying with ''take care of her '' look.

    Xi Ying enjoyed the show too much !

    Bro Yuan was scolded !

    The almighty CEO of Xi business empire was scolded by a woman !

    HAHAHA....

    This is awesome !

    Sister-inw is so awesome !

    And bro !

    We have been begging you to treat your wound since the incident happened !

    Are we mute to you ?

    But it wasn''t his fault as well !

    He was indeed an idiot .

    An idiot in love !

    .....

    On the other hand ,

    Su Rogguang was in the conference room of the hospital unknown that Rong Xinghe had got conscious .

    He was on a video call with the remaining five brothers who weren''t in country X .

    There was an unsaid rule between the six men , no matter what , if any situation involved Rong Xinghe , then none of them was to be kept in the dark.

    So, Su Rugguang was telling the five about the ident.

    All of them were quite concerned at first but started to calm down when he said that she was fine now.

    Zhi Bo : " This was definitely expected from this girl ! Never likes when people be over-protective. But shouldn''t she ept that the Military Chief is always given security ?"

    Zhi Al : " Yeah ! Still being a troublemaker ! She is not going to let any of us live in peace. I was so fricked out a moment ago ! "

    Mo Zixuan : " But did she actually added the Xi siblings in her social welfare organisation ? "

    Zhi Xi : " Exactly ! That brat returned to Country X and we have no idea. But apparently , our kiddo-sis has be his friend ! That is .... weird ! "

    Lu Wei : " I am also feeling a bit eerie about this matter. Whatever ! What i want the most right now is for the culprit to be found out ! "

    Zhi Al : " Yes ! Who was that f*cking bastard?!"

    Zhi Xi : " Language , young man ! "

    Zhi Al : " Sorry Bro "

    Mo Zixuan : " You don''t worry about that. I will look through my contacts. We will soon have the name."

    Just when the six were discussing the matter amongst each other , the door to the conference room opened ...

 Chapter 34: How dare they hurt her !

    Chapter 34: How dare they hurt her !

    " Bros ! "

    All the six were stunned when they heard the excited shriek of the girl !

    Wasn''t she supposed to be lying on bed having rest ?

    Rong Xinghe had rushed quickly when the nurse told her that ''Dr. Su Rogguang '' was treating her .

    She knew her brothers more than anyone. She knew very well that Su Rogguang must have told the remaining five men about her ident by now and that they would be worried !

    The doctors and nurses were trying to stop her but who cared about them at that moment ?

    As she stepped into the conference room , she suddenly felt a headache. She stopped at the door reflexively.

    Just as she was about to fall , Su Rogguang rushed forward and held her !

    " Can you stop throwing tantrums around ? Don''t you know how a patient is supposed to behave ?!" , Su Rogguang asked in a stern voice to the girl.

    How dare she jump around just when she got conscious ?

    Such a pain !

    " Hey ! Who is the ''patient'' here ? I am your kiddo-sis , the cute one , remember ? " , Rong Xinghe pouted .

    "You...."

    " Look Bro Lu , he is scolding me ! " , Rong Xinghe put on a devastated expression on her face as if she was wronged and no one supported her in this hell like life as she looked at her eldest brother on the screen.

    Initially , Lu Wei was as displeased as Su Rogguang when he saw her about to fall , but now that he looked at her expression , he waspletely helpless !

    Sometimes , he used to wonder , whether his wife Ningtao was an actress or his sister was ?

    Anyhow , whose heart wouldn''t be melted by such an expression.

    Lu Wei : " Rogguang , enough ! Is this the way you should talk to her ?!"

    Zhi Xi : " That was just so insensitive ! I am very disappointed ! "

    Mo Zixuan : " Exactly ! Is this how you treat your every patient ?"

    Zhi Al : " Look how fragile and delicate my sissy looks. How could someone be so strict to her when she is in such a state ?"

    Zhi Bo : " Shame on you , buddy ! "

    Su Rogguang stared at the five traitors on the big screen of conference room .

    Hey bastards !

    We were supposed to be in the same team !

    How could you collectively gang up against me ?!

    Shameless !

    Then he looked at this ''littledy devil'' who was standing with his support .

    Fine ! I would''ve reacted the same if i''d been in your shoes.

    But i am a doctor ! I have a tendency to react like this .

    He waved at the staff as he dismissed them. He would handle this girl himself.

    "I am fine , bros. " , Rong Xinghe said after sometime.

    " Are you sure ? " , Zhi Xi asked seriously .

    "Yep ! it was just a shock , i guess. "

    They were finally relieved. At least , she was fine in the end !

    "You met that Xi Yuan already , kiddo ?" , Lu Wei asked Xinghe .

    "Yeah ! He seems to be a decent man and is quite genuine towards the kids in NGO ! " , Rong Xinghe smiled.

    As long as she was fine with it , they had no issues.....

    But obviously , it was also because they had no idea about Xi Yuan''s intentions for their sister , that they had no worries.

    Only if they''d known that this man had kissed their sister in her unconscious state , the situation wouldn''t have been so peaceful ....

    .....

    Meanwhile ,

    Xi Yuan finally allowed the doctors to check his shoulder following the orders of his girl.

    The doctors diagnosed that he had a mild concussion and he couldn''t put any strain on his right hand for atleast two weeks .

    Just when doctors were exining medications to the nurse , the door of the cabin opened with a bang !

    " Bastard ! Son of a b*tch ! How dare he ? " , Xi Wei kept on swearing as he entered the room.

    Xi Fang also looked a bit angered !

    Xi Yuan nced at his brothers and told the doctors to leave. He knew that they had investigated the name of the culprit behind today''s ident.

    "Who is it ? " , the man asked in a calm tone covering the dangerous aura radiating inside him ,pletely .

    " Bro , he is .....um... Chen Bao , the CEO of Chen business empire. Our business rival ! " , Xi Fang said.

    The man kept silent for some time and then took a deep breath.

    So ...

    He himself was the reason for this !

    He was the reason that his woman had got hurt today !

    When he became the CEO of Xi Corps at the age of 18 , such life-threatening attacks were inevitable.

    But today , it wasn''t just him who had got hurt. Today , his girl had suffered. Even though she was fine now , he still couldn''t get the stills of this incident out of his mind.

    The moment when her head had hit the window , the moment she clinged onto his cor for support when he took her into his embrace , the moment when her body became motionless and the time when she was lying on the bed without her usual liveliness , all those moments made his heart ache deeply.

    At that time , his shoulder was injured by the ss of the window when he pulled her into his arms impulsively in order to protect her , but that was the least of his concern .

    She still had suffered .

    No matter how much blood he lost or how much pain he had gone through , he couldn''t forgive the culprit for that small wound on her forehead.

    How dare they hurt her ?!

    Who gave them the right ?

    Xi Yuan took out his phone and made a phone call.

    This Chen Bao will have to see a hell for his entire life !

    .....

    The next day ,

    [ Chen business group''s stocks copsed overnight ! ]

    [ A fifty year old business empire wiped out in a night ! ]

    [ CEO of Chen Business Empire used for sexual harassments and attempted murders : handcuffed by the authorities ! ]

    [ Chen Bao , guilty for the used crimes ; exins the concrete evidence ! ]

    [ Commercial court seals all the properties owned by Chen family ! ]

    [ Chen family falls down hard ! ]

    In just one night , Xi Yuan destroyed an entire business empire without even batting an eye !

    Others might not know , but the inner world of business and politics knew it very well that it was the Xi Empire who had destroyed Chen family and no one else.

    Just the thought of this possibility made a chill run down the spine of every business rival of Xi family.

    Sh*t !

    He was back.

    If business tycoon Zhi Xi and Lu Wei were the strong and almighty lions , the kings of business world , then Xi Yuan was known as the clever , sharp and ruthless wolf .

    Xi Yuan was the type of man , with whom , any person was bound to keep his/her guard up.

    Even though , he was trained by Zhi Xi and Lu Wei in business , his working style was very different from them. Zhi Xi would always plot a calcted revenge n and Lu Wei would show ruthlessness with calm attitude.

    But Xi Yuan was different. His decisions were always calcted as well as ruthless. But the scariest part was , his attacks were never predicted by his opponents. They always came with a huge blow and pped hard in the face shattering their delusions about defeating him !

 Chapter 35: Was he a she ?!

    Chapter 35: Was he a she ?!

    No matter what they did , how much power they used , the Chen family could not get away with it !

    It was as if attacks wereing one after the other not giving them any chance to retaliate.

    While Rong Xinghe waspletely unaware about the connection between destroyal of Chen Empire and Xi Yuan , she simply thought that it was a case of drunk driving.

    Xi Yuan also didn''t told her anything because he didn''t wanted her to even think about a douchebag like Chen Bao. But that didn''t meant that other people couldn''t guess .

    Three days after the ident , Xi Yuan was sitting in his office reading some documents when his phone rang .

    Caller ID : Senior Lu !

    He took a deep breath and picked up the call.

    Xi Yuan : " Senior Lu. Long time , no see ! "

    Lu Wei : " Cut the crap , boy. It was that Cheng Bao , wasn''t it ? "

    Xi Yuan was stunned , "Huh ?"

    " The culprit who nned that ident ." , Lu Wei said.

    Xi Yuan had expected this. Indeed , both Zhi Xi and Lu Wei knew him very well. It was impossible for him to hide his actions from them.

    Xi Yuan : " Yeah ! "

    Lu Wei : " Weren''t you supposed to discuss with us that who would take the revenge ? Our sister was affected here as well ."

    Xi Yuan : " But he isn''t worth it for you to hold a grudge against him , Senior. "

    Lu Wei : " Stop buttering. You are still not good at that. Its fine , anyways , I would have done the same. Zhi Xi also has simr opinions. We are arriving in country X in two days. Meet us at the usual coffee shop. "

    Xi Yuan smiled as he reminisced the old memories with these two mentors of his. This coffee shop was the ce , both Zhi Xi and Lu Wei used to visit often. And he used to meet them there to discuss business issues.

    Xi Yuan : " Alright , senior. "

    ....

    Two dayster ,

    Xi Yuan arrived at the coffe shop and ordered an espresso .

    It was a local coffee shop , so , in order to not get identified , he had to wear a casual T-shirt and jeans with a cap on his head.

    Even though this ce was extremely public and it was not where the heirs and heiresses of rich socialite families would hang out , they made amazing coffee !

    Xi Yuan asked many times but never understood why Senior Lu and Senior Zhi would hang out here.

    He took his coffee and started sipping it as he waited for the two men.

    Suddenly , he heard a loudughter of a man ,

    " HAHAHAHA.... Bro you are sure amazing. Anyway , what do you feel about the women joining army , huh ?"

    The shopkeeper replied , " Let''s see bro. Country X is a big country and it might need more people on border.Whatever it is ,but I like that Military Chief a lot. She is very pretty! "

    The man who hadughed earlier said , " Really ? I like her too ! She is so hot man ! No ? ".

    " Yeah ! Very hot " , the shopkeeper said.

    Xi Yuan clenched his fists .

    Perverts !

    You are talking about my woman !

    The man then said disappointedly again ,

    " Whatever man ! She is out of our league ! "

    Yeah right !

    She is out of your league !

    The man continued , " Forget that , Look at this ( showed a newspaper article to the shopkeeper ) Corruption again ! Don''t you this corruption is destroying our country ? "

    The shopkeeper said again , " Yeah ! These morons of the politicians are ying a game with us !This whole system is corrupt !Cases are pending in courts and unemployment is increasing .Why can''t they create opportunities for the uneducated ? Bastards! "

    The man asked , " That is true. Bro , just between you and me ,but what can they even do for the uneducated ? "

    Shopkeeper said , " Many things ! Like women can be taught to stitch for textile factories and farmers can be taught advanced methods of farming ! "

    The man said , " Yeah ! Let''s see ! "

    By the looks of it , it looked like a conversation between locals .

    But , it was not what it looked like.....

    ...

    At the same time , Lu Wei and Zhi Xi entered the shop in simr local clothes like that of Xi Yuan.

    The manughing earlier stood up hastily and said to the shopkeeper , " Bro , i need to leave ! I''ll pay you tomorrow ! Yeah ? "

    " It''s alright , brother " , the shopkeeper patted young man on the back .

    " Thanks brother ! " , saying this , the man started to leave .

    The shop had only one entrance , so he tried to exit cautiously at the same time when Zhi Xi And Lu Wei were entering , from the same door.

    But the man clumsily bumped his shoulder into Zhi Xi''s shoulder and fell down !

    Lu Wei quickly pulled him up and just when they were about to apologise to the young man , both Zhi Xi and Lu Wei suddenly became silent .

    They simply red at the man !

    Xi Yuan witnessed the whole scene in front of his eyes and when he saw Zhi Xi and Lu Wei staring the young man wordlessly ....

    He thought of a certain possibility !

    He froze on the spot !

    F*ck !

    Was that actually possible ?

    Was he a she ?

    Was the man actually her ?

    No ! How could it be ?

    Why would she be here ?

    And that too , like this ?

    .....

    He observed the young man who was looking down at the floor as if he had been caught red handed .

    He looked at the most intriguing part of body of the woman he knew !

    Her Eyes !

    And when he saw the eyes of the man , his heart stopped beating just like when it had stopped beating when he had seen her eyes for the first time.

    Damn !

    It was actually her !

    But..... even he couldn''t recognise her when he saw her like that !

    The man had a beard on , his voice was macho and even his way of walking and speaking was manly !

    He actually gave the vibe of a yboy !

    The one who is always a heartthrob.

    Just what the hell was happening !

    ...

    Meanwhile , Zhi Xi and Lu Wei kept on ring at the man for god-knows how much time .

    Finally , Lu Wei pinched the space between his brows with exhaustion.

    What a troblemaker !

 Chapter 36: Their sisters life wasnt a joke !

    Chapter 36: Their sister''s life wasn''t a joke !

    Lu wei then gave his car key to the man and pointed in the direction of car.

    " Don''t you dare take the bus. Drive my car home. I will go with Zhi Xi. "

    The young man nodded and left as soon as he could.

    Bus ? Xi Yuan was shocked even further when he heard that .

    This girl came here in a bus dressed up like a man !?

    How did she even breached the security protocols of the military ?

    No wonder !

    No wonder Lu Wei and Zhi Xi became silent when they saw the man earlier .

    They must have identified her .

    No wonder they liked this small coffee shop. It must be because of this sister of theirs .

    She liked this shop !

    He was getting more and more drawn towards this woman. How amazing was she ?! How many more of her had he not seen ?

    But.....why was she here ? Just to discuss politics with locals ?

    ...

    Zhi Xi and Lu Wei saw the '' man '' go with the car and finally , took a sigh of relief .

    Why the hell was she like this ?!

    They turned around and spotted Xi Yuan amongst the crowd.

    They arrived at the table and ordered a ck coffee and mocha for themselves.

    "How are you doing , brat ?" , Zhi Xi asked the man.

    "I am fine senior Zhi. What about you guys ? " , Xi Yuan smiled .

    " Uhh....senior ..... that boy who bumped into you just now....he..." , Xi Yuan didn''t knew how to ask them about their sister .

    " Yeah ! That man was Xinghe. She disguised herself. I knew you must have noticed .You are very observant , after all. " , Lu Wei said with a sigh.

    Xi Yuan : " But why ?"

    Zhi Xi : " We don''t know , maybe , some mission or getting some information about terrorist groups or just to chill ! "

    Xi Yuan : " Chill ? "

    Lu Wei : " Hmmm .... Whenever she needs a break from life , she converts herself into a tomboy just like she did today and messes around disregarding her security. "

    Xi Wei : " Yeah ! I don''t even remember how many Zhi Al''s sports cars and bikes she has destroyed till date ! "

    Xi Yuan : " You guys allow her to do that ? "

    Lu Wei : " Do you think we love to see her throwing tantrums all around ? It is just that she goes for the option of rebellion if she is restrained. And trust me , that is more tough to deal with. "

    Zhi Xi : " Yeah ! And what more , if she ever breaks down , which is very rare , that is even more tough to handle. We cannot just bring ourselves to push her to a dead end. So , cleaning up the mess she makes is a better choice ! "

    Xi Yuan was stunned when he heard the two men. He had been trained under them for one year but he never saw this gentle side of theirs. It seemed they had this kind face reserved only for one person.

    They would rather clean up after her than watch a sad expression on her face !

    Wasn''t this the height of love ?

    But he was extremely wrong !

    He didn''t knew that he would see such '' limits of love '' almost everyday !

    Xi Yuan came out of his daze almost instantly .

    Xi Yuan : " Then the voice ? Does she take some tablets ? Isn''t that risky ? "

    Lu Wei : " Nope ! It seems you haven''t seen her show nine years ago. She was famous in the whole country I because she was the only singer who would sing a duet alone. She had practiced a lot on her voice. It ispletely natural for her. She can speak in both male and female voices ! "

    Xi Yuan couldn''t react anymore. He was not associated with entertainment industry too much , but Xi Wei had once told him that there were singers who could sing in both male and female voices.

    Such singers were extremely rare ! Their training alone took immense hardwork , dedication and input. It would take at least three years to specialize this field of music industry.

    But Rong Xinghe was just 13 when she had achieved this milestone .

    So ,this meant she was approximately 10 when she had started working on this skill !

    s ! His girl liked singing so much back then. Just what had happened in her past that she stopped it. She was a very ambitious person. What had happened with her ?

    He obviously couldn''t ask this to her brothers.

    They must have been there with her throughout her past. He didn''t wanted to add salt to the wounds.

    .....

    The three men had small talk for some time.

    But after that , both the men came to the real point.

    " Shouldn''t you have kept your guards up ? You know very well who you are and who she is. With the positions you both are in , there are always chances that you might be attacked. " , Lu Wei said.

    " You are her friend , apparently. Listen up , kid. Don''t you dare hurt her ! Because if we ever see her in pain because of you , you will have hell to pay. And it is not just me or him , there are four more. " , Zhi Xi said threateningly .

    " Yep ! Brat , now there is no teacher-student rtionship between us. You are getting involved with our sister and you have no frickin'' idea , what type of brothers we are ! We have seen her walk the path of hell once , we don''t wish to see that again ! " Lu Wei said.

    " So beware of your surroundings and security when you are with her ! Are we clear ? " , asked Zhi Xi .

    Xi Yuan looked at the two men in front of him.

    Even though he had predicted this topic toe up and expected serious reactions , he didn''t expected it to be so intense !

    But they weren''t wrong. It was indeed his fault to take her security for granted. She was not a normal girl , and so wasn''t he.

    Tons of business rivals were waiting for his death and she was the priority target in the hate list of terrorists.

    What more , it was his business rival who had attacked them .

    The two men had the right to show their dissatisfaction towards the way he had handled things.

    Their sister''s life was not a joke !

    So he took a deep breath and said , " Sorry senior Lu and senior Zhi. I was at fault here. I promise you both that i won''t hurt her ever again ."

    Both men nodded in eptance.

    They didn''t hated him .

    It was just that they loved her more.

 Chapter 37: She even called herself hot !

    Chapter 37: She even called herself hot !

    Rong Xinghe rushed back to military chief residence .

    Why the hell were they there ?

    More lectures ! No !

    As soon as she reached the main gate , almost ten military officers jumped with rifles and revolvers pointed at her !

    Rong Xinghe rolled her eyes , " What the hell are you guys doing ?"

    One of the officer said , " These are national premises. Military Chief Rong stays here ! You cannot just simply intrude ! Get out ! "

    Oh yeah ! She still had her male disguise on ! How would they recognise her ?

    "And what if i don''t ?! " , Rong Xinghe was already pissed that she had to flee from the coffee shop because of her brothers , and now they were also stopping her !

    " Lad ! these revolvers have bullets ! We will shoot ! Don''t you know military protocols ?!"

    another officer said.

    The moment the soldier said that , the man did a high jump and before they could even process what was happening , each and everyone of them was lying on the ground.

    What more , the man had even made a pile of their weapons !

    F*ck !

    Who was he ?!

    " No one knows military protocols better than me , kid ! " , the man said with a smile as he sat on the hood of the car .

    " Who the hell are you , bastard ? " , another officer screamed at the top of his lungs.

    " How dare you call the military chief of this country a bastard ?! " , the man said in threatening tone .

    " What military chief ! Are you drunk ?! Our military chief is a woman ! " , the first officer raged.

    " Don''t argue with him ! Call more men ! " , one more officer said.

    " No need ! They won''t be able to do anything , either. " , the man said.

    All the officers looked startled when they heard it !

    Just where did his confidence came from ?!

    At that moment , the man took off his wig and long jet ck hair fell down like a waterfall reaching the waist.

    Then , he took off his fake beard and moustachepletely disclosing his identity !

    Wha.....

    What was this ?

    This man was their boss ?!

    The whole army had practically started to worship thisdy when she had got through the training of hell !

    So they remembered each and every feature of her face.

    But just now....

    Her voice was like a man .....

    Her figure looked so macho ....

    Her way of fighting .....

    Even they had started to feel jaleous of this person when they saw him earlier !

    And now they came to know that he was a woman !

    Their boss !

    It was so unbelievable !

    Of course , she knew protocols of military more than anyone !

    Of course , she could beat anyone no matter how many officers they would call !

    Of course , she didn''t even needed a single weapon to defeat merely ten armed soldiers !

    She was trained like that !

    Herbat skills were simply amazing !

    They quickly stood up and saluted her !

    " You ! The one who called me a bastard ! Anything you wanna say ?! " , the woman pointed her chin at the soldier who had called her bastard .

    The man shivered from inside , " S..so....sorry , Military Chief. "

    " Hmmm..... Get used to this , everyone ! This will happen more often.

    By the way , my this diguise is named Lu Xi , cousin of business industrialist Lu Wei and adopted son of Lu Wei''s infertile second uncle and aunt. Okay ?" , the woman stood up on the hood and informed everyone .

    She had done this many times , so , she needed to give name to this character of hers. Hence , she took her eldest brother''s surname " Lu " and other brother''s name " Xi " .

    It was her '' proper nning .'' HEHEHE...

    Meanwhile , the officers broke out in cold sweat !

    This was going to happen more often ?

    Is she kidding ?

    What about her security ?

    " Don''t worry about my security. The attacks on military chief of this country are inevitable. None of you can stop that. And not every terrorist group can see through me in this disguise. I know what i do ! " , Rong Xinghe could read their thoughts.

    She was a soldier as well , after all .

    She then did a backflip from the hood of the car to the ground , threw the keys to the valet so he could park the car , and walked inside the military chief residence .

    " Good night , guys ! " , the ten men heard the voice of their boss .

    No one moved from their location for sometime.

    What was that ?

    Why did they suddenly felt that there are going to be tough days ahead ?

    .....

    Meanwhile ,

    At the Elite Saphhire Penthouse ,

    Xi Yuan got back from the coffee shop and sat on the couch as he removed his shoes.

    He still could not believe that the man he saw earlier was his girl .

    The way she was discussing issues that affected local citizens like she was a part of them was such a considerate gesture....

    She wasn''t bothered at all when the shopkeeper said that he liked her.

    In fact , she even called herself hot !

    The man chuckled when he thought about how he had felt jaleous when he had heard her say that , thinking that another man liked her !

    HAHAHA.....

    Just what are you , Rong Xinghe ?

    How much more of you am i yet to see ?

    Why do i feel like i fall in love with you all over again every day ?

    The man sighed .

    ...

    Next day ,

    In an event management studio .

    Rong Xinghe arrived to see a young woman directing staff members about flower arrangement in some uing event.

    Rong Xinghe patted the woman on her back , " Hi ! "

    The woman turned to see Rong Xinghe and dismissed the staff , " Do i know you ? "

    Rong Xinghe was surprised to hear her say that. After she became military chief , almost everybody recognised her , just this woman was a rare case .

    Rong Xinghe , " I am Zhi Bo''s sister , Rong Xinghe. "

    The woman was startled to hear the name , " Y...You are Bo''s sister ? ! Oh my god ! I....I didn''t prepared anything ! No gift , no ..... nothing ! Just sit ! I ''ll order some tea for you ! Bo told me you like to drink tea. "

    Rong Xinghe saw the nervous woman in front of her and smiled .

    She held the woman''s hands , " Ruo Cy , stop with the formalities already. I am not made of ss. I just wanted to meet you .You don''t need to impress me. Can we just go to the cafe downstairs and chat for a while ? "

    Ruo Cy finally calmed down a little after she heard the gentle tone of the girl , " O..okay ! "

 Chapter 38: Birth of  Artist Zhi Bo  !

    Chapter 38: Birth of '' Artist Zhi Bo '' !

    Ruo Cy and Rong Xinghe went to the cafe and ordered their prefered drinks.

    Rong Xinghe noticed that Ruo Cy was still a bit anxious , so , she initiated the conversation .

    " Brother told me that he had started dating ady not too long ago. I was just a bit curious to know her. I didn''t meant to make you ufortable. It is just that i wanted to know how serious you are for him. You have been dating him for months , how do you think he is ? "

    Ruo Cy thought about Zhi Bo and rxed a little.

    She then said shyly , " Um...What do i say ? He is a very good person. I don''t know how , but i feel quite warm when he is with me. And about how serious i am for him , well... i do see a future with him. "

    Rong Xinghe smiled at her .

    Damn ! This artist brother of hers actually charmed such an amazing woman !

    Impressive !

    Rong Xinghe then turned serious , " Since you like him and see a future with him , don''t you want to know about his past ? It is a bitplicated. And i know for a fact , that he won''t be able to tell you about it. "

    Ruo Cy : " Actually , i don''t care about his past. I love the man he is now. I can wait if he needs time to open up about his past. It is just that i wonder sometimes , he is fine when he talks about Brother Xi , Zhi Al and you , but he gets quite ufortable when i mention his parents ... "

    Rong Xinghe : " That is because Bro Bo doesn''t share a good rtionship with his dad. "

    Ruo Cy : " Really ?!"

    Rong Xinghe : " Since , you are serious about him , you deserve to know about his past more than anyone. It is your entire life we are talking about here , after all.

    " Bro Bo was always an introvert since childhood. Unlike Bro Al , he hated parties. He loved to paint since he was five and he had amazing calligraphy skills as well .

    " He could''ve had a normal childhood but it wasn''t his destiny .He was 17 when his mom suffered a mental illness called Schizophrenia. It is a disease in which a person loses the ability to think , feel and behave clearly. Due to her self-me , shemitted suicide. Brother Zhi Xi was 18 at that time and brother Zhi Al was 15.

    " Bro Bo was very close to his mom and although he had bro Xi , bro Al and I by his side , he still couldn''te out of stress and depression. He started underperforming in studies.

    " And worst part was yet toe , when a child needed his father the most , his dad brought his mistress home. And it wasn''t just that , he even dered that he would marry that woman ! He didn''t cared even a bit about Bro Bo''s and Bro Al''s emotions at that time .

    " Bro Zhi Al was taken away by his maternal grandparents after the death ceremony , so , he had no idea what was happening. But , this left a huge impact on Bro Bo. He just couldn''t bring himself to ept a new mother. A mother wasn''t a toy who could be reced, after all .

    " So , he took a drastic step to ease his pain. He took drugs.

    " Zhi Xi and I had no idea what he was doing. But after sometime , i observed , that he had became a lot more quiet than before. He also used to get irritated easily and always seemed zoned out. I told Brother Zhi Xi about it .

    " One night , after he slept , we sneaked into his room to see what was going on. It was then , that we found a packet of white powder in his bag. We got it checked in aboratory , and the scientists told us that it was a drug called Methamphetamine .

    " I was just 11 at that time , so i didn''t knew what drugs were but Bro Xi knew what it meant.

    " That was the first time , i had seen Bro Xi weaken up. He had always been strong , but when he saw his brother going through this pain , he couldn''t handle himself. Even Bro Bo confessed that he wanted to get out of this addictive trap .

    " I then did research and registered Bro Bo in a Drug Rehabilitation Centre. It took him 2 years to get over that .

    " But he still had many problems to deal with. He had the choice to inherit the family business , but he always felt empty amongst those datas , and profits , and stocks.

    " I remember , once , he had asked me that why was drugs considered a bad option ."

    Ruo Cy had tears in her eyes by now.

    She never thought that this man whom she loved , had been through so much pain when he was young.

    Ruo Cy : ( Sobbing )"Then what did you say ? "

    Rong Xinghe smiled and handed a tissue to the girl to wipe her tears .

    Rong Xinghe : " I told him that drugs are a bad option because they make us gulp the pain we feel. That pain is never liberated from our hearts and bes a poison which doesn''t let us see other beautiful things in the world ."

    Ruo Cy : " Then what did he say ?"

    Rong Xinghe : " Then he asked me what could he do to liberate his pain ."

    Ruo Cy : " Then ? "

    Rong Xinghe smiled again when she saw the expectant eyes of the girl. These were the same eyes her brother saw her with , when he had asked this question back then .

    They both were actuallypatible !

    Rong Xinghe : " The best way to liberate the pain is to show it , beautify it and tell your story to the world ! Not to keep it to yourself and letting it be poison.

    " And that was the Birth of Artist Zhi Bo ! "

    Ruo Cy was stunned when she heard that ,

    " You mean to say , Bo opted for career in Art because you said that would be best for him ?! "

    Rong Xinghe nodded , " Yes ! Brother needed rity for his future and I knew him more than anyone. He was always a very intense person. This suited him the most.

    Look where he is now ! "

    Ruo Cy was amazed when she heard theplete story of the man she had liked .

    But more than Zhi Bo , she had gained respect for Rong Xinghe .

    She was just 13 when she had advised him about the profession that suited him the most .

    She must have had a high EQ from the time when she was a child.

    No wonder , Zhi Bo loved his sister so much !

    She had practically made him the person he was today !

    She was worth the love and respect she got !

 Chapter 39: Wrath of Devil !

    Chapter 39: Wrath of Devil !

    Ruo Cy looked at Rong Xinghe with admiration.

    She actually liked her a lot !

    This Zhi Bo !

    How dare he keep this sister of his , away from her ?

    They should have met a lot of time ago !

    They were practically soul sisters .

    Both women had some small talk after that for some time and then unwillingly parted their ways.

    ....

    In the Military Chief residence ,

    Zhi Xi was baking Tiramisu Cake in the kitchen .

    "For Xinghe ?! " , Songyan asked in a surprised voice from behind.

    "Nah ! " , Zhi Xi replied.

    "Then ?"

    "For you ! " , Zhi Xi said with a smile .

    "Really ? " , Songyan raised her brows.

    " Yep ! Its okay if you don''t want. That foodie Zhi Al will eat it .I just wanted to cook so...."

    " No ! Why would that moron eat ? My husband cooked it for me ! I will ! " , Songyan hugged Zhi Xi from behind.

    " Any updates on the troublemaker ?! " Zhi Xi smiled and looked at the watch .

    "Updates ?"

    "She has gone to meet Ruo Cy , Bo''s girlfriend. " , Zhi Xi said.

    " Then why didn''t she took me with her ?!" , Songyan pouted.

    Zhi Xi broke the mouth balloon by poking his fingers in his wife''s cheeks , " Beacause , these meetings are confidential ! "

    " Confidential ?" , Singyan looked curiously at the man.

    " Uh ..... yeah ! It still depends on whether Xinghe likes the girl any of us are in rtionship with. She has always had an eye for understanding people. That''s why we trust her with the people she makes friends with. She is actually good at it. " , Zhi Xi said.

    "And what if Xinghe doesn''t like the women any of you six like ? "

    " It is a disaster ! The heartbreaks are inevitable ! She has been the core reason for all the breakups any of us have gone through in our entire life ! I don''t know how she pulls it off , but Zhi Al and Su Rogguang couldn''t stick with one girl for more than a week , because of her. " , Zhi Xi rolled his eyes.

    Songyan burst outughing when she heard him , " Oh my god ! Sis Xinghe is so cool ! You need to tell me about each and every breakup she was the reason for in details. Okay ? "

    Just when the couple were chatting , they heard hurried footsteps approaching them.

    " What is the feedback , Military Chief ? " , Zhi Xi asked Rong Xinghe who had just entered the kitchen.

    " Brother ! I am going to get my ''third'' sister-inw ! Zhi family is going to organise a wedding soon ! She is so good ! Ah ! Zhi Bo won a jackpot just like you and Bro Lu did ! " , Rong Xinghe was practically jumping.

    " W...wait ! What wedding ? So soon ? " , Zhi Xi was starled when he saw the over-enthisiast on cloud nine.

    " What ''what wedding'' ? I am telling you , she is perfect for Bro Bo ! You know when i saw her , i had the same feeling that i had when i saw Sis Yan and Sis Tao ! Get a priest and decorate a church , quick ! " , Rong Xinghe red at her brother.

    The verdict was finally out !

    She liked her !

    But getting priest ?!

    And decorating church ?!

    This was pure exaggeration !

    Wait ! did she...

    " Did you told about Bo''s past to her ?", Zhi Xi asked.

    " Yep ! And she has no issues with it ! She even said that it must have been tough for him to fight that battle and that , she was proud of him. Don''t you think that this is awesome , brother ? " , Rong Xinghe said excitedly.

    " Hmm. The rascal finally got a fine match for him ." , Zhi Xi smiled when he reminisced the struggles his brother had went through in the past .

    It was rare for society to not judge a person who might havemitted a mistake like drug consumption in his or her young age.

    Even , families don''t understand or try to ease the pain that such people go through.

    Same was the case with Zhi family back then.

    Zhi Bo''s dad and his parents wanted to abandon him when they came to know about this. They considered Zhi Bo as a ck mole , a disgrace to the family.

    Thankfully , he , Zhi Al and Rong Xinghe were there for him back then.

    But for an outsider like Ruo Cy to ept his past was a big deal !

    Even if she would have acted understanding in front of Rong Xinghe , it was impossible to fool an observant person like her.

    So , Ruo Cy must have been genuine .

    No wonder , Rong Xinghe liked her !

    "Alright ! There is no need to rush it ! Let the two of them decide ! " , Zhi Xi sighed when he saw the two women almost ready to order wedding rings.

    "You men should just go ! You don''t know how important a perfect proposal is ? It is a wedding , after all. You are dismissed ! " , Rong Xinghe waved her hands at Zhi Xi as if he was intruding some important defence meeting and there was no use for him.

    Songyan looked helplessly at her husband .

    Why do you even try to debate with her ?

    .....

    Meanwhile ,

    In Xi Corps ,

    The meeting room was in a chaotic situation !

    The young man was in extremely furious mood !

    Xi Corps was a famous business empire and it had expanded across the globe. It was acknowledged in United States and United Kingdoms on a wide scale as well .

    It was said that from the time when this man took over the position of CEO at the age of 18 , it kept on expanding sessfully.

    But , even though , this business empire was appreciated worldwide , it still had its roots in Country X .

    The founder of Xi Corps , Mr. Xi Hogguang , had left thispany to his grandson Xi Yuan.

    So , Xi Yuan hated it when Xi Corps would suffer any loss in its birth country.

    Since , he had returned to Country X after four years , he had been analysing the performance of every business Xi corps was a part of in these four years.

    To his disappointment , when Xi Corps was ruling the business world on international level , it was facing heavy losses in Country X!

    How dare these people keep him in dark about such a crucial matter ?!

    All the shareholders were practically shivering from fear !

    They were facing the '' Wrath of the devil'' , after all .

 Chapter 40: Hiding from a terrorist together !

    Chapter 40: Hiding from a terrorist together !

    Xi Yuan was a very calm and collected man. It was very rare for him to vent his anger in an extreme manner.

    But today , he was not himself. Instead , he had a dangerous aura surrounding him which sent chills running down a person''s spine .

    " Why the hell was i not informed about the investments in this branch three years ago ? And who allowed you guys to include politicians in business. Xi Corps has be nothing but another path for them to earn money ! Who dared to mess up things between politics and business ?! " ; Xi Yuan asked in a loud and bone-chilling voice .

    The shareholders'' backs involuntarily stiffened when they heard the man''s voice.

    Even Xi Fang and Xi Ying shuddered when they heard their brother''s tone .

    Bro , you really don''t need to be so scary !

    Can you show some mercy to these people !

    They are mere mortals , not business gods like you !

    s !

    There was no point telling him that.

    He was a ruthless and despicable man , when it came to matters rted to business .

    He hated it the most when people evincedck of dedication and constant losses .

    No matter how softspoken and diplomatic speech he had , he still was a strict Big Boss of the Business world .

    Xi Yuan was losing his patience as the shareholders kept their mouth shut.

    He said word to word in an intimidating tone , " I said who the hell took the decision of mixing business with politics ? "

    Just when the shareholders were stressed about what to answer the devil in front of them , his phone rang .

    His phone was connected to the system of the meeting room. So , when he picked up the call, it was audible to everyone in the room .

    Xi Yuan said angrily , " Hello ! Who the hell is this ?"

    "Um .... Sorry Yuan. I didn''t mean to disturb you. I ''ll call youter " , the girl''s apologetic voice came from the other end.

    As soon as the Xi twins heard the voice of their sister-inw , they felt relieved.

    Yay ! We are rescued !

    Sister-inw is here !

    Meanwhile , the shareholders were stunned to hear the melodious voice of a woman from big boss''s phone.

    She even called him by his name !

    And that too so intimately !

    There was no woman they knew who dared to address boss like that !

    Who was she ?!

    Xi Yuan quickly disconnected his mobile and said to the girl in an extremely gentle tone , " I am extremely sorry. Its just ... i was going through some paperwork with my employees....and .....i...."

    Rong Xinghe quickly cut him off , " No ! It is alright , Yuan. This happens with me a lot. Bro Lu and Bro Zhi are used to me disturbing me in the middle of their meetings .HEHEHE... But i should''ve checked your schedule first. "

    "Meeting or not , you can call me even in the middle of the night. Understood ? " , Xi Yuan said seriously .

    Listening this , all the shareholders were stunned !

    Who was thisdy whom boss would allow to disturb him even in the middle of night ?!

    Could it be .....

    Rong Xinghe didn''t knew why , but she felt warmth spreading in her heart when he said that.

    " Okay , understood. I simply wanted to tell you that i am nearby Xi Corps'' main building." , Rong Xinghe said with a hidden meaning behind her words.

    "So ? " , Xi Yuan was a bit confused .

    " So i thought you would invite me for a coffee if you knew i was here. Right ? " , the girl told her real motive shamelessly.

    Xi Yuan giggled when he realised that she was self-inviting herself for a coffee , "Okay , send me your location , i will reach there right away " .

    This smile on boss''s face further shocked the employees.

    They had never seen him smile !

    Female shareholders couldn''t help but give treat to their eyes by looking at him.

    What a handsome man!

    Wait !

    Did he just say he would pick her up right now ?

    Were they all saved ?!

    Was thisdy their '' knight in shining armour'' ?

    Xi Yuan ended the call and looked at the shocking faces.

    " Meeting dismissed ! " , the man said as he walked out of the conference room .

    Holy hell !

    He actually let them off the hook , just to meet her ?

    Did the boss had actually got ady in his heart ?!

    Were they going to have a dy boss'' soon ?!

    He was so angry just now !

    Yet , she easily extinguished his anger in the blink of an eye !

    He was so cold and distant just now !

    Yet , he became so gentle when he spoke to her !

    Just who was thisdy ?!

    Just who was their ''saviour'' ?!

    ....

    Meanwhile ,

    Xi Yuan reached in a local cafe to find a girl sitting alone.

    She was fidgetting with a pebble as she looked outside the window .

    In the dark cafe , the bright sunrays touched her skin and made her look like she had just came out of a painting.

    She looked so serene and beautiful that his heart almost stopped beating for a moment as he saw her.

    He took out his phone and clicked her photo .He simply wanted to capture this moment .

    "Hey ! What''s up ? " , the man said as he went to sit with her.

    "Hi ! " , the girl smiled , " Nothing much , i was just hiding , so , i thought i could use somepany ! "

    "Hiding ? From whom ? " , Xi Yuan asked .

    " Um..... a terrorist. He wants to kill me ! But i am not in any mood to die ! He is roaming around here in search of me. I don''t have my revolver right now , and i don'' t want to fight empty handed either. Hah , what azy person i am ! So , i thought i will spend time with my love....my coffee ....But i don''t have cash , just card. And this shop doesn''t ept that. So , I thought about you as you were nearby. " , the girl exined .

    Hmmm... That exined why she selected this isted , old and local cafe .

    And it seemed that she loved to drink coffee and tea. She always selected cafs to hang out , no matter , whether she was in a male diguise or her own self look .

    " No mood to die ? ", Xi Yuan raised his eyebrows .

    Wasn''t that a little weird thing to say ?

    " Yep !"

    Xi Yuan was even more amused by her. What a fascinating girl .

    He was more than happy to apany her in hiding from terrorists !

    If he could be by her side and spend time with her !

    " By the way , did i told you how scary you sounded on the phone. Okay , tell me , why were you upset when i called you ?" , Rong Xinghe asked .

 Chapter 41: Why this sudden intimacy ?!

    Chapter 41: Why this sudden intimacy ?!

    "Its really not a big deal , Xinghe. I was just irritated by the stupidity of my employees. I should''ve checked the caller ID before yelling , though. I am really very sorry. " Xi Yuan said as he looked at the girl .

    "Just stop apologising like this. I understand such things as well. Some days do go bad. Its alright. You can still tell me about it if you want to. Its fine if you don''t want to as well. ", Rong Xinghe said .

    Xi Yuan took a deep breath and told her about everything that was going on in the Xi Corps. Had it been anyone else , he would have maintained the secrecy. But , this was his girl. She needed to feel that he trusted her. Also , she was going to be his woman and ''dy boss '' of the Xi Corps one day , so , it was only reasonable ....

    Rong Xinghe heard him withplete attention and then said , " So you want to know the name of the shareholder who took the decision behind your back. "

    "Yeah" , Xi Yuan sighed , " Do you have any idea ? "

    " Actually , I have. Have you heard that a businessman should know how to y with the minds ?" , Xinghe asked the man .

    Xi Yuan nodded. He was unsure what the girl wanted to tell him .

    " Then follow that theory. Make the shareholders think that you appreciate their decision of involving with politics. They would love to take the credit ande crystal clean in front of you. It is just like a procedure to get the rat out of its hole ." , Rong Xinghe said the matter-of-factly .

    Xi Yuan waspletely stunned by the tactical and sharp schemes that came naturally to the brain of this woman in front of him.

    She was very amazing at nning as well as analysing results of a situation .

    Then .....

    Why didn''t she took over the Rong empire and got into business ?

    She could actually reach the pinnacle of business world in no time !

    "You could do business very well , Xinghe ! " , Xi Yuan smiled .

    " Maybe. It is just because Bro Lu and Bro Zhi had trained me in business management for two years. But i love the army ! The thrill when i have to form strategies regarding wars or whenever i have to get thorough with the structure of any fighter jet , its just indescribable ! " , Rong Xinghe said excitedly .

    Xi Yuan smiled when he saw her excited expression as she described military .

    Now , he understood the reason for which her brothers allowed her to take upon such a risky position .

    It was just this smile and happiness .

    Alright ! If you like to serve the military , then you can go for it .....

    I will eventually support you as well ....

    After sometime , Xi Yuan went on the counter to order a coffee for himself .

    .....

    In the meantime , Rong Xinghe felt a cold metallic touch on her forehead !

    Sh*t !

    This psycho was back !

    He must have found her while she was distracted in conversation with Xi Yuan !

    "You are a dead woman , Military Chief Rong !" , the terroristughed sinisterly .

    Alright buddy !

    I don''t want to do this but as ''Master Yuan'' said "no mood to die ".

    And in military , you win not by hiding , but by fighting .

    So .... bring it on !

    "Oh hey ! You found me so soon ?! Let me finish my coffee first , okay ? " , Rong Xinghe said as she finished her coffee and stood up .

    The terrorist was shocked when he saw the girl act like she was here to meet some friends .

    She was so cool and calm.

    Where the f*ck did she got her confidence from?!

    Sl*t !!!

    " Game''s over , b*tch " , the terrorist was about to pull the trigger of the rifle when he felt a sharp pain in his forearm as the rifle went flying in the corner of the shop .

    " A .... But i didn''t even participated in the game. I don''t like to loose " , Rong Xinghe smiled .

    The terrorist gave an amused smile to the woman in front of him .

    She used the correct amount of force for kicking his forearm .

    Not bad !

    It was rare for women to be that good !

    s ! He was ordered to kill her today !

    " How many martial arts do you know , girl ? " , the beast asked .

    " Five - ck Belt in each of them ! " , the girl replied as she shrugged her shoulders .

    " Oh really , tell the names then " , the man said as he didn''t believed Rong Xinghe at all.

    Rong Xinghe giggled under her breath .

    Why do you wanna know this the hard way , kid ?

    Rong Xinghe reached towards the terrorist and did a De Ashi Barai ( Advanced Foot Sweep ) and said in a fierce voice , " Judo ! "

    Then she did a Elbow strike (palgup chigi) making the terrorist puke blood ,"Taekwondo!"

    Then came a knee drop to heart , " Karate ! "

    Next , a front snap kick ( ap chagi ) ,

    " Jujutsu ! "

    Andstly , came Arm Extension Throw (Ude Kime Nage) , " Aikido ! "

    The attacks came one after the other , and the terrorist didn''t had any chance of retaliation .

    Rong Xinghe was extremely fast when it came tobat skills .

    How could a woman be so strong , the terrorist thought as he found it difficult to breath .....

    Ultimately , his body stopped moving .

    At this moment , a man''s deep voice came from her behind , " Xinghe ! "

    Rong Xinghe turned around to look at Xi Yuan. She thought he wouldn''t be used to such things so she started exining ,

    " Yuan , look....I ...."

    But the man cut her off mid sentence , " Are you alright ? You were in a car ident not too long ago. How could you put your life at risk ? "

    He looked with concern at her and even took her hands in his as he started checking if she was hurt somewhere .

    Rong Xinghe was speechless. This man wasn''t concerned about the dead body lying on the floor at all. Instead , he was worried about her. This was an unexpected reaction for sure.

    She felt a bit moved by his gesture , though.

    " I am fine , Yuan. Trust me ! " , Rong Xinghe said as she observed the disturbed and anxious expression on the man''s face.

    After he heard the girl''s reassurance , the man finally felt relieved as he rested his head on her shoulder almost pulling her for a hug .

    Rong Xinghe stood there still as she couldn''t understand what had happened just now.

    Wait.....

    Why this sudden intimate action ? !

    Why was he so worried just now ?

 Chapter 42: " I dont care about anyone else, other than you ! "

    Chapter 42: " I don''t care about anyone else, other than you ! "

    Rong Xinghe could feel the breath of the man making herpletely nervous.

    She didn''t knew how to react .

    It was the first time that her senses had stopped working.

    She had came in contact with men during her military chief training in the past , but she never felt her heart beating at this rate .

    Xi Yuan sensed the ufort of the girl after he had calmed down !

    He quickly pulled away , " You sure we don''t need to go to the hospital ? "

    Rong Xinghe also came back to her senses .

    She realised that Xi Yuan had a reason to be so worried , " Yuan , are you stressed about my security after that ident ? "

    Xi Yuan nodded .

    "Yuan , i am stronger than you think. I fainted that day just because I was exhausted by the work and that ident was unexpected. I have gone through training of hell ,Yuan. I can endure the pain of a bullet , let alone be a minor ident like that. Don''t worry ! " , Rong Xinghe said.

    She didn''t wanted him to worry about her security , whenever he was with her .

    Although he wasn''t convinced by her words , Xi Yuan still ended up nodding .

    What if she had gone through training of hell ?! That didn''t allowed her to get hurt .

    What if she was strong ? He wanted her to be vulnerable and show her weaknesses in front of him. He wanted her to be herself in front of him. He wanted to be the person she felt most safe and warm around.

    " Good ! Tell me , you don''t care about this man at all ?" , Rong Xinghe changed the topic as she pointed her finger in the direction where the terrorist was lying unmoving on the cold floor .

    Xi Yuan looked at the man and said in a cold bone-chilling voice , " I don''t care about anyone else, other than you ! "

    This bastard had dared to point a rifle at his woman !

    Death was his destiny the moment he had found the guts to attack her !

    If not she , he would''ve killed him himself .

    He had no mercy for the people who intended to harm her !

    He was a bit shocked to see herbat skills earlier , though !

    She was a real soldier when it came to fights.

    Fearless and Domineering !

    Her each and every move was ruthless , cruel and callous .

    The most shocking part was that she was ck Belt in five different martial art techniques ! .

    But more than anything , he was astonished and proud of her .

    He liked how independent she was !

    He liked that this girl , unlike other women he had met earlier , couldn''t be tied by money , power or looks but love !

    He had seen a new Rong Xinghe yet again , he thought as he smiled .

    Rong Xinghe : " .... "

    Sigh !

    This man was bing more and more difficult to understand !

    ...

    At that moment , a team of approximately 20batmandos arrived in the shop .

    " We are extremely sorry for the dy, Military Chief ", one of the soldiers apologized.

    " Does the military actually needs to be taught discipline and punctuality now ? " Rong Xinghe asked as she looked at her wrist-watch .

    " Sorry , boss ! " , all the men said collectively .

    Rong Xinghe rolled her eyes as she walked out with Xi Yuan , leaving behind amand , " Dispose the dead. He had no information on his body about the terrorist groups ."

    As the man and woman left , the officers looked at the dead body of the terrorist they had been trying to find for almost an year .

    But their boss !

    She didn''t just located the man but also killed without batting an eye !

    Just like that !

    She was way more efficient than all of thembined !

    Many of the military officers who had earlier despised the idea of women joining army , now regretted it.

    Just in the time less than a month , they had started respecting this ''youngest military authority of the world'' .

    Rong Xinghe had actually changed the winds in Country X''s army in no time !

    .....

    That night ,

    When Rong Xinghe arrived at Military Chief Residence , she was stunned speechless by the scene in front of her .

    William Young wasying on the couch and a girl in exposing clothes was feeding him grapes .

    This hopeless bastard !

    Will he ever change for good in this lifetime ?!

    Mischief appeared again in littledy devil''s eyes. She took a cushion from the couch and threw it on the face of William .

    " You bastard ! Moron ! Son of a beef ! How dare you cheat ?! We just had sex in the noon and here you are , fooling around again with this sl*t ?! Unbelievable ! "

    William was shocked by such unexpected usations .

    What ?!

    Sex ?!

    And what the hell was ''son of a beef'' ?!

    This crazy woman is going to be the death of me !

    What is she upto now ?!

    Rong Xinghe then turned towards the girl who was feeding grapes to William .

    " You sl*t ! I will kill you today ! You bloody home-breaker ! If you are thinking about marrying him , dream on ! I am pregnant with his baby!"

    Baby ?!

    Pregnant ?!

    William practically shivered when Rong Xinghe gave him a side nce !

    What the hell was running through her mind .

    PAH !

    Suddenly , the girl pped William and said in a heart-broken tone , " I thought you loved me ! But no ! You just wanted to get into my bed ! Take care of your baby , Mr. William Young. Goodbye ! "

    THUD !

    "Pftt.." , as soon as the door closed , Rong Xinghe startedughing crazily as William held onto the cheek he was pped upon.

    " HAHAHAHA....The girl was so brainless ! She even believed that I was pregnant with your baby ! Oh my god ! Could you date girls with a high EQ please !I am getting better at my acting skills , right ?! Thanks to Sis Ningtao ! HEHEHEHE...."

    " So this was your n ! Making her p me ?! " , William fumed .

    Rong Xinghe''s expression turned serious ," William , I have told you so many times to not bring you bed-buddies here ! This is a national property and not a hotel room ! So , obviously , that p was your punishment ."

    Chills ran down William''s spine when he listened to her strategy of punishing him.

    Woman !

    You could have just asked that girl to get out !

    Was this the love you had for your ''best friend''?

 Chapter 43: Best stress-buster !

    Chapter 43: Best stress-buster !

    " I had more important discussions to do , so, i will let you off the hook this time. " , William said generously .

    "You will let me off the hook ?! Pffttt.... " , Rong Xingheughed even more .

    " No ! My goddess ! Will you let me off the hook this time ?!" , William said as he sensed the creepy tone of thedy devil .

    "Hmmm....Why are you here ? "

    " I just wanted to tell you that tomorrow is party at my ce. So you have toe there ! " , William said excitedly .

    "What''s the reason behind the party this time ? " Xinghe asked suspiciously .

    " Nothing. Its just that many of my friends want to meet you. And i have already checked your schedule with your assistant. So , i dare you to ditch me Rong Xinghe! " , William threatened.

    "What will you do ?"

    " I wille into your office and tear off my clothes. Then i will call the media and tell them that you tried to assault me. " , William menaced.

    Rong Xinghe : "....."

    As weird as his threat sounded , she had no doubt he could actually go for it .

    But what friends ?!

    She knew it more than anyone that these people he was going to introduce to her were the men drooling over in love with her.

    No !

    No more party !

    She had no energy to deal with those creepy pickup lines !

    " But ...."

    " What ''but'' ?! Xiao Xinghe , our friendship is dependent on your decision now ! Anyway , you need topensate for this p " , William said as he pointed at the cheek which was slightly red by the p of the girl .

    Rong Xinghe suddenly thought about something and she involuntarily smirked .

    " You sure you want me toe ?! "

    William nodded without thinking much about the smirk .

    " Okay. Hope you don''t regret ! "

    William was confused when she said that.

    Why would he regret calling her to a party ?!

    But he was wrong !

    He didn''t knew that , soon , he was going to feel contrite about this decision he had just made !

    ...

    At night ,

    Rong Xinghe was sound asleep when a shadow appeared in the room .

    The person came closer to Rong Xinghe and sat on her bed !

    " Sissy ! Hey sleepyhead ! Get up ! Hey troublemaker ! Hey kiddo ! " , the man started to jiggle up the girl .

    The girl quickly jumped up reflexively and pointed the gun kept on her sidetable at the man''s forehead !

    "Sissy ! You don''t n to kill me , do you ? " , the man instantly raised his hands and crossed them behind his head like a criminal .

    Rong Xinghe looked at the man in dim light , and lowered her gun with a shocked expression .

    " Bro Al !!!! Are you kidding me ?! What are you doing here at this time ?! " , Rong Xinghe asked as she sat down and kept the revolver back on the drawer of sidetable.

    Zhi Xi : " I just wanted to ask you if you would like to have some coffee ? "

    Rong Xinghe : " What ?! You woke me up for this ?! "

    Zhi Al : (seriously)" Coffee. Yes or No ? "

    Rong Xinghe rolled her eyes.

    This man !!!

    Okay !

    He woke me up like there was an earthquake just for a coffee ? !!

    Whatever ! I won''t be able to sleep anytime soon now , anyways .

    Rong Xinghe : " Yes ! "

    Zhi Xi : " Good. Make a cup for me as well ! "

    Saying this , Zhi Al got up from the bed and went into the study room where he was programming a software.

    Rong Xinghe was speechless !

    Did this man woke me up from my beautiful sleep just for a cup of coffee ??!!!

    It was already 11:56 a.m.

    Shouldn''t he be sleeping by now ?!

    Unbelievable !

    But , it was a known fact , that the '' White Hat Hacker'' Zhi Al would only drink tea or coffee made by his sister Rong Xinghe and no one else .

    But it could be said that Rong Xinghe was fond of Zhi Al more than anyone in the family. They were basically '' partners in crime ''. He was the only person she ever had midnight snacks and movies with. She and Zhi Al was the mini-organisation who had paired and made Songyan and Zhi Xi realise feelings for each other. He was the person she always had pillow fights with. He was the person she had got all her mischieves from !

    If her other five brothers were mature and serious , this one was the best stress-buster she had !

    Rong Xinghe held her head in her hands andughed at this weirdo bro of hers .

    She then got up and went to make coffee for the both of them .

    .....

    Meanwhile ,

    In the Elite Saphhire Penthouse ,

    Xi Ying was telling Xi Yuan about the new clothing brands introduced recently in the market , " Bro , there are two new capable brands in the market , Desire and Petal .Both the fashion designers have their unique style. Who do you think we should invest in ? "

    Xi Ying realised that she was being ignored by a certain person who was staring at the screen of his iPad and had bluetooth headphones put on .

    It seemed like he was watching something .

    It was rare for a busy man like him to watch a movie or a web series , Xi Ying thought .

    So , she peeked onto the screen to take a look !

    The moment she saw the stills of the video he was watching , she was thunderstruck .

    Wait ....

    Was he actually watching a reality TV show ?!

    Why ?!

    Why would he ?!

    Then from the corner of her eyes , she saw a young and delicate girl singing in the middle of the stage !

    She seemed to be her in her early teenage !

    All the spotlights were on her !

    She was swayed by her own music along with the audience !

    Each and every beat was a part of her !

    This girl was ....

    Rong Xinghe !

    She was her sister-inw !

    Her brother was actually watching a reality TV show which was broadcasted nine years ago , just so he could get a glimpse of sister-inw''s love for music !

    Xi Yuan felt exhausted after watching first episode.

    So , he disconnected his headphones and massaged his temples .

    " Brother , how many episodes do you intend to watch ?! " , Xi Ying couldn''t supress her excitement anymore.

    " All of them ! " , Xi Yuan smiled .

 Chapter 44: " I will diffuse it ! "

    Chapter 44: " I will diffuse it ! "

    What ?!

    All the episodes of a reality TV show ?!

    When she had investigated about Rong Xinghe earlier , she had found out that the girl was a participant in a reality TV show for one and a half year .

    This TV show was named " Voice of World " and it was famous world-wide .

    The team had to pick up contestants from every country and those contestants would thenpete with each other.

    Rong Xinghe was selected from country X for her extra-ordinary vocal skills at that time.

    And to their astonishment , she had won the title of " Voice of the World" as well !

    Her victory had brought Country X a lot of respect and appreciation from the whole world back then !

    But this show had only one problem ...

    It had total of 218 episodes !

    Each of one hour duration !

    Was Bro Yuan actually intending to watch each and everyone of them ?!

    Xi Yuan was an Ace Business Tycoon around the globe !

    He couldn''t get a second free out of his time for himself , let alone watching all 218 episodes of a reality TV show .

    Was sister-inw really so important to him ?!

    Now , when she thought about it , he had been doing this for quite some time now !

    He had skipped a business meeting in order to meet her and be a part of ''Youth Team'' so that he could get close to her !!!!

    He had even winded up meetings as soon as he could so that he could pick her up from Military Chief Mansion at the night when that ident had happened !!!!

    He had been handing over most of his work to his assistant , so , that he could spend time with sister-inw in the NGO every day !!!

    And now , he was nning to watch all of these 218 episodes so that he could know what was she like when she used to love singing !!!

    Woah !

    She had never expected her brother to be such a person when in love !

    He was actually giving it all !!!

    .....

    Meanwhile ,

    At the middle of the night ,

    Rong Xinghe rushed to the O-D Mall the moment she got information from the Military Chief office .

    As soon as she arrived at the scene , she was almost blinded by the continuous shes of cameras.

    Sh*t !

    Who the f*ck informed media ?!

    It was getting difficult for the army units to control the anxious media and public !

    A group of military officers came towards her and saluted her.

    " Military Chief ! We are gratified that you arrived at thest moment''s notice ! "

    " No big deal ! Where is the bomb ?! " , Rong Xinghe asked as she was escorted by the officers towards the location where bomb was nted.

    Rong Xinghe reached the lobby of the mall and saw an electromaic bomb contoured fittingly into the main electricity panel of the mall .

    The bomb squad had already arrived there and were trying to diffuse the bomb , but their efforts were all in vain .

    Rong Xinghe saw the bomb and frowned .

    There was a timer set into it and unfortunately , they had only fifteen minutes left .

    The bomb squad noticed the dignified presence behind them and bowed respectfully .

    " Military Chief ! We are extremely sorry but we cannot diffuse this thing. We have run out of all the possibilities now. Although , this bomb is an electromaic bomb , it still has aplicated structure ! We apologise for disappointing you. "

    One of the military officers who had escorted Rong Xinghe quickly exined , " Don''t worry about the public , we can take them away in that much amount of time. But...."

    "...But we will let this Mall get blown away ?! " , Rong Xinghe cut off the officer in a stern and questioning tone .

    When the officer heard the coldness in her voice , a chill ran down his spine , " N.....No , Boss , I didn''t mean ...."

    Rong Xinghe observed the bomb for five seconds more and her frown turned into an excited smirk !

    Her eyes started glistening like a starry night sky !

    She looked at the bomb squad and said to one of the officer , " Give me your Visor and 2000 Helmet ! I will diffuse it ! "

    As soon as Rong Xinghe said this , the whole chaotic situation ended in a moment .

    The media journalists and shes of the cameras stopped their movements !

    The military officers were dumbfounded !

    Worst was the situation of the bomb squad !

    What did she just say ?!

    She intended to diffuse it herself ?!

    Was she crazy ?!

    This was way too risky !

    And as one of the highest authorities of Country X , her security was their major concern !

    But , she was nning to step into the death trap !

    No one could react after the words left the girl''s mouth for sometime !

    After sometime , media came back to their senses and this time , the huge lobby went into an uproar !

    The journalists quickly contacted their higher ups and discussed the option of doing a live stream !

    Media could do anything for the ratings of the channel !

    Soon enough , the whole Country X was witnessing the scene taking ce in the mall !

    What ?!

    She was doing it herself ?!

    Contrary to themotion she had caused , Rong Xinghe appeared a lot more calm and cool .

    Even after the army officers and bomb squad retaliated , they still had to give up .

    She had persisted through the training of hell for five years !

    Her willpower was way more stronger than anyone else in the world !

    She wouldn''t change her decision even if they begged her !

    Oh God !

    Rong Xinghe put on the Visor and 2000 Helmet covering her facepletely and went near the bomb !

    Only 8 minutes were left by now !

    She quickly started giving orders to one of the bomb squad officer to pass her the materials needed for the bomb disposal !

    __________

    She just made one mistake ...

    She forgot only one thing ,

    One of her brothers was '' Media Ma '' Mo Zixuan !

    The man known as the '' King of Journalism '' !

    When she was thinking her brothers were sound asleep , Mo Zixuan was reporting this very incident in the news studio !!!!!

 Chapter 45: " It is Reverse Psychology ! "

    Chapter 45: " It is Reverse Psychology ! "

    In the MZX News Studio ,

    The man was reporting in quite a professional and ssy manner ,

    " And just now , we have been informed by our sources that an Electromaic Bomb has been located in the main Electricity Panel in the lobby of O-D Mall. "

    The man touched his earpiece and said ,

    " Can the junior reporter An Ze tell us about the exact situation there ? "

    The junior reporter replied in quite an excited voice , " Well , Mr. Mo , there has been an unexpected seen witnessed here. Military Chief Rong Xinghe has just arrived at the location and she has taken an unforeseen decision.

    "As the bomb squad wasn''t able to diffuse the bomb , she has taken the task in her hands herself ! She has just put on the Visor and 2000 Helmet of Bomb Squad Uniform ! And now , she is heading towards the Electromaic Bomb. "

    The moment the junior reporter''s words left his mouth , information papers in Mo Zixuan''s hands fell down with a thud !

    He quickly came back to his senses and picked up the papers as he looked at the screen which showed this ''dy devil '' walk towards the bomb !

    His hands started trembling !

    Holly Hell !!!

    She got to be kidding me ?!

    He instantly ordered the editor to cover the screen with footage of the mall and indicated another journalist to substitute him !

    Then , he quickly rushed back to his office and switched on the TV and started watching the live stream as he made a phone call !

    " What is it , Zixuan ? " , azy voice came from the other side .

    " Wei , keep the call on hold. Let me take other four on conference mode ! " , Mo Zixuan said hurriedly .

    " Co...conference ? Wait ?! What happened to Xinghe ?!! " , Lu Wei becamepletely alert .

    Mo Zixuan took all the other four men on the conference call first , and then said , " Open MZX News Channel right away ! "

    " Are you kidding me ?! Promoting your news channel in the middle of the night ?! Just how much hungry for the TRP are you ?" , Zhi Al grumbled angrily in a sleepy tone as he switched on the TV in his room .

    " F*CK ! " , this time , all the five men were shocked to the core as only one word came to their minds .

    " Should we go there ?! " , Zhi Bo asked .

    " No use. Only 4 minutes are left !!! " , Mo Zixuan said.

    " Dammit !!" , Zhi Al kicked the coffee table in front of him , " Is she crazy ? ying around with her life ?! "

    " The next four minutes will decide if she is crazy or not ! " , Lu Wei said anxiously .

    _________________

    Meanwhile ,

    At O-D Mall ....

    The girl stood near the bomb and looked at it observantly !

    " Hmmm...This is a back door coupling. Officer Long , pass me the insting gloves. Quick!

    " Bring the Faraday cage ! We need to prevent the electromaic wave to spread across the entire system of the mall ! "

    After that , she manually supplied a high voltage of 1200 V.

    Then , she carefully diconnected the whole system from the bomb .

    But , the risk was still there !

    She then wiped off the sweat on her forehead and took a tool called Plier which was basically used to cut wires .

    This was said to be the most crucial step of the diposal of a bomb !

    If any wrong wire would be cut , the bomb would immediately explode !

    All the people in the lobby felt their bodies stiffen with anxiety ! Same was the situation with the six men in front of their TV screens !

    Please be safe kiddo !

    Only one and a half minute was left by now !

    Rong Xinghe vigntly cut a Green wire first , then a ck wire and then a Red wire.

    Now , there were only two wires left : a Yellow one and a ck one !

    At this point , all the people in lobby , the six men and the whole Country X in front of their TV screens , felt their breath stop. They were at the peak of their anxiety by now !

    Rong Xinghe stared at the two wires , maybe , feeling conflicted ....

    " Cut the Yellow wire , Boss ! " , one of the bomb squad officer finally said .

    " Yes boss ! Yellow is the right one ! All those terrorists follow the same pattern ! " , another bomb squad officer imed .

    Rong Xinghe heard the men and quickly brought the Plier near the Yellow wire but....

    to everyone''s shock , she shifted her hand in another direction ....

    ..... she CUT THE BLACK WIRE !!!

    Almost all the people closed their eyes preparing themselves for the worst as only five seconds were left !!!

    " It is Reverse Psychology ! " , the girl''s voice rang throughout the lobby and whole Country X through the cameras !!!

    Almost thirty seconds passed by.....

    ...It was now when the public and media realised that the bomb was diffused sessfully !

    It was DISPOSED !

    What ?!

    She actually did it ?!

    She diffused an electromaic bomb with such aplicated structure and application!!!!

    Media was in aplete uproar by now !!!

    Constant shes of cameras and stream-like flow of reporters'' questions started once again !

    But this time , everyone had respect and admiration for her along with relief in their eyes .

    On the sidelines , the Bomb Squad of the army was dumbfounded when they realised what had happened !

    They had been trying to diffuse the bomb for past half an hour but they still couldn''t solve the structure.

    In fact , they even made the wrong judgement regarding the wire that should have been cut off !

    But their Boss didn''t simply solved theplicated structure , but also , quickly understood that the bomb was designed with the Reverse Psychology in order to confuse them !

    Wasn''t this absurd !?

    They found themselves kneeling in front of the admirable woman subconsciously !!!

    Meanwhile , the six men finally took a sigh of relief !!!!!

    Thank God !

    Thank god she was safe in the end !

    They quickly picked up their car keys and headed towards O-D Mall !!

    They had to check her for themselves to feel rest assured !

    The nerves of this girl !!!

    She almost scared them to death !!!

    How dare she ?!

    Idiot !!!

    Here , Rong Xinghe waspletely unaware of the six stormsing her way .

    She took a mike and calmed down the public , " Calm down ! Friends , we are fine , we are safe !!! "

    After the media and public calmed down , she answered their questions one by one and then , sat down in her car to head back home....

    ...

 Chapter 46: Last people who would hurt her !!!

    Chapter 46: Last people who would hurt her !!!

    On her way home , Rong Xinghe finally felt relieved !

    At least , the mall was still safe !

    It was a public property !

    Had it been sted tonight , public would have gone into the state of panic !

    But her ident had happened not too long ago and her health was still improving. So , after such an exhausting task , her head started hurting.

    She rested her head on the back of the seat and fell asleep .

    At this time , six cars rushed towards her car with high speed from behind and overtook her car making ite to a halt .

    The military officers jumped out of the government vehicle and pointed their guns at all the six cars surrounding their car !

    Who the hell wanted to cause trouble at this time of night ? !

    It was already 3 a.m. !!

    Six men came out of the driver''s seat and finally appeared in their line of sight !

    As soon as the military officers saw them , they lowered the weapons in their hands .

    They were thest people who would hurt boss , after all !

    And also thest people , whom they could offend !

    They should have had already guessed that they wouldn''t be able to stay away from the boss after what had happened today !!

    It must have been tough for them to witness the scene that had took ce in that mall !!

    Ah !

    Brother love !

    " Where is she ?! " , Lu Wei asked in a stern tone simr to that of a soldier .

    One of the soldiers pointed towards the door of the car where Rong Xinghe was resting , unknown to themotion outside the car .

    Mo Zixuan loosened his tie and took hurried steps towards Rong Xinghe''s car followed by the other five .

    They understood his anticipation more than anyone else .

    For Mo Zixuan , Rong Xinghe was his only family .So , obviously , today''s incident was quite frightening for him .

    Mo Zixuan opened the door and was about to scold Rong Xinghe , but when he saw her sleeping , words just couldn''te out of his mouth .

    She was asleep quite heavily just like an innocent child .

    The girl had a pale and fatigued expression on her tender face !

    It must have been tough for her to get up in the middle of the night and diffuse aplicate-structured bomb !

    When Mo Zixuan saw his sister in such a tiring state , he couldn''t bring himself to wake her up , let alone rebuke and scold her .

    He eventually took a sigh of helplessness !!!

    What to do about this girl ?!

    Expressions on the faces of other five men were no less !

    Even though they were all the most influential and powerful people within their respective professions , they still felt most helpless when it came to this girl !

    Mo Zixuan held the girl in his arms tenderly and turned around , " We will take her to her penthouse. She will stay the night there. She has just diffused a bomb , which means , she has destroyed the ns of the terrorist groups. They will definitely try to attack her ! Military Chief Residence is not safe tonight. Give it a security check , first ! "

    "That''s right. She needs afortable environment to rest. About security , we have our own security teams already , but it will be better if minimum of tenmandos provide with their duties for the night. Her security is thest thing we are going to take granted for ! " , Zhi Ximanded.

    " Right ! No risks with her life ! " , Zhi Bo said.

    The girl''s brows stiffened when she was held in the strong arms. But soon , she sensed the warmth and familiarity of her brother. She also heard the familiar voices of her bros. So, she rxed in her subconscious state and fell asleep again without any worry .....

    " Fair arrangement , Sir. What''s the address of Military Chief''s penthouse ? " , one of the officers asked.

    " Elite Diamond Penthouse " , Zhi Al said .

    ....

    At 3:30 a.m.

    In Elite Saphhire Penthouse ,

    The man was trying his best but he couldn''t fall asleep. He had been tossing and turning for three hours now .

    Why was he feeling so restless ?

    Even he couldn''t understand his anxiousness !

    At this time , Xi Wei entered the man''s room ,

    " Bro ! Do you know what sister-inw did today ? "

    The moment Xi Yuan heard this name , he felt a warmth spread through his body .

    His furrowed brows eased up and his stiff back rxed .

    He then realised that maybe she was the reason for the anxiety he had been feeling.

    He sat up on his bed ," What did she do ? "

    Xi Wei understood his brother''s concern. So , he directly switched on the TV and randomly selected a news channel .

    When Xi Yuan saw the contents of the

    '' Breaking News '' on the channel , he suddenly felt a fear .

    He quickly got off the bed and asked in a concerned and shaky voice, " Is she alright ?! "

    " She is fine , Brother ! I just wanted to tell you how amazing she was to diffuse a bomb connected with a timer at thest second ! She is so amazing ! " , Xi Wei replied in an excited tone .

    Xi Yuan saw theplete footage. The girl was really a professional. The way she worked on the bomb and its structure without a blemish wasmendable.

    Also earlier , when he had seen her attack the terrorist with her martial arts moves , he had got the feeling that she wasn''t a normal person .

    She was extremely ruthless and merciless , when dealing with her enemies .

    Had it been other men , they wouldn''t have epted a woman as fierce and independent as her , but.....

    He was Xi Yuan.

    He felt proud that he loved a girl like her .

    If she wanted to be ruthless , he would still stand by her ....

    If she wanted to be fierce , he would still support her ...

    If she wanted to kill , he would help her hide the dead body .....

    He had only one condition and that was that she would never leave his side .

    He wouldn''t be able to endure that ever in this lifetime ...

    What to do ?

    He was a man in love , after all.....

    "She indeed is amazing ! " , Xi Yuan smiled as he saw the girl in all her glory like a queen .

    But then the man''s face turned dark again ,

    " Where is she at this moment ?! "

    Her health and safety were obviously his top concerns , no matter whatever achievements she had .

    Eh ?

    Xi Wei was stunned.

    Was he actually thinking of going to meet her at this time of night ?!

    Bro ! I told you ! She is fine !! Can''t you be rest assured ?!

    We cannot lock horns with the army at this time of night !!!

    Xi Wei was about to reason with his brother when they heard whirring of tyres of some cars.

    Xi Wei rushed towards the floor-to-ceiling window to know what was going on .

    Xi Yuan was watching his girl on TV when he heard the shocked scream of his brother ,

    " Brother ! How could it be ?! "

 Chapter 47: Show mercy , My Lord ! !

    Chapter 47: Show mercy , My Lord ! !

    Xi Yuan rushed towards the floor-to-ceiling window when he heard his brother''s scream !

    Even he was stunned when he saw the scene taking ce .

    Six cars were parked outside the neighbouring penthouse and a man was carrying a girl in his arms inside the penthouse as the other five men followed him .

    F*ck !

    Was the girl really .....

    Rong Xinghe ?!

    Almost immediately , Xu Yuan''s face was covered with concern .

    Why was she lying like this ?!

    Did something disastrous happened ?!

    Xi Wei was even more shocked than his brother .

    Were these six men really .....

    ... sister-inw''s brothers ?!!

    Initially , when he had got the information about them , he hadn''tpletely believed it .

    But now , his mouth was wide open like a cave.

    He was shocked ... no ... horrified by this scene !!!

    They were indeed closely rted to her , so much so that they could get near her disregarding the military protocols .

    And by the looks of it ..... they were genuine and true to her ...

    Then his eyes fell on the woman in Mo Zixuan''s arms !

    Sh*t !!!

    What happened to her ?!

    Another attack ?!

    Wait !

    He suddenly realised that a devil was standing besides him !

    Damn !

    He must be perturbed to see her like that !!!

    He slowly turned his head and....

    As expected !

    Xi Yuan''s face was as dark as coal and as pale as a sheet at this moment !!!

    He was really worried for his girl !!!

    " Bro ... Sis-inw .... she ... " , Xi Wei was about to pacify his brother when he again heard the whirring of the car tyres .

    But this time , it wasn''t just six cars !

    They were almost 30 fricken'' Fortuners !!!

    Holy Hell !!!

    Thirty ?!

    Xi Yuan''s brows furrowed when he saw the cars approaching .

    He opened the window so that the things could be more audible .

    __________

    Meanwhile ,

    The six men also stopped in their tracks and turned around to look at the security vehicles approaching them .

    Lu Wei turned back around and patted Mo Zixuan''s shoulder , " Zixuan , You take her inside first .We will deal with this. "

    Zhi Xi looked at his youngest brother , "Al , you also go inside to help Zixuan. Also , boil warm water for her , in case , she gets up in the middle of the night. "

    Mo Zixuan and Zhi Al nodded and headed back inside the penthouse .

    Until now , almost hundred men were standing like a military team .

    But they weren''t any military soldiers !

    They wore different dark coloured uniforms unlike that of an armyman !

    They had a badge on their shoulder , though .

    Two words , " Zone X " , were written on it .

    Zhi Xi walked towards the man who was in a formal attire , " Although , they are our personal security , tonight , they need to be focussed on our sister''s safety. Alright ?"

    The man nodded in a respectful manner and turned around , " Not a strand of Miss Xinghe''s hair should be touched. Clear ?! "

    All the men nodded .

    " Split !!! " , Lu Weimanded as the men followed the orders and covered almost every part of the ce''s exterior .

    The four men then headed back inside .

    _______________

    When Xi Wei heard theplete conversation , his mind wentpletely nk .

    Huh ?!

    Did they actually called their personal security teams for her safety ?!

    He was stunned , not because they had called for their personal security teams , but because their personal securuty team was '' Zone X '' .

    Country X had many private professional security organizations. But , amongst them, only one was unique. It was a prominent group which was run by government of Country X. It was named ''Zone X''. It was responsible for security of many famous personalities invited in country X including the Royal Family of Ennd and President of America .

    It was a known fact in Country X that only nine people within the country got this level of security .

    Two were , obviously , the Prime Minister and President of the country .

    And one was his brother Xi Yuan !

    So , the remaining six people were ....

    ..... sister-inw''s brothers !!!!

    Damn !

    All of them were much too powerful !!!

    They were way more influential than he could even imagine !!!

    If they loved her so much , that they made almost hundred men protect her for a night , then .....

    Did his brother had a tough time ahead written in his destiny ?!

    They doted so much on her !!!

    Would sis-inw even allow his brother into her life after all the love she was getting ?!

    He subconsciously looked at his brother who was visibly relieved than before .

    He was stunned to see this unexpected expression on his face .

    " Bro , What happened ?! "

    " She is fine ! " , Xi Yuan replied .

    " H...How do you know ?! " , Xi Wei was curious about how this man came to this conclusion.

    " If she had been serious , a team of doctors would have arrived before the security team ." , the man said .

    Xi Wei : " ..... "

    Indeed , this man also knew his Senior Zhi and Senior Lu very well .

    " So bro , should we go to visit her ?! " , Xi Wei asked .

    " Nope ! Let her spend time with her brothers ! You go back to sleep ! "

    Xi Wei had a devastated expression when he heard his brother .

    But i want to see sis-inw !!!!

    She was so cool just now when she diffused the bomb !!!!

    I want to congratte her !!!

    Xi Yuan looked at his brother from the corner of his eyes.

    He knew ,what this look meant ,very well .

    The man patted his brother''s head tenderly .

    " Wei , be good. She needs sleep. "

    As soon as he heard this sweet tone , Xi Wei quickly took some steps back in fright !

    He knew that a horror was waiting for him after this tender tone , if he dared to insist again !

    He better not wake up the devil inside him .

    Dear Brother !

    This love of yours is more scary than the daily beating sessions i get !!!

    Show mercy , My Lord ! !

    ....

    Meanwhile , Mo Zixuan gentlyid the girl down on the bed as Zhi Al covered her with the nket .

    The girl tossed around and hugged a pillow tightly just like a kid as she mumbled

    " Bros .... " in her sleepy state .

    The moment Mo Zixuan and Zhi Al saw the girl''s actions and heard her mumblings , they both chuckled .....

    How cute !!!

    They wondered sometimes , was she really a 22 year old adult ?!

    Zixuan took the girl''s hands in his warm ones as he looked at her tenderly .

    The girl''s eyes flinched indicating that she was feeling a slight ufort .

    Mo Zixuan subconsciously looked at her hand .

    As expected , it was bruised !

    Maybe burned !!!

    Now that he thought about it ,he realised that she had personally connected wires to pass high voltage into the system to disconnect it from the bomb. This must have happened then .

    Both the men felt their heart ache with the pain .....

    Mo Zixuan loosened his grip slightly and said to Zhi Al , " Go and call Rogguang ! "

    Zhi Al nodded and rushed to call the "doctor of the family " :-)

 Chapter 48: " You dare to defy us , Xinghe ?! "

    Chapter 48: " You dare to defy us , Xinghe ?! "

    Next day .....

    The girl opened her eyes after a rxing andfortable sleep .

    She sat up on her bed ....

    She was simply trying to remember where she was as she looked around the familiar room ...

    ... when her eyes flew wide open !!!

    Her six brothers were sleeping soundly !

    Mo Zixuan was asleep on the chair near her bed while , Zhi Al dozed on the other end of the bed.

    Lu Wei and Zhi Xi were sleeping on the couch , whereas Zhi Bo and Su Rogguang rested their heads on the coffee table .

    By the looks of it , they hadn''t slept for the whole night .

    When she saw the fatigue on their faces , her heart ached .

    How could they love her to this extent ....

    Did she even deserved this level of doting ?!!

    Were they crazy ?!

    Why would they stay awake for the whole night ?!

    And when did they carried her here ?!!

    Wait ... !

    If they were all there , that meant only only thing !

    They knew what happenedst night !

    Crap !

    She was a dead chicken !

    She quickly got off the bed , and like a burr , tried to escape the room without making any noice .

    " Don''t you dare , Kiddo ! " , Lu Wei''s stern and cold voice rang throughout the room .

    All the other five men also woke up after hearing the high voice .

    " HEHEHEHE ..... Brother ! I was just .... uh... going to make you guys breakfast myself ! " , Rong Xinghe tried her best to act natural .

    " Come again , kiddo ?!! What were you going to do ?! " , Zhi Bo asked with an evident threat in his voice .

    " N....No ! I said i was going to order servants to make you breakfast " , Rong Xinghe broke out in cold sweat.

    What the hell was she thinking when she said that she was going to '' make breakfast herself '' ?!

    Practically , fanning the mes !!!

    Idiot !

    " Come , sit here ! " , Zhi Xi said as he patted the empty space on the couch .

    Rong Xinghe quickly shook her head vigorously .

    Do i look like an idiot who would walk straight into a death trap ?!

    " You dare to defy us , Xinghe ?! " , Su Rogguang raised his brows ever so slightly .

    They knew her too well. So , they were obviously aware that she must have guessed that they knew the incident ofst night .

    Rong Xinghe finally took a deep breath as she walked over and sat on the couch .

    Mo Zixuan : " What the hell were you doingst night ?! "

    Zhi Xi : " How could you take your life for granted ?! "

    Su Rogguang : " Exactly ! Why didn''t you applied the skin burn ointment ?! "

    Zhi Bo : " That was the limit of carelessness ! "

    After getting scolded , Rong Xinghe finally lifted her head as she looked at each and every one of her six brothers .

    " Bros ! I am sorry ! But if i would have got the chance again , i would have still decided to stay and fight rather than escape!! At that moment , i wasn''t sister to any of you !!!! I was the person whom the whole country looked at with hope in their eyes ! Hope that i will protect them ! Hope that i will protect their loved ones ! At that moment , I was Country X''s Military Chief. The whole Country X was my family at that time. Don''t you think , it was only right for me to protect my family ?! "

    All the six men had nothing to say after this. She made a clear distinction between her personal and professional life !

    How would they even retaliate further !

    This was what they themselves had tought her , since , she was a child .

    " So you didn''t thought even for a second about us when you took that decision ?! You never thought what would happen to us if something was to happen to you ?! " , Zhi Bo asked after sometime .

    Rong Xinghe saw her most emotional brother and went towards him as she massaged his tensed shoulders .

    " I did thought about you six. But not as my family. Instead , as the civilians. You were the part of this country''s massive poption for me at that time. I love you guys ! But i have given away my breath to this country ! My love might be there for you all , but my sincerity lies towards Country X !

    " This was what we had discussed five years ago , when i left for Military Chief training , right ? "

    At this time , they really regretted their decision of allowing her to take upon this authority .

    But , they never had an option !

    Rong Xinghe was nothing without her independence .

    They would''ve hurt her even more , if they had locked her in a cage of gold .

    She deserved the sky !

    They sighed helplessly as they saw the soldier in front of them !!!

    She wasn''t the fragile and delicate girl whom they had seen in the hospital nine years ago anymore .

    Instead ,she was a fierce and strongdy .

    She had changed for the good .

    Somewhere deep down , even they felt proud of the person she had be .

    They themselves felt inspired whenever they saw her start from the scratch again if she failed , with the same determination .

    Her stubborness was indeed admirable !

    " So will you promise me one thing ?! " , Lu Wei took a deep breath .

    " Depends on what you wish " , Rong Xinghe shrugged .

    " Try to be alive ! For god''s sake , after your military chief working hours end , you have a family of six brothers waiting for you at home ! " , the man said in a defeated tone .

    He knew it very well that there was no point debating with her .

    " Okay. I will take my life in concern but you guys need to understand that nothing is more important to me than these millions of citizens when i am the military chief and i wouldn''t fear to sacrifice my life for them. "

    " Hmmm " , Lu Wei nodded in approval .

    Maybe , that was the best negotiation they coulde to .

    " And one more thing ! " , this time it was Mo Zixuan who opened his mouth .

    " Yes bro ? " , the girl looked at the man .

    " No matter how confidential information it is , if you know that media is going to be involved , then please inform me beforehand. I don''t want to die from heart atack during a live TV broadcast !!! " , Mo Zixuan said .

    Rong Xinghe looked at this brother of hers .

    Yeah !

    She must have had actually freaked him out !

    Reporting an incident which involved his sister''s life would have been surely difficult for him .

    " Okie dokie !!! " , Rong Xinghe said in a sweet and cute voice .

 Chapter 49: " Xinghe ! You scared me !"

    Chapter 49: " Xinghe ! You scared me !"

    Looking at this pure and sweet soul in front of them , the six men couldn''t bring themselves to restrain her .

    " Now , the most important thing .... " , Zhi Al said rubbing his hands with a mischievous grin .

    " What ? " , Zhi Xi asked .

    " What do you want to eat , kiddo ?! " , Zhi Al asked almost ready to jump into the kitchen .

    Rong Xinghe raised her eyes at the sudden turn of the conversation.

    Of course , her Bro Al could do that !

    " Hmmm. Nothing much. Just a light breakfast ! A bowl of cerial , a grilled sandwich , a hotpot , assagne , a vani milkshake , a cup of tea and a hotdog if possible. " , Rong Xinghe concluded her requirements. Then , she added , " And yes ! Please make something for yourself as well, guys ! Don''t starve yourself !!! "

    Zhi Xi : " What ?! "

    Zhi Al : " ..... "

    Su Rogguang : " Unbelievable !!! "

    Mo Zixuan : " That is a '' Nothing much '' for you ?! Seriously ?!!! "

    Lu Wei : " You intend to eat all that alone ?! "

    Zhi Bo : " And this is your definition for '' Just a light breakfast '' ?!! "

    Rong Xinghe gave a cold re to all the six men and pointed towards her stomach indicating that she was hungry !

    " Go and cook !!! "

    The moment thedy devil issued the order , the six men quickly rushed towards the kitchen !

    Holly hell !

    This woman would eat up the whole house , if she won''t be feeded soon !!!

    Just frickin'' feed her !!!

    And how vast and huge was her appetite ?!!!

    _______________

    Rong Xinghe smiled at the six men as she saw them leave in the direction of kitchen !

    She initially wanted them to sleep and have some rest , but when she saw their restlessness and dull faces , she thought it would be better if they ate some food first .

    The girl sighed helplessly .

    Crazy people !!!

    They didn''t needed to be so worried over such a small matter !!!

    She then freshened up and took a shower. After that , she turned towards the kitchen and saw that all the six men were cooking with full focus and concentration .

    Woah !

    They looked so stunning in their chef apron and chef hat !

    She quickly took out her mobile and clicked Zhi Xi''s , Zhi Bo''s and Lu Wei''s photo while they cooked .

    Then , with a mischievous smile , she sent all these photos to their respective women : Songyan , Ruo Cy and Ningtao with a caption , " Feast to the eyes , Girls !!! Quick ! Reach Elite Diamond Penthouse. Your hotties are cooking for you. ? "

    After that , she went into the garden of her penthouse , only to be shocked by the scene in front of her !

    Hundred freaking men !!!!

    Poor souls !!!

    Her heart ached for all of them !!

    Bros ! This wasn''t necessary !!! Really !!!

    Rong Xinghe made a hand gesture as she took out her revolver to the people indicating that they could rx now.

    The men also understood young miss''s gesture as their stiff bodies eased up a little.

    She was about to head back inside when she heard a deep voice from her behind , " Xinghe"

    She turned around when she listened the familiar tone .

    " Yuan. You ..... " , the girl was shocked to the core. Why would he be here ?!

    The man ignored her surprise and touched her ferehead with his palms. He had restrained himself too muchst night. He couldn''t possibly rush towards her at night in front of her brothers, after all. But today , he had to be rest assured , no matter what !

    " Xinghe , do you have any fever ? Are you fine ?"

    The girl was stunned when the man touched her .

    Wait !

    Weren''t their physical contacts increasing every day ?!

    What was going on ?!

    The day before , he had rested his head on her shoulder .

    Today , he was checking her health .

    Wasn''t he acting more and more like a mother ?!

    " Yes Mom " , Rong Xinghe said in a daze. subconsciously .

    Xi Yuan : " ..... "

    Xi Wei : " ..... "

    Bro !

    I pity you ! I really do !

    Bartender ?!

    Idiot ?!

    And now , Mom ?!

    Your woman is indeed one of a kind .

    Xi Wei couldn''t control hisughter anymore , so he startedughing like a maniac .

    HAHAHA ...

    Xi Yuan gave hisckey a cold re shutting him uppletely !!!

    Rong Xinghe finally came back to her senses and realised what she had done .

    Crap !

    What the hell was that ?!

    " Sorry , Yuan. I didn''t meant that ! Its just ..... i ..... " , the girl scratched her head awkwardly.

    " You know , i get tired by all this over-protectiveness and doting. My six brothers do the same. Its quite a motherly gesture ..... No ?! " , the girl asked nervously .

    HAHAHA....

    This time , it was Xi Yuan whoughed.

    Xi Wei was utterly dumbfounded .

    Was this man really the type of person who couldugh ?!

    How is it possible !!!

    Isn''t this against thew of nature !!!

    Rong Xinghe : " .... "

    Did this man never minded anything ?!

    Shouldn''t he be offended or plotting some revenge like a rich jerk by now ?!

    Strange !

    The man then stoppedughing and stretched his hands towards Xinghe as he patted her head. He had a gentle and tender gaze as he looked at the girl .....

    Suddenly , he couldn''t help himself as he closed in on her and hugged her !

    " Xinghe ! You scared me ! Please take care of yourself ! " , the man closed his eyes as he inhaled the girl''s sweet and unique fragnance.

    Xinghe : " .... "

    Xi Wei : " .... "

    Bro ! What are you doing ?!

    She will be scared !!!

    As expected , Rong Xinghe was quite startled by this sudden closeness. She was about to push back the man and hit him hard when she subconsciously stopped. Why did he smelled so good ?! It was so amazing ! She became numb to her surroundings all of a sudden. Wait .... That is not the point girl !!

    At this point , she realised that it wasn''t his fault , either. He had just returned from Mauritius. And this was normal in foreignnds. So , he might be used to this. Her stiff shoulders finally rxed a bit .

    She gently separated the man from her as she looked at him reassuringly with a smile .

    The moment she smiled , Xi Yuan''s heart started to race like crazy. Why did she had such a dazzling smile ?!!! It was enough to kill him , he thought .

    " What are you doing here ?! " , Rong Xinghe asked as the man calmed himself down .

    " Xiao Xinghe , my brother is the '' boy next door '' " , Xi Wei said excitedly as he pointed towards the neighbouring penthouse .

    " What he meant is that I am the owner of Elite Saphhire Penthouse. So we are neighbours ! " , Xi Yuan smiled.

    Rong Xinghe was speechless again.

    Elite Corps was apany taken over by her brother Zhi Xi and it was known for constructing the most enormous buildings around the world. One of the projects took ce in Country X and it produced the most expensive penthouses in the entire world. These ces weren''t something that could be bought simply by throwing money. People needed hell of contacts and power for that.

    Zhi Xi had gifted her this penthouse when she had won '' National Youth Icon '' title by the UNESCO for her works in social welfare when she was 15 .

    But , what about Xi Yuan ....

    And....

    Wasn''t this too much of a coincidence ???

    " Senior Zhi had gifted me this penthouse when i had won '' Global Business Tycoon of the year '' award when i was 19 " , Xi Yuan said when he saw the confused expression on girl''s face .

    " Oh.... "

    " Uh..... are youing to William''s party tonight ? " , Xi Yuan asked .

    " Yeah ! That bastard will surely pull some tricks if I ditch him ! " , Rong Xinghe rolled her eyes over-dramatically .

    Then a mischievous smirk appeared on her face , " But don''t worry ! He will regret calling me to this party for a very long time! "

    " Alright , then. I will be there as well ! " , Xi Yuan said .

    Rong Xinghe gave her killer smile again almost making the man''s heart jump out .

    She then looked at Xi Wei who was smiling as he observed the two people interact.

    She patted his shoulder , " Little Panda , what are you smiling at ?! "

    " Seeing you both makes me feel that ..... '' love is in the air '' , HEHEHEHE.... You both are made for each other ..OOPS !!!!"

    Xi Wei quickly covered his mouth as he realised what he had just said !!

    Xi Yuan : " ..... "

    Rong Xinghe : " ..... "

 Chapter 50: " Crap ! Did we miss the show ?! "

    Chapter 50: " Crap ! Did we miss the show ?! "

    Xi Yuan looked at his idiot brother coldly while Xi Wei bowed down his head fearfully .

    Rong Xinghe found this interaction a little cute !!

    How lovely !!!

    "Its okay , Yuan. Little Panda was just kidding !!! " , Rong Xinghe defended Xi Wei .

    Seeing the tiny ray of hope , Xi Wei quickly stood behind Rong Xinghe.

    Yeah ! Sister-inw will protect me !!!

    " Who said he was kidding ?! " , Xi Yuan looked at the girl with a meaningful smile .

    Rong Xinghe : " .... "

    What was that ?!

    Wait !!!

    Did he just ...

    " Food is ready , kiddo !!! " , before Rong Xinghe could think of any possibility , Zhi Al''s voice came from the kitchen .

    At the same time , Xi Fang arrive in a mercedes , " Bro ! Office time ! " , then he looked at thedy , " Good Morning ! Xiao Xinghe !!! Are you alright ?! I heard aboutst night''s incident !!!You were quite awesome there !!! "

    " Thanks. Just part of the job !!! Okay ! I gotta go ! Bros are waiting !! See you all at the party tonight ! " , Rong Xinghe waved her hand as she headed back inside her penthouse .

    Xi Wei''s eyes followed Rong Xinghe until she disappeared. Suddenly , he felt like a force had held onto his cor !

    A chill ran down his spine !!!

    Please ! Let it be a wild animal !

    Or Wind !

    Or a Ghost !

    Or any ex-girlfriend !

    Just not that person !!!

    He slowly turned to look at the person holding his cor !

    F*ck !

    Xi Yuan smiled at his brother , " Come Wei , I will tell you what it means when '' love is in the air ''. Come !!! "

    Xi Wei started struggling , " No Bro ... Sorry ! I won''t do it again ! "

    He knew what that smile meant very well !

    Although , his brother''s lips were shaped into a smile , the danger and craving for beating him up was clearly evident in his eyes !!

    Despite all his struggles , Xi Wei was ''respectfully taken'' to the neighbouring penthouse .....

    Rest... is a mystery !!!

    _____________

    Meanwhile ,

    Rong Xinghe rushed back into the dining room. Her brothers were still wearing their chef hats but they had already removed their apron as they sat on the dining chairs.

    " Okay ! Let''s eat !!! " , Rong Xinghe''s mouth watered the moment she saw food .

    She was very hungry since the morning .

    The six menughed when they saw the sparkle in the girl''s eyes !!

    It was like she had found a treasure map !!!

    The girl ignored the six people as she sat down and started serving herself .

    Just when she took three-four bites of her sandwich , sound of hurried footsteps were heard .

    " Crap ! Xinghe , did we miss the show ?! " , Songyan asked as she struggled to catch up her breath after she nced at Zhi Xi .

    " Hell ! Why did he took off his apron ? Are they done cooking already ?!!!! " , Ningtao was even more heartbroken as she looked at Lu Wei .

    " Yeah ! " , Ruo Cy also had frown pasted on her face when she saw Zhi Bo .

    This sudden arrival of their wives shocked Lu Wei and Zhi Xi. Same was the case for Zhi Bo as he stared at Ruo Cy .

    It was 8:30 a.m.

    There was no way thesedies would be awake at this time .

    Mo Zixuan , Zhi Al and Su Rogguang were also a little dumbfounded !

    What show ?!

    Why the sudden sadness for taking off an apron ?

    " Uh... What are you doing here so early in the morning ?! " , Lu Wei raised his eyes at his wife .

    " Yeah ?! And what ''show'' ?! " , Zhi Xi gave a questioning look to Songyan .

    Zhi Bo also looked quizically at Ruo Cy .

    The three women threw their mobile phones at their respective love interests as they rushed towards Rong Xinghe .

    Songyan : " Are you alright ?! I was so scared when I saw the news !! "

    Ningtao : " Exactly ! You should take care of your security ! I won''t be able to live without you. "

    Ruo Cy : " Yeah ! But you were really efficient ! All the people in my appartment building were praising you when I was leaving toe here. "

    Rong Xinghe : " Thank you Sis Cy and I am fine Sis Tao and Sis Yan ."

    Ningtao looked at Ruo Cy ," So you are Bo''s girlfriend ! Xinghe liked you a lot .... so we also like you a lot ! Wee to the family , by the way ! "

    Ruo Cy , " Really ?!! Thank you ! Actually , I also like you a lot ! I have watched all your movies and they are awesome !!! And Sis Yan , I admire your work as well ! The way you organize weddings is just fantastic !!! Especially , the marriage of that Royal Family of India ! "

    Ningtao and Songyan smiled when they heard the sweet girl. She was indeed lovable ! No wonder , Rong Xinghe had liked her .

    She would sure be a part of this family soon !!!

    Zhi Bo actually deserved this happiness !

    ______________

    Rong Xinghe smiled at the threedies who were interacting happily .

    But .....

    " (cough ... cough ) .... Uh Xinghe ..... We are a ''feast to the eyes'' ?! "

    " Yeah ! Apparently we ''hotties'' were cooking for them. No ?! "

    " Do you n to exin , kiddo ?! "

    The three bone-chilling dangerous voices echoed in the dining room .

    Mo Zixuan , Su Rogguang and Zhi Al took the phones from the other three men and as soon as they saw thisdy devil''s texts , they startedughing maniacally !

    Meanwhile.....

    Rong Xinghe gulped in fear !

    F*ck !

    How could these women sell her out like this ?!

    Traitors !!

    I was helping you , silly girls !!

    Why did you put me in such a tough spot ?!

    Rong Xinghe looked at her brothers nervously , " HEHEHE .... Bro .....I ..... didn''t ...."

    Lu Wei got up from his chair and picked up a cricket bat lying on the floor in the corner with other sports equipments, " Where did you find the guts to wake up my wife from her sleep so early in the morning ?! "

    Zhi Xi also walked towards Lu Wei and picked up a hockey stick from the stack , "Hmm .... And you seem to be frank enough to call your brothers ''hotties'' to lure your sister-inws here. Huh ?! "

    Zhi Bo also didn''t backed down and went to pick up a baseball bat , " How dare you disrupt her rest ? She had a long day yesterday , already !!! And what the hell is the ''feast to the eyes ?! "

    Rong Xinghe sensed the danger the moment Zhi Bo went towards the stack .

    Damn !!!!

    These wife-doting people !!

    I was creating opportunities for your romance !!

    Ungrateful lot !

    THUD !

    The girl stood up as she pped her hands on the dining table , " ENOUGH !! You want to punish me ?! "

    The three men nodded .

    The littledy devil smirked , " Then catch me !! "

    She quickly turned around and did a cartwheel over the chair she was sitting on and ran out with the speed of a Tigress.

    " You stop right there ! "

    Saying this , the three man also ran after the girl with the sports equipments in their hands .

    _____________

    Ruo Cy looked worriedly at the door , out of which , the four people ran !

    Ningtao sensed her ufort , " Don''t worry ! None of them will be able to get a hold of her ! And even they did they won''t hurt hee. They are just ying ! "

    Just ying ?

    Really ?

 Chapter 51: Her brothers will have fun with you !

    Chapter 51: Her brothers will have ''fun'' with you !

    Ruo Cy was a bit confused when Ningtao said that they were just ying , " I thought Mr. Lu and Mr. Zhi were a bit ... "

    " ... Mature ?" , Songyanpleted Ruo Cy''s thoughts .

    Ruo Cy nodded.

    Weren''t they one of the most renowned businessmen of the country ?!

    But their reactions just now were quite ... childish !!

    Ningtao held Ruo Cy''s hands and the threedies walked towards the garden to chat ,

    " She is the only person they show their vulnerable side in front of. Ruo Cy , if you be a part of Zhi Bo''s life one day , you should know who his family is. These six men do not follow the society''s rules. None of them are connected to Rong Xinghe by blood , but I can im that their rtionship with each other is way more stronger than the real siblings. "

    " How ?! I mean .... how is their rtionship so strong ?! " , Ruo Cy was surprised when she heard Ningtao .

    " Pain " , Songyan sighed .

    " Pain ? "

    " Yeah ! You have no idea what this girl has gone through since her childhood ?! She was once a girl who had considered a cruel option like suicide for herself. She has had hell of scary and sleepless nights ! She has suffered the pain that none of us want to even think about !!! " Songyan said ....

    " And yet , these Six men have seen her tears and groans of that pain. They have worked hard , not for themselves , but her. They want to give her the most beautiful life .... and they do everything in their power just to make her smile. They have walked the path of hell along with her and had it been any other brother , he wouldn''t have supported their sworn sister like these Six did.

    " So yeah ! Pain is the exact reason for their strong bonding .... " , Ningtao continued .

    Until now , Ruo Cy was very curious to know as to what had happened to such an amazing person like Rong Xinghe to go through so much pain.

    Ningtao and Songyan looked at each other and nodded .

    Finally , the two women told everything about Rong Xinghe''s painful past to Ruo Cy .

    " She simply needs a family Cy. She deserves the warmth of a family. If you intend toe into Zhi Bo''s life , you will have to take Xinghe into consideration. Although , she isn''t the fragile and weak girl she was back then anymore , but she still is the same ''little troublemaker'' for her brothers. Also , it is not just these Six who dote on her , even she bes quite protective of them at times .You only need to be genuine towards Zhi Bo , and she will ept you with open arms. " Ningtao smiled as she concluded Rong Xinghe''s past .

    When she heard theplete story , Ruo Cy''s eyes were filled with tears. How could a family do this to their own kin ?! How did Rong family acted so cruel to their daughter ?! How could they ...

    Ningtao and Songyan patted the sobbing girl. These were their exact reactions when their husbands had told them about the girl''s past.

    Suddenly , they heardughter from the hallway of the penthouse so they followed the voice.....

    As they reached the hallway , they witnessed an extremely warm scene .....

    Rong Xinghe was rolling andughing like a maniac on the couch as Zhi Bo , Zhi Xi and Lu Wei tickled her hard .

    " HAHAHAHA..... Bro ..... Oohh !!!! "

    " Sorry ! Sorry ! I w...HAHAHA....won''t do it again !!!! Ahh.... HAHAHA ... ! "

    " Bro ... No .... Oohhhh .... HAHAHAHA.... My cheeks hurt .... My stomach hurts .... HAHAHA..."

    " I can''tugh anymore.... HAHAHAHA .... "

    " HEHEHEHE ..... Sorry !!! HAHAHA !! What kind of punishment is this ?! "

    This scene was so beautiful....

    The purity and serenity of a siblings'' rtionship .....

    No wonder .... they were so close ...

    The past they shared , the pain they suffered and the struggles they overcame ... they did it all together .....

    No matter who was on the edge of the cliff ..... rest of the six were always there to stretch their hand and pull them back .....

    Given their past , this bond was bound to be there ...

    The three women smiled at the four people as they also joined the ''tickle battle'' , rescued Xinghe and started tickling the three men...

    Soon , the other three ''single'' men also joined the chaotic situation ... !

    _________________

    At night .....

    On William''s house''s terrace ...

    Many celebrities had gathered together to enjoy the evening.....

    William''s parties were known around the whole country to be the best , so obviously , whoever got the invites , never missed them .

    Many celebrities even tried hard to get these invites .....

    In these parties , William always used to be the centre of attraction ...

    But today , although , every girl was surrounding and buttering him , he wasn''t happy at all .

    Because , he knew very well , that the moment the Xi siblings would arrive , all his limelight will be snatched away .....

    Specially , that King-like person .....

    But he had no idea , that a person was going to snatch away the limelight even from the Xi siblings tonight !!!

    " William , are you sure Rong Xinghe ising today ?! Last night , she diffused the bomb so heroically , she must''ve been tired..."

    " Yes William ! She very amazing ! Never break your friendship with her. "

    " Was she hurt somewhere ?! Did you checked ?! "

    William scratched his head awkwardly , " I don''t know if she is hurt ..... Check it for yourself when she arrives .... "

    " HAHAHAHA ..... I will definitely ''check'' herpletely !!! " , an actor said with an evil smirk .

    " Are you nning to hurt her ?! " , William became alert when he heard the tone of the man .

    " Nope ! Just some ''fun'' ! She is so hot and sexy , y''know ?!! "

    " Pfttt..... Sure !!! Have some ''fun''. But do you know what''s the most important part ... ?!" , William smiled.

    " What ?! "

    " If even a strand of her hair is found out of ce ..... her brothers will have ''fun'' with you !!! "

    The moment William brought up Xinghe''s brothers , a shiver ran down the actor''s spine and the crowd startedughing ...

    " That''s right .... being ssy is our only option ..... her every brother knows martial arts ....HAHAHA "

    " In fact , I''ve heard that Sis Xinghe has been trained by them personally in these martial arts! She alone is enough !!! "

    Suddenly , loud shrieks came from the entrance of the terrace ...

    " Aaaah !!! Master Xi is here ..... OMG ..... he looks so awesome ..... "

    " Even his siblings are so charming !!! "

 Chapter 52: He was too perfect !!!

    Chapter 52: He was too perfect !!!

    All the people stopped their movements as they looked at the entrance .

    Xi Yuan walked in with his ssy and noble aura , while , Xi Fang , Xi Wei and Xi Ying followed him.

    Unlikest time , the man was a lot more vibrant and lively tonight .

    Although , he still radiated the same aloof , distant and unapproachable aura , his attractive facial features and hazel brown eyes were a feast to the heart .

    He was wearing a Velvet Maroon Tuxedo. He had also put on a Crown-sculpted Diamond Brooch gifted by Xi Ying , which effortlessly represented his ss and wealth as well asplimented his king-like presence .

    The girls couldn''t take their eyes off this man no matter how hard they tried .

    The other three Xi siblings were no less. Xi Fang wore a Dark Blue Tuxedo whereas , Xi Wei was wearing a Dark Green Tuxedo. And Xi Ying , obviously , looked like a princess that she was , in her ck Silk Crepe knee-length off-shoulder dress whichpletely focussed on her tall figure.

    They looked an absolute nobility amidst themoners. None of the celebrity present there couldpare themselves to these four people .

    William rolled his eyes as he threw his hands up in the air exasperatedly .

    He knew it !

    They were going to snatch his limelight !!!

    Bastards !!!

    Xi Wei and Xi Ying started to mingle in the crowd , while , Xi Yuan and Xi Fang sat in a secluded location of the terrace as they took a ss of wine and observed the surroundings.

    " Where is she ? " , Xi Yuan looked at William .

    " She ?? Who ? "

    " Sister-inw Xinghe !!! " , Xi Fang rolled his eyes .

    William choked on his drink the moment he heard the term '' Sister-inw '' ! What ?! Aren''t you guys going too fast ?!

    Not even proposed her and already calling her so intimately .

    He calmed down a bit before saying , " She will be here soon ! "

    Xi Yuan continued to look at the crowd. He observed every individual who got near his sister Xi Ying with a sharp gaze and his eyes softened whenever Xi Wei would protect Xi Ying from those perverts !

    How could a man such as this , not understand Rong Xinghe''s brothers?!

    He himself was quite a protective brother !

    Every now and then , his eyes turned towards the entrance door .

    Xi Fang observed his brothers'' actions as he smiled .

    This man hated parties and socializing the most , yet here he was , waiting anxiously for his woman .

    " Bro , when do you n to propose her ?! "

    " Not now , Fang. She isn''t prepared for any rtionship right now. I want her to feelfortable around me. I want her to trust me. "

    " What if she friendzones you , bro ?! "

    " Why do you think , I keep on doing intimate physical contacts every now and then ?! To make her realise that our rtionship is more than a friendship! " , Xi Yuan smirked.

    " Woah ! Bro ! I bow down to you !!! "

    Xi Fang was truly amused by this revtion. His brother indeed got intimate with her at times in the NGO. There was no way a woman couldn''t sense that !!! How was he so good at this ?! With thebination of his brother''s high IQ and good looks , it was just a matter of time that they would be together .

    William , Xi Yuan and Xi Fang continued small talks , while , the party was going smoothly ...

    Suddenly , Xi Ying''s heel slipped on the pool water and she lost her bnce !

    Everything had happened so quickly , that Xi Wei couldn''t act in time and Xi Yuan and Xi Fang stood up from their seats fearing the worst .

    She was about to fall into the pool , when , a pair of strong arms reached towards her and grabbed her by the waist as the person pulled her towards him !

    Xi Ying closed her eyes afraid of embrassment .But as soon as she felt someone save her , she tightly held onto the cor of the person''s jacket .

    Music stopped and everyone started looking at Xi Ying and her ''saviour'' with a startled expression .

    Xi Ying slowly opened her eyes as she looked at the man in front of her. The moment she saw the man , her heart started beating rapidly.

    Holly Hell !!!

    How can someone be so handsome ?!!

    The man had well trimmed strong mustache connected to the beardon both the sides. His hair were jet ck in colour and looked quite wavy and smooth as they stood with the support of gel. His facial features were simply excellent ! And his eyes ..... Ah ! They were deep as the sea. They were Blue in colour which were filled with tenderness and mischief at the same time. His skinplexion was quite fair making him appear like an Indo-American. Oh ! And his lips !!! They were soft and thin which were curved into a killer smile. He was wearing casual party clothes , that is , a dark blue jean , a party shirt and a jacket covering him .

    Xi Ying didn''t knew , but she simply clung onto him as she stared at the man .

    The man saw the girl staring at him and smiled .He then helped her stand properly as he asked in a manly deep and charming voice , " Are you alright , youngdy ?! "

    The moment the girls heard his voice , they were already in love with him. His face , his smile , his eyes , his aura and now even his voice. He was too perfect !!!

    Xi Ying also started to blush as she nodded .

    ___________

    On the sidelines , Xi Wei was fuming the moment he saw the man pulling his sister by her waist .

    He moved forward to punch him in the face .

    Just when he was about to hit him , he heard a cold voice resonating on thepletely silent terrace , " Wei !!! Stop !!! "

    Xi Wei turned to look at his brother. Why would he stop him ?! In fact , he would have been the first person to beat up such a pervert guy !!!

    He would never defend someone like this , unless it was Xi Ying or Sis-inw ...

    At this time ...

    A terrifying realisation dawned on Xi Wei , Xi Fang and Xi Ying .

    They reflexively looked at the Indo-American young man ....

    As they observed him closely and when they saw the way their brother looked at this man , their eyes widened in shock and horror .....

    Their hands subconsciously reached their mouth to cover it !!!

    F*ck !

    How could this be ??!!!

 Chapter 53: The Virgin Mojito

    Chapter 53: The ''Virgin Mojito''

    How could it be ?!

    It is impossible !!!

    No ! He was a man , he can''t be a woman !!!

    His voice , his aura , his everything was manly !!!

    But then , why would their brother stand up for a stranger ?!

    It wasn''t like him .

    After the man ensured that Xi Ying was fine , he smiled at the crowd .....

    " Hellodies and gentlemen ! Let me introduce myself. I am cousin of business industrialist Mr. Lu Wei ! Actually , I am adopted , but my brother still loves me the most !!! So beware !!! "

    After saying this , the man gave a flying kiss towards the group of girls , then turned around and walked towards William .

    The moment the girls got a flying kiss from the handsome stranger , they went totally crazy as they started screaming excitedly .

    Girl 1 : " Ah !!!! .... You are so handsome Master Lu !!! "

    Girl 2 : " Master Lu !!! ... I love you ..... Please marry me !!! "

    Girl 3 : " OMG ..... Please spend a night with me...Ahh ! "

    Girl 4 : " Aahhh !!!! ..... I want to make babies with you !! "

    At this moment , William Young''s face was as ck as the bottom of a pot !

    What spending night ?!

    What Babies ?!

    What the f*cking hell ?!

    He couldn''t control his anger anymore !!!

    How dare this monster ?!!!

    Earlier , it was the Xi siblings who snatched away his limelight !

    But now , this man ... no ... this bastard , snatched away the limelight from even the ''Noble'' Xi siblings !!!

    He should''ve been happy to see this person , but he looked even more devastated now !!!

    Reason was simple .... this person was way more impactful than the Xi siblings !!!

    No one could stop the shreiks of the girls !!!

    In fact , he was afraid that he might have to send them straight to the mental asylum !!!

    They had practically gone crazy !!

    _______________

    By now , the man stopped in front of William as he looked deeply into his eyes with an evil smirk .

    The man raised his right hand in air indicating the girls to quiet down , which seemed to be effective !!!

    There was a pin drop silence in the so-called party now .

    The man closed in on William as he said with the same smirk in his deep macho voice , " I warned you that you will regret calling me to this party for your entire life .... Bro ."

    Even though William knew that this man was Rong Xinghe , he still shuddered involuntarily when he saw that creepy smirk on his face .

    " H...Hey !!! I ... i ...am not regretting anything! ", William said with a shaky voice clearlycking confidence in his words .

    " Regretting nothing ?! " , the man raised his eyebrows in amusement .

    William shook his head like rattle-drum ...

    " Don''t worry ..... You will regret .... by the end of this night ! " , the man said in a dangerous tone .

    " Wh....What do you mean ?! " , William felt his palms sweating due to nervousness .

    " You won''t get a single girl for the night !!! Try as hard as you can... ! " , the man giggled .

    " H...Hey ! No ! Don''t do this !!! "

    __________

    At this time , Xi Yuan approached the ''man'' with a smile , " Thank You for saving my sister a moment ago ... LU XI."

    The ''man'' looked at Xi Yuan and nodded with a smile .

    Xi Yuan handed the ss in his hand to the ''man'' , " Here ! I have made your favorite VIRGIN MOJITO personally for you ! Please enjoy !!! "

    The moment the ''man'' heard the two words ''Virgin Mojito'' , the smile on his face vanishedpletely as his face turned as pale as a sheet .

    She had made him make it for her at their first meeting !

    Sh*t !!!

    Did he knew about her cross-dressing habit ?!!

    How would he know ?!

    But there was no other exnation to it !!!

    To everyone''s shock , the ''man'' grabbed Xi Yuan''s hand abruptly and took him away into a silent corridor .

    Wh...What happened just now ?!

    How did Master Xi knew what Master Lu liked to drink ?!

    And why did Master Lu held Master Xi''s hand and took him away ?!

    How did they knew each other ?!

    ________________

    Meanwhile , Xi Yuan startedughing the moment this ''man'' brought him inside the corridor !!

    " HAHAHA.... Xinghe ! Look at your face ! You are so cute .... " , Xi Yuan reached to pull the girl''s ''bearded'' cheeks.

    Rong Xinghe hated it when anyone touched her hair or cheeks. So , when Xi Yuan pulled her cheeks , she pouted and covered her cheeks with her palms .

    "How did you knew about this ?! " , the girl said as she patted the beard to prevent it from falling .

    Xi Yuan smiled when he saw the girl pouting like a small kid. She was indeed cute !

    " Do you remember thest time you went to the CozyCountry Caf ?! The time when you shed with Senior Lu and Senior Zhi ?! "

    The girl was shocked when she heard the man''s words , " So you were the bastard whom my bros wanted to meet ?! I was almost killed by them that night !!! "

    Xi Yuan raised his brows ever so slightly.

    ''Bastard'' ?!

    Really ?

    The girl quickly covered her mouth when she realised what she had just called him ....

    Xi Yuan smiled at this silly girl.

    She was the only person who dared to address him like that .

    And he actually loved it !!!

    In his life , he would allow only this one woman to call him whatever she wanted .

    "I am sorry. I didn''t mean to .... " , the girl looked at him apologetically .

    " It is fine , Xinghe. And don''t worry. Your secret is safe with me. You can do whatever you want tonight " , Xi Yuan reassured the girl .

    The girl''s eyes instantly sparkled , " Really ?!!! I can do whatever i want ?! "

    Xi Yuan patted her back as they walked out in the party , " Hmm... Cause as much trouble as you want ! Even if you mess up , I will clean it up after you ! Okay ?! "

    "Okie dokie !!! "

    Ha ! What was there for her to fear about ?! Master Yuan had provided her with his security !!!

    She was the almighty now !!!

    HAHAHAHA.....

    Unknown to Rong Xinghe''s evil thoughts , Xi Yuan actually liked his girl''s unique entry in the party. Earlier , he was worried because many men had nned to propose her tonight. But now , he had nothing to worry about. His girl was smart enough to handle those morons !!!

    But soon , he was going to be proved wrong by this woman besides him !!!

    No one had as many love rivals as he did !!!

 Chapter 54: A cruel PDA !!!

    Chapter 54: A cruel PDA !!!

    Meanwhile ,

    Whole crowd , especially , the girls kept looking at the door in a daze. The two most stunning men of the evening had suddenly disappeared from their sights into the corridor .

    Worse was the situation of the Xi trio .....

    They kept staring into the distance as they sat together on the bar chairs .....

    They still couldn''t digest the whole incident ....

    Was the ''man'' really sis-inw ?!

    How could it be ..... ?!

    The voice ....

    The face .....

    The body ....

    Everything was so manly ....

    How was that even possible ?!

    Most confused was Xi Ying .She had actually developed a crush for this ''man'' .And now she was told that this ''man'' was her sis-inw !!!

    William , on the other hand , kept on drinking as much alcohol as he could. He was trying to prepare himself for the uing ''storm''. He knew Rong Xinghe very well. Why the hell did he even forced her toe here ?!One thing was for sure ! This night was going to be the worst night of his life !

    He looked in the direction of thepletely silent corridor and then at the people staring at the door where that bastard and that monster had disappeared ! He had actually lost all his importance !!! Did no one gave a sh*t about his face ?!

    Hey girls !!!

    I am so handsome !!!

    Stare at me !!!

    Not at that door !!!

    He suddenly remembered about Rong Xinghe''s threat earlier and he involuntarily shuddered .

    At this time , the entrance door of the terrace opened .

    Xi Yuan and Lu Xi (Rong Xinghe) entered. Xi Yuan had the same poker face and Lu Xi had a bright smile pasted on his face .

    When Lu Xi saw the confused public , he smiled and picked up a mic , " Don''t worry , Guys !!! We both aren''t gay !!! We are straight as a stick !!! So....don''t feel shy .... girls. "

    HAHAHA....

    All the men startedughing when they heard the man''s confession .

    What an interesting man !!!

    Earlier , they had hated him because he had got all the attention when he had just entered .

    But now , they realised that he wasn''t that much hateful ....

    And the girls.....

    They obviously shrieked excitedly again...

    Master Lu is so cute and naughty.....

    Of course , Master Lu , we won''t be shy !!!

    Xi Yuan smiled helplessly yet tenderly at the ''man'' besides him ...

    Did you really had to exin our sexual orientation to everyone ?!

    Fine !!!

    Since I have promised to back you up , do whatever you want .....

    Lu Xi chuckled and then continued ,

    " Actually , we are childhood friends !!! You know .... the types of friends who survived on each other''s money ..... HAHAHA.....

    " Actually , (winks) I was the one who survived on his money ..... HEHEHE... "

    The crowd giggled again .....

    How lovely !!!

    They had so intense and close rtionship. Master Lu even confessed that he loved to spend Master Xi''s money.

    No wonder , Master Xi knew what he liked to drink.

    They were childhood friends, after all !!!

    Lu Xi then said in a voice of dispair , " Don''t you guys love me ?! What kind of wee is this ?! No song , no dance , no game !!! My heart aches !!! "

    The moment the girls heard the man''s pitiful tone , they instantly clung onto him ,pletely ignoring a certain "business tycoon" behind him .

    " Oh...oh...Master Lu.... Don''t be sad.... Our hearts ache .... "

    " The night is still young .... Master Lu..... We will party all night !!! "

    " Yes , Master Lu .... We will give you a wee that you want ..... Do you want me to pole dance for you?! "

    " I can even strip for you , Master Lu .... Just say the word !!! "

    Xi Yuan''s expression turned dark , when he realised that he was being separated from his love .

    He clenched his fists !

    How dare they ?!

    What pole dance ?!

    And what stripping ?!

    But when he was in his own thoughts , the ''man'' turned around and gave him an apologetic look !!

    Makeup could help her look manly !

    But the purity and simplicity was what made her Rong Xinghe !!!

    She just couldn''t cover that up !!!

    Although , he hated the actions of these morons , his heart rejoiced when she looked at him like that !!!

    Everyone might have had ignored him , but she didn''t !!!

    She still prioritised him over the people giving her all their attention !!!

    Even though , he was made to stand on the backstage , all he cared was that he was still important to his woman .

    Other people were obviously , not important to him .

    So he smiled back reassuringly !

    A waitress came with whiskey sses towards Lu Xi at this time .

    " Sir , drinks ?! "

    The group of girls quickly picked up the whiskey sses and almost shoved them on Lu Xi''s face , trying to impress him !!!

    " Master Lu , Please drink it from my hands !! "

    "Master Lu , this ss has my lipstick stains !!"

    " Master Lu !! Drink from mine !! "

    Uhh...

    Rong Xinghe never thought that the girls would go this crazy ?!!

    She hadn''t nned this at all !!!

    Suddenly , Lu Xi calmly walked away from them and went towards Xi Yuan .

    He smiled at Xi Yuan and took the ss of Virgin Mojito from his hand.

    He then turned back towards the crowd , " No Whiskey can taste better than this Mojito that Yuan has made for me himself ! I will finish it first !!! "

    Xi Yuan smiled at this ''man'' again.

    Was this girl nning to warm up his heart every now and then ?

    She remembered that he had made it himself for her and hence , she was so considerate towards his hardwork !

    Rong Xinghe had no idea what these small gestures of hers were doing to him ?!

    Lu Xi took a sip and smiled at Xi Yuan as she whispered in his ears," Thank You , bartender!"

    Xi Yuan was stunned for a moment when the girl suddenly closed in on him !!

    It was the first time she had initiated a physical contact between them !

    But when he heard her words , he chuckled !!!

    Bartender ! Only her bartender !!!

    He also whispered back in a deep voice ,

    " Thank You , Ma''jolie !!!

    "Enjoy ! And remember .... mess up as much as you want !!! "

    The girl smiled and nodded !!!

    She had a strong backup !!

    HAHAHA!!!

    He then turned around and joined his siblings in the isted area of the terrace .

    To the public , the interactions between Xi Yuan and Lu Xi were a pure bromance !!!

    But to the Xi trio and William , it was a cruel Public Disy of Affection !!!!

    A cruel PDA !!!

    If any of the Xi siblings hadn''t believed it earlier , judging by the interactions between them just now , they had no doubt anymore that Lu Xi was none other than their Sis-inw !!!

 Chapter 55: The Playboy Xinghe !!!

    Chapter 55: The ''yboy'' Xinghe !!!

    William and the Xi trio looked even more miserable now !

    Xi Yuan noticed their dull expressions but kept quiet !

    Fine ! They needed time to get through this !!!

    That was what he had gone through , when he had seen her in this disguise !!!

    _____________

    The music on the dance floor started with a st soon ....

    William and all the four Xi siblings were stunned when they witnessed the scene scene on the dance floor !!

    Lu Xi was dancing quite intimately with the girls. He danced wlessly with almost all the girls on the stage !!! He twirled them and held their waist !!! He allowed them to kiss his clothes !!!

    In just a short amount of time , his clothes were practically covered in kiss marks .

    He was apletedycharmer !!!

    The ''yboy'' Rong Xinghe !!!

    When men came near him , he performed ssic jazz dance moves and didn''t got too intimate with them , which was a relief to Xi Yuan !!!

    In just twenty five minutes of dancing , Lu Xi had made the whole crowd go crazy for him !!

    As a result , neither men nor the women cared about the presence of William or the Xi siblings anymore .

    Xi Wei , who was a born ''yboy'' in the Xi family , realised that his charms were defeated mercilessly by his sis-inw''s charms !!!

    He picked up a bottle of whiskey and gulped down the alcohol in it. He then jumped onto the dance floor to charm the girls !!

    But , he was squeezed out of the crowded dance floor like a mosquito .

    Xi Wei sat on the floor there and then as he looked at his brother with a devastated expression.

    He was about to cry like a widow who had lost her love , her husband !!!

    Bro !!! Look at your woman !!!

    How could she do this to her little panda ?! Huh ?!

    Xi Yuan nced at the pitiful state of his youngestckey with a cold expression .

    He then reverted his eyes back onto his girl who was enjoying the party to the fullest .

    His eyes filled with tenderness and warmth .

    How dare this moron dream to overshadow this silly girl of his ?!!

    It was impossible !!!

    He couldn''t save himself from her charms , let alone thesemoners !!!

    He was supporting her to mess up as much as she wanted , so he would stay true to his words !!!

    He just didn''t expect her to be so..... ''flirty'' !!!

    When Xi Wei saw his brother ignoring him , his shoulders slumped down in defeat.

    Love was scary man !!!

    It made his brother forget that he had two brothers and one sister !!!

    What the hell ?!

    Didn''t they had feelings ?!

    But what more could he do ? He stood up and slowly walked as he sat besides another ''most ignored man'' of the evening , William Young .

    William patted Xi Wei''s back as he handed him a ss of wine , " Its alright brother !!! She is indeed merciless !!! Drink out all your pain !!! I''ve already got used to this !! "

    Xi Wei nodded and took the ss .

    ...

    After sometime , Xi Yuan observed that the dance floor was getting very wild and crowdy !

    He looked at Rong Xinghe , and realised that she was feeling a little suffocated !!!

    He quickly stood up from his seat and walked towards the dance stage .

    William and Xi Siblings blinked at each other !!!

    Don''t tell me he is going to dance now !!!

    As the crowd noticed Xi Yuan walking towards them , they stopped their movements and the DJ stopped the song as well !

    He red coldly at the bunch of idiots.

    The people felt a chill run down their spine !!

    Xi Yuan started walking towards Lu Xi as the frightened people made way for him.

    Gosh!!!

    Why was he so scary ?!!

    Xi Yuan reached the ''man'' and said to him with a trace of danger in his voice , " No more dancing !! "

    " But... "

    Xi Yuan took out his mobile and showed it to Lu Xi , " I will call Senior Lu or Senior Zhi right now !!! "

    Lu Xi sighed helplessly !

    Then he turned towards the people , " Guys ! I feel a bit tired. Can we y some games ?!! You all are a fantasticpany !!! I don''t want to go !!! "

    The whole crowd nodded in agreement. They werepletely ttered when he said that they were a fantasticpany to him .

    " Ok Master Lu ! What do you want to y ?!!! "

    " Anything thedies over here want ! " , Lu Xi winked at the girls .

    This gesture was enough for the girls to go crazy !! Their ''prince charming'' gave importance to their wishes so much !!! And he even winked !!!

    " I know ! I know ! Let''s y Truth and Dare ?! "

    Lu Xi smiled innocently , " As you wish ! But i have one condition !

    " I want the Xi siblings and my buddy William to join us as well ! "

    Lu Xi turned to look at the man besides him , " What do you say ?! "

    Xi Yuan looked back at the innocent , curious and expectant eyes of the girl beneath this manly makeover .

    He nodded with a deep gaze , " Okay ! "

    Xi Fang and Xi Wei choked on their drinks when they heard that one word !!!

    This man hated these childish games the most !!!

    What was on his mind ?!

    No !!

    What the hell was on both of their minds ?!

    Meanwhile , Lu Xi smiled delightedly , " Okay guys ! Bring on the snacks and drinks and get that bottle !!! "

    ________________

    Soon , everything was set perfectly .

    Xi Yuan sat beside Rong Xinghe to take care of her as she was getting more and more carefree and drinking a lot of alcohol .

    This was what he wanted the most. He wanted her to befortable in his presence. He wanted her to let her guards downpletely when he was around .

    In fact , this was the first time , that he had seen her so carefree and happy. So this was the real Rong Xinghe. A woman with high IQ , EQ and mental strength. A woman with cruelty andpassion at the same time. A woman who needed the same warmth in her life that he had always craved for .

    The first round of the game started .

    The bottle rolled and stopped pointing its bottom towards Xi Ying indicating that she lost.

    Winner was a young actor.

    This actor apparently had a crush on Xi Ying. Obviously , who wouldn''t want to hook up with the only heiress of Xi empire ?!

    " Truth or Dare ? "

    " Dare "

    " Kiss me ! "

    This was an extremely offendable task , so , Xi Ying obviously felt ufortable as she frowned .

    From the corner of her eyes , Rong Xinghe noticed Xi Yuan clenching his fists !

    She smiled to herself !

    Species of brothers are all the same , she thought !

    How cute !!!

    Meanwhile , Xi Yuan tried his best to control his anger in front of his girl !

    How dare this bastard forget who he was talking to ?!

    He didn''t wanted his woman to witness his angry self !

    But he couldn''t let his sister get bullied like that as well !

    When Xi Yuan was going through this internal battle , the ''man'' beside him suddenly stood up and walked towards the actor !!!

 Chapter 56: Rong Xinghes biggest regret !!!

    Chapter 56: Rong Xinghe''s biggest regret !!!

    Lu Xi walked towards the actor and held him by his cor , " You can''t do that ! "

    When he saw the cold bone-chilling tone of the man , a chill ran down the actor''s spine. Why was this so scary ?! Who was this man ?!

    " W... why ?! " , the actor struggled with his words .

    " Just because I don''t allow you to ! Any problem ?! "

    Huh ?!

    When Xi Ying heard this , she subconsciously looked at Rong Xinghe who was disguised as a man .

    For an unknown reason , warmth spread in her heart .

    She had never been protected like this by anyone but her brothers .

    Meanwhile , the actor''s body stiffened even more when he heard Lu Xi''s reply , " W...what will you do .... if I defy ?! "

    Lu Xi left the actor''s cor as he looked at the actor with a sensual and intimate gaze .

    " I will convert you into gay , here and now ! "

    At this moment , the whole terrace was dead silent.

    No one made a movement !

    The actor felt his heartbeat racing when he saw Lu Xi''s intimate eyes !

    He actually felt something maically attractive about the man !

    He kept staring at Lu Xi in daze !

    In fact, he couldn''t look at anyone else other than this handsome hunk in front of him !

    The actor gulped when he saw those mesmerizing pair of eyes !

    What was happening to him?!

    Lu Xi closed in on him and whispered in his ears with a hidden trace of peril , " You know what is the most dangerous thing about me ?! "

    The man felt fright and thrill , both at the same time .

    Lu Xi said in an high voice , so other men could also hear him .

    " I won''t need to even touch any of you in order to convert you !!! "

    At this moment , the actor sat on the floor and clung onto Lu Xi''s feet , " Master Lu ! I am sorry ! I won''t ..... won''t do it again ! Please Master Lu ! Show some mercy !!! "

    Xi Fang , Xi Wei and even Xi Yuan were shocked by the sudden change of events.

    Out of every way they could''ve opted , they could never imagine the existense of such an option to punish someone !!!

    But Rong Xinghe not only went for such an option , she even made the man kneel down in front of her !

    Lu Xi looked at the actor coldly and pointed her finger towards Xi Ying , " Apologise to her ! Now !!! "

    The man quickly apologised to Xi Ying withplete sincerity and Xi Ying epted his apology with a slight nod .

    Lu Xi then looked at the crowd coldly as he stressed on each and every word he said , " Since , she is Yuan''s sister , she is my sister. I dare any of you to even think of touching her !!Is anyone here with such guts ?! "

    Throughout the entire night , it was the first time that Lu Xi had expressed his dissatisfaction regarding something !

    And his anger was sure terrifying !

    Everyone thought to themselves , no wonder this man is the brother of Business King Lu Wei !

    This man could be carefree as well as scary at the same time !!!

    Then Lu Xi continued , " I will continue the game only if no cheap tricks are yed ! "

    The group of girls quickly pacified their ''love'' and ensured him of the game to go smoothly !

    There was no way they could let their eye candy to leave .

    Lu Xi went and sat with Xi Yuan again , " Don''t worry ! I will protect you all ! "

    Xi Yuan smiled at the girl again , " Hmmm... "

    William , who was sitting nearby, almost puked blood when he heard the two people chat .

    What was this ?!

    Moron protecting the bastard ?!

    Was this PDA really necessary ?!

    _________

    Second round of the game started .

    " Truth or dare ?" , Rong Xinghe asked Xi Wei .

    " Dare ! "

    " Do twenty pushups while a girl sits on your back! "

    Xi Wei looked at Rong Xinghe with starry eyes.

    Sister-inw !

    You understand me the most !

    Your charm snatched all the girls away from me , but , you understood my pain !

    Thank You !!!

    _______________

    Then third round started .

    " Master Yuan ! Truth or dare !? "

    " Truth ! "

    " Do you have a girlfriend ?! ", the young actress asked shyly to the king-like man .

    " No , but I have a girl I like ! "

    " Really ?! What is her name ?! " , another girl asked .

    This was a big news , after all .

    The big boss of the business world had a crush !

    The most eligible bachelor had a woman in his life !!!

    " I can''t disclose her name ! "

    " So what is she like ?! " , a man asked .

    Xi Yuan nced at Rong Xinghe sitting in male disguise dotingly .

    "She is the perfectbination of Beauty , Brains and Bravery !!! "

    At this time, the girl patted Xi Yuan''s shoulder as she winked , " I will teach you how to woo a girl ! I am very experienced at this ! "

    Xi Yuan looked at the ''man'' besides him. He didn''t knew , whether tough or to cry .This silly woman had no idea that she herself was the girl he liked .

    " Okay ! "

    __________

    After many such rounds passed ....

    " Master Lu , finally , Truth or Dare ? " , a young girl asked excitedly .

    " Truth ! "

    " Have you ever fallen in love ?! "

    The moment the girl asked this question , all the eyes turned towards Rong Xinghe , as she fell silent .

    Xi Yuan looked at the girl besides him .

    But when he saw Rong Xinghe deep in thought , he felt that something was amiss.

    " Yes ! "

    The moment Xi Yuan heard this one word , he felt something shattering inside him .

    Many questions came to his mind !

    Who was this guy ?!

    Did she loved him even now ?!

    What if she wouldn''t give him even a chance ?!

    " But loving that person is one of the biggest regrets of my life !!! "

    Xi Yuan looked at the girl again , but , there was an indescribable pain visible on her face now.

    What had she exactly gone through ?!

    Who was the man ?!

    What had happened with her in the past ?!

    Xi Yuan wanted to know about the man , but , he didn''t wanted to hurt her .

    So , he kept quiet .

    But ....... after the mention of that person , Rong Xinghe started drinking more and more alcohol .

    As she remembered about her past and that man , she felt as if she had been stabbed by thousands of arrows at the same time .

    She kept on drinking to ease her pain.

    Soon , she started feeling dizzy .

    Xi Yuan observed the change in her behaviour , so he gestured William to wind up the party .

    He then took Rong Xinghe to the changing room to change intofortable night clothes .

    She couldn''t possibly rx in her male outfit. So he had considerately ordered a few set offortable clothes for her .

    As he was waiting outside the changing room for Rong Xinghe , his phone rang !

    Caller ID : Senior Zhi .

 Chapter 57: So...she could trust him !

    Chapter 57: So...she could trust him !

    Xi Yuan picked up the call , " Evening , Senior. "

    Zhi Xi : " Hmmm..... Evening. Is Xinghe anywhere near you ?! She isn''t picking up my calls. "

    Xi Yuan : " Uh... Yeah ! She is just freshening up in the washroom. Party is over now. About her phone , maybe its battery is dead. "

    Zhi Xi : " Ok. She is fine , right ? "

    Xi Yuan : " Yeah ! Its just .... she seemed a bit upset , earlier. "

    Zhi Xi : " What happened ? "

    Xi Yuan : " Someone asked her if she ever loved someone. Since then , she seems to be a little zoned out ! "

    Zhi Xi stayed silent for sometime. He then sighed , " Yuan , listen to me ! No matter what , don''t leave her alone tonight ! I am currently in Germany with Lu Wei , so we can''t rush back there. You are closest to her currently so.....

    " Look Yuan. She had a terrible past , be it her family or her love life ! She can''t be left alone even for a second tonight ! Either try to put her to bed or stay awake with her ! Understood ?! "

    Xi Yuan was a little stunned when he heard that his girl was once in a serious yet terrible romantic rtionship. He thought that her past was connected only to the Rong family. But apparently , there was more to it !

    Xi Yuan nodded , " Alright Senior ! I will not leave her alone for even a millisecond ! Ok ?! "

    Zhi Xi : " Hmmm.... And one more thing ! "

    Xi Yuan : " Yeah ? "

    Zhi Xi : " Keep Xi Ying with you. "

    Xi Yuan : " Why ?! "

    Zhi Xi : " Do you think I am an idiot who would allow a man to take care of my sister for an entire night ?! "

    Xi Yuan : " ... "

    And do you think I am an idiot who would leave an opportunity to spend some alone time with my girl by involving my sister into the mix ?!

    Xi Yuan : " Okay ! "

    Both the men then hung up .

    At this moment , Rong Xinghe walked out of the changing room .

    She was wearing a Maroon coloured night dress which had flower pattern designs on it. She looked just like an angel with no hint of her manly outfit .

    But she couldn''t walk straight because she was drunk like a fish !

    She stumbled on her feet and was about to fall when Xi Yuan grabbed her by her waist as he pulled her closer , " Careful ! You drank too much tonight , Xinghe ! "

    Rong Xinghe was in aplete ''drunkard'' mode by now .

    So , she obviously had no rational control over her emotions or thoughts .

    The girl looked at Xi Yuan , blinked at him for a while and then smiled , " Yuan ! I want more beer ! "

    " Nope !! You''ve already drank a lot ! "

    " Please ! "

    Xi Yuan couldn''t reject her request , especially , when she looked so beautiful and those puppy eyes were obviously .... a plus. There was no trace of Lu Xi anymore ! Only his girl !!

    " Okay ! But it will be thest ss ! "

    Rong Xinghe nodded her head vigorously !

    Xi Yuan took her to the bar side and poured her a ss of alcohol. The girl took the ss and started drinking as fast as she could.

    Xi Yuan got an emergency call from his office. He picked it up and when he returned back , he saw that the girl was crying !

    The man quickly rushed towards his girl with concern visible on his face , " Hey Xinghe ! What happened ?! Did you hurt yourself somewhere ?! Did someone said you something ?! What''s wrong ?! "

    Rong Xinghe said between her sobs , " H.. how could he do that to me ?! H.. he thought so bad about me ..... Yuan ! I kept c...crying ! I kept b...begging him to j...just listen me once !! B ... But he didn''t heard a word I said !!! Aaahh ! "

    The moment Xi Yuan saw the pitiful state of his girl , he clenched his fists. He knew that she was talking about the man in her past ! He was just irritated by the fact that someone had hurt her so much ! She was such a strong woman , yet she broke down !!! What the hell had that person done to her ?!

    He observed that she had started to shiver from the cold wind on the terrace and she was so drunk that she could not even walk properly !

    He quickly covered her shoulders with his tuxedo jacket and lifted her up with his strong arms. The girl stopped crying and didn''t even struggled to get away from him. Instead , she snuggled up in his warm embrace as if a bird had found its nest !!!

    Xi Yuan took her into his VIP Suite of a Seven Star Hotel , which was just in front of William''s apartment .

    Heid down the girl on the bed , but realized that she wasn''t asleep. She just kept quiet for a long time .

    He ced his palm on her head and asked gently , " Do you want to talk about it ?! "

    The girl froze for a moment as she heard the question .

    Did she wanted to talk about that ?!

    Yes !!!

    She wanted to let it all out !!

    She looked at the man in front of her. She didn''t knew why , but this man always gave her a sense of security whenever she looked at him. He had never mistreated her. In fact , she had started to trust him. She felt extremelyfortable around him.

    So.....she could trust him with this as well !

    Rong Xinghe nodded indicating that she wanted to tell him about it .

    Xi Yuan smiled and took her hands into his as he wiped her tears. He knew how difficult it was for her to open up about her past in front of him .

    " Tell me , Xinghe. "

    " So... you know that I don''t have a healthy rtionship with the Rong family , right ?! "

    Xi Yuan nodded .

    " It is due to the fact that I had gone through a painful incident when I was 13 , because of them. It is a story for another day ! But after that incident , I broke all my ties with the Rong family. As a family , I only had my Six brothers. They have brought me up to be strong and independent. So , I followed my wishes and worked for ''Youth Team'' and ''NGO''. I learned to speak manynguages. I continued my education.

    " So ..... I was in my higher school when I first met him. His name is Zhou Che. He was two years older than me. We were signed up for a debate on a political topic. We both had to debate with each other about ountability of the government to the public. Our debate was the longest one and itsted for almost five hours. But eventually , I had won that debate. "

    Xi Yuan clenched his teeth when he heard that she knew him since her school days .

    He couldn''t show his jaleousy in front of her , so , he kept listening her every word calmly .

    He wanted to know how that bastard had hurt her to this extent !!!

    He wasn''t there for her at that time. So he might as well help her decrease the pain .

 Chapter 58: " You are my love !!! "

    Chapter 58: " You are my love !!! "

    " After that , we started getting close. We went on dates. We went for movies and stand-upedy shows. It was at this time that I felt that I might get to live a normal life , that I could start afresh. But , I was wrong .... very wrong .

    " He had an amazing family. I loved them all. One of the most important people in his life was .... his younger brother , Zhou Zhichen. He was a lovely soul. But after one year , he started to behave a little zoned out. At first , I ignored that , but then his behaviour started changing drastically. One day, I followed him when he went out to meet his friends. It was then when I got to know that he was consuming drugs and alcohol to a dangerous extent.

    " I was terrified at that time. You know what was the reason behind his actions ? A girl broke up with him because of money !! I walked up to him and confronted him. And even he confessed that he wanted to quit the drugs and that he didn''t wanted to be an alcoholic.

    " I told him that we should discuss this matter with Zhou family. But he retaliated. He begged me to not tell his family because he couldn''t see them dissapointed in him , especially Zhou Che !!! I still insisted , so , we came to a solution that we would start his treatment at a rehabilitation centre first and then tell the family .

    " But ..... I had already decided to take Zhou Che into confidence first, no matter what. I decided that I would tell him about this matter the day after his mother''s birthday.

    " But something worse happened to Zhou Zhichen on Mother Zhou''s birthday. In the evening , he couldn''t control his cravings for drugs and called a local drug dealer. After that , .... maybe because the drug was defected or because he consumed a higher amount of it .... he got into a critical condition. The Zhou family quickly took him to the hospital but ..... the doctors couldn''t save Zhou Zhichen !

    " I was with Bro Lu Wei , when I got the call and I was informed about the incident. I rushed to the Zhou family mansion as I couldn''t believe the news !

    " It was now that I saw the lifeless body of Zhou Zhichen. He was like a brother to me as well .... Yuan. I couldn''t control my tears. I thought he was ying a prank again ..... so , I tried to wake him up. But the moment I touched his body , Mother Zhou pulled away my hand and.... pped me !!

    " She said that I was a monster who ate up her son ! I didn''t understood what she meant , so I went to talk to Zhou Che.

    " He scremed at me and told me to get out of his house and his life. He told me that when Zhou Zhichen was struggling with his life due to the drug overdose , he told the doctors that I knew about his drug consumption and that I might know about his medications !!! Zhou Che med me for his brother''s death !!!

    " You know what he did the worst .... he said that I deserved to be abandoned by the Rong family. He even said that I should''ve had died a long time ago !!! At least , his brother could be alive !!!

    " Yuan .... I kept begging him to listen to me .... to listen to my side of the story , but he refused. I... kept crying ... but none of them came to wipe my tears.

    " At this time , I knew that this was the end of it. This was the end of our rtionship. I was sixteen when I got into that rtionship and I was seventeen when we broke up. One year ..... Yuan ..... he knew me for a whole one year .... but he understood nothing about me.

    " How easily , he came to the conclusion that I killed his brother .... Did he ever thought how it made me feel when he said that I deserved no family ?! He had seen me work in the NGO for the kids Yuan , yet , he thought that I was ruthless enough to let his brother just die .....

    " I turned around and left Zhou mansion and never looked back at him again. That day , not just Zhou Zhichen , but Zhou Che had also died for me.

    " I just hate it .... The feeling of never being understood .... the feeling of always being unwanted. I hate the feeling of helplessness .... I hate the feeling of dependence. Yuan ... I .... "

    " Am I really a ck mole , Yuan ?! "

    At this time , the girl had started crying again uncontrobly.

    Xi Yuan , who had been silently listening to each and every word she said , looked at the shattered girl in front of him.

    She had held onto his hand tightly as if it was the only support she had .

    Xi Yuan didn''t knew what to say to her after this !

    How did she even endured so much pain ?!

    How could she be .... so strong ?!

    How could she be so strong .... to keep smiling after all the pain she had went through ?!

    When he saw her weeping out the pain , he felt his heart tighten !

    His heart ached to see her like that !!!

    Why did she , out of all the people , had to go through this ?!

    He quickly pulled the girl into his embrace !!!

    The man then kissed her forehead lovingly and whispered in her ears , " You are not a ck mole , Xinghe. You are my love ! "

    Rong Xinghe stopped crying when she heard the man''s words , " Huh ??!! I... "

    But before the girl couldplete her sentence , the man closed in on her and .... kissed her !

    The girl was shocked by the sudden intimate action and her mind wentpletely nk !

    She felt her body warm up and her heart beating fast !!!

    Whereas , Xi Yuan ced his lips on her soft ones to calm down his nerves.

    And indeed , he felt a lot relieved by her presence !

    He couldn''t express his love with mere words , so he used his actions to show that to her !!

    He couldn''t believe that his woman had gone through so much pain !!

    Had he been there for her back then , he wouldn''t have allowed anyone to treat her so badly !!!

    s !

    She had to go through all that traumatizing moments alone !!!

    His woman had indeed suffered a lot of pain !!

    How could someone be insensitive towards her ?!!

    Thinking about this , the kiss became even more intense !!!

 Chapter 59: How could someone not love her ?!

    Chapter 59: How could someone not love her ?!

    With every passing second , the kiss on her lips was getting much too intense !!!

    Rong Xinghe grabbed the man''s cor for support as she was feeling dizzy due to the flow of alcohol in her body .

    Her back stiffened but even she didn''t knew if that was fear , shock or nervousness !!!

    No matter how much strong she was withbat , she seemed to lose all her strength in front of him !!!

    She couldn''t even handle such a simple intimate action like that !!!

    He was kissing her with a great amount of force , so after sometime , Rong Xinghe felt difficulty in breathing .

    It was now , that she came out of her shock !!

    But the man didn''t allowed her to separate herself from him !

    She held onto his cor even more tightly !!

    Xi Yuan realised the girl''s ufort as he himself freed her from his embrace .

    As soon as Rong Xinghe found back her independence , she gasped in the air to catch her breath !

    What the hell was that ?!

    Did he just kissed me ?!

    She looked at the unaffected man sitting opposite her , " Yuan , you ...."

    Xi Yuan cut her mid-sentence , " Hush ! Don''t think much about it !! Get some rest , first ! "

    Rong Xinghe was stunned when he heard the man ?!

    Hey ! You can''t just kiss me out of nowhere and tell me to go to sleep !!!

    " You ... " , just when the girl was about to scold the man , she felt sharp pain in her head !

    She held her head tightly as she groaned in pain !!!

    Xi Yuan understood the reason behind her pain. Su Rogguang had told him that she was a migranne patient. So obviously , alcohol consumption would have to be limited for her.

    He swiftly held the girl by her waist and pulled her towards him !

    Then he gentlyid her back on the bed and covered her with the nket , while , the girl slept almost instantly as soon as her head hit the pillow !

    She was too exhausted from all the crying and the alcohol ! So, she naturally couldn''t keep her eyes open for too long .

    Xi Yuan took out her smartwatch from her wrist and tinum rings from her fingers delicately , so , she wouldn''t feel ufortable during her sleep .

    He then sat besides her as he caressed her long wavy Jet ck hair .

    The girl looked so innocent and pure in her sleep , just like a fairy .

    No one could imagine that such a beautiful soul was once trampled upon by this cruel world !!!

    No one could imagine the pain she had gone through !

    No one had even the basic idea about her sufferings !

    When he thought about how that man had treated her back then , he felt extreme anger boiling in his body !!!

    How could that man me her for his brother''s death ?!

    She was a righteous person who would always stand up against the evil .

    She could never support drug consumption .

    He knew this because he could feel the beauty of her soul !

    The way she spoke with those little kids of the NGO , the things she did for them and the way she motivated them , all proved that she couldn''t hurt someone .

    Then how could that man , even after knowing her for aplete one year , use her of killing his brother ?!

    And that wasn''t the worst part !!!

    He even had the audacity to say to her that she should''ve had died a long time ago and that the Rong family was right to abandon her !

    Thinking about the way she was treated by the man , a dangerous coldness appeared in Xi Yuan''s eyes as he clenched his teeth !!!

    His eyes were so bone-chilling and inhumane that if that Zhou Che would have had been standing in front of him at that moment , his eyes alone could kill him mercilessly !!!

    He took out his phone and made a call , " Fang !!! Get me information about a Zhou Che and his past with Xinghe , as soon as possible !!! "

    After he ended the call , he calmed himself down and continued looking at his girl !!!

    He studied each and every feature and curve of her face !

    He noticed a small ck mole on the end of her right eyebrow.

    He noticed her slightly pinkish nose and also her perfect long neck , which enhanced her corbone .

    But the most beautiful were her lips. The naturally reddish and soft ones. Throughout the night , whenever she felt cold , she bit them slightly. Only he knew , how much he had to restrain himself , in order to savour their sweetness !

    Of course , not to mention her pretty eyes. Even though she was asleep and her Dark Brown eyes were covered by the eyelids , he could clearly shape out their perfect shape. Those beautiful eyes were almond shaped .

    Her entire face gave a sense of serenity and propriety .

    He had known it long ago , but today he had confirmed it that his girl was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen !!!

    He had a principal in his life that he would never kiss a drunk or unconscious girl .

    But....in front of this woman , he lost all his control.

    Not once , but twice !!!

    Earlier , he had given a small peck on her lips in the hospital room after that ident when she unconscious .

    And today , it was the second time he couldn''t restrain himself !!!

    On nce at her ..... and he could tell that this girl was trouble !!!

    But what to do ?!

    Who wouldn''t want to keep such a girl to themselves ?!

    He personally felt that Zhou Che was an idiot !!!

    How could someone not love her ?!!!

    _________

    Next morning .....

    Rong Xinghe woke up from her sleep and found herself into a foreign environment .

    She looked around for somewhile in a daze , then she looked at herself .

    " Aaaahhhh !!! "

    Who changed my clothes ?!

    Sh*t !!!

    Did I had a ''One Night Stand'' ?!

    No ! Bros will kill me !!!

    Rong feakin'' Xinghe , was it really necessary to drink like a drunkardst night ?!!

    Meanwhile , Xi Yuan ran into the room worriedly when he heard the girl''s scream , " What happened ?! Are you fine ?! "

    Rong Xinghe looked at the man who was holding a juice bottle in his one hand and a ss in another .

    She quickly tried to make things clear , " Yuan! Forget whatever happenedst night !! "

    " Huh ?! " , Xi Yuan was confused when he heard the girl.

    " Last night was a mistake !!! I was drunk !! Let''s just move on ! Ok ?! "

    Xi Yuan raised his brows in surprise. This girl had such a wild imagination !!!

    Wait ... did this meant she remembered nothing aboutst night ?! Not even their kiss ?!

    Thank God ! He had been thinking of excuses since thest night !

    But the way she was taking responsibility for the ''One Night Stand'' was so cute !!!

    " Xinghe ! You used mest night !! And now you want to back out ?! Seriously ?!! Last night , you were all over me !!! You assaulted me Xinghe , and now , you want to ''just forget'' about it ?! That is so cruel !!! " , the man said dissapointedly as he started to act along the new script of the story .

    " What about thest night ?! What about what you did to mest night ?! Huh ?!! Last night , You were so intense , so rough , so domineering , so .... "

    " Nooo !!! " , Rong Xinghe quickly covered her ears with two pillows as she screamed .

    How could she listen about how shameless she wasst night ?!

 Chapter 60: " I promise ! "

    Chapter 60: " I promise ! "

    Xi Yuan smiled at the girl''s way of running away from such problems.

    This woman had the guts to face an electromaic bomb , but she couldn''t deal with anything rted to love !!!

    She had such an escapist tendency !!!

    " Xinghe ... "

    " No ! I am sorry !! I shouldn''t have had .... I didn''t mean to .... " , the girl looked like she was about to cry .

    Xi Yuan couldn''t see that pain in her eyes , so he quickly told her the truth , " Nothing happenedst night between us !! "

    " Really ?!!! "

    " Do you think you would be left with this much energy to jump and scream around , if it had happened ?! " , Xi Yuan smiled helplessly .

    " HAHAHA !! I knew it !!! You were just teasing me !!! Good one , Yuan !!! " , Rong Xinghe''s attitude took a 180-degree turn all of a sudden as she giggled .

    Xi Yuan was stunned when he realised that the girl was just putting on a y to make him speak the truth !!!

    This woman had actually fooled him !!!

    " Xinghe , you weren''t scared just now ?! You were just acting pitiful ?! "

    Rong Xinghe got down from the bed and walked towards the man with a grin , " Yeah ! I acted so that you would say the truth !! "

    " How did you knew I was lying ?! "

    " Because I trust you " , Rong Xinghe shrugged .

    " You trust me ?! " , Xi Yuan raised his eyebrow ever so slightly .

    " Shouldn''t I ? "

    " You should ! I really didn''t do anything to you. About your clothes , you yourself changed them in your drunk state and maybe that''s why you don''t remember anyrhing rted tost night. And this ce is my suite. I brought you here so you could rest well. "

    " Oh ! "

    So that exined all her queries .

    It was all because she was drunk !

    Deep down , she felt warm when she realised that this man had crossed no line and took no advantage of her drunk state .

    s !!!

    Only if she knew about the kiss .....

    " Yuan ! Did I do or say something weirdst night ?! " , the girl asked as she noticed the man repressing something in himself.

    " Uh....not weird.... its just .... You told me about Zhou Chest night ?! "

    As soon as Rong Xinghe heard the name , she frowned.

    Why would she do that ?

    When Xi Yuan saw the dull expression on the girl''s face , he tried to pacify her , " Xinghe ! Its alright. Really! I just.... "

    " Yuan! Promise me that you won''t bring up this issue in front of me again! I don''t want to waste my time and thoughts on such useless people !! Okay ?! " , Rong Xinghe cut the man mid-sentence .

    Xi Yuan was amused when he saw this strongdy in front of him.

    Until and unless no one made her remember her past , she was capable to forget itpletely .

    She even considered that Zhou Che to be unworthy of her attention and time !

    That was good !

    Very good !!!

    He quickly took her hand in his and squeezed it , " I promise ! " .

    Rong Xinghe looked into the man''s eyes and smiled as she also patted the back of his hand .

    It seemed ,that in this short moment , the man and the woman had gained a unique sense of trust for each other .

    " Okay ! Quickly drop me home ! I don''t know where my car keys are ! "

    " But .... breakfast ? "

    " No ... I need to rush to the Military Chief office , but before that , I need to change my clothes ! My head''s spinning !!! So you will drive ! "

    _____________

    In Military Chief residence ,

    Rong Xinghe returned home and sat on the couch as she held her head .

    " Kiddo ! What happened ?! " , Su Rogguang came and patted the girl as he sat on her left side .

    " Where is Bro Al ?!"

    " I am here , mydy ! What do you need ?! " , Zhi Al appeared with an iPad in his hand .

    " Make me a hangover drink !!! "

    " Uhhh .... Kiddo ... After all the things I learned to cook for you , I never expected for one of your demands to be a HANGOVER DRINK ?! What have you been doing ?! " , Zhi Al looked at the girl in shock.

    She looked like a real drunkard !

    " Wait a second ! " , Zhi Al''s eyes shone .

    He quickly sat on her right side as he looked at her with curiosity , " You were Lu Xi , the boy when you left for the partyst night. But today , you returned as Xinghe , the girl. What did you dost night ?! Did you really went for a ''One Night Stand'' ?! That''s so awesome !!! "

    Rong Xinghe almost puked blood when she heard those three words ?!

    How could both their minds think exactly the same way ?!

    She was indeed his sister !

    " Really ?! You had a one night stand ?! That''s good !!! Don''t worry , we will help you hide it from Lu Wei and Zhi Xi ! Anyway ,it was high time you got some action !! By the way , I hope you used condom ! If not , take some contraceptive pills !!! " , Su Rogguang smiled .

    " Congrattions kiddo !!! You finally lost your virginity !!! I am so proud of you !! Who was the lucky boy , huh ?! " , Zhi Al hugged his sister tightly .

    Rong Xinghe blinked at her two chattery brothers for a long time speechlessly .

    Were they serious ?!

    Coming straight to the conclusions just by a change in clothes !!

    And what more , they felt proud that she spent a night with a man ?!

    Had it been any other brother , he would have had felt disappointed in their sister .

    But judging by their reactions , they were the most happy creatures in the world at that moment .

    " Bros .... uh ..... shouldn''t you guys be ashamed of me or something ?! " , Xi Yuan muttered .

    Zhi Al''s expression turned serious when he heard the girl , " Xinghe ! No matter what you do , we can never be ashamed of you !!! In fact , you are our pride !!! And what is that saying ? '' Body is just a shell '' ! Sex is thest thing that can make us look down on you. Okay ?! "

    The girl felt touched when the man said that. They were too good to her! They could even ept her every crime , as long as she was safe and happy !

    She slightly nodded , " So you guys have no issues if I ever make a boyfriend ?! "

    " Who said that ?! " , Su Rogguang pulled the girl''s hair yfully .

    " Aahhh ! That hurts !! "

    Su Rogguang released her hair and knocked her forehead , " Little troublemaker , you are not going to have a boyfriend ever ! That is a little serious matter ! Sex is just a one night thing ! Am I clear ?! "

    " So you guys want me to be a ygirl ?! And what if I still get a boyfriend ?! "

    Zhi Al shrugged , " What''s wrong in being a ygirl ?! Aren''t I and Rogguang yboys ?! Hmm ?!

    " And the moment we get to know about your boyfriend , we will start our Mission : '' Xinghe break-up '' "

    " You think you could do that ?! "

    " I dare you , sissy ! " , Su Rogguang gave an evil smile to the girl .

 Chapter 61: " Dont teach a Fish to swim ! "

    Chapter 61: " Don''t teach a Fish to swim ! "

    " Guys ! Just so you both know , nothing happenedst night ! "

    Zhi Al and Su Rogguang stared at the girl for a while and then shook their head.

    The disappointment she had expected earlier , was now clearly visible on their faces .

    " Enough ! I will make you the hangover drink now ! " , Zhi Al said as he got up from the couch.

    " I also have surgeries aligned for the day. So , I need to get to the hospital ! " , Su Rogguang also walked out of the room .

    Rong Xinghe looked helplessly at these two men .

    They both were the only people who never hesitated to discuss any intimacy with her !

    In fact , they would do it shamelessly !

    They used to tell her about each of their girlfriends and hook-ups withplete excitement !

    And that was the exact reason , that Xinghe had mastered the field of flirting !!!

    It could be said that these two men were a bad influence for her !!!

    Zhi Xi had taught her to whistle and had made her memorise names of all the alcoholic beverages in the world !

    Whereas , Su Rogguang had taught her a long list of pickup lines !

    In fact , she was also ''trained'' in checking out boys !!!

    s !

    She had a poor instinct , whenever , it came to real love !!!

    That was why , even though , Xi Yuan kept providing her hints , she couldn''t point out the exact reason behind his actions !!

    After the incident with Zhou Che , she had tried to run as far as possible from any sort of romantic encounters !

    She simply felt that she wasn''t made for love !!

    ____________

    At Military Chief Office ,

    " Military Chief ! Country X is in a danger ! " , a young officer practically ran into the main office .

    Rong Xinghe was discussing border strategy with four military heads when the man had rushed in.

    She nced at the man and then reverted her attention back to the map in front of her , " What is it , Officer Han ?! "

    " Military Chief ! Our cross-border informers have just sent us the message that Country N has been nning something huge against us ! An attack by .... water ! "

    Rong Xinghe finally pulled her focus out of the map and looked at the young officer , " Water ..... you mean Navy ?! "

    The man nodded his head vigorously .

    " Hmmm.... Even though , it is just a spection , we can''t take it for granted ! " , the woman looked deep in thought .

    Then , she looked at one of the officer in front of her , " General Tang ,st time , you told me about that 24 year old girl who has had been getting trained in special forces , remember ? "

    " Yes , I do remember ! Her training is almost over and she is impressive at memorizing information ! "

    " Okay then , please bring her here ! I need to take a look myself ! She might need to go for a mission ! " , Rong Xinghe concluded .

    _________

    After half an hour , General Tang entered the main office with the young girl .

    Rong Xinghe put down the documents in her hands and walked towards the girl .

    " So.... you have been trained as the first female special forces officer ?! "

    The thin girl nodded .

    Rong Xinghe handed her a sheet full of names , " Learn all these fifty names and their political positions in fifteen minutes ! "

    The girl looked at the sheet withplete focus and started reading it. Rong Xinghe turned around and walked towards her chair .

    By the time she reached her chair , voice of the girl resonated throughout the room , " Done ! "

    Rong Xinghe raised her brows at the pale looking girl !

    Just a few seconds had passed and she was already done with it ?!

    " Finance Minister ? "

    " Wu Chuanli "

    " Textile Minister ? "

    " Gu Fuhua "

    " Minister of Corporate Affairs ? "

    " Zhi Fengge "

    " Minister of Culture ? "

    " Song Gan "

    Rong Xinghe kept on asking random names and the girl kept on answering her urately !

    Rong Xinghe''s assistant , Shou Wu , started feeling that his head was a shuttlecock in the game of badminton.

    Whenever his boss asked question , he looked at her , but instantly after that , came the answer of the girl , so then he looked at her .

    They both seemed to enjoy this game !

    But , his neck had actually started to hurt !

    Rong Xinghe finally halted her amusement after the 25th name .

    " Hmmm..... I am deputing you on a highly ssified mission. We need to get information on Country N''s current ns to attack us. Maybe they will try to charge against the Naval Forces. You need to get into the their Military higher up''s house and leak the information from there to us in a codenguage. Don''t disclose your connection with Country X , no matter what ! "

    The girl listened intently to Rong Xinghe and nodded , " Understood , Military Chief ! But how would I get in ?! "

    " That''s your choice. Maybe a maid , or a girlfriend in a live-in rtionship with the military officer''s son " , Xinghe shrugged nonchntly .

    " It will be done ! Wait for the good news , Military Chief " , the girl smiled.

    " Call me Xinghe in private. I''d like to know you more ! Who knows , maybe we''ll be friends one day ?! What''s your name , by the way ?! "

    The girl was stunned when she heard Rong Xinghe''s words. The legendary Military Chief , her inspiration , wanted to make friends with her ?! Just how lucky was she ?!

    " Uhh.... My name is Feng Mian , Military Chief ! "

    " Only Xinghe !!! "

    " Xinghe " , the girl uttered the name hesitantly.

    " Good ! We will catchupter ! I have a lots of meetings to attend and you still need toplete your training before you start the mission ! You can leave !! " , Rong Xinghe immersed herself back into the work .

    Feng Mian bowed down to her and started leaving.

    But just when she was about to leave the office , an apple came flying towards her from her left side and hit her hard on the head !!!

    She held her head in pain and turned around to look at the thrower .

    Rong Xinghe smiled as she crossed her hands , " Mian , remember one thing ! You are indeed brilliant with memory. But in army , if you don''t have presence of mind , you are dead.

    " I want information and a dead person can''t provide me with that. What more , revtion of your identity would further alert the enemy ! Work on that part , please ! "

    Rong Xinghe turned around and walked towards the water purifier to get some water .

    But this time , the apple came back flying towards her face !

    Just when it was about to touch her nose , a delicate-looking hand caught it with a firm grip.

    One could say , that Rong Xinghe''s speed was faster than that of light !!!

    Rong Xinghe tilted her head slightly as she looked at Feng Mian with a smirk .

    " Mian , don''t teach a Fish to swim ! "

 Chapter 62: The battle against Cancer !

    Chapter 62: The battle against Cancer !

    Feng Mian stared at the woman in front of her in disbelief .

    One could say , that her speed was faster than the speed of light !

    Her presence of mind and reflexes were strong at the level of extremity !

    Rong Xinghe smiled at the shocked girl and said gently , " Its alright today. But considering my position , this is a straight attack on the highest authority of the country. Keep that in check next time ! Okay ?! "

    Feng Mian keept staring at this fearless woman in front of her .

    She had that valiant yet calm aura surrounding her that could make anyone bow down to her !

    Thisdy was her biggest motivation !

    She was one of those people who had the courage to get up from the bottom of the pits and touch the helms of the world !

    After all the struggles she had gone through , she deserved to be where she was today !

    Feng Mian nodded slightly and exited the office with a firm determination !

    No matter what , she wouldplete this mission sessfully !

    She would never disappoint this youngdy !

    Rong Xinghe smiled at the woman''s back as she went out of the office .

    She turned to look at her assistant , " Impressive ! Get details on her ! "

    _____________

    At night ....

    Rong Xinghe arrived home .

    " Wee , Master Lu Xi ! "

    As soon as Rong Xinghe heard William''s voice , she felt a headacheing .

    " Hey ! What''s up?! "

    " How could you do that to me ?! No girl looked at me for once throughout the whole night ! I Why did I even befriended you !!! "

    " That was the exact reason I came to the party like that ! " , Rong Xinghe shrugged .

    " You .... "

    " Forget it ! How is your mom ?! How did her Chemotherapy went ?! What did the doctors diagnose ?! Any financial problems ?! Do I need to go to London to check on her ?! " , Rong Xinghe asked with concern .

    " Hmmm.... She is alright now. Doctors said that she will be alright , as it was detected quite early. No financial stress ! But yeah ! She wanted to meet you ! She misses you a lot !!! It''d be fine if you go to meet her ! " , William scratched his chin calmly .

    Rong Xinghe nodded , " I will ! Next month , I have a defence conference there. I will surely visit her then !!! "

    William''s eyes softened when he thought about his mother .

    He was son of a taxi driver. He was never a born celebrity ! Instead , he had to climb his way up in the entertainment world !

    Initially , he was a hopeless kid who never studied or had any ambitions. He simply loved to dance .

    But then , he met Rong Xinghe when she had came to America for the reality TV show " Voice of The World ".

    She was always a rebel who would never abide by the rules .

    So , she had changed her getup and was strolling around in the streets of New York when she had witnessed him practice dance .

    She was impressed by it , so she was the one who had initiated their friendship .

    The only thing Rong Xinghe hated about him was that he never had a dream.

    She saw a great potential in him but he was always azy person .

    Unfortunately , life had to teach him these things the hard way .

    An year after he met Xinghe , his mother was diagnosed with Stage - 2 Prostate Cancer .

    It was the hardest part of his life. He was very desparate for money back then .

    His father was a mere taxi driver who couldn''t afford expensive treatment for such a destructive disease .

    Rong Xinghe had supported him back then .

    She had quickly transferred her episodes'' earnings to the hospital .

    But since , he didn''t wanted to be indebted by anyone , she had given him contact details of some dance teachers and a reality show .

    That was when he had walked the path of fame .

    He had won all the twelve reality shows he had participated in back-to-back .

    He had even won the '' World Dance Champion '' title , which was the highest achievement in Dance , just like the '' Voice of The World '' title in Music .

    It could be said that , if Rong Xinghe was the Queen of Voice , then he was the King of Dance .

    Naturally , William could never forget the role of this girl in his life .

    She not only made him realise his passion and dreams , but also motivated him to live a normal life and not get depressed .

    She always told him that all these things were mere setbacks of life and that she would fight this battle against Cancer alongside him .

    People imed that a man and a woman can never be ''just'' friends .

    But this duo always proved this belief wrong. They were practically friendship goals for the whole world .

    His mom has had been getting a treatment from the best hospital in London and this was her secondst Chemotherapy session.

    Doctors were iming that she would live a normal life after theplete treatment .

    It was all thanks to this girl .

    And about the society .....

    There was a saying that , " Behind every sessful man , there is a woman "

    But in William Young''s life , that woman was neither his mother , nor his sister. It was his best friend.

    No matter what , he never took her advices for granted .

    In fact , he was Rong Xinghe''s fan first , and a friend after that .

    He always appreciated her presence in his life and they both were genuine towards each other without any space for intimacy .

    After all the things she had done for him and his family , he was sure of one thing !!!

    Even friendship with Rong Xinghe was worth it !!!

    One would be stupid to let her go from their lives , so , he always pitied Rong family and Shou family for that .

    But whenever he thought about what they did to her , his expression always turned cold and merciless !!!

    No matter how humorous and crazy he acted in front of Rong Xinghe , he hated every individual who intended to hurt her .

    In fact , all her other friends were also just like William .

    That''s why , Rong Xinghe was said to have an amazing group of friends !

    " Okay ! How do you n to make it up to me ?! You were too cruel !!! " , William came out of his thoughts .

    " Why would I .... "

    Before Xinghe could finish her sentence , William grabbed the back of her wrist and started walking towards Home movie theater , " Forget it !!! You .... are going to watch movies with me all night !!! "

 Chapter 63: Calling the shots for her !

    Chapter 63: Calling the shots for her !

    Next day ,

    Rong Xinghe had got dark circles due to staying up for the whole night .

    Even though she waspletely tired out , she still decided to go to work .

    But before she could leave Military Chief Residence , she shed with Su Rogguang .

    " Aaaahhhhh " , Su Rogguang held his chest in fear when he saw this ghost-like human.

    " Are you crazy , kiddo ?! What''s wrong with you ?! What did you dost night ?! Your face looks terrifying !!! I was about to get a Cardiac Arrest !!! " , the man said as he calmed down his nerves .

    " Its just dark cicles , Bro. I''ve been trained to control my sleep. I will be fine , don''t worry. "

    Saying this , Rong Xinghe tried to escape but .... was it even possible ?

    " I asked you that how did you stayed awake for the entire night ?! " , Su Rogguang''s voice suddenly became cold .

    Rong Xinghe felt a chill run down her spine when she heard this tone. It was rare for Su Rogguang , Mo Zixuan and Zhi Al to get angry , but whenever they did , it was way more scarier and fearsome. In fact , even Lu Wei and Zhi Xi would feel intimidated by their anger , let alone be mere humans like her .

    " Uhhh..... I was watching movies for the entire night " , Rong Xinghe smiled to cover up her nervousness .

    " With whom ?! " , Su Rogguang knew it very well that she would never do that herself. Although , she liked to create troubles , she never crossed a line with her health because she didn''t wanted to stress out the six of them .

    " William Young " , Rong Xinghe sold out her '' best friend '' without a second thought .

    " What is going on here ?! " , at this time , Zhi Bo entered the ce.

    He also stopped and stared at Rong Xinghe in the same way that Su Rogguang did .

    " Bo , can you do me a favour ?! " , Su Rogguang patted Zhi Bo''s shoulders .

    " Huh ?! " , Zhi Bo looked absent-mindedly at the man .

    " Can you beat the sh*t out of that William , please ! " , Su Rogguang made his ''kind'' request and pointed at Rong Xinghe , " I need to deal with this !!! "

    Zhi Bo clenched his fist as he pointed his chin towards Rong Xinghe , " Did this happen because of him ?! "

    " Yeah ! " , Su Rogguang nodded .

    " You take care of her ! I will deal with that brat !! " , Zhi Bo took off his coat and walked straight into the Home Movie Theater where William was sleeping like a baby .

    ______________

    Rong Xinghe''s eyes followed Zhi Bo''s tall and stunning figure until it disappearedpletely.

    The moment the theater''s door closed , she shook her head helplessly , " Poor soul !!!! "

    At this moment , Su Rogguang grabbed her wrist and despite her struggles , walked into her bedroom , " No matter how trained you are for situations like these , there is no need to push yourself if your body asks for rest itself. You are going to have aplete sleep before you start to jump around again ! "

    " But Bro.... I can''t ..... " , Rong Xinghe did''t knew how to convince this man.

    He was a doctor , and obviously , hated it the most when she took her health for granted .

    But she couldn''t just leave her work .

    Su Rogguang stopped in his tracks as he observed the girl''s hesitation and took out his mobile phone as he dialed a number .

    " Hello , Army General Gu ! I wanted to inform you that Military Chief won''t be able to go to work today. She has Migranne issues as I already discussed with you. You know that I am the Chief Doctor for Military Chief as well. I can''t possibly take risks with her health. "

    After some basic exchange of words , he hung up the call .

    Rong Xinghe still couldn''t believe that this man had directly called the Army General for such a small matter like her sleep !

    Was all this really that much necessary ?!

    Su Rogguang smiled at the girl , " Military Chief Xinghe , with my position , I can even call the shots for the authorities sitting in UNESCO , let alone be you.

    " Climb up the bed and sleep until these dark circles vanishpletely !!! All your cab meetings have been cancelled for the day. And you can work-from-home when you wake up. Okay ?! "

    Rong Xinghe kept staring at this man in front of her .

    He actually cancelled all her schedules for the day in the blink of an eye !

    Although she knew the achievements of all her brothers , she still felt goosebumps whenever she witnessed their influence and power .

    Of course , this man could call the shots for people in UNESCO. He was a globally acknowledged doctor for a reason , after all .

    She was left with no option , but to rest. This man had left her with no work to do ! So , she climbed up the bed as ordered obediently .

    She slept as soon as she closed her eyes. She was tired indeed.

    Su Rogguang covered the girl in a nket with quite a delicacy as he kissed her forehead lovingly , " Kiddo ! Your Bro loves you !!! "

    " Hmmm..... Kiddo loves Bros too.... " , the girl mumbled in her sleep .

    Su Rogguang let out a giggle as he observed the cute creature cuddling up in her nkets as she held onto his hand not letting it go !!!

    He shook his head as he looked down .

    This girl was such a headache .

    But a lovely headache .....

    _______________

    Meanwhile , In Elite Saphhire Penthouse ,

    Xi Fang stood in the study as he informed his brother about Zhou Che and his family .

    " Bro , actually , this Zhou Che never had such a loving and strong bond with his parents .

    " Actually , his mother isn''t his biological mother which was the basic reason that they had a sour rtionship. It was also the reason for the grudge between the father and son.

    " It was Sister-inw , who had made him realise their importance in his life. After that , Zhou Che''s parents and Zhou Che had literally considered her a part of their lives .

    " But after Zhou Zhichen''s death , these ungrateful bastards not only med Sister-inw for murder , but also humiliated her and treated her disrespectfully. "

    The moment Xi Yuan remembered how the girl was crying when she told him about her sufferings , he couldn''t help but feel his heart ache for his love .

 Chapter 64: Who was more ruthless ?!!

    Chapter 64: Who was more ruthless ?!!

    Xi Fang continued to report his investigation , " Bro ... The Zhou family has stabilised their business in Greece and France. They might return back to Country X soon .

    " Apparently , after she lost Zhou Zhichen , Mother Zhou has got practically obsessed with her only son Zhou Che. She doesn''t even allow a ss of water to reach him before its security is confirmed .

    " And about the man , it seems like he has grown up to be a ruthless business tycoon. But after Sister-inw left his life , he started consuming alcohol to get away from his pain. He believes that sister-inw had simply yed with his feelings and that he was wronged .

    " But professionally , he is quite good. His ways are quite merciless and despicable , though. Of course , he can never be on par with Senior Lu , Senior Zhi or You. Unlike him , you guys have a high IQ , EQ and capability to differentiate between right and wrong. "

    Xi Yuan listened all the information and then took a deep breath. He stood up and walked towards the parking as he needed to reach his office for a meeting. Xi Fang also followed him as the two brothers sat in their ck SUV and drove to the office .

    " What are you thinking Bro ? " , Xi Fang asked as he noticed his brother in silence .

    " If that manes back to Country X , will Rong Xinghe go back to him ?! " , there was hint of nervousness in Xi Yuan''s voice .

    Xi Fang startedughing uncontrollobly when he heard the young man''s tone .

    Oh God !!!

    This man !!!

    " What ?! " , Xi Yuan asked coldly .

    " Brother ! This is the first time you seem so insecure. HAHAHA .... Where is the ever-confident Xi Yuan I know ?! "

    " I am not insecure ! "

    " You are !!! "

    " I am not !!! "

    " Keep telling yourself that !!! "

    " .... "

    At this time , the car stopped at the Red light. There was a street connected to the main road. Xi Fang started looking at the activities going on in the street .

    Many people were doing different actions there. Some were making roadside tea , while some were putting up bangle stalls. Suddenly , Xi Fang''s eyes stopped at an old man who was sleeping on that very street. Xi Fang''s face turned pale the moment he realised the identity of the person .

    He quickly tugged onto Xi Yuan''s sleeves , " Bro... Look ... look ... !!! "

    Xi Yuan took his attention off his phone and looked in the direction where Xi Fang had pointed his finger.

    Even he was a little stunned when he saw the sleeping man !!!

    He was ..... Chen Bao .

    Their business rival. He remembered his face very well because they had shed many times before.

    In fact , recently , when he had gotten into an ident with Rong Xinghe , he was the perpetrator of the incident .

    He had even ruthlessly took out his revenge on him by destroying the entire Chen business empire .

    But as far as he knew , he hadn''t done something to this extent which would throw this '' once famous businessman '' in the bottoms of the pit .

    " Bro ! We never did something like that , did we ?! Even in the worst case scenario , he would have had been living in a rented house , no ?! Howe hended on the streets ?!!! How could this ..... " , Xi Fang waspletely confused .

    " Second Master , it wasn''t just Master who had nned the revenge on him. " , the driver said in a suggestive voice .

    " What do you mean , Uncle Ku ?! " , Xi Fang asked curiously .

    " Sir , that day when I was chatting with Master Lu''s driver , he told me that Master Lu had discussed that ident with Master Zhi and they had decided to further destroy the old man to this extent. "

    The moment Xi Fang heard this , he subconsciously looked at his brother who was surprised as well.

    Damn !!!

    He was really confused now !!!

    Whether his brother was the more ruthless or Sister-inw''s brothers were !!!

    Former had destroyed a whole business empire for her , whereas , thetter had destroyed thest bit of hope left for her sake !!!

    Just who was more ruthless ?!!!

    Xi Yuan was himself quite stunned .

    Even he hadn''t predicted this !

    Senior Lu and Senior Zhi had told him earlier that his revenge was still less than their expectations .

    But this .....

    Xi Yuan sighed helplessly , " Forget it ! As long as her brothers are alive , they wouldn''t let that mane back into her life even if she wants. "

    How could such protective and posessive brothers let someone who had harmed her earlier , re-enter her life ?!

    It was simply impossible !

    ___________

    At night , 10:45 p.m.

    City Ennst , Country X :

    In an abandoned and creepy bungalow :

    Three menughed as they held a map. They all radiated an extremely dangerous aura. A man with tinum specs in casual clothes stood up and marked Twelve locations on the map with a Red coloured marker .

    The man adjusted his spectacles and smiled , " 21st of November. On this date , there is a Global Music Festival here. These twelve locations are the venues of the music concerts. Approximately , 13 to 15kh people will attend this event .These locations in City A will be destroyed that night. Our bombs will easily kill all these masses ! "

    " That''s true ! Let''s see how that good-for-nothing woman , what''s her name , yeah , Rong Xinghe , saves City A. HAHAHAHA !!! " , another bald manughed maniacally .

    " Country X wasn''t in its right state of mind when it allowed women to join the army. Aren''t they simply meant to warm up the beds of us men ?! " , third man with long hairs chuckled .

    Just like it , the three terrorists were all set with their n for a terrifying bomb-st in Country X !!!

    They had only one intention and that was to make Country X shiver and shudder in fear till thest second of its existence .

    Of course , such a huge bombardment would also induce ack of trust for Rong Xinghe in the hearts of the citizens of Country X .

    It was a win-win situation for them !!!

    They werepletely sure that '' a woman '' could never decode , predict or foresee their attack strategy. So , they had nothing to worry about !!!

    Country X was doomed for destruction this time !!!

    But , when the woman was Rong Xinghe , what could be exactly ''predicted '' or ''destructed'' ?!

    This one woman was way too good at turning the tables around !!!

 Chapter 65: An ideal leader

    Chapter 65: An ideal leader

    Next Morning ,

    In Military Chief Office ,

    " Military Chief , Feng Mian has already started her mission and she has got into the Military House. She is doing pretty well there. The people there seem to trust her because she can speak theirnguage and they think she is one of them ! Everything''s going smoothly , Military Chief ! "

    " Any information from her side ?! " , Rong Xinghe said as she looked through the documents in front of her .

    " Yes Military Chief ! They n to do nothing until December. Even though they n on a Naval attack , they intend to wait till the end of the year. " , Shou Wu read the message in the codenguage Feng Mian had sent from Country N, where she was spying on a military family .

    THUD !!!

    Rong Xinghe closed her documents as she stood up with a menacing and dangerous expression !!

    " Call the higher-ups of Navy , Air Force and Land Forces for a meeting right now !!! And yes ! Arrange for a meeting with all the bereaucrats in my team in three hours !!! Quick !!! " , Rong Xinghe issued her orders.

    " A..Alright Military Chief !!! " , Shou Wu departed from the office with a confused yet frightened expression .

    _______________

    After the meeting with Military higher-ups of Country X , Rong Xinghe arrived in the grand Meeting hall of Military Chief Office , where almost two hundred Administrative and Police superiors were seated .

    As soon as Rong Xinghe entered the Meeting hall , the chaotic atmosphere converted intoplete silence.

    All the bureaucrats stood up and saluted the highest authority in front of them .

    Rong Xinghe smiled at these '' Brains of the Country '' and nodded slightly as she took the mic and walked to the center of the stage instead of standing in front of the podium .

    This gesture of hers impressed the officers a lot .

    It showed that she wanted to have their opinions on a certain matter , and not order them around like the former authorities did .

    " Ladies and gentlemen , or..... just friends ! How are you guys ?! " , Rong Xinghe asked in a sweet but an intimidating tone .

    The bureaucrats were taken aback , when the woman addressed them as friends. It had never happened in their entire career. They had almost gotten used to be treated like boot-licking dogs , but today , someone had actually provided them with such an honour and dignity .

    Thedy continued further , " So ..... Lets make certain things clear. I am indeed the Military Chief of this country , but I still need you all. Any of you cane to me with any form of suggestions you have regarding work or army. Until and unless you cross a line , I am an amazing listener. Secondly , even though we will have an employee-friendly environment , none of you are allowed to forget the dignity and respect that Military Chief of this country deserves. Just like you all , I have gone through a hell of five years to be where I am today. Please , take your words and actions into consideration. And thirdly , I hate traitors. So beware ! I won''t think for a millisecond before I cut your throat if you cross this bottom line of mine !!! Am I making myself clear ?!! "

    If the woman''s voice was sweet and melodious earlier , it was domineering and cold now .

    She had made a clear distinction between what they could and couldn''t do .

    She wanted their opinions but she would not tolerate any sort of egoistic attitude .

    She would support them but they were to respect her as well .

    They could do anything but look down on her !

    The way she concluded , sent chills running down their spine .

    She was like a sleeping lion , harmless until her dominance and power were questioned !

    This approach of hers made them feel challenged and thrilled .

    They were the bureaucrats for a reason. One could say , that this group of society had the best judgement for any individual .

    And they could clearly see what this woman in front of them was ?!

    She was an ideal leader !!

    She wasn''t partial , neither was she self-centered or typical ''power-holic'' .

    They would definitely try their best to get in her good books .

    After sometime , the atmosphere became a lot more calm in the meeting hall .

    It was now that Rong Xinghe decided to discuss the important matter in-hand .

    She exined about the message that Feng Mian had sent from Country N to the people in front of her .

    " Then what was the reason behind this meeting , Military Chief ?! " , a young officer asked with confusion clear on his face .

    All the other bureaucrats had muddled expression on their faces as well. They were not sure about what conclusion Rong Xinghe hade up with from such a small piece of information .

    " Since they intend to wait tillte December , it means only one thing. They n to attack Country X before that. ording to me , the attack will take ce on 21st of November. Our country will celebrate the ''Grand Music Festival '' on that day. Things will be quite ... crowdy. But just to be safe , let''s take the whole month of November into consideration. It will be quite a crucial time for us ! " , Rong Xinghe exined her conclusion wlessly .

    At this point of time , all the two hundred bureaucratic superiors were stunned speechless by thedy in front of them .

    She wasn''t merely a woman with great leadership skills , she was also ady of high IQ and urate judgement .

    She knew it very well that terrorists normally select crowdy ces for destructions and bomb-sts .

    So , she had even predicted the most possible date .

    They actually felt a little inferior in her presence.

    No wonder , she was the highest authority of the country !

    She was worth it !!!

    She had the capability to think ''out-of-the-box'' , after all .

    None of them can measure up to her !!!

    Rong Xinghe looked at the convinced group of people and said , " What I want you guys to do is to activate all the local informers across the whole country ! Any kind of suspicious or dubious activity should be informed as soon as possible. We have merely 2 months to decode their n and destroy it. Public shouldn''t get even the basic idea about the threat on their lives , no matter what. We can''t handle that level of chaos !!! So maintain the confidentiality , even from the politicians .

    " Get back to your works. I''ll inform you if I need you. Alright ?! That will be all !!! Meeting dismissed ! "

    The meeting ended and the bureaucrats immersed themselves into the task provided .

    The terrorists were sure that Country X would be down and that too , under Rong Xinghe''s nose .

    HAHAHA !!!

    Only if they knew ..... who this woman actually was !!!

 Chapter 66: Planning the most mesmerizing proposal !!!

    Chapter 66: nning the most mesmerizing proposal !!!

    After a long and tiring day at work , Rong Xinghe got a text from Zhi Al : " Meeting in Zhi Family Mansion !!! Its urgent !!!!!!!! REPORT THERE REAL QUICK !!!!!!! "

    Rong Xinghe could tell the urgency of the situation just by amount of exmation marks in the message !

    She quickly picked up her car keys and drove to the Zhi Mansion !!!

    ________________

    Zhi Mansion ....

    The moment Rong Xinghe stepped inside the hall , she was weed by the fragnance of different dishes !!!

    Suddenly , an olddy hugged Rong Xinghe from behind , " My darling !!! "

    Rong Xinghe quickly turned around and hugged her back with a bright smile , " I missed you soooo much , Sexy !!! How dare you leave me for such a long time ?!! "

    " I am sorry , I am sorry !! It is all because of that idiot , Zhi Xi. He sent me to India for a Yoga campaign !!! You tell me ! Do I need Yoga ?! I am still so beautiful !!! No ?!! " , the olddyined as she pouted .

    Rong Xinghe smiled mischievously at thedy , " Of course , not , Sexy !!! I can write aplete book with the names of boys , men and grandpas , who want to date you currently !!! You are still as young as the night and as pretty as a painting !!! "

    The olddy blushed as she heard thepliments from the girl.

    ........

    " (cough)....(cough).... Uh .... Mrs. ''As young as the night '' , here .... your walking stick. " , Zhi Al''s voice rang from behind .

    The old woman turned around and took the walking stich and started attacking Zhi Al with it , " You Bastard !!! How dare you ?! She wasplimenting me !!! "

    " Sorry , Grandma. ... Oh ! That hurts !!! Not the back !! No .... Sorry !!! Ouchh !!! "

    Rong Xinghe giggled when she saw the grandson and grandmother act !!!

    This olddy was Zhi Rui and she was the grandmother of Zhi Xi , Zhi Bo and Zhi Al but she was obsessed with Rong Xinghe more than her own kin. She believed that Rong Xinghe was the luck of Zhi family .

    The moment Rong Xinghe had entered in the lives of her three grandsons , everything in the Zhi family changed for good !!!

    She rarely stayed in Country X because she kept on travelling different religious locations around the world but whenever she came back to Country X , her only priority would be to meet Rong Xinghe .

    Rong Xinghe and she were more like friends , despite their age difference .

    " Okay , Sexy !!! Calm down !!! He isn''t worth the attention of such a beauty !! " , Rong Xinghe quickly pacified the old woman .

    " You are right , darling !!! He isn''t worth it !!! " , Zhi Rui took a deep breath to calm herself down .

    Rong Xinghe realised that all these dishes were personally made by this olddy for her .

    She felt a warmth spreading through her heart .

    Rong Xinghe made the woman sit on the couch and then turned to look at Zhi Al , " Is this the only reason you called me here ?! "

    She refused to believe that things were as easy as they looked .

    Zhi Al shrugged , " You are getting a third sister-inw ! "

    Rong Xinghe rolled her eyes , " You got a girlfriend again ?! And this is a '' big'' issue ?! What is new in that ?? "

    " What he means is that Bo is getting married , kiddo ! " , Zhi Xi''s voice echoed in the hall .

    Rong Xinghe turned around to look at Zhi Xi in in shock , " What ?!!! "

    Zhi Bo appeared behind Zhi Xi as he looked at the girl''s shocked expression .

    He entered the hall with steady and hurried steps towards Rong Xinghe .

    As he reached near the girl , Zhi Bo kissed her forehead and hugged her , " I want to propose Cy for marriage , Kiddo !!! We have been together for almost one year now and I think she is the one for me !!! What do you think ?! Will you help me ?! "

    When Rong Xinghe heard Zhi Bo''s expectant and excited deep voice , all her shock and worries vanished.

    She looked at her brother , " Are you sure ?! "

    Zhi Bo nodded .

    Rong Xinghe''s behaviour took a 180-degrre change when she got the confirmation.

    " Sexy !!! Call the priest !! Let''s get the best date for marriage !!! And yeah !! Where is Sister Songyan and Sister Ningtao ?!! We need to visit the fashion designers for the best gowns we would wear at Bro Bo''s wedding ! This will be so much fun !!! OMG !!! I can''t believe this !!! Yay !!! "

    Zhi Xi pinched the space between his brows when he saw the crazy littledy devil on cloud nine , " Kiddo !!! We still need to n a proposal and get an approval from Ruo Cy , don''t we ?! "

    Rong Xinghe came back to reality as soon as she heard this.

    She gently pped her own forehead as she felt embarassed !!!

    Yeah !!!

    How could I even forget that part ?!

    HEHEHEHE.....

    Silly me ....

    Rong Xinghe then nudged Zhi Bo with a grin , " You need my advice , don''t you ?! "

    Zhi Bo rolled his eyes when he saw the girl''s grin. This brat ....

    But he actually had no other option. She was their only cupid. The Six men always listened to her when it came to matters rted to love ! And she was the only one who had nned the grand proposals for Songyan and Ningtao. He wanted the same for Ruo Cy.

    So.... he nodded .

    Rong Xinghe sat like a professional matchmaker in a royal manner and started ordering around everyone , " Bro Xi , make me a cup of tea. Bro Al , go and prepare my bed. I will stay here tonight ! And Bro Bo ,e sit here. Tell me every detail of your love story from the scratch. I need to have a rough idea about it before I n anything. And Sexy !!! You go and take some rest. You must be tired. I can''t wear out such a beautiful girl !!! "

    All the three men stared at thedy devil as she ordered them around like they were some servants.

    But since she had asked them for something .... they were bound to carry out all her orders !!!

    So they did what they were asked to do !!!

    Zhi Rui also followed the orders issued by the girl and went to take some rest .

    Hence , all the four people spent the entire night nning the most mesmerizing proposal !!!

 Chapter 67: The Flame of Love !

    Chapter 67: The me of Love !

    One month passed by ,

    Rong Xinghe had been quite busy with the military for these past few days .

    She didn''t even got enough time to eat or sleep due to the work she had to indulge herself into .

    Although , her dedication gained her a lot of respect in office and the government , she couldn''t prevent the daily scolding sessions from her brothers .

    They , obviously , didn''t liked the way she was taking her health for granted and how she over-exerted herself .

    Of course , Zhi Bo wasn''t a part of all this .

    He was too busy working on his " Mission : Proposal " !!!

    Meanwhile , Xi business empire kept on expanding in Country X as well as overseas .

    Xi Yuan , the Big Boss of business world , made extremely profitable business deals in the first three months of hiseback in Country X !!!

    But , obviously , Xi Yuan had one more priority other than business now .

    He got a rough idea about Rong Xinghe''s likes and dislikes .

    He even kept on visiting the NGO as he knew that Rong Xinghe was busy with her work and couldn''t give time to those kids whom she cared about the most .

    Not to mention , he watched Rong Xinghe''s reality show "Voice of the World " everytime he got even a spare minute.

    This determination of their brother actually shocked the three Xi siblings to the core !

    It was now that they realised that this man didn''t even gave 10 % of hisplete focus to the business !!!

    But for love , he could go to this extent ....

    He was capable beyond their imagination !!!

    .....

    Meanwhile ,

    An announcement was released by '' Artist of the year '' Zhi Bo .

    This announcement was quite a sensation in Country X because Zhi Bo was basically the pride of the entire nation .

    He wasn''t just an artist , but also the General Representative for Country X in UNESCO and was a part of Country X National Comission for UNESCO .

    Due to his magnificient works in culture and literature , he was provided with this position .

    Inspite being one of the heir to Zhi business empire , he had been always interested in human welfare and was least concerned about matters rted to finance .

    But that never meant that he didn''t earned money .

    The entire world was in love with his art .

    Each one of his paintings used to be sold at minimum of 5000 million dors !!!

    When it came to earnings , he was no less than businessmen Zhi Xi or Lu Wei or Xi Yuan .

    And what more , he was a man of extreme respect in the whole world because of his authority in UNESCO .

    After all , no one else in the nation had reached the position where he was today !!

    But he rarely showed himself in front of the media !!!

    He didn''t liked all the glitz and mor .

    And it wasn''t just that !!!

    Rong Xinghe''s all the six brothers had a stunning personality .

    They were basically the definition for perfection !!!

    So , obviously , media and the girls who dreamed to marry Zhi Bo , were excited to get a glimpse of this man .

    { "New collection of paintings to be released" : Artist Zhi Bo }

    { Latest art collection of General Representative of Country X in UNESCO , Zhi Bo to be called " The me of Love " !!! }

    { Only ten paintings to be released , merely five to be sold , said Zhi Bo!!! }

    { Does the glorious man of Country X has fallen for someone ?! Why " The me of Love " ?! }

    { Is the Second Master of Zhi family in Love with someone ?! }

    { Stay tuned to ''sneak a peek'' of Zhi Bo''s soon-to-be released art collections !!! }

    Just before the release of the paintings , the whole world was already looking forward to witness Zhi Bo''s work !!!

    His paintings were known to be the costliest in the world and almost all the highest authorities across the globe exhausted their resources to buy even one of them !!!

    This man was indeed the best in his field !!!

    Even in the current society , when the world was crazy for technology , he revived and revitalized people''s interest in art !!!

    _______________

    Three days after the statement was released , the ten paintings were to be released in Zhi Bo''s Art Exhibition !!!

    Media of different countries had arrived in the Exhibition Hall and shuttering sounds of cameras were heard constantly !!!

    They were all streaming live in their countries because they wanted to give an exclusive look of these paintings to their citizens !!!

    Ruo Cy also arrived soon after with Zhi Bo .

    She was in a confused state today !!!

    Rong Xinghe and Zhi Al had been telling her that she was going to get a surprise soon , but whenever she asked about it , they became extremely secretive about it !!!

    It was as if there was some confidential mission going on !!!

    The media was a little shocked when they saw the woman with Zhi Bo !

    Was it true ?!

    Did the Second Master of Zhi family was really in love ?!

    Before they could ask a single question , Zhi Bo smiled and pped twice as he gestured the Hall staff to remove the cloth-pieces that covered the ten paintings .

    The moment the paintings were revealed , all the media was stunned speechless and cameramen forgot to click the pictures !!!

    This .....

    How beautiful ... !!!

    These were the most beautiful artworks they had ever seen in their lives !!!

    All of these paintings were the ten most famous tourist destinations of the world and it showed that a woman was holding a man''s hand as she smiled at him and walked towards these ces .

    These paintings were painted from the painter''s point of view !!!

    It was as if they were living through these ten moments of the life !

    They all felt the feeling of having the love of your life besides you wherever you go !!!

    The passion of love was clearly visible in all of these paintings !

    It was indeed "The me of Love " !!!

    But that wasn''t the most eye-catching part ...

    To their astonishment , the woman in these paintings was the woman standing besides Zhi Bo !!!

    She was .... Ruo Cy !!!

    So ..... that meant that the man whose hand had been held by the woman in the paintings was Zhi Bo !!!

    All the heads in the hall instinctively turned to look at Ruo Cy who was more shocked than everyone present in the hall !!!

    What the ...

 Chapter 68: Best Proposal Planner !!!

    Chapter 68: Best ''Proposal nner'' !!!

    Ruo Cy didn''t even knew how to react anymore !

    All these paintings ....

    All these decorations ....

    All the hints Rong Xinghe and Zhi Al gave .....

    All the secrecy that Zhi Bo maintained ...

    It was all for this day ?!

    He had actually painted her in all his masterpieces !

    All these destinations were the ces she had told him about !!!

    They hadn''t went their together , but she had told him that she wished to visit these ces someday !!!

    She couldn''t believe that his imagination was so ... beautiful !!!

    She had no words to describe the feelings in her heart !!!

    ....

    At this moment of time ,

    Zhi Bo sat on his one knee and took out a small diamond ring box ....

    The box opened to reveal a beautiful peacock feather sculpted diamond ring with a Jade stone embedded on it ...

    Zhi Bo smiled at the woman in front of him and said nervously , " Ruo Cy ... I love you !!! I love you to the depths of my heart !!!! You had a dream to visit these ces and I had the dream to visit these ces with you. Will you fulfil my imagination by epting me ?! Will you marry me ?!! "

    Rong Xinghe was dumbfounded the sudden change of events !!!

    This was a ... PROPOSAL !!!

    A beautiful proposal !!!

    Damn !!!

    Did this man even needed to show the ring ?!

    All the paintings were a proposal in themselves !!!

    And it wasn''t just the two of them !!!

    He had proposed her literally , in front of , the entire world !!!

    Did he loved her so much ?!!

    Her heart meltedpletely when she thought about this man''s genuinity towards her !!!

    She sat down on her knees as well and hugged Zhi Bo tightly .

    " Yes ! I will !!! "

    The man also hugged her back happily with a relieved expression .

    Thank God !!!

    Meanwhile , the media finally came back to its senses .

    Did this just happened ?!

    Were they hallucinating ?!!!

    The entire crowd of the journalists became wild and the photographers started clicking the pictures of the couple with an intense enthusiasm !!!

    Zhi Bo slid the ring in Ruo Cy''s ring finger as the couple stood up and faced the cameras and reporters calmly !!!

    _______________

    Meanwhile ,

    In Zhi Family Mansion ;

    A certain ''matchmaker'' or ''cupid'' was jumping like a ball .

    " Bro Xi ! Bro Al ! I finally get my third sister-inw !!! Yay !!! Sister Songyan !!! One more woman in the family !!! "

    The five men looked helplessly at the girl .

    Why was she obsessed in getting them married ?!

    Her expression when Ruo Cy epted Zhi Bo''s proposal was exactly like their expression when ..... Country X won Cricket World Cup or Football World Cup !!!

    As much as they were happy for Zhi Bo , they felt a headacheing !

    Judging by the expression and excitement of this girl , a grand wedding was on its way !!!

    She would never settle for something less !!!

    " Where is Sexy ?! Call her !!! We will need religious help for the marriage ! " , the girl eximed .

    And here it was !!!

    Zhi Xi looked at his sister , " Religious help ?! Seriously ? "

    Rong Xinghe nced at her brother and then walked towards him .

    She gave a creepy smile to the man as she asked , " Forget it !!! You tell me ..... when do you n to make me an aunt ?! "

    Zhi Al also joined excitedly , " Yes Bro !!! When do you n to make me the third uncle of this family ?! "

    Zhi Xi nced at his wife who looked at Rong Xinghe and Zhi Al as if they were idiots .

    So... he pushed them aside as he walked out of the house , " Childish !!! "

    " We are not childish !!! We want to see your child !!! " , Rong Xinghe shouted from behind.

    " Sister Songyan ... " , before the girl could say another word , Songyan rushed out as well .

    " Umm... Bro Lu " , Rong Xinghe turned to look at Lu Wei who abruptly stood up and started to take his leave as well !

    " Kiddo ! I need to pick up Ningtao from her shooting location !!! You take care !!! " , Lu Wei left hurriedly .

    Rong Xinghe smiled as she stretched , " Its alright. I will wait till Bro Bo gets married !!! "

    ________________

    Elite Saphhire Penthouse ,

    The man was sitting on the couch as he looked at the TV screen in front of him .

    " Brother !!! What an amazing proposal !!! I never thought that there could be such a way to do that !!! " , Xi Wei eximed .

    " Bro !! Look at that painting of Statue of Liberty !!! And that Leaning Tower of Pisa !!!! I have never seen such beautiful paintings !!! Sister-inw''s brothers are so amazing !!! " , Xi Ying was the most impressed .

    " How could he have hade up with such a captivating and fascinating proposal ?! I mean that is the coolest proposal I have ever seen !!! " , even Xi Fang was amazed .

    " My girl !!! " , the man smiled.

    The moment these two words left Xi Yuan''s mouth , the Xi trio werepletely bbergasted !

    What ?!

    This was sister-inw''s idea !!!

    Oh My Frickin'' God !!!

    The brain behind this proposal was their sister-inw''s ?!

    How could she have hade up with that ?!

    It was practically the best way for an artist to propose !!!

    Now that they thought about it , they realised that Lu Wei''s and Zhi Xi''s proposals back then were as amazing and galvanizing as this one !!!

    The whole world considered her brothers to be couple goals !!!

    In fact , their proposals were the most viewed videos in the entire country !!!

    Were those proposals also nned by her ?!!

    She was actually a genius regarding such things !!!

    They suddenly felt like they had a huge burden on their heads ?!!!

    After all , there would be a day when they would need to help Xi Yuan with a proposal for her !!!

    And with her skills , how were they to think out-of-the-box ?!!!

    Oh Sis-inw !!!

    Why are you so good at everything ?!!

    She was basically the best '' PROPOSAL PLANNER '' they had ever seen !!!

    At this time , Xi Yuan''s took out his phone and started texting .

    " Congrattions , Xinghe ! "

    " Thank you !! They both are so...in love ! Gotta get back to work !! Catch you soon ?! " , the girl replied instantly .

    " Okay ! "

    The Xi trio peeked at the screen and instantly cleared their minds !!!

    What were they worried about ?!

    Let us wait first for these two to get into a rtionship ?!!

    This man had always been wless in everything he did ?!

    And .... so what if Sis-inw was perfect ?!!

    Their brother was no less than perfection !!!

 Chapter 69: The death game

    Chapter 69: The death game

    Rong Xinghe was still in the Zhi Family Mansion when she had texted the message to Xi Yuan.

    At this time , she got a notification from a bureaucrat in Military Chief Office : " Long live Country X , Military Chief ! One of the sources have just informed that some suspicious people have had been living in the Pure Royal Colony , Block -37 in the north-west of City A. He has imed that they have some confidential information regarding the uing attack and that they are terrorists ! "

    As soon as Rong Xinghe read the message , she turned around to look at Zhi Al with a meaningful smile and expectant gaze .

    Zhi Al , obviously sensed her gestures , so he asked cautiously , " What do you want ?! "

    " Yourtest sports car ! " , the girl replied .

    " No !!! " , Zhi Al quickly refuted .

    " Your new ck Porsche 911 !! Get me the keys ! " , the girl demanded coldly .

    Zhi Al was shocked when he heard the car she wanted.

    He had always had a wide collection of cars and bikes. In fact , he had almost hundred and fifty sports car .

    But this girl , out of every car ,id her eyes on his favorite one !!!

    It was thetest edition and it was yet to be released in the market but , due to his contacts , he had got a hold of it earlier .

    Despite everything else , it was still expensive !

    He quickly retaliated , " What the hell do you even know about it ?! "

    Rong Xinghe took a deep breath and started speaking , " The new 911 has passed through an evolutionary process resulting in a car with a longer wheelbase, a wider nose, a new PDK gearbox and further enhancements to its turbocharged t-six engine. Every new 911 is an important milestone. A 911''s rear end is always its most distinctive area and the 992 is no different. The new,rger, vertically-tted engine cover houses the central high intensity brake light, there''s a wider retractable rear wing too and the rear bumper also features a wraparound LED tail light, with the former dropping sharply to create a deep t surface. You got a hold of this car at the amount of 130 Million Dors and ..... "

    The girl stopped mid-way and tilted her head as she gazed deeply in Zhi Al''s eyes.

    The girl asked in a cold voice , " DO I NEED TO CONTINUE FURTHER , THIRD MASTER ?! "

    Zhi Al was rendered speechless by the girl''s information about the car !

    How did she knew so much about it ?!

    Did she intended to snatch it away from him a long time ago ?!

    But when he heard the coldness in Rong Xinghe''s voice , he reflexively gulped with anxiety .

    She had had been ncing at her watch every now and then. It seemed like she really needed the car and he was dying her work .

    He had no intension to hinder her professional life .

    So , he rushed into his room and came out with the car key .

    He threw the keys at the girl as he warned her , " Take care of my Rosaline !! "

    " Who is Rosaline ?! " , Rong Xinghe was confused .

    " My ck Porsche 911 ! "

    Rong Xinghe : " ..... "

    This man .....

    He had a habit of giving names to every vehicle he owned !!!

    And all those names were feminine !!

    She rolled her eyes and rushed out of Zhi Mansion .

    She had a lot more important things to do and had no time to argue with him !!!

    _____________

    Block -37

    Pure Royal Colony

    Rong Xinghe arrived at the location given to her by the bureaucrat. She parked the eye-catching sports car a little away from the location in order to not alert the dubious party .

    She quickly took out her fully loaded Beretta Px4 Storm gun when she observed the dangerous area .

    The whole locality was dead silent as if no one lived there !

    Only a dim Yellow light was flickering every now and then from one of the windows .

    She even noticed movements of some silhouettes and also heardughter of some men .

    The girl took a deep breath and took off her heels as she walked vigntly yet softly towards the building bare-footed .

    Let the death game begin !!!

    Due to the fact that no sound of any footsteps were heard , the men inside the small appartment let their guards down .

    They were quite sure that no human woulde to such a creepy ce .

    But ... they would soon know how naive they were !!!

    THUD !

    A sudden loud noice was heard out of nowhere !

    When four out of the five men turned to look what themotion was about , they saw the dead body of their fifth member on the cold floor !!!

    But the worst part was that the killer was nowhere to be seen .

    They instinctively reached towards their guns and rifles as they stood with their stiff backs !

    Who the f*ck was there ?!

    One of the man took the initiative and walked out of the room withplete alertness .

    To his shock , there was nobody visible in his sight .

    It was as if the killer appeared and vanished in the thin air !!!

    He turned to head back inside the room but at this time , he felt something amiss .

    He lifted his head to look at the ceiling and his eyes widened with shock !!!

    The '' littledy devil '' of the Six men was sitting on the cement shelf attatched to the wall just above the door !!!

    The girl was munching onto Orange caramel candies gifted to her by the NGO kids .

    She raised her brows when she saw the man staring at her and then raised her hand to wave for the sake of propreity !!!

    Before the man could even point his revolver in her direction , a bullet swiftly prated his head !!!

    The man fell down with an excessive flow of blood as he died there and then !!!

    Rong Xinghe rolled her eyes.

    How boring !!!

    ---------------

    When the remaining three men witnessed the ruthless death of their partner , they felt a certain unease take ce in their body !!!

    Who the f*ck was there ?!

    One of the man quickly picked up his walkie-talkie and informed about the situation to the other side and asked for more help !!!

    They obviously couldn''t let the confidential information go to just anyone !!!

 Chapter 70: " What is your last wish ?! "

    Chapter 70: " What is yourst wish ?! "

    As the man informed about the situation to his higher ups , the other two men walked towards the exit warily .

    But before they could reach the door , the girl jumped down from cement shelf as she smiled tiredly , " You guys are slow as a snail ! "

    BANG !

    BANG !

    BANG !

    Three headshots ... and the room wentpletely silent .

    Rong Xinghe''s sudden jump startled the men and they couldn''t even react in time before they were dead !!!

    Rong Xinghe''s efficiency was simply praiseworthy !!!

    The girl stared coldly at the dead bodies for a moment before she took out her hard disk and connected it to theputer system in the room !

    With the speed of light , she hacked into the system and cammanded the transfer of all the documents in the hard disk .

    About her hacking skills , well ... the "White Hat Hacker" Zhi Al being her brother was the only exnation .

    She wasn''t as good as him , but she was still a good learner !!!

    So , Zhi Al had simply taught her basic details !

    After the transferral of documents started , the girl quickly started searching for written ns or records throughout the small appartment but she came up with nothing .

    At this moment , Rong Xinghe heard the sound of hurried footsteps .

    Crap !!!

    More men were heading in her direction !

    She quickly rushed towards theputer and disconnected the hard disk from theputer after the transfer of documents waspleted .

    Rong Xinghe then tied a rope''s end to the knob of the balcony door and held onto the other end of the rope as she jumped down !!

    She was well trained for situations like these during the five years of her training !!!

    As she got down , she ran in the direction where she had parked Zhi Al''s car .

    __________

    After sometime ,

    The car sped through an empty street and the girl was satisfied about the mission''s aplishment .

    But .... to her dissapointment ..... it wasn''t aplished yet !

    Suddenly , the car''s left hand side view mirror of the car was shot !!!

    Rong Xinghe frowned as she nced through the rear view mirror to get a glimpse of the attacker !

    Sh*t !!!

    They were still following her !!

    She pressed down the elerator of the car and tried to escape !!!

    But since she was being followed , she was at a disadvantage !

    Thankfully , she was good at driving !!!

    The attackers tried to shoot the car''s tires but Rong Xinghe''s sudden turns were so unexpected that they couldn''t get a proper aim .

    So , they aimed for the car''s rear windshield and smashed it down with one shot of the Heckler and Koch G36 assault rifle !!!

    Rong Xinghe peeped at the broken windshield through the rearview mirror and smirked !

    They don''t n to make it easy ?!

    Fine !!!

    She took out her Beretta Px4 Storm gun again and pointed it at one of the cars following her .

    BAM !!!

    In one simple shot at the hood of the car , and the car sted explosively as the sparks flew in the air !!!

    Some of the men were actually terrified by the scene in front of them !!!

    Just who the hell was this person ?!!

    A hacker ?!

    Abat soldier ?!

    An assassin ?!

    A sharp shooter ?!

    Their hands trembled slightly but they kept on following her !!!

    At this moment , from the corner of her eyes , Rong Xinghe saw an approximately 70 feat high wedge .

    She smiled excitedly and turned the car in the direction of that wedge !!

    VROOOMM !!!

    With the loud sound of revving up of engine , the sports car jumped from the giant towering wedge and drove away !!!

    None of the other men had the guts to follow behind her anymore !!!

    They weren''t crazy like whoever this ''maniac'' was !!!

    _____________

    Rong Xinghe finally brought the car back into Military Chief Residence after sometime .

    At this moment , three SUVs surrounded her as she quickly hit the breaks and got off the car abruptly .

    The three men also got off the driver''s seat and stared at the girl in front of them.

    Zhi Xi , Zhi Bo and Zhi Al kept ring at her before Zhi Al rushed towards her with hurried steps !!!

    Rong Xinghe thought that he was worried about her so she opened her arms and smiled , " I am fine , brother !! "

    But the manpletely ignored her and walked towards his sports car with sorrowful and devastated expression !!!

    " My Rosaline !!! My baby !!! What did this cruel world do to you ?! Oh my god what a big dent !!! Bro Bo ! Look what this ungrateful girl did to my darling !!! " , Zhi Al cried as he looked at the situation of his car .

    Rong Xinghe stood awkwardly as she stared at the man !

    What the hell !

    His biggest concern was his sports car and not his sister !!!

    Zhi Xi shook his head as he giggled and reached forward to pull the girl in his warm hug , " Are you fine ?! "

    Zhi Bo also stretched his hand to pat her head.

    Rong Xinghe finally smiled and hugged Zhi Xi back as she nodded .

    So what that a certain person had other priorities , she still had five more brothers !!

    Keep crying !!!

    " By the way , how did you guys knew that I was attacked ?! " , the girl looked at Zhi Xi confusedly .

    " Al hacked into the satellite system of Country X and we tracked you down with the help of that " , Zhi Xi shrugged nonchntly .

    Rong Xinghe almost puked blood when she heard the man !!!

    Acting so normal , just after hacking into one of the national departments ?!

    Shouldn''t there be fear or uncertainty in your eyes ?!

    Aahhh !!!

    Forget it !

    Who was she talking about ?!

    It was Master Zhi Al who had hacked into the system !!

    There was no chance that even the best hackers or coders in the world could prove his involvement in this matter !!

    " Rong frickin'' Xinghe !!! What is yourst wish ?! After all , you murdered my Rosaline. And our constitution states death sentence for murder !!! " , Zhi Al''s voice resonated with traces of danger in it .

    Zhi Bo rolled his eyes , " It is just a car , Al. Constitution has no such rules for non-living things !!! Stop acting like a kid !! "

    Zhi Al : " It is my Rosaline !! "

    Zhi Xi : " I will get you one more , okay ?! Give me two days ? You got it in 130 million dors , right ?! I will pay them 200 million dors , fine ?!! "

    Zhi Al : " Really ?! "

    Zhi Xi nodded .

    The moment Zhi Al got the reassurance , his attitude took a 180-degree change , " My kiddo ! Thank god that you are safe !!! I was so worried about you !!! I couldn''t even think about anything , else than you ! Don''t scare me like that , Okay ?! "

    Saying this , he quickly pulled the girl into a big bear hug.

    Rong Xinghe rolled her eyes .

    Of course !

    I got a very clear idea about how you ''couldn''t think about anything else '' and how '' worried you were '' ?!

    My bad !!!

 Chapter 71: Anything for a food discount !!!

    Chapter 71: Anything for a food discount !!!

    In Military Chief Office ,

    " General Han ! Please decode the information in this hard disk. I retrieved it from the terrorist camp " , Rong Xinghe handed over the device to one of her trustworthy military officers .

    " You went there personally , Military Chief ?! " , General Han , who was merely a 24 year old man , asked with a shocked look on his face .

    The girl nodded with a smile .

    " Military Chief ! You should take your security into consideration , I believe ! " , the man took out hisptop from the bag , " You can''t just walk into such a dangerous area !! Also , there is a reason we soldiers are trained ! "

    Rong Xinghe waved her hand , " No big deal !! The location was nearby , so I did it myself. Why would I wait for soldiers to get on a mission that I could handle single-handedly ?! Moreover , we are left with just one month !!! We need to get all the details about the attack n and destroy it !!! I couldn''t waste a second !! "

    The girl then immersed herself back into the work as she left the man in his own thoughts .

    _________

    At night ,

    " General Han !!! I will take my leave first then ! You decode the information by tomorrow noon !!! Alright ?! " , Rong Xinghe stood up from her seat .

    As she was about to leave for some rest , Rong Xinghe got a call .

    Liitle Panda screamed from the other side " Aaaahhh !!! Xiao Xinghe !!! Help !!! Please call my brother !!! He is very angry on the staff right now !!! They will all die !! Please lure him out of the den !!! "

    Rong Xinghe was startled by the sudden scream of Xi Wei , " What happened ?! And how am I to lure him out of the ''den'' ?! And I .... "

    Before she could evenplete her sentence , Xi Ying''s voice rang from the other end , " Xiao Xinghe !!! You can call him even to eat ice-cream or chocte and he will leave his work !! But its just you .... who can save us !!! Please ... we beg you !!! "

    " Uhhhh.... I .... " , Rong Xinghe took a deep breath and decided to help the poor creatures , " Okay !! I will try it .... But if he agrees or not .... its upto him. Okay ?! "

    "Thank you so much .... sister-in- .... um ... Xiao Xinghe " , Xi Wei almost bit his tongue for the slip of words .

    Rong Xinghe stared at the mobile screen for some time before she called Xi Yuan .

    What the hell was he going to say ?!

    And how was Yuan scary to them ?!

    She always felt that he was quite an approachable person !!

    He was very sweet to talk to , after all .

    Idiots !!!

    " Hello Xinghe ! Whatsupp ?! " , the man''s deep and charming voice came from the other end as the call got through .

    " Um....hey , Yuan !!! I wanted to ask you about something !!! Could you do me a favour ?! " , the girl asked hesitantly .

    " Your wish is mymand , Ma''jolie ! Ask it up ?! " , Xi Yuan smiled .

    The girl smiled as well when the man called her like that .

    Ma''jolie was actually a French term which meant '' My Pretty '' .

    And Xi Yuan addressed her like that every now and then , so , she had gotten used to that !!!

    " Uhh... Will you be my boyfriend ?! " , the girl asked out of nowhere .

    " What ?!!! " , Xi Yuan was stunned speechless by the words of the girl !

    He felt like he heard her wrong !!!

    Was she kidding ?!

    " Meet me at " T Lv " restaurant in half an hour ? You can keep on your business suit , I will exin it to youter ! " , the girl asked again .

    Xi Yuan cleared his mind and took a deep breath , " Okay !! I will leave right now , then ! "

    The man then hung up the call .

    Rong Xinghe was actually rendered speechless by the man''s reaction .

    He really agreed to go with her ?!

    So easily ?!

    His siblings indeed knew him the best !!!

    ___________

    At hotel " T Lv " ,

    Xi Yuan rushed as soon as he could !

    He reached inside the hotel as he started to search for his girl .

    It was now that he saw her sitting on one of the corner tables .

    He sat opposite her as he asked , " What did you mean by that on the call ?! "

    Rong Xinghe''s lips curved into bright smile when she saw the man , " Hush !!! Do as I say !! We have to act like we are in a rtionship until we are here , okay ?! Just y along with it ?! Now take my hand in yours and rub your fingers lovingly over my knuckles !! Quick !!! "

    Xi Yuan was a little confused when the girl made the request but he still decided to go along with her wishes .

    So he gently took her hands into his and did what he was asked to .

    Rong Xinghe then continued , " Good ..... Now , look deep into my eyes and speak anything you want. I willugh to it so that we do look like people in love ! Come on !! "

    Xi Yuan was still unclear about the situation , so , he kept following the instructions given to him .

    And obviously , he was more than happy to look into her deep eyes and talk to her !!!

    That was all that he wanted .

    .....

    At this time , one of the hotel staff arrived at their table .

    " Good evening ! Sir ! Madam ! What would you like to order ?! And just so you know , today is the wedding anniversary of the owner of our hotel , so , we have a special discount of 60% on the food for couples ."

    Rong Xinghe turned her head to look at the waiter with an amused expression , " Really ?!! What a coincidence !! Me and my boyfriend have also just had our 2 year anniversary yesterday !!! If that''s the case ..... then please avail the discount offer !!! And about food , well , since this is a German restaurant , please bring Currywurst , Bratkartoffeln , Maultaschen , Leberkse , Schnitzel

    and a Roden for us. Thank You ! That will be all !!! "

    " Alright ma''am !!! We will avail you guys the discount offer and the food will be served real soon !!! " , the waiter smiled and left .

    The moment the waiter left , Rong Xinghe took her hands out of Xi Yuan''s firm grip !!!

    She quickly wiped the sweat on her hands with a napkin as she smiled at the man , " Gosh !!! Being a couple is so.... tiring !!! Acting all that lovey-dovey !!! "

    It was now that Xi Yuan realised what this girl was doing here !!!

    " Ummm.... Xinghe .... You are here for the discount ?! Seriously ?!!! " , the man asked .

    " Uhh.... Yeah ! Sorry for calling you at thest minute notice !!! Initially , I wanted to call William but that bastard ditched me and took a flight for Capetown just now !!! So .... I decided on you ! And what''s wrong in what I did ?! The food is so good here !!! " , the girl shrugged nonchntly .

    Xi Yuan smiled as he shook his head , " Aren''t you Senior Zhi''s and Senior Lu''s sister ?!! Why would you need a discount when you are associated with such influential people ?! "

    Rong Xinghe smirked as she replied back , " I , Rong Xinghe can do anything for a food discount ! And just because , I am sisters with them doesn''t mean that I am obliged to throw their money in drains !!! This local restaurant''s food quality is far more better than that of any five-starred french cuisine restaurant !!! "

    The girl rendered the man speechless yet again !!!

 Chapter 72: " Investigate a person ! "

    Chapter 72: " Investigate a person ! "

    " Okay , tell me. Why were you ''The Angry Hulk'' today ?! I could practically feel Little Panda shiver with fear ?! " , Rong Xinghe changed the subject .

    When Xi Yuan heard this , he rolled his eyes , " He was exaggerating ! I wasn''t angry on any of the employees , but him. He didn''tpleted the task I gave him , and when I asked him to report to me in the office , he called you so that he could save himself. Moron !!! "

    " Pffttt... " , the girl giggled when she heard the manining about his brother like a kid , " Yuan ! You are such a sweet brother ! I really like that. But they love you as well , you know ?! So .... please don''t scold Little Panda when you go back today , okay ?! For me ?! "

    Xi Yuan nodded in eptance , " I won''t say a word to him , don''t worry. "

    How could he berate him after what he did ?!

    That bastard actually arranged an opportunity for him to see his girl , even if he did it to save himself .

    What more , his girl was actually fond of that idiot !!!

    So there was no point in scolding him....

    The man and the woman then had a very rxing dinner while they made some small talk .

    Meanwhile , the Xi trio kept this meeting of theirspletely into the wraps. They didn''t wanted the media to intrude their brother and sister-inw''s privacy .

    So after the dinner , Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe strolled in a garden nearby.

    They got along with each other pretty smoothly and didn''t even needed to think hard toe up with the topics for conversation.

    It was as if they could chat like this all their lives !

    And why wouldn''t that be ?!

    They both had an extremely high EQ , IQ and a very strongpatibility .

    It was as if they had the same views about every matter in the world !

    Also , both the man and woman enjoyed each other''spany a lot and didn''t needed to be pushed to conversate .

    Xi Yuan had his reasons , but , Rong Xinghe wasn''t herself sure why she was sofortable around him ?!

    She tended to be very guarded around any stranger but it wasn''t clearly the case with this man !

    Instead , she got subconsciously carefree around him !

    And what more , this man had no objections , no matter how she behaved !!!

    " Uhhh ..... My cousin sister , Xi Yue is getting married two monthter ! I told you about that , remember ?! " , Xi Yuan said .

    " I do remember ! You donated money to the families of martyrs for her , right ?! " , Rong Xinghe nodded .

    " I would really like it if you coulde to her wedding. She is your fan and has called me for almost 60th time to invite you ! But , of course , you will call the shots !"

    " Hmmm.... I will try my best .... Currently , I am on a critical mission. If I make through it , I will definitely clear my schedule to visit the wedding , alright ?! " , Rong Xinghe replied .

    " What critical mission ?! Will you be fine ?! " , Xi Yuan becamepletely alert when he heard the girl .

    " Uhhh...Yeah ! I can''t tell about the mission. It is confidential information. But yeah .... I will be fine !!! "

    Xi Yuan nodded and then he dropped the girl to Military Chief Residence before he drove back to his ce .

    _____________

    As Rong Xinghe entered Military Chief Residence , a voice rang from behind .

    " You are homete , Kiddo ! Its 12:30 a.m. already ! Where were you ?! " , Mo Zixuan asked.

    Rong Xinghe turned around to look at her brother , " Uhh... There was a food discount offer at "T Lv" restaurant. So ..... I was there !!! HEHEHE !!! But why are you here ?! Didn''t you just returned from Brazil ?! Don''t you need rest ?! "

    " Its fine. You know I went there for a conference. I knew that you wanted to do a research on the working of Brazilian army .... so .... I got a limited released documentary for you ! I kept it in your Home Movie Theatre ! Watch it whenever you get the time , alright ?! "

    " Thanks !!! Bro Mo !!! You are the best !! " , the girl beamed .

    " Hmmm.... But why would you go around and avail such food discount offers ?! Are you short on money or something ?! I just transferred 1 Million rmbst night in your ount !!! Then why did you .... " , Mo Zixuan asked .

    " Bro .... You know how I am !!! I would rather eat street food than go to those crazily expensive hotels !!! " , the girl said dramatically and then patted her stomach , " Look ! My tummy is so full now !! And this amazing food costed me just 300 rmb !!! Good deal ! No ?! "

    Mo Zixuan smiled helplessly when he saw the girl''s exnation .

    Who would say that you are our sister ?!

    You like to eat street food !

    You hate shopping !

    You are never as demanding as any other socialite !

    You are practically the heiress of Zhi , Su and Lu family , yet , you are not stubborn and arrogant like the daughters of any other business family !

    Why the hell do we keep giving you millions and billions if you invest them either for the betterment of Country X or don''t even touch it ?!

    And what is the point in doting on you so much , if a simple hug and a kiss on your forehead makes you contented and happy ?!

    " Hmmm.... Good idea. By the way , who dropped you just now ?! " , Mo Zixuan asked .

    He knew that she had arrived in a foreign car .

    " Oh .... That was Xi Yuan. We both had dinner together , then he invited me for his sister''s wedding and dropped me home. " , Rong Xinghe shrugged .

    " Okay ! I am sleepy !! Good night ! Sweet Dreams !!! " , the girl gave a quick hug to her brother and left .

    " Goodnight .... " , Mo Zixuan said in a daze .

    Only after the girl closed the door of her room , did the man took out his phone and made a call .

    " Hello ! Detective Xing ! I need you to investigate about a person by tomorrow. Nope ! Just a basic background check ! No need to dig up the past. "

    " Name ?! " , the man askedzily from the other end .

    " Xi Yuan , CEO of Xi Corporation ! "

 Chapter 73: " Be my girl !!! "

    Chapter 73: " Be my girl !!! "

    Next day ,

    Rong Xinghe woke up to witness an interesting scene going on in the Military Chief Residence .

    Ningtao and Songyan had summoned almost ten fashion designers of Country X and were discussing the best look for Ruo Cy with them .

    The six men were also present there but were busy with their work. They strictly refused to get involved in thedies'' business .

    From the corner of her eyes , Ningtao noticed that the seeping beauty had woken up. So.... she rushed towards her with a dazzling smile and hugged her , "Good Morning , Sis Xinghe ! How are you ?! I missed you so much !!! "

    Rong Xinghe rubbed her eyes as she asked in azy tone , " Hmm... Good Morning , Sis Tao ! When did you returned from London ?!! How was the shooting of your hollywood movie , "The Spark"?! I am going to watch it when it gets released , alright ?"

    " Really , Xinghe ? You will watch my movie ? Thank You so much ! You are the best !!!" , Ningtao sped her hands in excitement .

    The girl nodded and then observed her surroundings , " And ..... what''s exactly happening here ?! "

    Songyan held the girl''s hands and answered , " Oh !!! We are just selecting engagement gown for Ruo Cy ! Of course , we will select some gowns for ourselves too ! I know you hate shopping , so ..... we arranged for these fashion designers toe here !!! "

    " Thank You so much ... Tao and Yan !! I really don''t have time and energy to roam around the malls !! " , the girl said relieved .

    " Ruo Cy has went to change ... Until then , you sit with your brothers. We will get back to you real soon ?! " , Ningtao massaged Rong Xinghe''s shoulders .

    The girl nodded and went where the six men were sitting quietly.

    She stood in front of Lu Wei and red at him as she crossed her arms .

    Lu Wei disconnected the video calls with one of his business associates and looked back at the ''littledy devil'' staring at him.

    He then got up and went into the kitchen , meanwhile , Rong Xinghe sat where he was sitting .

    Both Ningtao and Songyan looked in the direction of the kitchen curiously .

    After some minutes , Lu Wei came back with a cup of tea and two biscuits in his hands .

    He then sat besides the girl , " Here ! "

    The girl took the cup and guzzled a sip , " Thanks !"

    The man smiled and returned back to his work , while , Rong Xinghe savoured her morning tea .

    Songyan : "....."

    Ningtao : "..."

    These siblings actually surprised them daily .

    The level of understanding between them was just .... too much .

    She didn''t even needed to say a word and they all would understand what she wanted !

    It was as if they could read her mind !

    It were these small gestures of theirs that made every individual think that they were blood-rted , even though it wasn''t the truth .

    No matter how cold and ruthless these six men were , they were never rude to her .

    No matter how destructive these men were to the outside world , they were a source of warmth and safety for her .

    ::::::::::::::::::::

    At this time , the doors of the changing room opened .

    " Sis Tao , I liked this gown !! How do I look ?! "

    Ruo Cy came out wearing an off the shoulder long sleeved dark red V-neck floral-pearl pattern gown .

    All the heads turned to look at the bride-to-be .

    Rong Xinghe stood up excitedly , " Oh my god ! Bro Bo !!! Where did you get such a hot woman ?! Huh ?!! If I had had been a man , you would have had gone home empty-handed !!! You look lovely , Sis Cy !!! "

    Zhi Bo stood up and covered the chatterbox''s eyes and air kissed his woman as Ruo Cy blushed and looked down .

    He then looked at his sister who was struggling pretty hard to remove his hand , " Go ahead and charm Bro Wei''s and Bro Xi''s respective women ! But don''t you dare charm my girl !! Understood ?!! Look at her with the perspective of ady and not a perverted lusty man you are !!! Mr. Lu Xi !!! "

    " Zhi freackin'' Bo !!! Stay away from my Ruo Cy !!! She is my woman , my dreamgirl from now on !!! Forget her !!! " , Rong Xinghe kept struggling .

    " Kiddo !!! I don''t want the same fate that Zhi Xi and Lu Wei has. I don''t want to feel like the third wheel in our rtionship !!! So stop your ''dream girl '' and '' my Ruo Cy '' crap !!! " , Zhi Bo refused to let the girl see his woman .

    All the three sister-inws of the girl giggled when they saw the funny conversation between the siblings .

    Ningtao and Songyan had already told Ruo Cy about Rong Xinghe being Lu Xi and hence , she was quite curious to see the girl in man''s get up .

    Rong Xinghe pinched Zhi Bo''s hand as he screamed in pain !!

    The girl then quickly jumped over the wooden table and ran to her three sister-inws .

    She approached Ruo Cy and twirled her entire body almost three times repeatedly and pulled her close such that Ruo Cy''s back was facing Rong Xinghe''s front !!!

    Then she deliberately ced her hands gently on Ruo Cy''s waist , " Be my girl !!! "

    " Okay !" , Ruo Cy smiled .

    Rong Xinghe looked at Zhi Bo with an evil grin of victory as she raised raised her eyebrows ever so slightly .

    She then brought her lips near Ruo Cy''s ears , " My Love !!! Tell that Second Master of Zhi family that he can never win against me when thepetition is about charms !!! "

    Ruo Cy raised her head to nce at her to-be-husband and shrugged , " You heard her! " .

    Zhi Bo squinted his eyes at Ruo Cy !!!

    You traitor of love !!!

    I can''t believe I am marrying you !!!

    Zhi Xi squeezed Zhi Bo''s left shoulder , while Lu Wei ced his hand on the man''s right shoulder .

    Zhi Bo turned around to look at the two men .

    There was sympathy for him in their eyes !!

    Zhi Xi hugged his younger brother tightly , " It''s alright .You will get used to this betrayal ! Come to me and Wei whenever you need someone to talk to. "

    Lu Wei also patted the back of the man , " Yeah ! We understand your pain. After all , we have gone through it the most. "

    Zhi Bo felt a headacheing straight his way , when he heard the two married men of the group .

    Is this how it is going to be from now on ?!!

 Chapter 74: Crossing the line !!!

    Chapter 74: Crossing the line !!!

    " Okay , that''s enough ! Don''t make the groom cry before his marriage ! He needs to look as stunning as the bride on his wedding day !!! " , Mo Zixuan teased Zhi Bo .

    " You bastard !! Get yourself a girlfriend !!! Your expression when your woman will be charmed by this ''little tornado'' in front of you , will be definitely worth watching !!! " , Lu Wei defended Zhi Bo .

    " HAHAHA.... ! My woman won''t fall for her !!! " , Mo Zixuan replied .

    " I used to think the same ..... Bro " , Zhi Bo sighed .

    ::::::::::::::::::::::

    " Okay guys , that''s enough ! Xinghe ! Now its your turn to get a gown for yourself. Go and try the one I have already put in the changing room !!! Quick !!! " , Songyan shoved the girl inside the changing room .

    After sometime ,

    " Uhhh .... guys !!! Isn''t this thing too long ?!! " , the girl came out of the changing room .

    " Xinghe !!! Gowns are supposed to be long !!! You .... " , Ningtao turned around to look at the girl , " .... are so prepossessing !!! "

    All the people in the room also looked at the girl when they heard such apliment from Ningtao and their reactions were no less ....

    Songyan : " ... and so captivating !!! "

    Ruo Cy : " ... and so fascinating !!! "

    All the six men rolled their eyes as they looked at their sister lovingly .

    Lu Wei reached forward as he side-higged the girl possessively , " Our sister has always been this beautiful !!!! Don''t make it sound like you realised it today !!! "

    The other five men also nodded in agreement.

    It was extremery rare for this brat to wear such feminine clothes .

    What to do ?!

    She always loved to dress up like a tomboy !!!

    But whenever she did , she would be the most mesmerizing sight in the entire event !!!

    In fact , at any such event , all their attention had to be focussed towards her protection from the perverts and morons !!!

    After all , it was inconvenient for her to kick some asses in such traditional clothes .

    Rong Xinghe was wearing a gorgeous Cindere-style Dark Blue colour off shoulder butterflies ruffled Ball gown .

    The dark coloured cloth on her fair skin was enhancing the beauty of the gown even more .

    And what more , her starry Dark Brown eyespletely filled with confidence and her perfectly shaped reddish thin lips that were curved into a smile were enough alone ....

    " So after so manypliments , am I expected to blush or something ?! " , Rong Xinghe looked confusedly at her sister-inws for guidance about how to behave like a ''girl'' .

    Almost every person rolled their eyes again after they listened her words .

    Kiddo !!!

    You spoiled the moment !!!

    :::::::::::::::::::::::

    Suddenly , the music system connected to the speakers in every corner of the ce , started ying a love song !!!

    And there came the flirt of the year ..... Mr. William Young !!!

    This man always had the correct timing for entry !!!

    Since , he was the '' World Dance Champion '' , he smoothly pulled Rong Xinghe towards him and started dancing with her .

    Rong Xinghe wasn''t that good at dancing , but she could still perform a move or two when it came to couple dances .

    Whereas , the six men had no issues with William getting near their sister , because they werepletely aware about the man''s genuinity towards her .

    So they just let them be and simply watched her sway to the beats of the music .

    After sometime , William held Rong Xinghe''s hands and started twirling her endlessly !

    But after few seconds , William and the girl''s hands got a little sweaty due to constant contact .

    Rong Xinghe was still twirling when William''s hand slipped and the girl lost her bnce .

    Just when she was about to fall down , another hand pulled her back and the man helped her stand steadily .

    The pair of handsnded on her waist and pulled her towards him .

    " Are you fine , Xinghe ?! "

    " Yuan ..... " , Rong Xinghe looked at the man with a little relieved expression .

    She was thankful that she didn''t got any fractures or didn''t sprained her ankle and that the man had arrived at the right time .

    Or else , she would have had difficulty in working for the uing attack.

    " (cough).....(cough).... Gentleman !!! Hands off the waist !! " , Zhi Al''s voice with a clear hint of danger rang throughout the room .

    This tone was enough to make Xi Yuan acknowledge the presence of his girl''s family in the living hall .

    He quickly pulled back his hands and nced at the six most influential people of Country X standing in front of him .

    This scene was actually quite intimidating !

    All the men were ring at him with inquisitiveness .

    Obviously , Lu Wei and Zhi Xi knew who he was , but they were curious as to why he was there.

    He greeted them , " Senior Lu !!! Senior Zhi !!! Nice to meet you again !!! "

    The man then turned to look at Zhi Bo and said , " Second Senior !!! Congrattions for the wedding !! " , to which Zhi Bo nodded back .

    Then he greeted the other three men and the girl''s sister-inws with respect and obedience .

    " Why are you here ?! " , Rong Xinghe asked the man after greetings .

    " You asked me to bring the NGO analysis reports and kids'' medical reports today , remember ?! "

    " Oh yeah ! I totally forgot. Come ! I will take you to the study. Chef Lin .... get some coffee for the sir ." , then the girl escorted Xi Yuan out of her brothers'' sight .

    ::::::::::::::::::::

    Mo Zixuan and Zhi Al gave a deep thought about how that man had held their sister''s waist with such authority and dominance !!!

    But then , just like the other four , they gave up on it !!

    ::::::::::::::::::::

    Meanwhile ,

    In the study room :

    " Yuan ! You have kept a crystal clear record. That''s impressive ! Really ! " , Rong Xinghe said as she read the analysis report with a smile .

    " Xinghe .... "

    " Hmm ?! "

    " You look gorgeous in this gown ! " , the man smiled .

    " Really ?! "

    " Yeah !!! But I''d rather you change into somethingfortable and then read these files. It will be quite exhausting this way. "

    Xi Yuan was worried that if she would keep on arousing him like that in this attractive look of hers , he wouldn''t be able to help himself and would tear off the dress into pieces , hence , crossing the line !!!

    " You are right ! I will just get changed. Just wait for me for five minutes !!! I will be quick !!! " , Rong Xinghe ran out to change. .

    At this time , Xi Yuan heard the sound of footsteps approaching him .

    " You are in love with her , aren''t you ?! "

 Chapter 75: Until and unless you hurt her ...

    Chapter 75: Until and unless you hurt her ...

    Xi Yuan froze when he heard those words .

    He turned around to know the identity of the person standing behind him , only to find out that it wasn''t just one person but three .

    Ningtao , Songyan and Ruo Cy were standing on the threshold of the study room door .

    Xi Yuan frowned when he saw the threedies as they crossed their arms and stared at him with a death re .

    " What did you think ?! You could hide it from us ?! " , Songyan asked .

    " We are women. We are obviously more conscious about matters like these !! The way you held her today and the way you look at her, easily shows your feelings for her ! " , Ningtao said .

    " Aren''t you afraid of her brothers ?! " , Ruo Cy asked in an amused tone .

    " We saw you talking with her the day after she diffused that electromaic bomb. You actually had the audacity to hug her with such intimacy ?! " , Songyan smiled .

    " I know , right ?! Knowing the fact that her brothers were cooking inside , you even had the guts not just to approach her , but your brother also shipped you with her !!! Your courage is suremendable , Mr. Yuan ! " , Ruo Cy said .

    " We didn''t discussed that incident with her brothers at that time. But we definitely have our sources for investigation. It was at that time , that we discovered the CCTV footage of the hospital room at the night of the car ident when she was with you. You know what that footage clip disclosed ?! It revealed that a ''certain someone'' had kissed her in her unconscious state !!! " , Ningtao said .

    " Further , we observed your daily actions. Dismissing important business meetings to visit the NGO , leaving office early and workingte nights to organise the events of the Youth Team , going to local street food restaurants to have dinner with her , and keeping track of her likes and dislikes. What more , you have been even watching her past singing reality TV show recently and you keep yourself updated about every decision she takes as the Military Chief ! " , Ruo Cy said .

    " Anything you want to say ?! " , Songyan raised her eyebrows .

    " What are your intentions for her ?! ", Ningtao raised her voice as she asked .

    Xi Yuan took a deep breath and sighed defeatedly !

    Was there even an option for retaliation ?!

    Anything he would say wouldn''t make any sense at this point of time.

    They obviously knew almost everything !!!

    So he finally replied them stressing on his each and every word , " I , Xi Yuan , love Rong Xinghe from the bottom of my heart !!! I n to persue her , no matter how many storms I would need to face for that !!!

    " And about my intentions for her , well .... I intend to marry her !!! I know that I can never measure up to her brothers in this lifetime. But I still want her to be my girl !!! And I know that she has a lot of issues to deal with. I know that she had a terrible experience with family and love and that she isn''t prepared for any sort of rtionship but I n to heal those wounds. She might not have feelings for me at the current moment , but I will make her fall in love with me. Because , I have already lost my heart to her !!! "

    All the threedies were stupefied when they heard the man''s voice and the firm determination in it .

    He wasn''t ying around with her. Instead , he intended to marry her .

    He loved her and there wasn''t any doubt in that !!!

    " Well.... You want to marry her ... but ... do you have any idea about her past ?! Don''t you ... " , Songyan tried to know the man''s opinions on the girl''s past .

    " I don''t want to know about her past and I don''t care about it. All I know is that every individual in her past has hurt her immensely ! I love my Xinghe for who she is now !!! She the most beautiful person I know ! The mostpassionate , strong and intellegent person I have ever met !! I had no control over her past , but I intend to be her present and I n to be her future.

    " And about the people who have hurt her , I could always seek revenge. But the best way to avenge her is only one ! She needs to be kept happy and contented with love. After all , seeing her miserable and pitiful is all they had wanted for her !!! " , the man said coldly as he clenched his fists .

    All the three sister-inws of Rong Xinghe were rendered speechless by the man''s opinions .

    This guy loved her to the extent that he didn''t even cared about her past !!!

    He had no idea about what Rong family had did to her , but he still loved her unconditionally and never pushed her to remember those painful times .

    He was the CEO of Xi Corporation , the most versatile business group in the world. The past of his woman obviously mattered to the Xi family .

    But that was least of his concerns .

    He waspletely concentrated on winning her heart .

    That was extremely praise-worthy .

    " Since , you are genuine towards her ..... we will support you !!! " , Nongtao sighed helplessly .

    The moment Xi Yuan heard these words , he was shocked to the core .

    He looked at the threedies with wide eyes !!

    What did this even meant ?!

    " After observing you for all these days , we can tell that you mean no harm to her !!! So .... we will help you here !! We obviously know how she is more than you do !!! " , Songyan shrugged .

    " Yeah !!! Rong Xinghe doesn''t like to get into rtionships. She is very ambitious and career-focussed. Her only priority right now is Country X. So you will have to work hard ..... The biggest support we can give you is that we won''t tell about this to her brothers." , Ruo Cy smiled .

    " Exactly !!! ....Or you will be a dead meat !!! First impress the girl , and then her brothers. " , Ningtao said .

    " You all will really support me ?!! " , Xi Yuan''s lips curved up in amusement .

    " Until and unless you hurt her , we are allies ! " , Ningtao nodded with a smile .

 Chapter 76: Her ability to charm him !!!

    Chapter 76: Her ability to charm him !!!

    Xi Yuan was stunned speechless by thedies !

    What did they mean ?!

    They were going to support him to win her over !!! Seriously ?!!

    " But ..... Senior Lu , Second Senior and Senior Zhi... "

    He couldn''t understand as to why would they do something that their husbands would never do ?!

    " What they think is beyond our control. But they can''t manipte our thoughts either. I know they won''t like us doing this .... but their sister is the one who has taught us to rebel. We will do what we feel is the best for her. " , Songyan shrugged .

    Xi Yuan smiled at the threedies .

    No wonder , his girl had such a close rtionship with them .

    They all were just like her !

    " Alright then !! From now on , if you want to know anything about her , call us !!! " , Ruo Cy sped her hands in excitement .

    At this time , Ningtao walked towards Xi Yuan and closed in on him as she said in a cold and threatening tone , " Although , we are supporting you currently , don''t even think for a second that we will go easy on you if you hurt her. It is not just her brothers who dotes on her. We three love Xinghe more than her brothers do !!! Am I clear ?! "

    It was at this time , that Xi Yuan understood the reason behind the perfectpatibility between Ningtao and Lu Wei .

    Both the husband and wife were extremely mature and calm but that was the exact reason they were the most dangerous amongst all .

    No one could read them as they both were extremely unpredictable , which made their revenge even more unforeseeable !!!

    Eventually , the man and the womanplimented each other too well .

    So , it really wasn''t a rumour that Rong Xinghe''s every brother had married their perfect match.

    He obviously couldn''t offend the ''tigress'' of the family !!!

    " Uhhh.... don''t worry. I won''t hurt her .... ever !! " , Xi Yuan said with a smile .

    As the four people were immersed in conversation , the door to the study room opened , " Hey guys !!! What''s going on ?!! "

    The man raised his head to look at Rong Xinghe who had tied down her jet ck hair in a pony and had changed into a set of warmvender jacket , a zip crop top and dark blue denim jeans. She had also put on her favorite block-heeled ck coloured boots.

    If the woman a moment ago was a princess who radiated nobility and propriety , then the woman now was a countrygirl who radiated a cool and carefree aura .

    The man shook his head in helplessness !!!

    This girl had the ability to charm him , no matter what she wore .

    ::::::::::::::::::::

    At Military Chief office :-

    " Have you decoded the information , Officer Han ? " , Rong Xinghe sat on her chair as she arranged the documents on the table in front of her .

    " Yes , Military Chief !!! But I couldn''t get the target locations. I can guarantee only one thing ! " , Officer Han said .

    Rong Xinghe raised her head to look at him , " What ?! "

    " The terrorist attack is going to take ce in City A and as you had predicted , on 21st of November. But I couldn''t get anything else from it. "

    " Its alright. Atleast , we know the target city and exact date. We need to decode the locations. Let''s just keep our informers alert. " , Rong Xinghe smiled .

    " Military Chief ! There is one more thing !!! There is a certain person named '' Zewer '' whose name hade up when I was decoding. "

    " That''s an important lead , Officer. Assistant Shou , inform the bureaucrats to keep tabs on this particr individual ! " , Rong Xinghe waved her hands at Shou Wu .

    " Alright , Military Chief !!! "

    ::::::::::::::::::::::::::

    One weekter ,

    " Military Chief ! We got that ''Zewer'' man and were interrogating him in the alley when he consumed poison. " , One of the officer in civillian clothes informed .

    " What ?!! Officer Ruan , how could you guys let him die ?! " , Rong Xinghe raged.

    " We are extremely sorry , Military Chief !!! We never saw thating !!! " , the officer felt a chill run down his spine .

    " Anything that you got from him?!! "

    " Yeah !!! This piece of paper was found in his hands. He tried to gulp this paper when he died , but fortunately , we were quick this time !!! " , the officer handed the piece of paper to assistant Shou Wu , " There are only 35 dots marked on it. We think it is useless ."

    Rong Xinghe took the paper and ced it onto the map of City A as she waved her hands , " You all are dismissed !! "

    She kept staring at the map for almost an hour before a smirk appeared on her face .

    " What is it , Military Chief ?! " , Shou Wu was confused .

    Initially , he used to be quiet apprehensive and hesitant around her .

    But after working with her for almost two months , he had finally gained enough confidence and courage to satisfy his queries and understood her bottom line which , he was to never cross .

    " Huh ! What a childish n. Idiots !!! " , Rong Xinghe giggled .

    When Shou Wu looked at his boss smiling in a situation like this , he actually thought for a moment that she was a maniac .

    Boss !!! A terrorist attack is going to happen soon !!!

    How could you be so unfazed and calm ?!

    " Assistant Shou ! Inform all the bureaucrats to keep a low profile and disconnect all the informers from this matter at once !! " , the woman stretched her hands as she issued her orders .

    " Huh ?!! " , Shou Wu waspletely perplexed .

    Keep a low profile ?!

    Disconnect the informers ?!

    Why ?!!

    " We will wait for the 21st of November. Let them nt the bombs. We won''t just diffuse the bombs , we will kill them as well. After all , if we are sending a message to the terrorist organisations , let us send a strong one. Do as I say !!! " , Rong Xinghe looked at Shou Wu with a deep and hidden meaning .

    Shou Wu understood this gaze too well .

    It meant only one thing .

    She had sorted everything out !!!

    After all , when it came to Rong Xinghe , her confidence spoke the words .

    She would never take a decision on impulse !!

    In fact , her every move would be calcted and well-nned like that of a chess-yer .

    " Alright , Military Chief !! " , Shou Wu nodded .

    " Hmm..... I''ll take my leave then. After all , today is my brother''s engagement ! " , Rong Xinghe smiled as she stood up and left the office .

    Shou Wu also couldn''t help but smile .

    In these past two months , he had realised that she wasn''t just an amazing Military Chief , but also a valued , protected and lovely sister .

    After her responsibilities as the military chief , her first priority would always be her six brothers .

 Chapter 77: The most desirable man and woman in the entire world !!!

    Chapter 77: The most desirable man and woman in the entire world !!!

    At Zhi Family Mansion ,

    { The second master of Zhi Family is finally giving a name to the rtionship between him and Ms. Ruo Cy today !!! }

    { Famous Event organiser Ruo Cy to be the fiancee of Artist of the year Zhi Bo !!! }

    { After the most mesmerizing proposal , here is the most spectacr engagement of the year !!! }

    { General Representative for Country X in UNESCO , Zhi Bo to get engaged today , live updates only on our channel !!! }

    The entire media was present to witness the union of the two people .

    After all , it was a big day not just for Zhi Bo , but for the entire Zhi family .

    Obviously , Lu Wei , Mo Zixuan and Su Rogguang were also present there. Although , they weren''t a part of Zhi family , they were no less than real brothers to Zhi Bo. These six men had been together , practically , since their childhood.

    He had even insisted for them to be the groomsmen during the wedding !!!

    Of course , the media didn''t forget to mention the thread which tied down all these six men together : Rong Xinghe .

    Even though they all had shared childhood with each other , but the incident nine years ago had strengthened their bond the most .

    It was a known fact in Country X that Rong Xinghe was a princess to these men .

    Many male and female fans were sticking to the live streaming websites and televisions , just so they could get to see their dream woman and inspiration.

    It was a pity that this girl had left Entertainment Industry !

    She was such a beauty , yet it was so rare to see her ....

    But as it is said , we tend to want something even more that we know we can''t have it.

    Even after she quit singing , she had a massive fan base .

    Some were crazy for her voice ....

    Some were crazy for her smile and ss ....

    Some were crazy for her beauty and elegance ....

    Some were crazy for her bravery and courage....

    Some were crazy for her brains and wits .....

    While some were crazy for her entire soul ....

    Entire Country X knew that the reason behind the rapid advancement in the careers of these six men was Rong Xinghe .

    So ..... she was obviously going to be there for them at such an important event .

    Another sensation was ..... obviously , the Business Legend Xi Yuan .

    The man who had returned back to Country X not too long ago ....

    The man who had been an all-time winner in the business world ...

    The man who had shouldered the responsibilities of Xi Corporations when he was merely 18 years old ...

    The man whose rtionship with his three siblings was no less than that of Rong Xinghe with hers ....

    When it came to looks .... he had had been ying the Forbes'' list of 10 Most Handsome Men and had been maintaining the No.1 position from past 6 years .

    When it came to brain .... he was the one of the most versatile , passionate , visionary and flexible businessman , not just in Country X but the entire world. He was known for making smart decisions and was an amazing risk-taker. He had converted the 65 year old petrochemical business empire into a telmunication and software business empire all of a sudden , despite the objections and protestations of shareholders.

    In the current world , Xi empire was expanding at a monstrous rate while it was squishing its rivals like an ant !!!

    The most admirable trait about him was that he was known for being down-to-earth. He was extremely softspoken and respectful towards the real talents .

    Even after being CEO of Xi Corps. for Seven years , there had been noint about him being egoistic or short-tempered .

    He was the type of man whom every woman wanted to marry .

    To be precise , Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe were the most desirable man and woman in the entire world !!!

    s !!!

    This man had already set his eyes on a girl !!

    ____________

    At 8:00 p.m.

    The Zhi Mansion wasfortably filled with celebrities , business associates , and politicians because Zhi Al and Ningtao had many friends in entertainment circle , Zhi Xi and Lu Wei had acquaintances in business , while Zhi Bo , Rong Xinghe and Mo Zixuan were known figures in the political world .

    Initially , Zhi Bo had nned a simple wedding as he hated to be in the limelight and being the centre of attraction !!

    But his mother had stated her wish to see Zhi Bo''s and Zhi Al''s grand weddings in her suicide note .

    So considering it to be herst wish , the Zhi family had decided upon this huge scale wedding .

    The groom and the bride hadn''t arrived yet. So , the guests were happily chatting and expanding their contacts in different groups of the society .

    :::::::::::::::::::::::

    At this time , the media erupted into an uproar !

    Business Tycoon Xi Yuan and his twin siblings were here !!!

    Xi Wei didn''t came because he had went to New Zend to attempt the final examinations of his third semester .

    He had practically begged to Xi Yuan in order to miss the exams and attend the engagement , but he was beaten to death instead. Education was Xi Yuan''s top priority. He never allowed his siblings to trade that for the sake of gossips .

    The shuttering of cameras started drawing the attention of most of the guests towards the entrance , while the Business journalists jumped into action .

    At this time , two men and a woman entered the Zhi Mansion.

    Xi Yuan was wearing a Dark Blue Ermenegildo Zegna Bespoke Tuxedo Set which was a limited edition clothing in the entire world. He had also put on a TAG HEUER Carrera Calibre 36 , the costliest watch in Country X on his right hand. Even his tie was designed by Robert Casterk of Russia and was worth 11,000 dor !!!

    Even though his appearance looked extremely normal and decent , it still couldn''t hide from the fashion media reporters .

    Obviously , Xi Fang and Xi Ying were no less .

    Xi Fang was also wearing a limited edition green coloured clothing and looked quite handsome himself. While Xi Ying was wearing a baby pink coloured V-neck pattern long gown and looked quite pretty .

    When the guests were thinking of different ways to ship their sons or daughters with any of these three individuals , the three people simply answered some questions and joined Zhi Xi and Lu Wei .

    Xi Yuan smiled at the crowd as he asked in a soft voice , " Do you need some help , Senior Zhi ?! "

    Zhi Xi and Lu Wei looked at each other helplessly .

    This brat !!!

    Always being considerate !!!

    Couldn''t he simply enjoy the party without exhausting himself ?!!

    Zhi Xi patted Xi Yuan''s shoulder and smiled mischivously, " No help needed !! You stay here and be an eye candy to all the female guests , okay ?!! "

    Lu Wei looked at the twins , " Same for you two. Enjoy yourselves !!! "

    Only if they knew , that this man intended to be the ''eye candy'' for their own sister ....

 Chapter 78:  Husband Training Agency

    Chapter 78: '' Husband Training Agency ''

    Xi Yuan reverted his gaze back to the crowd as he searched for the girl .

    " Where is she ?! " , the man murmured to himself.

    " Who ?! Xinghe ?! " , Lu Wei raised his brows as he questioned the man .

    " She is on her way ..." , Zhi Xi said as he nced at his watch .

    Exatly at this moment , the media and guests erupted in an uproar again .

    After all , the Military Chief of the Country had arrived !!!

    After taking the oath , it was the second time Rong Xinghe had shown herself in front of the media.

    Earlier , she had calmed them down after she had diffused the eletromaic bomb in the O-D Mall and today was her second appearance .

    But when she entered , almost everyone stopped their actions !!!

    They couldn''t help but admire the beauty in front of them !

    The girl was wearing a stunning high neck open back long royal dark blue prom dress embedded with real pearls. Her long slender neck was adorned by a beautiful Piaget Limelight Garden Party Diamond Ne which was the one and only in the world and it had been bought by Lu Wei as a birthday gift for her an year ago. Her hands also had diamond bracelet and watch , while her hair were curled and open as it butified her even more .

    She had a very basic makeup because her face was already perfect .

    As she was standing at the end of the entrance , she searched for her brothers .

    It was now that her eyes fell on Xi Yuan whose gaze was fixed on her as well. She smiled at him almost making the man''s heart beat even faster .

    She looked down as she walked towards him with elegant footsteps.

    It was now that the crowd and media came back to its senses .

    The furious shuttering of cameras began once again and almost every reporter surrounded the girl making it impossible for her to even stand properly.

    The girl furrowed her brows as she felt that beating up the hell out of these paparazzis won''t be a good idea at such an event .

    " Back off !!! ", at this moment , Mo Zixuan''s intimidating and dangerous voice echoed throughout the ce .

    If it had been anyone else , the journalists might have ignored himpletely , but it was their boss !!!

    This man was said to have had written the destiny of many famous personalities of the world .

    He had a great influence on the public. It wasn''t a big deal for him to make or break any individual !!!

    So ..... as soon as they heard the order , they reflexively took three-four steps back .

    Mo Zixuan shook his head as he walked towards the girl and ced her right hand gently into his left hand and took her where Zhi Xi was standing.

    " Couldn''t you text us that you reached ?! We would''ve prepared back-up for such a situation !!! " , Mo Zixuan scolded her in a low voice .

    " Sorry , Bro Mo !!! " , Rong Xinghe made a puppy face .

    Then the girl looked at Xi Yuan who was standing besides Zhi Xi.

    She smiled and teased the man , " How many girls do you n to kill with that look ?! Looking handsome and hot !!! s !!! Too bad. I couldn''t be Lu Xi today , or I would''ve hadpeted for attention with you !!! Don''t worry !! Life will give us more chances !!! "

    Xi Yuan smiled back .

    He wanted toplement her too , but Lu Wei , Zhi Xi and Mo Zixuan were standing there and he wasn''t interested in dying at such a young age.

    Rong Xinghe looked back at Zhi Xi , " Where is the groom-to-be and bride-to-be ?!! "

    " Bo is in his room and Cy is in Songyan''s room ! Go up and handle that man !!! " , Zhi Al said helplessly .

    " What happened ?! "

    " Nervous , Anxious , Perplexed " , Zhi Xi shrugged .

    " Not listening to us " , Lu Wei shrugged as well .

    Rong Xinghe pulled one-one cheek each of Zhi Xi and Lu Wei as she squeezed her eyes mischievously , " You men can''t handle that !!! And what were you even telling him ?!! Huh ?!! If I remember it correctly , it was I who had handled both of yours "Wedding Jitters" during your weddings back then. I will check on him ." ,

    Everybody including Zhi Al , Su Rogguang and Mo Zixuan startedughing as the two men looked down embarassed !

    Some paparazzis even captured the picture of this beautiful moment !!!

    After all , cheeks of CEO Lu Wei and CEO Zhi Xi being pulled wasn''t something that happened more often !!!

    The girl then tilted her head as she looked at Xi Ying , " Ying !! Let''s go. Let the boys have their talk. Who wants to get into their boring conversation ?! Come !!! "

    Xi Ying nodded as she followed Rong Xinghe upstairs .

    ____________

    In Zhi Bo''s room ,

    " What is it Bro ?! " , Rong Xinghe rushed into the room .

    " Kiddo !! Thank god !!! You are finally here !!! Do I look okay ?! Should I even do this or not ?! Is she really marrying me happily ?! Will I even be a good husband ?! "

    Zhi Bo had a very bad impression about marriage life because of his parents. His mother hadmitted suicide because his father had an extra-marital affair. Almost all his childhood he had seen his parents indulged in arguments and fights. He had seen his mother cry alone in a room. He had seen his father drinking alcohol to release his exhaustion and anger. '' Happy Married Life '' was something he believed never existed because he had experienced it since he was a five year old kid.

    Although , Zhi Xi and Songyan and Lu Wei and Ningtao were an ideal couple , he was still not convinced that he could be a husband that Ruo Cy deserved .

    " Woah ! Bro ! How can I answer so many questions at once ?! People have '' Wedding Jitters '' ! And you are having '' Engagement Jitters '' ! So cute !! Come. Sit down first ." , the girl made Zhi Bo sit and gave him a ss of water to drink .

    " Okay !! First thing , You are looking hot as hell !!! Secondly , You should definitely do this because she is the one !!! Thirdly , Yes ! She is marrying you happily because I have seen love for you in her eyes !!! Fourth , You will be an amazing husband and I know that !!! " , Rong Xinghe said as she looked into the man''s eyes withplete confidence in him .

    " How do you know I will be a good husband ?! " , Zhi Bo asked with confusion .

    Was she predicting future or something ?

    " Because , my Brother is the best person I know ! Each and everyone of you are. And what more , even if you make mistakes , you have me. I will train you to be a good husband under my " IDEAL HUSBAND AGENCY ". You know who are the alumni ?! Mr. Lu Wei , CEO of Lu Corps. And Mr. Zhi Xi , CEO of Zhi Corps !!! " , Rong Xinghe smiled .

    " HAHAHAHA !! " , Zhi Bo started tough when heard the girl''s words .

    '' HUSBAND TRAINING AGENCY '' ?!

    Seriously ?!!!

    " I believe you Brother !!! I do !!! " , Rong Xinghe squeezed the man''s shoulder encouragingly .

 Chapter 79: Too flawless !

    Chapter 79: Too wless !

    Zhi Bo looked at the girl in front of him. All his anxiety vanished when he saw her confidence in him .

    What was he worried about ?!

    He always had this ''kiddo'' besides him , no matter what !!!

    She would never let anything bad happen .

    He stood up and smiled back at her with confidence , " I am ready !!! Let''s do this !!! "

    Xi Ying was looking at the warm interaction between the two people from the sidelines .

    At this time , she realised that it wasn''t just Rong Xinghe who prioritised her brothers.

    Even they were dependent on her .

    Her opinions mattered the most to them and they spoiled her to the extent of extremity .

    It was as if she was the source of confidence and hope for them.

    No one would believe that none of them were connected by blood to her .

    In fact , she felt that even her bonding with her brothers wasn''t as strong as that of Rong Xinghe with these six men !!!

    :::::::::::::::::::

    Meanwhile ,

    The remaining five men were hosting the party and entertaining the guests .

    Zhi Al and Su Rogguang were flirting with the female guests while Zhi Xi made small talk with his business partners .

    Lu Wei was also interacting with his business associates as well as actors and actresses who were friends with his wife Ningtao.

    Mo Zixuan was busy chatting with certain politicians .

    At this point of time , the crowd started apuding and hooting as the groom-to-be and bride-to-be made their entry !!!

    " Ahhh !!! Second master looks so handsome today !!! "

    " Drool over him for thest time girl ! After tonight , he will be off the market !!! "

    " Wooo !!! Why didn''t he fall for me !!! I even wore that short dress for him that day !!! "

    " It was exactly the reason he didn''t fall for you !!! "

    " HAHAHAHA "

    " Ah ! Don''t worry !!! We still have Master Mo Zixuan , Dr. Su Rogguang and Third Master Zhi Al !!! "

    " That''s right !! They are also very handsome !! "

    At this time Rong Xinghe passed from behind these women with Xi Ying.

    She stopped in her tracks and stared at the girls'' backs coldly. She then continued to walk as she whispered under her breath , " Dream on , Bitches ! "

    Xi Ying clearly heard her sister-inw''s words as she raised her brows in surprise !

    She was so protective of her brothers.

    And she could even abuse !!!

    That''s just awesome !!!

    Brother Yuan !!! You will have a hell of clean ups to do in the future !!!

    ______________

    Rong Xinghe went and stood besides Zhi Al while Xi Ying walked towards her brothers !

    Rong Xinghe and Zhi Al started whispering something to each other as they smirked every now and then. Su Rogguang and Mo Zixuan tried to eavesdrop but the duo maintained the secrecy as if it was something extremely confidential .

    ___________

    Finally ,

    The man and the woman exchanged the rings as the entire ce filled with excited shrieks and apuse .

    " Congrattions , Second Master !! "

    " May you both grow old and happy together ! "

    " Congo , Ruo Cy !! "

    As the six men indulged themselves in conversation , the three sister-inws of Rong Xinghe had a whole new level of priorities !

    A waiter walked towards Xi Yuan with a cold drinks'' tray .

    Xi Yuan shook his head to shrug off the waiter but he insisted , " Please sir , have this lemon juice ! "

    Xi Yuan felt something amiss as he picked up the lemonade ss.

    Beneath it , was a piece of paper !!

    The man picked up the paper as the waiter walked away .

    He then opened the folded sheet and read the contents in it :

    { " Are you really here to impress her ?! Standing there all alone !!! Go and ask her for dance !!! "

    ~~ Songyan }

    Xi Yuan took a moment to rake his eyes around the crowd as Ningtao waved at him and pointed her finger towards the direction where Rong Xinghe was chatting with Zhi Al .

    Xi Yuan smiled and nodded his head as he made his way through the crowd to reach the girl .

    When Xi Yuan reached them , the girl tilted her head as she looked at him confusedly .

    Xi Yuan made a direct eye-contact with Zhi Al , " Can I steal your sister for the dance ?! "

    Xi Ying , Xi Fang and William covered their wide-open mouths in shock !!!

    Did he just asked this question to her brother ?!

    What the hell ?!!

    Zhi Al was about to decline when Rong Xinghe smiled brightly , " Yes ! You can !! "

    Zhi Al frowned and was about to say something when he noticed Zhi Xi and Lu Wei nodding in approval .

    So.... he also gave up and released the girl''s hand .

    Xi Yuan bent down elegantly and extended his hand mid-air as Rong Xinghe ced her delicate and fair hand onto his .

    When the man and the woman reached the dance floor , almost every camera in the room was already facing them .

    Why not ?!

    Dance of CEO Xi Yuan of Xi Corporations and Military Chief of Country X was a breaking news in itself !

    One was the heir of Xi family while the other was the princess to six most influential people of the world !!!

    Each and every encounter between them was a sensation in itself !

    A soft love song started ying as Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe started performing a couple dance .

    Rong Xinghe closed in on the man and whispered in his ears , " I am not that good at dance !! "

    Xi Yuan smiled and replied the girl back , " Then follow my lead ! "

    Saying this , the man released the girl slightly and twirled her as he started to perform a ssic Waltz. In an extremely smooth and romantic manner , the duo covered almost the entire dance floor. Their rising and falling throughout the dance gave their actions a very fluid and ''floating'' look.

    Rong Xinghe wasn''t skilled with dance but she was good at takingmands and directions. So , whatever Xi Yuan told her to do , she would do that with perfection !

    The two bodies were moving in an ideal sync , that no one could point out even a single fault in any of their dance steps !

    It was as if they were actually a couple and were head over heels in love with each other .

    They were just too wless !!!

 Chapter 80: #Xinguan

    Chapter 80: #Xinguan

    " OMG !!! Master Xi and Miss Rong look so good together !!! "

    " I know , right ? They both are even good at dancing !!! "

    " Master Yuan is wearing the Dark Blue Tuxedo while , Miss Xinghe is wearing the Dark Blue gown ! Forget their dance , even their clothes are a match !!! They are like a match made in heaven !! "

    " Hmphh !! What is so good about her ?! It''s just a dance she is good at !!! .... Master Yuan would need a delicatedy , not a woman who keeps putting herself in danger every now and then !! "

    " You are saying this because you are jaleous. Otherwise , we all know that Sister Xinghe is a perfection !!! And who wouldn''t want to marry a beauty like hers ?!! "

    " She is beauty with brains ! I think even Mr. Xi is not on par with her !!! As a man .... I can tell that she deserves better than him !!! "

    " Pfftt.... And who is better than Master Yuan ?!! You ?!! HAHAHA .... Dream on !!! "

    The crowd erupted into conversation while they kept their eyes on the duo on stage .

    Even the fans on live streaming websites were at the peak of their excitement when they witnessed their idol enjoying her time at the party !!!

    Woah !!! She looked so pretty in that long gown !!!

    And she looks so good with CEO Xi Yuan !!!

    They were an ideal couple !!

    Hence , unintentionally .... these two people became the target for all the couple fans in the Country X !!!

    Almost instantly Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe climbed up the hottest search rankings on practically every search engine including weibo , google and facebook .

    _______________

    Meanwhile , the six men had an odd expression pasted on their faces .

    Zhi Xi and Lu Wei didn''t reacted much as they thought of the situation as a mere formality. After all , it was amon practice in business families and many actors and dancers had made the same request to them at such events.

    Mo Zixuan and Zhi Al clenched their fists in anger ! For a certain reason , their sixth sense was screaming at them that this was '' not just a dance '' !!! What the hell was this guy''s n ?! It was ..... suspicious. Of course , their assumption wasn''t just on the basis of the dance , but the fact that he had ced his hands on her waist posessively while protecting her from falling down earlier .They had actually felt that gesture of his a little irksome and eerie !!!

    But they decided to keep a low profile as they didn''t wanted to bother her !!!

    They would just keep an eye on him !!!

    Su Rogguang and Zhi Bo were neither too offended like thetter , nor were they too carefree like the former !!! They felt that this situation was odd and slightly awkward ! They knew she wasn''t good at dancing. So ..... howe she was able to dance so wlessly and elegantly ?! After all , Waltz was not an easy dance form. Was it because of this guy ?!

    And about her sister-inws , they were all grinning ear to ear .

    Yeah !!!

    Mission sessful !

    ______________

    Meanwhile , the song came to an end .

    Both Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe bowed to the audience and walked down the dance floor amidst the thundrous apuse .

    " That was .... something ! " , Rong Xinghe sighed .

    " You liked it ?! " , Xi Yuan smiled at the girl , to which , the girl nodded .

    ....

    " You both were good there ! " , Zhi Bo walked towards them with Ruo Cy .

    " Yeah !!! Really good !! " , Ruo Cy also nodded at Xi Yuan with an encouraging smile .

    Keep it upd !!!

    Rong Xinghe picked up the mic as she turned to look at the crowd , " Okay !!! After this warm-up , I hope that you all are ready to break a leg on that dance floor. First will be the bride-to-be and the groom-to-be !!! "

    After she was done saying , Rong Xinghe pushed Zhi Bo and Ruo Cy onto the stage .

    But Ruo Cy handed a note again to Xi Yuan before she joined Zhi Bo on the dance floor .

    Xi Yuan smiled helplessly as he read the message written on the sheet :

    { " Stay down for sometime now !!! Her brothers will keep an eye on you for a while after this. Just chat with her , and don''t vanish for even a minute !!! "

    ~~ Ruo Cy }

    Ladies had always been more observant than men .

    They had already noticed the change in expressions of the six men , so prevention was the best thing to do .

    If they were going to support him , they were going to support him to the fullest !!

    Of course , Xi Yuan was happy with this alliance more than anyone !!!

    ....

    The party progressed to a happy ending without any hindrance or problem ....

    ____________

    Next day , every newspaper and news channel had only two headlines : first one was obviously , the engagement of Zhi Bo and Ruo Cy and the second one was the waltz performance by CEO Xi Yuan and Military Chief Rong Xinghe .

    It was extremely rare for Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe to appear in any headline other than those of business and defence category .

    But this time , they weren''t just involved in news rted to an event , but were also assumed to be the most suitable couple !!!

    Their tuning andpatibility along with their looks and achievements won hearts of many ''couple fans ''.

    Fans edited their photos during the performance and posted them as their profile photos.

    They were even given a couple name :

    " Xinguan " !!!

    And #Xinguan was the most trending hashtag on every social media websites !!!

    It was as if the entire Country X was forcing the duo to be a couple .

    But for Rong Xinghe , it was just a way to announce their friendship .

    And Xi Yuan ?

    It was his way to warn the world to stay away from his girl !!!

    Meanwhile , Rong Xinghe''s six brothers simply shrugged of the rumours .

    After all , all of them were the most influential personalities of the nation and were used to the crazy fans , media and headlines .

    But the happiest creatures were the Xi trio and the female protagonist''s three sister-inws !!!

    They were grinning like maniacs!!!

    Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan never paid attention to such news headlines , so , they had no idea about this "#Xinguan" thing .

    But one thing was clear after that party .

    Now the entire country was focussed on , not just the wedding of Second Master of Zhi family , but further interactions between these two people .

 Chapter 81: The 21st of November !!!

    Chapter 81: The 21st of November !!!

    Few more days passed by and finally , it was the 21st of November.

    The day when the terrorists had nned the destruction of Country X !

    Once again , the two hundred bureaucrats along with bomb squad officers had been called for the meeting in Military Chief Office at 8:00 a.m. sharp !

    Almost all of them were at the peak of their anxiety because they had no idea about the target locations for the terrorist attacks. One month ago , all of a sudden , their boss had ordered them to keep a low profile and stay off the case. They were confused by her decision but no matter how they asked , she refused to tell them the reason. Some of them had even assumed that maybe she was actually too young to handle the army and that she would put the country in danger because of her foolishness !

    But they were wrong !

    This woman would rather put her life in danger than letting Country X suffer even the slightest of a blow !!

    And this incident was going to prove that to them !

    Very soon , Rong Xinghe arrived in the Meeting Hall to face anxious faces .

    She smiled and took the wireless microphone in her hands , " Morning people ! So .... the ''Big Bang '' day is finally here ! Yeah ?! How many of you are excited ?! "

    When the multitude heard those words , they looked at the woman as if she was crazy !

    What should we be excited for ?!

    Death ?!

    Rong Xinghe continued speaking , " Don''t look at me like I am crazy. We all are specialized in defense. We should obviously , be excited about any challenge like this , shouldn''t we ?!!! Alright , I will put an end to your anxiety. Assistant Shou , please switch on the projector !"

    As soon as Rong Xinghe issued the orders Shou Wu walked towards the projector and switched it on. A map appeared on the big screen and there were total of twelve locations marked with Red dots !

    Rong Xinghe then said , " These , my friends , are the twelve target locations for the terrorist attacks that will take ce tonight at 8:15 p.m. "

    The woman then turned around to look at the Bomb Squad Officers , " I am afraid that you guys will have a lot on your te tonight. Because from here , bureaucrats can''t do anything to prevent the incident , only you can .After all , we still need to diffuse the bombs. One-onemondo each will reach there along with you all and as soon as the terrorist nts the bomb , that officer will kill him. After that , you will have only 15 minutes left to diffuse the bomb !!! But it won''t be tough ! You guys are trained for such challenges , aren''t you ?! "

    All the Bomb Squad Officers nodded subconsciously in unison as silence filled the entire Meeting Hall !!!

    What ?!

    She knew the target locations all along ?!

    Not just the locations , she knew about the exact time !!!

    What the holy hell ?!!!

    And how did she even did that ?!

    " Uhh.... Military Chief ! When and how did you decoded the information?! " , officer Ruan who had earlier given the sheet he got from the ''Zewer'' man asked in confusion .

    Almost entire Military Chief Office knew about that paper piece as it was after Rong Xinghe got it , that the investigation was suddenly stopped !!!

    But all they knew was that paper had only 35 points marked with marker pens on it .

    How could someone get any information from that ?!

    So they all nodded with curiosity and inquiry in their eyes !!

    Rong Xinghe shrugged and answered honestly , " Well ... all those 35 dots on the sheet had their own meaning. They were all arranged in a certain pattern. Out of these 35 dots , 12 were in a pattern such that when ced on the map of city A it coincided or coexisted on the regions where the ''Grand Music Festival '' is going to take ce proving them to be the target locations. Now , left were the 23 dots. Amongst these dots ,15 dots were insignificant while the remaining 8 wereparativelyrge in size. Since , the music festival is going to take ce in nighttime , it exined the explosion time to be 8:15 p.m. Any further queries ? "

    The moment Rong Xinghe stopped speaking , each and every officer in the Meeting Hall were rendered speechless by her !!!

    If it had been them , they would''ve had simply thrown away the piece of paper thinking of it to be of no use !!!

    But not only did she studied the paper , she also came to such an important conclusion by merely looking at it !!!

    They suddenly started to question their qualifications as the ''Brains of the Country'' !!!

    They couldn''t evenpare to a 22 year olddy !!!

    She was indeed skilled at analyzing and figuring out things rted to defense so easily !!!

    No wonder she got through that hellish training of the five years to be where she was today !!!

    All the officers who had thought of Rong Xinghe to be foolish because of her decision were pped hard onto their faces !!!

    Why would she unreasonablymand them to continue the investigation , when she already knew the details of the uing attack !!!

    She was much too brilliant and they were the one being foolish !!!

    Rong Xinghe then exined the main strategy to the Bomb Squad Officers and themandos who had an important role in the mission further and called off the meeting !!!

    All the officers were in a joyous mood as they thought that the problem was already solved !!!

    But they were naive !!!

    Too naive !!!

    This problem was far from solved !!!

    A terrifying uncertainty was going to take ce that night !!!

    That night was going to be the biggest fear for Rong Xinghe''s brothers , her sister-inws , Xi Yuan and the Xi trio !!!

    That night was going to tell the entire Country X about the genuinity and sincerity of their Military Chief for them and the nation !!!

    After this one night , the entire Country X would bow down to the girl for her courage and her willpower to protect the nation !!!

 Chapter 82: The Sacrifice !!!

    Chapter 82: The Sacrifice !!!

    As the night hit ,

    Everything was going smoothly ording to the n. The '' Grand Music Festival '' started and thousands of people joined the celebration.

    The Bomb Squad and themandos hid in an isted location in the respective attack regions .

    The clock ticked at 8:00 p.m. ,

    At this time , as it was exined by Rong Xinghe , 12 men reached the locations with the college bags hung on their shoulders and amidst the crowd , ced the bomb under one of the chairs as they clicked a Red button and set the timer of 15 minutes !!!

    __________

    Meanwhile , Rong Xinghe was driving her car and a Bluetooth earpiece was connected to her ears .

    Every now and then , in these 15 minutes Rong Xinghe got calls from Military Chief Office about any of the bombs getting diffused in the 12 locations .

    Just when Rong Xinghe thought that everything was fine , she got a call from assistant Shou Wu , " Military Chief !!! There is an emergency !!! One of our Bomb Squads have been unable to reach the explosion location !!! "

    As soon as Rong Xinghe heard these words , she hit hard on the breaks and nced at her watch !

    It was already 8:03 p.m. !!!

    " F*ck !!! What the hell is the location ?! " , Rong Xinghe screamed through the earpiece angrilypletely ignoring the vigorous honking of the vehicles behind her !!!

    " Uhhh.... Military Chief ! Its the SGN Stadium !!! "

    Rong Xinghe turned to look at her right .

    " SGN Stadium "

    These letters were written inrge text on almost every hoarding and boards nearby !!!

    " Military Chief , we are trying ... "

    " Shut up !!! Idiots !!! " , Rong Xinghe got out from the car and gave the car key to a traffic police officer as she rushed inside the already crowded stadium !!!!

    _______

    When Rong Xinghe reached inside the crowded stadium , she realised that someone had already revealed that there was a bomb nted there and the situation was extremely chaotic !!!

    People were running here and there like some chickens to save their lives !!!

    Almost everyone , even the kids , were scared to death !!!

    Rong Xinghe had no change in her solemn expression when she saw the disorderly situation !!!

    She had bigger things to focus on !!!

    She quickly rushed towards the bomb !!!

    She saw that the chair , on which , the bomb was nted was pushed upside down making the bomb appear in everyone''s line of sight resulting in the chaos .

    She noticed that only 8 minutes were left !!!

    She rushed to look at the bomb and breathed a sigh of relief !!!

    Thankfully , the structure wasn''t tooplicated to diffuse !!!

    Without any paraphernalia of a Bomb Squad Officer , Rong Xinghe quickly immersed herself in diffusing the bomb .

    During the entire procedure , her hands got cut and burned .

    Luckily , she had Zhi Al''s cutter and lighter with her at the moment .

    In merely 6 minutes of time , the girl finally diffused the bomb and closed her eyes to rx a little .

    The danger was finally over !!!

    She was still on her knees after diffusing the bomb as she looked at her bruised hands.

    Damn !!!

    She was going to be scolded by the six men again !!!

    The girl looked around as she observed the disorder in the situation .

    It was at this time that she noticed something strange !!!

    One of the terrorists was standing with a dangerous aura radiating him and was pointing the deadly RPK-74 rifle , that he was holding , at her !!!

    The beast was staring at her with an evil smirk , " You lived quite long Military Chief !!! "

    Rong Xinghe was about to dodge and attack , but , at this time , from the corner of her eyes , she observed a 4 year old fluffy kid approaching her with his tear-stained eyes !!

    She quickly looked back at the terrorist and noticed that he had tightened his grip on the weapon and was about to pull the trigger !!!

    She wasn''t left with any option to dodge anymore because if she would do that , the kid would lose his life there and then !

    So she was left with no option , but one !!!

    The Sacrifice !!!

    The terrorist pulled the trigger and Rong Xinghe pushed the child away from her as he fell down at the same moment !!!

    But ....

    BANG !!!

    The bullet prated Rong Xinghe''s left shoulder as she held it and groaned in pain !!!

    The terrorist smiled maniacally , as he walked towards Rong Xinghe who was trying to handle the pain !!

    He held the gun again in mid-air and pointed it at the girl''s stomach !!!

    BANG !!!

    BANG !!!

    Sound of two more gun firings resonated in the entire stadium and the chaotic situation came to a standstill !!!

    One bullet hit Rong Xinghe while the other was shot from the girl''s gun as it went straight through the terrorist''s head .

    THUD !!!

    Both the bodies fell down on the floor !!!

    It was at this moment , that the Bomb Squad Officers and certain soldiers reached the ce .

    " BOSS !!! " , all the officers cried out in horror !!!

    No !!!

    This can''t be happening !!!

    One of the military soldiers rushed towards the girl and grabbed her wrist with his fingers , " Thank god !!! She is alive !!! "

    " Quick !!! Let''s take her to the Military Sanatorium !!! " , one of the soldiers screamed .

    " Yes ! Quick ! "

    ______________

    In the Military Sanatorium ,

    The Military Surgeons were still inside the operation theatre for two hours now .

    Every Bomb Squad Officer and themando was regretting their dy in executing the mission provided !!!

    Some of the soldiers had even broken down in tears by now !!!

    It was all their fault !!!

    They couldn''t protect their boss !!!

    She had done all she could for the mission and it was their duty to put an end to the attack !!!

    But instead , she was the one who performed even their part of the work !!!

    They couldn''t !!!

    They couldn''t live with this guilt !!!

    Oh god !!! Please let her be fine !!!

    At this time the doors to Operation Theatre opened and two surgeons came out hurriedly ,as they pulled off their mask .

    " How is she , doctor ?! " , assistant Shou Wu asked anxiously .

    " She is still in a critical stage !!! We have took out the bullets , though ! One had hit her near the vicle ( the cor bone ) and the other had hit her just near the descending colon !!! Both these body parts are not as sensitive as the heart and brain but , since she is a migranne patient , I am afraid nothing can be said until she get her consciousness back !!! If anything , she was extremely lucky this time !!! " , a senior surgeon exined .

    The other surgeon looked around the deadly still hospital corridor , " Where is her family ?! "

    " We are here !!! ", six voices echoed in unison .

 Chapter 83: His Xinghe !!!

    Chapter 83: His Xinghe !!!

    As soon as the Bomb Squad Officers and themando heard the collective voices , despite being trained for dangerous situations , they felt a chill run down their spines !!!

    And why not ?!

    These six men were an army in themselves !

    Who the hell could forget the existence of these six men in their boss''s life ?!

    Crap !!!

    They were really done for this time !!!

    Meanwhile , the six men rushed towards the surgeons and listened to theplete diagnosis .

    Soon after , Su Rugguang quickly put on his surgical clothes and mask and went inside to personally check on the unconscious girl .

    " Don''t worry Wei. She is a strong girl !!! ", Ningtao patted Lu Wei''s back as she noticed her husband''s body shaking in fear and anxiety .

    Situation with the other four was no less than that of Lu Wei .

    " Who the f*ck was the reason behind this ?! " , Zhi Al screamed .

    " Calm down , Al !!! Let''s first ensure that she is fine !!! " , Songyan calmed down her brother-inw .

    If these six men were to loose control over their anger at this point of time , something unimaginable would happen for sure !!!

    Rong Xinghe was in a crucial stage at the moment , and no one else other than her could handle their anger and fury !!!

    At this time , hurried footsteps resonated throughout the hospital corridor again !

    Xi Yuan , William and the Xi trio arrived with a worried expression on their faces !!!

    Xi Yuan ignored everything and walked straight towards Lu Wei , " Senior , How is she ?! "

    Lu Wei nced at the young man and reverted his gaze back at the door of Operation Theatre , " Why are you here , brat ?! "

    " She is important to me Senior ! Could you please tell me her current situation ?! " , Xi Yuan tried his best to control his weakness in front of the five men .

    " She will be fine " , Zhi Xi said .

    " Will be ?! "

    Zhi Bo took a deep breath and exined the entire situation to the Xi siblings and William in details.

    ________

    After hearing the surgeons'' diagnosis , Xi Yuan sat down on the bench nearby .

    The five men were too worried about their sister , so , they naturally didn''t notice the change in the man''s expression .

    Xi Yuan simply sat on bench nearby calmly !!!

    But beneath this calmness , was a storm , the feeling of immense fear !!!

    Xi Yuan couldn''t exin his situation or feelings to anyone because the people around him were probably more worried than him currently .

    Two bullets !!!

    The girl allowed two freakin'' bullets to prate her body , for the sake of a four year old child !!!

    The moment when Xi Fang had told him about the incident , he had felt as if his heart had stopped beating all of a sudden !

    He felt like those bullets had prated him instead of the girl !!!

    He felt that he had lost the meaning to his entire existence all of a sudden !!!

    He felt that he would loose the only happiness he deserved in this world !!!

    He felt that he would loose his Xinghe , his girl !!!

    Why was she like that ?!

    Why was she so good ?!

    Why did she had so much courage to sacrifice herself to protect a mere kid ?!

    And why wasn''t he there at that time to take those bullets onto himself before they could even reach her ?!

    Why ....

    All these questions were running through his minds for who knows how long ?!!

    All he knew was that when Su Rogguang came out of Operation Theatre , it was already 6:00 a.m. in the morning.

    " How is she ?! " , Zhi Bo asked anxiously as all the people in the corridor heard the man attentively .

    " She is out of danger, now. She might get conscious in a day or two , though !!! But even after she get back her consciousness , due to the excessive loss of blood , she will need time of at least 15 days to recuperatepletely. Until then , she might have a lot of weakness ." , Su Rogguang exined his diagnosis.

    " One or two days ?! ", Xi Yuan couldn''t help but ask .

    " The anaesthesia injected in her body during the surgery will have that much effect. " , Su Rogguang shrugged .

    Zhi Al quickly hugged the man in front him , " Thank you so much , Rogguang !!! Thanks for saving my sissy !!! "

    Su Rogguang pushed away Zhi Al and punched him lightly in the stomach , " Bastard !!! She is my sister as well !!! Why wouldn''t I save her ?! "

    " I knew she isn''t that weak !!! I was simply worried about her pain during the surgery , is all !!! " , Lu Wei breathed a sigh of relief .

    " Exactly !!! If she could get through the incident nine years ago so courageously , then this was just a walk in park for her !!! " , Zhi Xi smiled as well .

    " Can I see her ?! "

    All the six men turned around to look at Xi Yuan who had just asked the question !!!

    The Military Surgeon nodded and Xi Yuan walked inside the hospital room under the hawk-eyed vignt and observant scrutiny of the six men !!!

    But all he cared about at this point of time , was his girl !!!

    He had no time to think about what her brothers thought of him !!!

    Only when he would see his Xinghe , would he feel rest assured !!!

    Only when he would feel her breathing and her heart beating , would his heart calm down !!!

    Only when he would take her soft and fair hands in his , would his nervousness vanish !!!

    Only when he would touch her wounds , would he witness the actual pain she had gone through !!!

    ::::::::::::::::::::::::

    As the man went inside , all the six men kept staring at the hospital room''s door .

    " Uhhh... guys !!! Weren''t we supposed to be the ones to check on her first ?! " , Zhi Bo felt something amiss .

    " I know , right ?! " , Zhi Al clenched his fists .

    " What is that brat upto now ?! " , Lu Wei also furrowed his brows .

    " Exactly !!! It is so hard to read him !!! Does he ... " , Zhi Xi was about to continue when he heard his wife''s voice from behind .

    " Come on , guys !!! They both are friends !!! Its natural for him to be worried about her !!! " , Songyan said anxiously .

    " That is true ! You guys should eat something in the canteen !!! Xinghe won''t like it if shees to know that you starved yourself for her !!! Do you want to irritate her when she is already so weak ?!! " , Ningtao also wiped the sweat off her forehead as she ckmailed the six men by using the girl''s health as the threat .

    This Xi Yuan !!!

    Couldn''t he wait for a second ?!!

    Now they had to make arrangements for their privacy !!!

 Chapter 84: "Silly girl ! I love you so much!"

    Chapter 84: "Silly girl ! I love you so much!"

    Xi Yuan entered the hospital room to see his girl sleeping .

    This girl waspletely unaware about the havoc she had created in his heart !!!

    She had no idea about the stress her six brothers were going through outside !!!

    She was simply lying on that cold bed unknown about themotion she had caused in the lives of the 96 million citizens of the entire country !!!

    As the man walked towards the girl''s bed with gentle steps , he felt that his heart , which had almost stopped beating after he had heard the news of her being shot , was beating at an extremely speedy rate now !!!

    He never thought that he would need this much amount courage to just approach an unconscious person !!!

    He clenched his fists and sat down besides her on a stool as he took her delicate yet motionless hand in his warm ones .

    It was only now that he felt his racing heart calm down a bit .

    He brought the back of her hand to his lips as he kissed it gently and covered his tired eyes with the hand .

    After almost 15 minutes , did he looked back at the girl as he rubbed her dry lips gently .

    " Silly girl !!! I love you so much. Why do you keep scaring me like this ?! Xiao Xinghe , you are thest person I can afford to lose. After every person who left me , can at least you , not leave me , my love ?! Please !!! " , the man said in hoarse yet choked voice .

    He didn''t knew when but all of a sudden , tears rolled down his cheeks as heid down besides the girl on her bed and took her into his embrace .

    It was rare for him to lose control over his emotions and it was even more rarer for him to break down like this .

    But today , his fear to lose her had overpowered his self-restraint to the level , where he couldn''t help but pull her towards him .

    The man kept on hugging her like that for almost five minutes when he realised that the girl''s body was sweating .

    He quickly loosened his grip on her a little and was about to get off the bed when , from the corner of his eyes , he noticed a Red-brownish spot near the corbone of her left shoulder !

    This .....

    This was where that beast had shot her !!!

    The man sat down on the bed and rubbed his thumb over the wound cautiously so that she wouldn''t feel slightest bit of difort ....

    He couldn''t even imagine how much pain she had gone through when that small piece of metal had prated her body with such a high speed !

    He couldn''t help but feel his heart ache for the girl !!!

    It was now that he remembered that she was shot twice !

    The man''s hands reflexively reached the girl''s waist as he pulled up her patient''s shirt slightly. The moment he saw the wound on the right side of her stomach , Xi Yuan clenched his teeth.

    How dare that son of a bi*ch hurt his woman so ruthlessly ?!

    Since they wanted to y this game with him , he would exin them what ruthlessness exactly felt like !

    At this time , the Xi trio and William entered the room as well .

    They were standing just outside the hospital room because they were ordered by the girl''s six brothers to keep an eye on this man before they were forced to go to the canteen .

    But the moment they saw Xi Yuan''s one hand on Rong Xinghe''s corbone and the other on her waist , they stopped dead silent in their tracks.

    F*ck!!!

    Why was this guy so silent ?!

    It would happen only happen when he would be nning someone''s destruction!!!

    Xi Yuan''s phone rang at this point of time .

    The man picked it up and asked , " What is the name of the terrorist organisation ?! "

    " ''The Rage gue'' , Boss ! "

    Xi Yuan looked at his girl for one more time before he stood up from the bed and adjusted her clothes as he covered her back with the nket .

    " ''The Rage gue'' ... " , the man mumbled the name as a bone-chilling coldness appeared in his eyes. So they were the bastards who had almost made him lose his woman !

    In an extremely dangerous tone , Xi Yuan stressed on his each and every word , " I don''t care how many people are a part of this organisation , I want each and every one dead in 24 hours ! Vanish the entire ''Rage gue'' !! Understood ?! "

    " Alright boss !!"

    The moment the Xi trio and William heard Xi Yuan''s words , they broke down in a cold sweat as a chill ran down their spine !

    The man in love was indeed the most dangerous !!!

    It was so amazing that Sister-inw was protecting the entire country , while their brother was protecting her !

    :::::::::::::::::::::::::

    Meanwhile , the entire Country X was in amotion as well !!!

    Thousands of people had crowded outside the Military Sanatorium as they demanded to get a glimpse of their Military Chief !!!

    They wanted to know the current situation of thedy who had saved them !

    Not too long ago , the CCTV footage of SGN Stadium was released to the media which showed how Rong Xinghe had diffused the bomb again saving their lives and how she had sacrificed her life to save a four year old kid !

    Until now , the entire Country X had been questioning Rong Xinghe''s ability to secure them , but now , they couldn''t bring themselves to utter a single word against her !

    The woman who could even give up her life for her nation was worthy of nothing , but love and respect !!

    They had all been blinded by their narrow mindset that a girl cannot be strong enough to fight for her country .

    But in just one night , Rong Xinghe had proved them all wrong !

    It was getting tough for the army to control the media and the public as they tried endlessly to get into the hospital !!

    At this time , six tall and stunning figures appeared in their line of sight !!!

    The entire chaotic situation came to a standstill as they looked at the six intimidating men standing together in front of them !

    Five men nced at the public while Mo Zixuan nced at the journalists and cameramen making thest bit of murmurs and whispers toe to a halt !

 Chapter 85: " I am alive ?!! "

    Chapter 85: " I am alive ?!! "

    " Dr.Su ! Can you please tell us about the current situation of Military Chief ?! "

    " Mr. Lu , Military Chief was shot twice tonight ! Will you still allow her to put her life in danger like that ?!! "

    " Mr. Bo !! You are going to get married soon ! Will Military Chief be able to be a part of your wedding ?! "

    " Mr. Al ! Do you think that putting her life in danger to save a kid was a foolish decision ?! "

    The media couldn''t stop asking questions after Mo Zixuan allowed them to open their mouths .

    Su Rogguang cleared his throat and exined the girl''s situation in details.

    After that , Lu Wei answered the question towards him , " Although , Rong Xinghe is my sister , I have no right to take decisions on her behalf. None of us are eligible enough to tell the Military Chief of this nation what to and what not to do ! It was the first condition she had put in front of us , when she was about to take the oath for this position."

    Zhi Al took a deep breath and answered the question asked to him , " We don''t think that it was foolish of her to save the kid ! It was her duty to do so at that time. As much as we would hate to lose her , that kid had a family as well. We are proud about what she did ! As her brothers , we have a responsibility to protect her in her personal life. But we have no say when ites to her authority as the Military Chief ! "

    The entire public and media was rendered speechless by the courage these six men had !

    No wonder Rong Xinghe was so righteous and courageous !!

    After all , these legends had practically brought her up since she was a child !!!

    Despite the fact that no one loved her more than they did , they still had the strength to see her in pain if it was for humanity .

    Sometimes , they wondered if they should bow down to these six men or that onedy !!

    Whatever it was , one thing was for sure.

    This incident had changed Country X''s point of view for Rong Xinghe tonight !

    The entire public was saluting thisdy , not just for her beauty and brains , but also for her bravery .

    They liked her so much that they would even give up their life for her if ever needed in near future .

    _________

    Meanwhile , In the hospital ....

    Two days had already passed and the girl was still lying unconscious on the hospital bed unknown tomotion she had created in the outside world.

    Xi Yuan and her six brothers never left the hospital for even once during this entire time .

    They didn''t wanted her to be alone when she would wake up .

    Neither did her three sis-inws left the hospital .

    It was now that she opened her eyes at 7:00 a.m. in the. morning .

    As she realised the foreign surroundings , she quickly became alert and sat upon the bed .

    But as soon as she sat , she felt a sharp pain in her left shoulder .

    " Aaahhhh !!! " , the girl groaned in pain .

    Hearing the scream Zhi Al and Su Rogguang ran inside the hospital room !

    When they saw the girl sitting on the bed as she held her shoulder all by herself , they clenched their fists tightly.

    What the f*ck ?!

    Couldn''t she live in peace for even a second of time ?!

    If she hadn''t gone through this pain just two days ago , they would''ve had beaten her to death today !!!

    Who told her to act all that energetic in this physical state of hers ?!

    " Why did you sat up like this ? Lay down ! " , Su Rogguang furrowed his brows .

    Rong Xinghe saw her two brothers standing worriedly at the door and rxed a little .

    She was trained inbat skills for five years. So it was only normal for her to think that she might''ve had been abducted after she got unconscious .

    She then widened her eyes in amusement and cupped her cheeks with her both palms .

    " I am alive ?!! " , the girl eximed in hoarse voice .

    Zhi Al rolled his eyes , " Yes , you are alive Military Chief Xinghe ! "

    " Thanks to Rogguang''s medical skills ! ", Lu Wei''s voice resonated from Zhi Al''s behind .

    The man walked towards the girl as he kissed her forehead and smiled , " You scared us ! "

    Zhi Xi also walked towards the bed as he held the girls hands into his , " Damn girl ! What took you so long to get conscious ?! "

    " Sorry !! ", Rong Xinghe looked down guiltily .

    She could already guess that they were all tired and hadn''t slept for who knows how long .

    " Its fine ! We are family. We ought to be there for each other in such times. No ?! " , Zhi Bo understood what the girl was thinking so he quickly pacified her .

    The girl nodded .

    Yeah ... family .... my family !

    " By the way , we are proud of you ! You are an amazing Military Chief ! " , Mo Zixuan smiled .

    Rong Xinghe looked at her brothers with shocked expression. Weren''t they the most over-protective creatures she knew ?! Howe they were proud of her putting her life in danger ?!

    " Its alright , kiddo. You did what you should''ve done. But I still find it fishy that out of 12 target locations , it was only one where your Bomb Squad officers couldn''t reach in time. " , Zhi Xi said with a deep meaning .

    " I know. That terrorist organisation wanted me dead. It couldn''t be a coincidence that I was in front of that Stadium at the exact time. But don''t worry ! I will erase the entire terrorist organisation by tonight !!! " , the girl clenched her fists .

    Only if she knew that her man had already taken care of that ....

    " By the way Yuan is also here .... " , Lu Wei remembered the existence of his ex-student in the same hospital .

    " Yuan ? " , the girl looked confused .

    " Yeah !! That guy seems overly concerned about you ! " , Zhi Al pouted .

    " HAHAHA ... Bros ... No need to worry ! He is a good person. Can I speak to him ?! You guys go have some rest , okay ?! " , the girl giggled.

    " Hmmm... Don''t tire yourself too much ! Get rest after you speak to him ! " , Su Rogguang said .

    The girl nodded as the six men left the hospital room .

 Chapter 86: "You are very important to me , Majolie !"

    Chapter 86: "You are very important to me , Ma''jolie !"

    After sometime ,

    Xi Yuan entered the hospital room while the Xi siblings waited outside. They had no interest in the PDA that was going to take ce inside .

    Rong Xinghe smiled at the man as she patted the edge of her bed gesturing him to sit down .

    Xi Yuan couldn''t express the feelings in his heart currently. He was practically dying to see this mesmerising smile on her face again.

    He slowly walked over and sat down as the girl had indicated him to do so .

    He then took her hand into his as he looked into her eyes , " How do you feel now ?! "

    " I am better. It is still troublesome to walk and jump around , though. But don''t worry ! I will be back to my strong Xinghe mode soon ! " , the girl shrugged .

    Xi Yuan smiled and shifted one of the girl''s hair locks behind her ears by his long and warm fingers .

    But for some unknown reason , when his fingers brushed along the smooth skin of her cheeks , the girl felt an electric sensation flow throughout her body as her back stiffened !

    What ....

    What the heck was that ?!!

    Xi Yuan then again covered her hands in his warm ones as he sighed and looked down !

    Rong Xinghe sensed the man''s difort as she asked , " Yuan ! What is wrong ? Do you want to tell me something ?! "

    Xi Yuan''s back stiffened when he heard the girl .

    Share the reason behind his difort ?!

    Tell her about his past ?!

    Open up about the most dreadful chapter of his life ?!

    She was asking his to reminisce something that he wanted to forget so badly .....

    He didn''t wanted to hide anything from her .....

    But he wasn''tpletely prepared to share his past !

    So he decided to tell her the partial truth ...

    " Xinghe , You know I was always an introvert. I never liked too many people around me since I was a child. Naturally , I had a very small circle of friends. And even in my family , excluding my cousins Ying , Fang and Wei , it were only my grandparents who were close to me. Xi family had many internal fights among themselves and my parents rarely gave me any attention as they were busy fighting for the chair of CEO of Xi Corps. Eventually , after some years , Ying , Fang and Wei , all went abroad for high school education. I didn''t went because grandfather would never let me away from his sight.

    " You know just after one year , I lost both , my grandmother and grandfather together in an .... uh ..... incident. Xinghe , I was all alone. You know , all of a sudden , I was left with no one. I can''t ..... " , the man''s voice choked as he tried to control his emotions .

    He continued , " Xinghe ... You are the first person I have opened myself in front of. You are the first person I have allowed to walk into my life after my grandparents'' death. You are very important to me , Ma''jolie !!! So I am obviously scared to lose you. I was terrified when I came to know about this incident. I ... "

    Xi Yuan stopped talking as he clenched his fists to control his emotions.

    It was the first time that Rong Xinghe had witnessed this weak and vulnerable side of Xi Yuan .

    She tilted her head as she looked into the man''s deep eyes .

    She didn''t knew why , but she could rte to those feelings deep inside him .

    This man had also gone through the same helplessness and loneliness that she had once gone through .

    This man had the same pain and ability to hide his feelings like her .

    When the man said that she was important to him , she felt warmth flowing through her heart .

    Rong Xinghe knew one thing for sure. His grandparents'' death was an extremely sensitive topic for him .

    It must have been the reason behind this pain .

    She thought it was better to not bring that up in front of him unless he wanted to talk about it.

    " At least , your grandparents loved you .... " , the girl smiled bitterly .

    Xi Yuan looked at the girl and he felt as if he hadmitted a crime .

    F*ck !!!

    How could he forget that she had a very sour rtionship with the Rong family ?!

    Sour rtionship was an understatement. Unlike him , his girl hated the entire Rong family , especially , her grandparents !!

    How could he brag about his perfect bonding with his family to a person who never had a family ?!

    Could he be anymore cruel ?!

    " I am sorry , Xinghe. I didn''t ... "

    " Its alright ! How long can I run away from it ?! " , the girl shrugged.

    Rong Xinghe cupped the man''s handsome face with her cold hands as she said , " I will be fine. Its all fine. "

    For almost 30 seconds , the man and the woman stared into each other''s eyes without even realising it !

    They both felt that , all of a sudden , their rtionship had gotten even more strong .

    Xi Yuan was about to say something , but at this time , the door to the hospital room opened again .

    " Xiao Xinghe !!! Are you fine now ?!! " , Xi Wei rushed inside the room as he couldn''t control his anxiety anymore .

    " Yes , Xiao Xinghe ! Do we need to call the doctors ?! " , Xi Fang also entered followed by Xi Ying and William .

    " You all have been here for the past two days ?! " , the girl raised her eyebrows in surprise .

    The four people nodded their heads vigorously .

    " Don''t worry ! I am fine ! " , Rong Xinghe sighed helplessly.

    She had no idea that she had worried them so much .

    ___________

    Next 15 days were the most rxing days for Rong Xinghe .

    None of her brothers or sister-inws allowed her to even get off the bed.

    Her brothers personally cooked food for her every day .

    Xi Yuan visited her daily along with the Xi trio. asionally , he also brought some NGO kids with him so that she could chat with them .

    William also visited her every now and then to y card games and chat with her .

    Regarding the army , she handled almost everything from home .

    She was also told that the terrorist organisation behind the entire incident was wiped out overnight , just one day after her surgery.

    Xi Yuan and her brothers were rendered speechless when they saw the girl''s regret that she couldn''t handle it herself and that someone else had already dealt with the matter .

    She so wanted to destroy the terrorist organisation her own way but somehow , it just vanished in one night .

    Not fair !!!

 Chapter 87: Your brother is such a miser!"

    Chapter 87: ''Your brother is such a miser!"

    After theplete rest of 15 days Rong Xinghe''s body recuperated faster and she joined back the Military Chief Office .

    The moment she walked into the office , almost every bureaucrat stood up and bowed down to her .

    This was their way of to take the oath of neverending loyalty towards her !!

    Most of them had underestimated her , given her age and enthusiasm. But she had proved thempletely wrong after that one incident. She had proved that it wasn''t just men who were courageous enough to sacrifice their life for their country. Women also had the same sense of patriotism. To her , whether it was poption of thousands or just a small four year old kid , every life was important .

    In fact , it was the first time in the history of Country X , that not even a single citizen of the nation had lost its life , despite of such a huge scale destructive terrorist n !!!

    And it was all thanks to Rong Xinghe.

    She was the one who had decoded the information regarding the exact locations and had even put her life at stake .

    Had it not been for her sacrifice that night , there was no way that they would have had witnessed such a glorious victory !

    It was now that they realised this woman''s real importance and hence , they were filled with a firm determination and willpower to serve Country X alongside her !

    Rong Xinghe smiled and nodded gently as she walked into her main office and sat down on her chair .

    She sighed and shook her head as she thought about the sudden change in the bureaucrats'' behaviours .

    s !

    She had to practically put her life in danger in order to gain their loyalty and allegiance .

    Why was it so difficult to convince the world ?!

    " Alright ! Assistant Shou ! Back to the work ?! " , Rong Xinghe smiled as she looked at her chubby follower .

    The man nodded and brought her some important documents as the girl immersed herself into them .

    ______________

    Meanwhile ,

    Every news channel in the entire country was covered with only one headline .

    { The legendary CEO of Xi Corps. locked the biggest deal of 2018 yet ! }

    { Company worth 40000 Million Dors , a mere part of Xi Corporation !!! }

    { 10 things to know about the Business Legend Xi Yuan !!! }

    { Xi Corporation : the richest business empire in France , Hond and other 86 countries ! }

    { Reason behind the consecutive sesses of CEO Xi Yuan is Hardwork , Preservence and Determination : SnapIt CEO Britney Swan }

    { Many business heiresses to attend the wedding celebration of Xi Yue , the cousin sister of Xi Yuan ! }

    { " I owe my sess to my hardworking and dedicated employees " : Business King Xi Yuan }

    Every news channel and business magazines were excited about Xi Yuan''s recently sessful business deal and were looking forward to the grand wedding ceremony that was going to take ce in New York a weekter .

    Everyone simply wanted to get the glimpse of the "Prince Charming" and "The most eligible bachelor" Xi Yuan , even if it was just for three seconds !

    It was a shame that this man rarely showed himself in front of the media .

    He always operated from the dark and allowed his siblings Xi Fang , Xi Ying and Xi Wei to take the spotlight .

    No matter how they tried to convince him , he would simply immerse himself into the work and ushered them onto the stage !

    The most worth-respecting thing about Xi Yuan was that , if it was about sess , he would always appreciate his employees and siblings and let them walk away with the fame. But if it was about failures , he would be the one toe forward and take the me. He would always endure all the criticism and rage , while protecting his siblings and employees like a shield from the cruel critics and the outside world .

    This was the exact reason that his business associates and employees didn''t just respected him , but worshipped him .

    Almost every member of his workforce were satisfied with their work environment.

    He was indeed the undisputed almighty king of the business world !!!

    He was merely 25 but his authority was simply unquestionable .

    .....

    Obviously , Rong Xinghe kept tabs on all her friends about their achievements as well as their failures. She was delighted when she saw Xi Yuan ying the business headlines .

    She took out her phone and made a phonecall , " Seems like someone is at the pinnacle of the business world , Mr.RichXi ! "

    Xi Fang , Xi Ying and Xi Wei were celebrating and had brought a cake in Xi Yuan''s office when Xi Yuan picked up his phone which was attached to the sound system in his office.

    They quickly nced at the phone and then at their brother who was smiling when he heard the girl''s voice .

    This man didn''t even bothered looking at their happy faces or the cake , but was overjoyed by such simple words !

    He indeed gave them no face !!!

    " Its really no big deal , Xinghe. Senior Lu has also got a deal of 39000 Million Dors under him this year. And Senior Zhi had aced this positionst year ! I still have many things to learn from them. I am not that much of a RichXi !" , the man replied humbly .

    " Huh ?! ''No big deal'' ?! Seriously ?!! Is there little Panda nearby ?! Give the phone to him !!! " , Rong Xinghe pouted on the other end.

    " I am here , Xiao Xinghe. What is it ?!! " , Xi Wei asked excitedly .

    " Your brother is such a miser ! Just how much money does he want to save ?! " , Rong Xingheined .

    " Miser ..... as in ..... ungenerous regarding matters rted to money ? How ? " , Xi Wei was confused .

    Howe his brother was a niggard and he himself had no idea ?!

    " Obviously ! Don''t I know ?! He knows that I will ask him to treat me to an expensive food restaurant to celebrate his sess ! So he deliberately acted all humble and modest and refuted the fact of him being Mr.RichXi , which he is. Its all because he wants to save his heavy pocket and not treat me to food ! What a miser ?! " , Rong Xinghe exined her observation.

    The Xi trio were rendered speechless by the girl while Xi Yuan shook his head in helplessness.

    This girl .....

    Howe she got to conclusions so quickly ?!

    He was really being humble !

    And wait !

    What was her obsession with food ?!

    She practically knew about every restaurant in City A !

    Howe she was so foodie ?!

 Chapter 88: " Oh ! You came yourself ?! "

    Chapter 88: " Oh ! You came yourself ?! "

    " Okay , okay. I am sorry ! What do you want for the treat ?! " , Xi Yuan sighed helplessly as the twins and Xi Wei burst intoughter .

    " There is a food discount on a fantabulous milkshake store near your main office ! I am busy with my work. So either Ie in the evening or you send little Panda or Ying with it. My favourite is vani one , by the way ." , Rong Xinghe said.

    " I guess Wei will drop by. I need to get back to meetings. Is that fine with you ?! " , Xi Yuan sighed .

    She had no idea how hard it was for him to give up on such an amazing opportunity to meet her !

    These Damned Bloody Meetings !!!

    " I am fine with the arrangement. Remind little Panda toe to the shooting range in Military Chief Office. Okay ?! " , the girl said .

    After the duo hung up the call , Xi Wei looked at Xi Yuan cheekily , " Yo Bro ! I will get to spend time with sister-inw. You people enjoy these crap meetings. HAHAHA ! "

    " Shut up ! I am also going to Military Chief Office to visit sis-inw ! " , Xi Ying pouted .

    " Nope. I am her favourite in the family. So only I will go. " , Xi Wei refuted his sister''s intentions straight away .

    But at this time , a certain someone grabbed his cor and said in a cold and threatening voice , " Who did you say is her ''favourite'' in the family , brat ?! "

    " Oh ! Bro ! O...Of...Of Course , you are the only one who is her favourite , her crush , her love , her everything. I am just a mere servant ready to serve you and her majesty any time !!! Please don''t beat me ! " , the '' little Panda '' trembled with fear .

    Xi Yuan released the man''s cor as he felt better after he heard his words .

    Her crush ...

    Her love ...

    Her everything ...

    Only he knew , how desperately he wanted to hear those words from the girl''s mouth !

    " I will try to wind up the meeting soon. You go and buy her a shake ande back to the office. If possible , we will all head together ." , Xi Yuan ordered and left for the meeting room with Xi Fang.

    Xi Wei simply stared at the man''s back in a daze !

    What the hell ?!

    Couldn''t he allow him and sister-inw to be alone ?

    He loved to gossip about hot girls with Rong Xinghe.

    Ever since he had known that Rong Xinghe was Lu Xi , he had been learning some savage pickup lines and the art of flirting with girls from her.

    She was just so good at it .

    And what more , he loved toin about Xi Yuan to her. She also listened to him attentively and never took him for granted like others did.

    But.... maybe ... that was the reason his brother didn''t trusted him with her .

    After all , even he knew that he was a bbermouth .

    What if one day , he would simply leak out his brother''s feelings to her ?!

    Things would really get out of hand ....

    100 kowtows to you , brother. You know me too well !!

    __________

    Meanwhile , at Military Chief Office

    In Colonial Shooting Academy ;

    " What are you doing , Colonel Lin ?! Don''t stress your wrist with the weight of the rifle. Apply the force on your shoulders ! Come on ! "

    " Lieutenant Sun ! What do you think you are doing ?! Why aren''t your knees bent with the urate angle ? If you are deployed for any Naval mission in near future , how will you stick to your ground ? "

    " Chief Xun. What is it ?! Where is your focus ?! You all are sharpshooters of our army , yet , you all are distracted. What the hell is going on ?! "

    Rong Xinghe was continuously correcting the soldiers'' mistakes for the past half an hour and she had started to get irritated by it .

    She was on a field inspection and the performance was extremely disappointing .

    She had even discussed a suitable diet for the soldiers with the canteen chefs as she thought that it might be the actual reason behind the underperformance .

    But it was now that she realised that they weren''t trained properly at all !

    One of the soldier got irritated by the constant criticism and walked straight towards Rong Xinghe , " Military Chief ! Since , you know so much about sharpshooting , why don''t you show your potential in the field ?! Who knows , we might learn a thing or two from you ! "

    Rong Xinghe looked amusedly at the young man who was challenging her with a cold expression .

    While , the entire shooting range was covered in silence the moment they heard the soldier .

    Is he dying for a death wish ?!

    The girl smirked and nodded , " Old man Han , bring me a 1985 Knight MK - 85 , 54 Caliber. Quick ! "

    The old soldier bowed slightly and walked towards the collection of guns while the other soldiers looked at each other in shock !

    Knight MK -85 gun was an extremely difficult weapon to handle .

    Even a normal soldier had to go through a thorough training to get a score of 9.5 !

    What did she even thought before selecting such a weapon ?!

    It was so heavy in weight that any normal person would go through hell of arm muscle cramps even after a single shot .

    Why did she wanted to do this to herself ?

    Just because she was good with nning and analysing , didn''t meant that she was good at sharpshooting as well. Right ?!!

    The old man came back with the huge sized gun and handed it to the woman .

    " Thanks old man ! ", saying this , Rong Xinghe walked in front of one of the shooting boards .

    She was at a distance of 400 metre from the board as she raised the rifle in her hands and pointed it towards the board .

    She closed her one eye and , withplete focus , adjusted the position of the rifle .

    She was standing in a perfect posture as her back was straightened and her knees were bent in a perfect angle. Even her wrist was unstrained and most of the pressure was applied on the shoulders .

    All the eyes in the shooting range looked at the girl curiously and then at the shooting board.

    They really wanted to know about her skills .

    If she was to get a decent score with a gun like Knight MK - 85 , it was obvious that her talent was unquestionable .

    It was not just a normal light weighted revolver , after all .

    At this time , Rong Xinghe heard the sounds of footsteps approaching .

    She looked up to see Xi Yuaning inside the shooting range as he chatted with someone via his Bluetooth earpiece .

    The man looked at her and smiled .

    He realised the girl was focussing on something , so he quickly stopped walking and disconnected his call .

    But Rong Xinghe didn''t focussed back on the shooting board.

    Instead , she raised her brows and smiled , " Oh ! You came yourself ?! That''s awesome ! "

    BANG !

    BANG !

    BANG !

    After three consecutive shots , the girl didn''t even bothered looking at the boards and walked towards the man .

 Chapter 89: " I wont give up on her ever ! "

    Chapter 89: " I won''t give up on her ever ! "

    The soldiers stared at the scoreboard openmouthedly as girl walked towards the man .

    The score was just too .... perfect !

    10 ! ..... 10 ! ..... 10 ! ....

    Was she kidding them ?!

    How could she have such inhumane marksmanship skills ?!

    Hitting the bull''s eye even when she was not looking at the board and that too , with such a heavy gun was simply impossible !

    But who were they talking about ?!

    She was a woman who had practically seen hell for five years of Military Chief Training !

    She was trained to be an Air Force officer , a Naval officer , a Combat soldier , a Special Forces officer and a great leader , all at once .

    With her capabilities alone , she herself could easily overpower all of thembined !

    They looked at the soldier who had challenged the girl with anger filled eyes !

    Bastard !

    You wanted us to have inferiorityplex so badly ?! Huh ?!

    How dare you stand up to her like that ?!

    .....

    Meanwhile , Xi Yuan smiled when he saw his girl''s perfect scores.

    My woman is always the best , indeed !

    He was neither shocked , nor overjoyed. He knew this was going to happen !

    After all , his was a woman of perfection !

    The girl walked towards him as she asked , " You have no meetings anymore ?! "

    " Nope ! I am done with them. Here ! " , Xi Yuan passed a Vani shake ss to the girl.

    " Thank you and congrattions , Mr. Xi. By the way , when is your sister''s wedding ? " , the girl asked as she sipped the shake by straw .

    " Its 13th of December "

    " That is awesome ! I have United Defence Summit , 2018 in New York on 10th of December. After the speech there , I will stay put for one more weak. I have to meet many of the Youth Team members there. I also need to check upon William''s mother''s health situation. I guess I can fit in Xi Yue''s wedding in my schedule then ?! " , Rong Xinghe smiled .

    " Hmmm " , the man smiled as he looked at the lively girl .

    " Military Chief. The gun. " , a young soldier rushed towards Rong Xinghe .

    He needed to keep the weapon back into the stock .

    After Rong Xinghe gave back the gun to the officer , she walked with Xi Yuan towards her office , " Where is little Panda , Ying and Fang ? "

    " They had .... work ."

    How was he to tell her that he had deliberately busied his threeckeys in meetings so they won''t disturb their private time .

    " Yeah , Xiao Xinghe ! We had ... work ! " , Lu Wei''s voice with traces of sarcasm rang from behind .

    Xi Yuan pinched the space between his brows when he heard the voice .

    Damn it !

    Don''t tell me you guys simply showed your faces to the shareholders , did a cat walk and rushed back here !

    Morons !

    Xi Ying ran towards Rong Xinghe and wrapped her in a hug , " Xiao Xinghe ! "

    After Xi Ying had seen Rong Xinghe in her male getup , she had gotten even more close to her .

    She found her extremely cool !

    So apart from Xi Wei , Xi Ying was another close member to the girl from the Xi Family.

    " You guys are here too ?! That''s great !! " , Rong Xinghe escorted the Xi siblings to her office and chatted with them for a while .

    They talked about marksmanship , different types of military weapons , flirting with girls and many gossipping topics .

    Of course , Xi Yuan didn''t liked to gossip , so he just simply looked at his girl''s every little action.

    The way her petal-like lips moved when she talked or when she raised her eyebrows whenever she heard something interesting was just too alluring to him .

    It was at this time , that in his heart , Xi Yuan made a decision !

    After half an hour , Xi Yuan''s assistant called him to inform him about an important meeting.

    So ... the Xi siblings had to unwillingly rush back .

    Rong Xinghe also got back to her work and attended to an urgent cab meeting with some political officials.

    :::::::::

    Meanwhile , In a ck SUV :

    As the Xi siblings headed towards the office , Xi Wei couldn''t help but ask in excitement , " Brother ! Sister-inw is so amazing ! When are you going to confess to her ?! I can''t wait to officially acknowledge her as my sister-inw ! "

    " After Yue''s wedding .In New York " , the man smiled as he nced at his lock screen wallpaper.

    It was his girl. She was looking outside the small coffee shop window. She radiated that serene , carefree and cozy aura around her. Whenever he looked at this photo , a feeling of warmth filled his entire heart .

    Until now , the Xi trio were coughing heavily as they couldn''t register what their brother had just said .

    When they had heard him , they had gasped so hard that they had breathed and gulped at the same time resulting in the continuous fits of coughing.

    What the hell !!

    Xi Wei hit the breaks to the car out of shock and pulled it in at the side of the road .

    The man reverted his gaze out of the phone and looked at the three terrified faces staring at him .

    " Why did you stopped driving ? " , the man frowned .

    Xi Ying held her brother''s hands , " Brother ! Don''t you think you are rushing it ?! "

    " Ying ! I can''t let her keep thinking that we are just friends. Because we clearly are not. I am falling for her more and more with each passing day. If I will hide my true feelings for her now , wouldn''t I be betraying myself as well as her. I can do anything , but hurt her ." , Xi Yuan patted his sister''s head .

    " Do you think she is prepared for a rtionship ? In worst case scenario , what will you do if she rejects you ? " , Xi Fang had always been the practical one .

    " I know she isn''t prepared for a rtionship. But she needs to have a clear idea about where we both stand and what we both expect from each other. And about her rejection , I won''t give up on her ever , no matter what ! What I want is just for her to give me a fair chance. And what if I won''t get her love ? Xinghe can''t snatch away Yuan''s right to love her back. She will be the only woman I will ever have in my heart ! " , the man smiled bitterly.

 Chapter 90: A get together of the Militaries !

    Chapter 90: A get together of the Militaries !

    " But your friendship will be affected , brother ! " , Xi Wei said.

    " Maybe. Maybe not. I don''t know. All I know is that I will confess my feelings to her. She has had a very bad experience in love with that Zhou Che. It is understandable if she doesn''t ept me.

    " You know , after the past terrorist attack , when I saw her lying on that hospital bed , I realized that there was no perfect time than the present. When I touched her those two wounds , realisation dawned on me that she deserves to know about my feelings. I want her to know that there is one more person who can''t see her in pain.

    " I won''t say that her answer won''t matter to me , but I will definitely understand. Its just that this attack made me realise that life is too short. We can''t probably wait forever , can we ? What more , the best way for her to forget that Zhou Che is to have a man who loves her from the core of his heart. Who values her , trusts her , respects her , dotes on her. And I am willing to be that man. " , the man said.

    When the Xi trio heard these words , they speechlessly stared into the space for sometime .

    What could they say anymore ?

    This man was not wrong. Life was indeed too short. And the girl was used to putting her life in danger. It would be a matter of great shame and regret if something was to happen to her before their brother could even confess his feelings to her.

    Xi Wei then took a deep breath and continued driving , " Alright brother ! We will make the appropriate arrangements. Don''t worry ! "

    " I have already made the arrangements ." , Xi Yuan said as he closed his eyes and rested his head on the edge of the car seat .

    Again , the trio were stunned speechless !

    Brother , just for how many days have you been nning this ?!

    How could you not include us in your ns ?!

    _________

    Some more days passed and finally the 10th of December arrived .

    New York City , USA

    In a grand hotel , Highest Authorities of the Military of almost 160 countries of the world were gathered .

    Everyone had various topics of discussions .

    Some were discussing the evolution of fighting techniques of the armies across the years while some were busy discussing different ground troop strategies. While some were there for expanding contacts. Military diplomacy yed an important role in determination of a country''s strength and standing in the world .

    No matter what one said , military was an important factor that determined a country''s say or opinions regarding matters that affected the entire public of the world in general .

    So , meetings like these were something that were broadcasted live all around the globe .

    Country X was 10th Most Strongest Army in the world in whole. It aced in Combat skills , butcked in weaponry productions. But over all , it still had a better standing in terms strength.

    Else than that , almost every Military Authority was excited to meet Country X''s Military Chief.

    She was the youngestdy to acquire the highest throne of a nation''s military .

    And apparently , she was the perfectbination of beauty , brains and bravery .

    Almost everyone had heard about her courageous act of jumping into the SGN Stadium in order to diffuse the bomb and taking the bullet for a small kid .

    She was a soldier , just like all of them. But given that she was just 22 years old and had such a skilled , risk-taking and calm temperament during such dangerous situation was still very impressive .

    Many of them had even heard that she was a beauty who seemed to have appeared straight from the heavens .

    They had seen the girl in her dazzling Dark Blue gown in Zhi Bo''s engagement and majority of the young soldiers present today hade up with the intention to impress her .

    Many elderly Military officers also nned to ship their sons with this beautifully bravedy .

    Soon after , Rong Xinghe arrived at the venue amidst strict security and stepped down from her car .

    Every head turned around to get a glimpse of the girl who had been causing hugemotions in the military world from the moment she took her oath .

    Since , this was a Military get-together , dress code was the official uniforms of the respective armies and not any formal attire .

    So , Rong Xinghe was naturally wearing her official clothing just like she had wore on the day of her oath-taking ceremony. The 21 badges on her breast pocket , which she had earned during her training were aligned in a systematic manner. The small national g of Country X was stitched onto the arms shone as well andplimented her patriotic approach .

    ____________

    Meanwhile , Xi Yuan was sitting in the Xi Family''s New York Mansion''s living room along with Xi Fang and Xi Ying as he watched the live broadcast .

    His eyes softened when he saw his woman in all her glory and her domineering aura .

    It was exactly this intimating vibes of her which made her the Queen of this King .

    Xi Yuan knew that this event was very important for her. After all , her speech today would represent Country X in front of the entire world.

    After observing her for past three months , he knew it very well that Rong Xinghe was an amazing diplomat .

    She loved to y with people''s brains and minds. She enjoyed to change their standpoint regarding certain matters.

    So he simply wanted to see her enjoy the night .

    Rong Xinghe entered inside the grand hall as she shook hands in formal manner with the Directoer General of UNESCO. She then made some small talk with the Military heads of many other influential countries .

    Soon after , every Military Authority started delivering their speech and presented their country''s standpoint on matters of priority for their nations.

    Rong Xinghe was to give a speech as well. And unlike many other officers , the girl was not stressed at all .

    But the thing most worth noticing was that Rong Xinghe had not prepared a speech at all !

    Apparently , she had not submitted any speech documents on the podium or to the host for such an important international event.

    Almost every Military subordinate of the girl was worried that this woman would humiliate Country X if her tongue slipped or if she spoke anything offensive .

    But all they could was to wait and watch ....

 Chapter 91: If he was the almighty King , then she was the invincible Queen !

    Chapter 91: If he was the almighty King , then she was the invincible Queen !

    Soon , Rong Xinghe walked towards the stage and stood in front of the podium as she raked her hawk-like eyes through the crowd.

    There were Military Authorities from many countries that Country X befriended and there were also some individuals who represented the countries that shared conflicts , feuds and enmity with Country X. Present there today were even the nations who supported terrorism and cruelty in the dark.

    She wasn''t merely addressing the countries in alliance with her , but also the countries who openly dered their hatred towards her and her believes !

    She was bound to select her each and every word carefully today and also make sure to provide the world with a strong message !

    The girl smiled softly and tapped the microphone slightly before she started to deliver her speech wlessly , " Honorable President of Assembly , Honorable Secretary General , and distinguished delegates. I don''t know where to start from , but what I do know is that I will express myself in my National Language , Mandarin. nih hu (bowing down slightly ) "

    As soon as the Military Authorities heard the girl , they were a little stunned. Up until now , none of them had used anynguage other than English to deliver a speech in such an International Event .

    It was a very beautiful way to show one''s patriotism !

    This was indeed going to be a unique speech , they thought !

    One of its own kind .

    They quickly connected the trantor earpiece provided to them as they continued to listen to the girl attentively.

    The girl waited for the crowd to adjust patiently and then resumed her speech in Mandarin , " In our Country , this isn''t a mere greeting , but it is a pure way to express that my soul bows down to the almighty inside you. Today , I stand here representing my country and its defense in front of you all. We , the citizens of Country X believe in peace and love , in harmony and brotherhood , in technology and innovations , in education and culture , and most importantly , in us. Coming back to defense , everyone of you knows what exactly is Country X''s strengths. They are the three tombs named the Air Forces , the Naval Forces and the Army. All the three dominates the sky , waters andnds of our nation , after all.

    "But that isn''t something any of you doesn''t know already. Then lets get straight to the point : Terrorism !

    " 31st of January 2006 , Ritzhin Hotel , 780 dead. 4th of August 1999 , Hituki Su Stadium st , 957 dead ! 23rd of June 1987 , Ruzwijhus Market , 264 dead and the list goes on endlessly. If one was to say that Country X has suffered the biggest of the blows from terrorism , it wouldn''t be a lie. They have no idea how many women became widows or how many men lost their spouses. The do not care how many kids became orphans and how many parents lost their children. They enjoy the fact that innumerable brothers have lost their sisters and vice-versa. But , I have witnessed the pain in the eyes of my citizens. I have seen their rage and willpower to cut the throats of those psychopaths who detroyed their entire lives.

    " And I , n to avenge for them. I n to destroy each and every terrorist organisation from the surface of mother Earth. I know many of you have had been through the same pain. Countries like Syria are almost destroyed by them.

    " I , personally , am not fond of violence. No one present here is. But giving someone liberty to enter in your nation and kill your people is in stupidity. And I am not stupid.

    " I , Rong Xinghe , Military Chief of Country X , hereby appeal to all the diplomats and delegates present here , that we join hands and fight together this war against terrorism. In this battle against terrorist propaganda , there are only two sides. There are those people fighting for our values, freedom and the safety of our fellow citizens, and there are those who in fact decide to y into the terrorists'' hands. You''ve got to choose which side you''re on; ambiguity benefits only one side. Atst , I would like to say only one thing. Fight against terrorism is a challenge we all share. Thank Youdies and gentlemen. "

    With these words and a confident smile , Rong Xinghe bowed down again and separated herself from the podium.

    The entire hall filled with Military Authorities were dead silent for about 20 seconds before the crowd broke into an unstoppable thunderous apuse !

    It was for the first time in the history of the United Defence Summit , that the armies of the different countries apuded for an individual with such appreciation and in such unison.

    For a split second , this woman made them forget that most of them were standing besides their rival countries'' officers , shoulder to shoulder , as they acknowledged her abilities.

    She literally made them push aside their hatred and look at the bigger picture !

    As expected by her man , she was indeed a cunning diplomat !

    She had the capability to get into one''s mind and make them think the way she wanted them to think !

    Almost everyone were impressed by the girl''s speech .

    First , she selected her nationalnguage to address the audience proving her patriotism.

    Secondly , very gracefully , she exined the peace-loving nature of her country .

    Butter on , as the speech progressed , she swiftly threatened the world that Country X was not going to walk the path of silence if it was attacked ever !

    And till the end , she openly dered her intentions to wipe out terrorism from the world !

    And not only that , she even requested the other countries to volunteer willingly for this mission of hers !

    Could she be any more brave ?!

    Open deration of war was something many people could simply dream to do.

    But this woman , who was merely 22 years old , just walked on the stage and did it !!!

    They all wanted to believe that she was kidding , but her cold and confident eyes , when she delivered the speech said otherwise.

    _____________

    Meanwhile , In the Xi Family''s New York Mansion''s living room :

    When Xi Fang saw the girl''s sharpening gaze , he reflexively shuddered and his back stiffened .

    Why did he , all of a sudden , felt that this feeling was a little familiar ?!

    He looked at his brother who was staring at the TV Screen with a smirk !

    His eyes , the perfect synonym for the word pride !

    '' Yeah ! She is my woman ! '' was written all over his face.

    Damn !

    These two !

    If he was akin to the invincible and almighty King , then she was definitely the undesputed and omnipotent Queen .

    If he was a tiger , then she was the tigress.

    Who the hell would say that that weren''t a match made in heaven ?!

 Chapter 92: She had never seen him like this !

    Chapter 92: She had never seen him like this !

    Xi Yuan got up from the couch and picked up his car keys as he left the living room .

    " Where did he go ?! " , Xi Fang looked at the door in confusion.

    " Where else would he go ?! " , Xi Ying shrugged , " To get sister-inw ."

    Xi Fang : " ... "

    :::::::::::::::::::::::

    Meanwhile , the speeches ended and the atmosphere was quite calm and cheerful in the grand hall.

    Every Military Officer tried to make small talk with Rong Xinghe after her blunt and effective speech .

    After conversing with her for sometime , realisation dawned on them that this woman was not a person to be looked down upon.

    She was the pure definition of perfection.

    She had amazingbat skills .

    She was sweet to talk to .

    She maintained grace and decency when she selected her words.

    She was beautiful and her smile could alone kill people .

    She was sharp-witted and many more things .

    Many officers even tried to introduce their handsome young sons to the girl but she eveded the topic very skillfully.

    After sometime , Rong Xinghe politely took her leave as she felt a little tired .

    Even though she had recuperated few days ago , she still needed to work on her immunity and strength.

    The Military Authorities enjoyed herpany lot , but they had to eventually let her off unwillingly.

    ____________

    The girl stood outside the alternate gate in the cold winter night as she waited for her car to arrive .

    She didn''t liked the VIP Treatment and hence, preferred a single bullet-proof car in foreign countries.

    She had just got off the call from the President of Country X , when she felt someone grab her waist firmly.

    " Military Chief Rong. One night. Name your cost " , a man''s dangerous and creepy voice was heard.

    Rong Xinghe''s reflexes were quite strong , so , the girl''s right elbow hit hard on the man''s mouth before she could even register his wordspletely.

    Her attack was so quick that the man couldn''t think of anything before he lost his bnce and fell down on the floor !

    He touched his lips as he realized that a lot of blood was flowing from his mouth endlessly .

    As soon as he saw his blood , the man clenched his fists and stared at Rong Xinghe with his bloodshot eyes .

    " Who the f*ck do you think you are ?! And what the f*ck do you think you can do to a man ?! Let me tell you one thing. I can strip you right here ! I can **** you right here on this street !!! Just because you are a crappy Military Chief of a crappy country doesn''t mean that you can hide the fact that you are a woman. I am a man and I can f*ck you right here ! "

    Saying this , the man grabbed Rong Xinghe''s wrist and pulled her towards him and closed in on her.

    He was going to kiss her !

    Until now , Rong Xinghe had secretly took out her revolver and was prepared to shoot him dead !

    But just when he was about to ce his lips on hers and the girl was about to pull the trigger , a hard punchnded on the man''s face again.

    This time , the man literally flew like a wooden stick before his body crashed on the wall nearby and he fell down there and then .

    Rong Xinghe was a little startled when she saw the sudden intrusion in the situation .

    She looked at the intruder , who had barged towards the the guy who had just fell down by now angrily .

    Xi Yuan started throwing consecutive punches at the man as he was ready to kill him already .

    How dare he ?!

    How dare he touch his girl ?!

    F*cking Bastard !!!

    Pervert !!!

    Son of a B*tch !!!

    Rong Xinghe was in a daze when she witnessed Xi Yuan''s fury .

    She had never seen him like this .

    He would always be calm and cool around her !

    She never knew that he could be so angry .

    Even she felt a little intimidated by the man in front of her !

    Most importantly , the girl was admiring the man''s perfect punches. It was now that she realised that he had been trained in martial arts as well. That was really impressive and cool .

    The girl then started noticing the man''s toned and fit body. The muscles on his arms tensed when he threw punches but they rxed for a split second when he drew back his hand. And she could practically imagine the abs under that thinyer of clothing. He had sure maintained himself very well.

    Oh jesus ! This guy was even more handsome when he was angry !

    Wait .... Xinghe. What the hell are you doing ?!

    Drooling like this is not sody-like , the girl reminded herself.

    It was not until the man fainted from pain did the girl realised the severity of the situation.

    " Yuan !! Yuan ! Stop ! Please ! " , Rong Xinghe screamed.

    The second the girl''s honey-like sweet voice fell on his ears , Xi Yuan''s hand stopped mid-air .

    He stood up and turned around to look at the girl. The girl walked towards him with a little hesitation .

    As she reached near him , she smiled and said , " Its all fine. I am fine. Really ! "

    Xi Yuan took deep breath and pulled the girl towards him and hugged her tightly like his life depended on her.

    " Did I scare you ?! "

    Rong Xinghe shook her head as she could note up with any words.

    How could she ?

    She was frozen stiff in his strong arms.

    And worst of all , her brain and all her reflexes had stopped working. She just couldn''t use any of her martial art technique against him.

    She just stood there silently.

    After sometime , Xi Yuan finally released her from his embrace and looked at her wrist .

    There were nail scratch marks on it ! He also realised that her body had gone cold !

    Xi Yuan made the girl sitfortably in his ck SUV as he wrapped her wrist with his handkerchief. He also put on his coat on hers and increased the temperature of the car heater .

    ____________

    Soon , they arrived back to the Xi Family Mansion of New York.

    Xi Ying and Xi Fang came out of the house to congratte their sister-inw for her speech but they had no idea about what had happened outside the hotel .

    Meanwhile , Xi Yuan was about to get off the car when he realised that the girl was sound asleep in the passenger seat.

    She was really very tired to even control her sleep.

    Sigh ! This girl had no sense of danger around him .

    The man dotingly pushed behind the girl''s one of the free strands of hair.

    He got out of the car as he walked around it and opened the passenger seat door.

    He then gently lifted her in his arms and walked towards his bedroom .

    As soon as Xi Ying saw the girl covered with her brother''s coat , she anxiously asked , " What happened to her brother ?! "

    Xi Yuan carried the girl straight to his room without answering any question.

 Chapter 93: Simply sit back and watch the show !

    Chapter 93: Simply sit back and watch the show !

    Xi Yuan gentlyid down the girl on his bed as if she was the most delicate and sensitive person in the world and kissed her forehead softly .

    He then stood up and grabbed an ointment from medical kit. He sat down on the edge of the bed again and started applying ointment to her wrist after removing his handkerchief tied to it .

    Meanwhile , Xi Fang and Xi Ying stood on the opposite side of the bed. Although , the twins weren''t interested in this PDA , they really wanted to know about what had happened to the girl. Because , just by judging the expression on their brother''s face , they could tell that something big had happened.

    Xi Yuan applied ointment and then told about the incident in brief , " .... At first , I actually thought that she knew him when he ced his hands on her waist so casually but when she hit her elbow straight onto his mouth , I understood what was happening. He even dared to try kissing her forcefully ! "

    Xi Ying and Xi Fang gulped in fear when Xi Yuan clenched his teeth !

    Damn !!!

    Why were they suddenly pitying that guy who was unfortunate enough to be beaten up by their brother ?!

    But when they thought about what that pervert had said to the girl about stripping her and raping her , their expression was no less than that of Xi Yuan .

    No one !

    No one was allowed to touch even a strand of this woman''s hair !

    After all , she had 6 most influential people of the world backing her !

    Their brother was head over heels in love with her. He cherished her presence and doted on her to the limit of infinity !

    What more , entire Country X''s public and its Military was prepared to die for her currently !

    Her honor was something , not one could harm !

    "What should we do now , brother ?" , Xi Fang asked .

    " Ying ! Please make the nanny change her clothes. She has had wine at the event and hence , won''t be waking up soon. Her Military uniform is very ufortable to sleep in. And about the bastard , she will personally deal with it. " , the man got up and started to leave the room with Xi Fang .

    " You are allowing her to dirty her hands ?!'' , Xi Ying asked in surprise and confusion.

    " Last time , when I had wiped out the entire terrorist organisation , she had regretted it for almost 10 days. Naturally , if she loves to do the face-pping , I will simply sit back and watch the show. I don''t want her to get bored " , Xi Yuan shrugged and walked out .

    Xi Ying and Xi Fang were rendered speechless by this logic of their brother .

    Seriously ?!

    Just so that she won''t be bored ?!

    ____________

    Next Morning

    The girl woke up to find herself in a foreign environment.

    What was this ce ?

    Events ofst night came shing in her mind. Then she saw Xi Yuan''s photo frame on the side table .

    So , this was Mr. RichXi''s room.

    The girl got up and walked down the stairs clumsily .

    She found the scene in the living room a little funny .

    Xi Yuan was sitting on one of the sofas while Xi Wei , Xi Fang and Xi Ying looked down at the floor as they reported some project information to him .

    Wasn''t this scene a bit like ..... a devil sitting on the throne of hell and deciding the fates of mortal humans ?

    " Good Morning " , Rong Xinghe smiled as she climbed down the stairs.

    " Good Morning , Xiao Xinghe ! Careful !" , Xi Wei rushed towards the bottom of the stairs as he helped his Queen to get down.

    Xi Ying and Xi Fang also wished the girl while Xi Yuan walked towards the kitchen .

    The girl was confused when she saw the man leaving. What happened to him all of a sudden ?

    After sometime , Xi Yuan returned back with a cup of tea in his hands , " Here , your morning tea ! "

    Rong Xinghe was stunned when she saw the tea cup , " How did you ..."

    " Senior Zhi told me that you are used to having morning tea. " , the man shrugged.

    " Are they making you serve me ? " , Rong Xinghe raised her brows as she took the cup .

    " No .... It isn''t like that " , Xi Yuan tried to exin.

    " It''s fine. I have a way to get my revenge. I deserve a "non-pampered" life in New York , for once ! Right , guys ? " , the girl looked at Xi Wei and the Xi twins.

    All the three people nodded their heads like a rattledrum !

    How could they not agree with their sister-inw ?

    " What are you up to , Xinghe ?! " , Xi Yuan felt a headacheing.

    " HAHAHA .... I will cook ! Little Panda , bring the vegetables I tell you from the market. Fang , you make sure that everything is in its ce in the kitchen ! Quick ! " , mischievousness sparkled in the girl''s eyes .

    " And me ?! " , Xi Ying asked excitedly .

    Rong Xinghe walked towards the girl and said in her deep male voice , " You , my love , seduce me with that smile of yours ! You are a delicate girl. How can you cook when your man is alive ?! Huh ?! "

    As soon as Xi Ying heard the familiar but sensational tone of her sister-inw , she involuntarily blushed as her cheeks turned slightly pink.

    Meanwhile , the three men stared at the twodies speechlessly !

    What the hell ?!

    Is she really messing around even in her female getup ?!

    And she was actually trying to teach the ultimate skill of seduction to their sister ?!

    And what was it with all this blushing ?!

    Rong Xinghe smiled as she saw the girl''s reaction.

    Yes !

    I am the true winner at life !

    She adjusted her voice back to normal , " No, but seriously ! All you have to do is to stand in the kitchen andpliment me ! I am more efficient if my work is being appreciated. Okay ?! "

    Xi Ying nodded back .

    And then started the battle of the kitchen !!!

    Rong Xinghe , the head chef entered the kitchen along with her three assistant chefs or subordinates !

    Chef Xi Yuan !

    Chef Xi Fang !

    and Chef Xi Wei !

    While Xi Ying held her phone in her hand and started shooting the entire video .

    After all , Rong Xinghe was in her '' Rebel '' mode !!!

 Chapter 94: " We are not friends with benefits ! "

    Chapter 94: " We are not friends with benefits ! "

    Rong Xinghe kept on instructing the three men about what ingredients she needed to cook and they followed her each and every order withplete seriousness.

    But most wless amongst them was Xi Yuan. The way and the speed with which he chopped vegetables was the same as that of the girl''s brothers. Rong Xinghe was very impressed by Xi Yuan as she said , " Forget bartender ! Be my personal chef ! HEHEHE ! "

    Xi Yuan smiled and replied , " It would be an honour , Ma''jolie !"

    It was now that Rong Xinghe came to know that Xi Yuan specialised in Mexican and Italian cuisine and had even received many recognised awards for his cooking skills !

    Damn !

    As the girl observed the man who was focused on cooking just like he would be focused while reading business files , she sighed.

    Indeed , men looked the most handsome when they would cook !

    _____________

    Soon after , the dishes were prepared and served on the dining table .

    Xi Wei and Xi Fang sat on their chairs as they started serving themselves while Xi Yuan went into his study to meet some business associates .

    " Ying ! Send this video to all the six of my brothers. Quick ! " , Rong Xinghe smiled cheekily , " Also , warn them to not be over-protective when I am in foreign countries or next time , I won''t just cook .... I will wash dishes as well !!! "

    Xi Ying giggled as she did as instructed , " Xiao Xinghe ! Your brothers don''t like you doing this ? "

    " Nope. They hate it when I do any household chores. They don''t allow me to cook , or wash my dishes , or even fold my clothes ! Can you believe that ?!! They are like .... ''You are our princess. After your work hours , all you need to do is to have rest.'' They don''t like it when I overexert myself ." , the girl smiled helplessly .

    " They really love you a lot ! "

    " They do ! "

    ...

    " Aaaahhhh ! This is so good ! Bro Fang ! Pass that porridge and fried rice !!! Xiao Xinghe !! You are the best !! " , Xi Wei screamed as the girls turned around to look at him.

    " The food is indeed very delicious ! Especially , these Chicken Quesadis , Guacamole , Tomato Salsa and Enchdas ! " , Xi Fangplimented as well .

    " Forget that ! Look at this ! This Pasta Carbonara , Panzene , Pork and this Mushroom Risotto is savage !!! Xiao Xinghe , just where did you learn to cook from ?! " , Xi Wei was so satisfied with the food that he was emotionally moved .

    " Uhhh... I learned it from the locals. Is it really that good ?! " , Rong Xinghe was doubtful about her skills .

    " If you ever make food in the future , I am a call away. I will be there even if floods or storms ur ! ", Xi Fang made the lifetime food reservation .

    " .... "

    " Hey ! Xiao Xinghe likes me the most ! She will call me ! Right , my Queen ? " , Xi Wei started buttering up .

    " Only if you both will be my assistant chefs like today. ", the girl named her conditions .

    Both the men nodded and then immersed themselves into the food in front of them.

    " Me too ! " , a raspy voice came from behind the girl .

    Xi Yuan walked into the dining room and looked at the girl with deep meaning.

    " Nope. You won''t be my assistant chef. You will be my partner chef. You are really good at cooking , Yuan !" , the girl said.

    " Hmmm... " , Xi Yuan was satisfied with this arrangement as well .

    ____________

    At this time , Rong Xinghe''s phone rang .

    Conference call request by six users !

    The girl walked out into the mansion''s garden .

    " Hello ! Handsome Hunks ! "

    Zhi Xi : " How dare you step into the kitchen ?!"

    Lu Wei : " Are your hands burned or cut somewhere ?! "

    Zhi Bo : " Can''t you not jump around for a second ?! "

    Mo Zixuan : " Don''t you dare tell me that Military Chief of Country X isn''t provided with the best of the food varieties by New York ! "

    Rong Xinghe blinked at the men for some time as she tried to digest all of their questions in one go .

    " Uhhh bros ! Firstly , neither of my hands are burned or cut. Secondly , I dared to walk into the kitchen because you are making my friends serve me like servants. What was all that tea crap ? Huh ?! Me cooking is your punishment. Andstly , Bro Mo , even if all the chefs would have been here , I would have still cooked myself if I wanted. You know me ! "

    Zhi Al : " Wait a second ! Whose shirt are you wearing ?! "

    Rong Xinghe : " Yuan''s "

    All the six men : " ..... "

    Rong Xinghe quickly covered her mouth when she understood the reason behind her brothers'' silence .

    F*ck !

    That sounded so ambiguous !

    " No ! No ! Its not like that ! We are not friends with benefits !!! " , the girl tried to exin desperately .

    The six men again : " ..... "

    But this time it sounded even more intimate!

    Not friends with benefits ?!

    Then what ?!

    Romance ?!

    The Vani Rtionship ?!

    " What I mean is that nothing happened. Uhh... I was a little dizzyst night because of the red wine. He brought me here and informed an old nanny to change them for me. So she just randomly put on the clothes given to her. I swear ! Nothing happened. "

    " Hmm .... Don''t get too close to him until you are really sure. I personally like him , but there are other factors worth considering ! " , Lu Wei said with a deep meaning .

    " Brother , do I look like a person who would ever involve myself into the love crap ?! " , the girl smiled.

    All the six people breathed out a sigh of relief when they heard her.

    They really didn''t wanted another Zhou Che into her life !

    They couldn''t see her in that pain again !

    " What happened to your right hand''s wrist , Military Chief ?! " , Su Rogguang asked as no wound could escape a doctor''s eyes .

    " Uhhh .... About that ... I ... It happened during a Military drill. It will be fine , though. Don''t worry ! Okay , I gotta go. Bye ! Love you " , the girl said as she disconnected the video call.

    __________

    " She is lying ! " , Su Rogguang said coldly .

    " What do you mean ? " , Zhi Al asked .

    " Those were definitely the marks of nails. Someone must have grabbed her wrist forcefully. I can bet on that ! What more , she bites her lips when she is anxious , nervous or lying to us ! " , Su Rogguang exined .

    " Who would dare to touch her forcefully ?! " , Zhi Xi clenched his teeth .

    " Who knows ? But if she is hiding it from us , that means only one thing. She would take revenge in her own style. Let''s not make her ufortable. " , Mo Zixuan said.

    " Yeah ! What else can we do ?! " , Zhi Bo sighed .

 Chapter 95: Werent their lives too much of a coincidence ?!

    Chapter 95: Weren''t their lives too much of a coincidence ?!

    Two dayster , it was finally 13th of December .

    Today was Xi Yuan''s cousin''s wedding. Rong Xinghe had promised to attend the wedding , so she was going to keep her word .

    The only thing she was unknown to was that she was going to be proposed tonight .

    ....

    Evening , 8:00 a.m.

    In Haut Monde Wedding Pce ,

    The entire marriage hall was filled with cheerful voices. Bride and Groom were excited for the new beginning of their life.

    Xi Family''s elders were the main host. Xi Yuan was a single child to his parents , while Xi twins and Xi Wei were the three kids to Xi Yuan''s second uncle and aunt.

    Although these four were cousins , Xi Yuan was the biggest pir of strength for the trio. And not just the trio , entire Xi family looked up to him whenever any problem urred. After all , he was the person who had faced every storm and ced Xi Family at the pinnacle of the society .

    Xi Yue , who was getting married today , was Xi Yuan''s second cousin and she was the biggest fan of Rong Xinghe. Back then , she was a fan of the reality show " Voice of the World " , and she had also rmended Rong Xinghe''s performance to Xi twins and Xi Wei.

    Of course , Xi Yuan was too aloof and intimidating to approach to and he was definitely not the person to find for gossipping.

    But no matter what , she had been following Rong Xinghe for the past 9 years. She loved how Rong Xinghe was perfect at everything she did. Whether it was singing , social service , academics or military management , she did everything wlessly .

    When Xi Wei had told her that Rong Xinghe was going to attend her wedding , she had practically been flying on cloud nine for almost a week ! She was literally the happiest bride in the entire world.

    __________

    Soon , Rong Xinghe arrived at the venue along with Xi Yuan and the Xi trio followed by excited shrieks and shuttering sounds of cameras from the guests and media .

    The girl was wearing a Golden Coloured YSFS Lace Beaded Strapless A-Line Short Evening Vintage Prom Formal Party gown. Her jet ck hair were tied in a flowery braid hairstyle.

    Meanwhile , Xi Yuan was wearing a Maroon coloured velvet tuxedo. The duo entered the wedding hall together as they looked like a real couple.

    Xi Yuan har quite an intimidating personality , but when Rong Xinghe walked alongside him , a strange warmth radiated through him .

    Many guests were there with the intention to ship their daughters with this King-like man today , so they naturally didn''t liked it when they saw him with another woman.

    But the problem was that this woman was someone none of them could afford to offend until and unless , they had a death wish !

    To be precise , this woman was as intimidating and dangerous as Xi Yuan. After all , every one of them had seen the video of her diffusing a bomb and killing a terrorist with her gun without even batting an eye in the SGN Stadium !

    So all they could do was , to wait until they got a chance to introduce their daughters to Xi Yuan.

    ....

    Rong Xinghe smiled at the crowd as she elegantly climbed up the stage and hugged a frozen Xi Yue , " Congrattions , Miss Xi ! "

    Xi Yue was a little chubby and cute person. She was open-minded and quite opinionated. These characteristics of hers made her even more approachable.

    Although she knew that Rong Xinghe was going toe today , her mind still went nk when she saw her idol walking towards her.

    When Rong Xinghe hugged her , her head became even more of a mess.

    Damn !

    Is this the one and only Rong Xinghe ?!

    The Military Chief Rong Xinghe ?!

    Oh my gosh !

    She hugged me !!!

    The goddess hugged me !!!

    She was so excited that she actually hugged her back a little too tightly !

    Rong Xinghe smiled when she realized that this girl was indeed her die-heart fan. She didn''t say anything and let the girl hug her for a few good seconds .

    She then gently patted the groom''s shoulder and nodded slightly with a smile , " Take care of her. The punishment won''t be easy if I hear anyints. "

    Xi Yue was charmed even more there and then when she heard her idol''s words !

    Oh my god !

    My Queen is so sweet !

    From the sidelines , when Xi Ying saw the delighted expression on Xi Yue''s face , she giggled lightly .

    If she knew that her idol was even more charming as a man , she would literally divorce her husband !

    And what would be her reaction when she would be told that her idol might be a part of the family soon ?!!

    ...

    The Wedding ceremony finally started and the bride and groom got immersed into the rituals .

    Rong Xinghe got down the stage and walked towards two elderly couple .

    The girl greeted them softly , " Chairman Xi ! Chairwoman Xi ! Mr. Xi ! Mrs. Xi ! "

    The four people nodded at Rong Xinghe with a smile.

    Xi Yuan''s father Xi Chongkun and his mother Li Jungah seemed the most delighted to see the girl .

    Li Jungah approached the girl and hugged her warmly , " Little Xinghe ! You look just like your father ! Where is Little Xiao ?! Why didn''t you bring her ?! She still looks like your mother , doesn''t she ?! "

    Rong Xinghe and Xi siblings including Xi Yuan were a little stunned when they heard thedy .

    " You know me ?! " , Rong Xinghe pointed her index finger towards her face with confusion .

    " Of course , darling ! Your mother is my childhood friend. And your father is Chongkun''s childhood friend. In fact , they both were the reason we ended up together. They were our matchmakers ! Its a shame , they are on their confidential mission for the past 20 years and we haven''t been in contact with them since then " , Li Jungah sighed.

    When Rong Xinghe and Xi siblings heard about the past connection of their parents , they were simply dumbstruck !

    Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan reflexively looked at each other.

    Weren''t their lives too much a coincidence ?!

 Chapter 96: Rong Xiao: The twin of the Military Chief

    Chapter 96: Rong Xiao: The twin of the Military Chief

    First , she came to know that her elder brothers , Lu Wei and Zhi Xi were Xi Yuan''s business mentors .

    Now , they were told that their parents were childhood friends .

    How the hell had they never met each other earlier , even after so many connections ?!

    Weren''t they supposed to be family friends or something ?

    Howe they met each other as strangers in a party where she misunderstood him as a bartender ?

    Xi Yuan felt a little upset that he wasn''t able to meet her earlier , when she was a child .

    When he imagined that they both would have had been childhood sweetheart , and how he would have had been able to see her as a mischievous child who was always a troublemaker , he felt his heart overjoyed .

    He really regretted their dyed encounter , but , he was thankful to the heavens that , at least they met .

    " Little girl , tell me. Why haven''t you brought Little Xiao with you ? " , Li Jungah asked .

    " Uhh .... She is doing Masters in Surgery in Australia. She justpleted her M.B.B.S. I wanted her toe , but you yourself know how busy doctors are !

    She would return back to Country X soon , though. " , the girl smiled as she told about her twin sister proudly .

    " Ah ... I can see that she has followed into the footsteps of elder brother Rogguang. Interested in medicine and all , huh ? Which branch does she specializes in ?! " , Xi Chongkun asked as he looked impressed .

    " Yeah ! She is really fond of medical world. She , well , specializes in Cardiology. Unlike , Bro Su , she is not that much into Neurology. " , Rong Xinghe replied elegantly .

    " That is really praiseworthy ! It must feel good to have two doctors in the family , right ? " , Li Jungah smiled .

    The girl nodded .

    Rong Xiao was practically Rong Xinghe''s apple of the eye !

    9 years ago , when she was depressed to the point , where she wanted tomit suicide and end all her pain , Rong Xiao was the only reason she decided to do otherwise.

    " But Xinghe is quite impressive herself. We are really proud of you child " , Xi Chongkun patted the girls shoulder .

    " Thanks , Chairman Xi "

    " Uncle !"

    " Okay , Uncle Xi !"

    Meanwhile , Xi twins'' and Xi Wei''s parents had different views for the girl .

    Thedy named Luo Youyou , pulled her son Xi Fang towards her as she asked , " What is so good about her ? She didn''t even bowed down to us when she greeted us ! Doesn''t she have manners ?! "

    Xi Fang''s father , Xi Chonglin also looked irked , " Exactly ! Why are the four of you even staying with a girl like her ?! Don''t get too involved with Politics and Military ! "

    Xi Fang frowned when he saw his parents'' reaction. It had always been like this in the Xi Family. Anything that was appreciated by Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah , was despised by Xi Chonglin and Luo Youyou , and vice-versa.

    Both the brothers , Xi Chongkun and Xi Chonglin , were not on good terms with each other because of their greed for power .

    It was because of this behaviour of their parents that , Xi Yuan had had seen the worst childhood a child could see .

    It was because of this greed of theirs , that Xi Yuan had to take over the position of CEO of Xi Empire when he was merely 18 years in age .

    He took a deep breath and said , " How can you think like that , Mom and Dad ? Xiao Xinghe is very sweet and understanding. And how can you both expect her to bow down to you while greeting ? "

    " Why ? Is she a goddess or something ? " , Luo Youyou asked haughtily.

    " No. She can''t bow down because she is the Military Chief of a Country with 10th strongest Military " , Xi Fang said suggestively .

    Entire media was present there and excluding the groom and bride , all their focus was on Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan.

    Her authority was a very reputed and respected position , in not just Country X , but the entire world .

    It was due to her identity , that she couldn''t bow down to anyone .

    Military Chief of Country X would never stoop low to disrespect her position .

    And even if she was to bow down , she would bow down to the National g of Country X .

    It was now that Xi Chonglin and Luo Youyou became silent. This exnation was indeed reasonable. Her authority was too high for her to bow down to them. She represented the Supreme Military Forces of the world , after all !

    ____________

    The wedding ended without any problem and throughout the wedding , Xi Yue chatted with Rong Xinghe every chance she got.

    Xi Yuan''s parents also got along with the girl very well. In fact , Li Jungah even told her about the childhood memories she had with the girl''s mother .

    For the first time , Rong Xinghe had felt the warmth of a mother in Li Jungah. She was 2 years old when both of her parents had left her and Rong Xiao with the Rong Family for a confidential mission .

    Both her parents were extremely famous scientists and researchers and worked for the country .

    To them , nothing was important than serving their nation and humanity.

    So they had left Country X and worked in Europe for a certain research , about which , even she had no idea .

    She had never got the love of her parents since she was a child. So she really felt warm and contented when Li Jungah treated her like she was her own daughter .

    But that didn''t meant that she hated her parents. She loved them. She respected them. And she was very proud of them for whatever they were doing.

    Its just that , sometimes , she really missed a mother''s hug and a father''s encouraging pat on the back of her head .

    She was really grateful to Lu Wei and Zhi Xi , because they both were the people , she considered as her father-figure .

    They had guided her , mentored her and had given her the vibe of a parent.

    But , she still missed her mother .

    So she liked thepany of Li Jungah very much .

    _______________

    After the wedding was over , Rong Xinghe was about to leave , when suddenly Xi Yuan grabbed her hand and said to her , " Come with me. I want to tell you something ! "

 Chapter 97: The Confession of Love !

    Chapter 97: The Confession of Love !

    Xi Yuan took the girl to the famous tourist destination of New York , Statue of Liberty .

    Rong Xinghe had been to New York a few times already , but since she used to be busy with the Military tasks , she never really got the chance to explore the infamous tourism spots of the ce .

    She was delighted when Xi Yuan brought her there .

    " Thank You, Yuan ! I really wanted toe here ! " , Rong Xinghe sped her hands in excitement as she gazed at the beautiful statue from the Motor Boat they were in .

    While the girl was admiring the beauty of New York City , the young man was admiring the beauty beside him .

    The man''s face softened as a gentle smile crept across his mouth .

    He could do anything for this genuine happiness of hers .

    The boat cruised until it came to a halt on the grounds of Liberty Ind in New York Harbor just where the magnificentdy liberty stood .

    When Rong Xinghe got down the boat and saw the view , she froze .

    What the holly hell ?!

    This ....

    Why is there no human being here ?!

    Statue of Liberty was said to be one of the seven wonders of the world. It was literally impossible that there were no visitors to visit it , no matter what the time !

    What more , it was Sunday today !!

    How the hell is it even possible ?!

    .... Until and unless , a certain someone had done it deliberately !

    The girl peeked at the man beside her from the corner of her eyes only to find out that he was already looking at her with a smile on his lips.

    " Come ! " , the man raised his hand in mid air like a gentleman to escort her somewhere .

    " Uh... Yeah ! Of course ! " , the girl hesitated before cing her hand on his warm ones.

    The man took the girl to the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.

    And when the girl reached the ce , she was simply dumbfounded.

    What the ....

    Damn !

    In the pedestal area , there was a beautiful candle light arrangement.

    A medium-sized round table was covered with a silkvender coloured cloth piece.

    Upon the table , Rong Xinghe''s favourite food was ced. Also , there was a bottle of Red Wine and two wine flutes beside the food .

    The entire ce was practically covered with candles all around and an alluring spicy vani scent of Orchid flowers .

    Before Rong Xinghe could register the scene in front of herpletely , Xi Yuan brought her near the table and pulled one of the two chairs .

    The girl was so confused by now that she wanted to bang her head on that very statue there and then .

    But what could she do ?

    She smiled slightly and sat down on the chair .

    Xi Yuan took the chair apposite to her , and started pouring the Wine in the flute sses .

    He passed one of the sses to the girl and started making normal conversation to make the girl feelfortable , " So.... What do you like about Statue of Liberty ? "

    As expected , Rong Xinghe''s tensed shoulders rxed a little as she replied , " The most lovely part about this Statue are those broken chains on the ground beside her feet ! "

    " Why ? "

    " Because , ording to me , independence is the most beautiful thing in this world. The broken chainsat thefeetof theLady Libertysymbolises freedom and democracy. They also represent the end of very in America and the Union victory in the Civil War." , the girl replied .

    Xi Yuan smiled when he heard her opinions.

    This girl ....

    It was true that , to Xinghe , freedom was the most important thing .

    She never liked any restraints on herself , neither did she allowed anyone else to snatch others'' liberty .

    The girl gulped down the entire ss of wine and was about to fill up again when Xi Yuan took away her ss and ced the bottle and sses on the side table .

    He stood up and started serving her food .

    First , he served her favourite pasta and then , a French Bourgogne .

    He sat down again and served the same dishes in his te , " Eat ! "

    " Oh... Okay! " , Rong Xinghe did everything she was told to .

    For a certain reason , she felt that the man was behaving a little odd today but she couldn''t point out anything so far .

    " And is there anything , to which , you can surrender your freedom ? " , the man asked after sometime .

    " Love. Compassion " , the girl said two words .

    Xi Yuan became silent after that.

    He patiently served her the food one after the other. Rong Xinghe didn''t liked it that he was treating her like a child and was merely one step away from feeding the food to her himself.

    But she could feel that he was doing it all with a pure heart and intentions , so she didn''t said anything and allowed him to have his way .

    ....

    After sometime , both the people were done with the dinner.

    Rong Xinghe stood up and smiled , " Thank you , Yuan ! This was a beautiful night. "

    The girl turned around to head towards the boat to return .

    At this time , the man grabbed her hand and pulled her into his embrace as he hugged her tightly and said nervously , " Xinghe ! "

    Rong Xinghe was startled by the sudden change in the man''s actions and tone.

    " Yuan.... you ... "

    " No ... Let me talk. Let me just say it all. " , the man mustered up some courage before he started speaking , " Rong Xiao Xinghe ! I love you ! I really love you ! At first , I thought it was just a fling , just a crush. But as the time passed , and I saw the real you , I realised that this is love. When I saw the fighter Xinghe , when I saw the Compassionate Xinghe , when I saw the mischievous Xinghe , when I saw the brave Xinghe .... every time .... my feelings grew even more.

    " You were the first person to see me beyond my power and wealth. You were the first person to listen to me patiently about my past. You were the first person who became my source of strength and support. I can''t .... I can''t put this fake facade of friends anymore. I want to be more than friends with you. I want to be the man whom , you know , will always be there for you , no matter what. I want to be the man whom you love.

    " Xinghe .... I really tried to suppress myself , but I couldn''t. I thought that if I couldn''t suppress myself , then I''d better wait for the right time to confess to you.

    " But ... then that terrorist attack happened. When I saw your pale face and motionless body on that hospital bed , I was scared ! I was scared to death , Xinghe. At that very time , I realized that there was no ''right time ''.

    I couldn''t keep you in dark about my feelings.

    You needed to know this Xinghe. I don''t want to betray the only woman I love !

    " Lastly .... I promise you that no matter what you decide today , your independence or liberty won''t be affected by me ever. I promise that no matter how many mistakes you make , you will always find a home in me. I promise that I will give you the love that you deserve.

    I , Xi Yuan , give my heart , my life , my breath and my existence to you , my girl !

    And I really don''t expect you to do the same !

    " So .... Rong Xiao Xinghe .... will you be mine ? .... Or will you make me yours ?! " .

 Chapter 98: " I am not destined for love! "

    Chapter 98: " I am not destined for love! "

    Rong Xinghe''s back stiffened when she heard the man''s confession.

    Love ?!

    Me ?!

    This couldn''t be.... how ?!

    Xi Yuan released the girl from his embrace as he looked at her with nervous and anxious eyes .

    The girl stared at the man for sometime wordlessly. She then turned around to look at the night sky as she seemed to be thinking about something .

    After sometime , she clenched her fists tightly as if she was gathering some courage , " No! "

    The moment Xi Yuan heard this single word , even though he had expected this answer , he still felt an inexpressible pain crept across his heart. He felt as if this one word had destroyed his entire world .

    No ?! Why ?

    Was it because she still had feelings for that Zhou Che ?!

    Or .... did she thought that he had yed with her feelings by not being clear from the start?!

    Or could it be that .... she felt that he was not good enough for her ?!

    Innumerable possibilities and questions stormed in his mind as he waited for the girl to say something more .

    The girl turned around and looked at the man who had a defeated yet calm expression on his face .

    This man .... was really something else.

    At a time like this , he still didn''t pushed her for any exnation .

    Instead , he simply stood there and waited for her to hear whatever she wanted to say .

    Just how strong was he ?!

    When she saw the man''s calm gaze , she felt a strange courage fill up inside her heart as she finally said after sometime , " Trust me Yuan , it has nothing to do with you. Its me !

    "Yuan ... I can''t. I really can''t. I am honestly grateful that you decided to express yourself and your feelings truthfully , but you know ... I am not made for this ! I am not made for this love. "

    Xi Yuan was about to say something when the girl approached him and covered his mouth with the palm of her hand , " Just don''t ! Let me speak !"

    She then retrieved her hand back and exined , " I am not made for love , Yuan. I don''t deserve love. You know .... I really admire you. I really do. You are an amazing man .You are kind ,passionate , sweet and trustworthy. You are perfect and you deserve the best woman in the world. But I am not that woman. I don''t deserve a man like you , Yuan.

    " I am a person who has been dered a disgrace by her own blood. Unlike you , I am not an honor to my family. I am a person who destroys the person I get close to. And you are thest person I want to hurt.

    " What more , I am the Military Chief of Country X. This authority of mine hase with a lot of enemies who want me dead. There are politicians , terrorists , and rival countries who want to witness my death. And I won''t hesitate to sacrifice myself for the nation. Sorry Yuan ..... I can''t give my heart to you because I have already given my breath to my country. Under such circumstances , if I promise a forever to you , and one day , my dead body appears in front of you , what will you do ?

    Wouldn''t that promise of forever be an injustice to you ? Will you be able to forgive me for leaving you ?

    " Yuan , its not that I don''t like you. Its just that I don''t deserve you. And its not just you , I won''t ept any other man as well. Because I don''t deserve love. I am not destined for love. I am destined for hatred , revenge , pain , sacrifices and tears. And I won''t ever bring all that to you by saying yes. I am sorry. And I hope that you meet your perfect better half soon ! "

    With these words , Rong Xinghe turned around again and took the spare motor boat to return back to the hotel , as she left the man all alone with his thoughts .

    The girl didn''t knew why , but when the boat started off to the direction away from the New York Harbor , she felt her throat choking as she found it difficult to even breath.

    ______________

    Meanwhile , Xi Yuan kept staring at the direction , to where , the spare motor boat left , until it disappeared from his line of sight .

    He sat down on the chair beside him as he smiled bitterly to himself , " Silly woman ! You are my only perfect better half. How can someone even rece you ? "

    He was feeling terrible , but he hadn''t lost hope yet .

    After all , he was a man who had loved a woman that was herself very persistent and hopeful. His girl had gone through worst forms of pain , yet , she hadn''t stopped living her life her way. She never lost hope.

    He had loved a woman , who was brave enough to smile brightly the day after crying all night.

    He had loved a woman , who was never believed by anyone , but she kept believing in herself.

    He had loved a woman , who never gave up , despite thousands of drawbacks and hindrances .

    Then how could he not be persistent ?

    If he would really give up , then that would be a in disrespect to his love and his woman !

    He had no right to lose hope after loving a person like her.

    What shocked him the most was Rong Xinghe''sck of self-confidence !

    This girl called the shots for an entire military. It was impossible for her to do that without confidence .

    But today , when she said that she was a disgrace and destroyer of happiness of whichever person she got close to , she proved it otherwise.

    She actually felt that she wasn''t made for love ; but hatred , pain , revenge and tears .

    Just how broken was she from inside that she thought so low of herself ?

    How could she think that she didn''t deserved him ?

    But the more he thought about her words and the reason behind them , the more his suspicions ended to only two groups of people : the Zhou Family , and worst than them , the Rong Family .

    Did they really hurt her so much ?

    As the man thought about how they had hurt her back then , anger surged through his entire body !

 Chapter 99: " I want ... a hug ! "

    Chapter 99: " I want ... a hug ! "

    Meanwhile , Rong Xinghe reached the hotel and rushed to her booked VIP suite.

    As soon as she closed the door , she leaned against it and sat down on the floor with its support as she started crying .

    She didn''t knew why , but she was feeling pain .

    She knew that what she did was the right decision to make , but for some certain reason , she was regretting it .

    She was aware that Xi Yuan meant no pain for her , but she still rejected him so apathetically and emotionlessly.

    He really sounded very genuine .

    How could she hurt a man like him ?!

    This girl was never ruthless , and nor was she nonchnt or insensitive .

    She knew that Xi Yuan must have had felt pain when she had rejected him , because she had felt the sincerity in his voice when he was confessing her .

    He had promised her that she would always find a home in him and that he would love her unconditionally all his life .

    Only she knew how much she had wanted all this back then ....

    But now , she feared those false promises .

    Zhou Che had also promised her a forever , a home and his love .

    But in the end ..... what happened ?

    She now feared love !

    And she didn''t wanted to give him fake promises , just like Zhou Che had given her.

    She didn''t wanted him to be with a person whose life would always be on edge .

    She didn''t wanted him to love a person who would always prioritize Country X more than him .

    She didn''t wanted a man as excellent as him to be tied down with the oaths of endless love that might never be fulfilled .

    About her feelings for him , she really felt a sense of warmth in his presence .

    Whenever she looked at his handsome and calm face , she felt a strange reassurance that everything was going to be fine.

    She hated toe in sensual and physical contact with other men , but for some unknown reason , she would always befortable around him .

    But whenever she thought about love , her heart trembled with fright and uncertainty .

    And she ... just ran away from that topic .

    If one was to exin her feelings about love , then they would say that this girl had gone through so much pain , that she had stopped believing in it.

    She had gained an escapist tendency to run away from love and romance and had quiteplex feelings for him .

    __________

    The girl kept crying for almost an hour. She was so sensitive towards the man''s feelings that she was literally feeling his pain .

    If anyone would have seen this girl in such a messed up state , they would have never believed that she was the almighty and invincible Military Chief , the Iron Lady , the tigress of Country X !

    But this was how this girl was .

    Fiercest and most dangerous when professional , but emotional andpassionate in personal life .

    That was the reason she was loved by so many people .

    She just had too pure of a heart .

    _____________

    The girl was still crying on the floor by the door when her phone rang .

    She nced at the screen to check the caller ID. It was her eldest brother , Lu Wei .

    Damn !

    Why now ?!

    I can''t let them know about all this !

    Rong Xinghe never ignored their calls because emergencies were normal as all the six of them had influential identities .

    The girl wiped her cheeks hurriedly and drank the water on the side table to readjust her voice before she picked up the call .

    " Hello , kiddo ! Your speech was spectacr in the Military Gathering ! Sorry , I couldn''t call you earlier because I had a lot of work to take care of. Zhi Xi and I were just talking about you , so we thought of congratting you ! " , Lu Wei said happily .

    " Thank you , Bro Lu ! "

    " Kiddo , are you crying ?! Why do your voice sound so hoarse and heavy ?! " , Lu Wei''s voice suddenly became anxious .

    Crap ! She just said four words and he already knew that she was crying !

    How the hell did she even thought that she could hide something from them ?!

    They knew her more than she knew herself.

    But she didn''t wanted to worry them , " No ! No ! I am fine. "

    " You have been clearly crying ! Did someone say something to you ?! " , Zhi Xi''s worried voice came from the other end .

    " I... am really ... "

    " What is it , Xinghe ? What happened ? " , Lu Wei asked gently just like a father would .

    He had always been the most calm one amongst the seven siblings .

    He knew how to deal with this girl very well .

    As soon as the man''s tender and pleasant voice fell on Rong Xinghe''s ears , she couldn''t held back and started crying again , " I don''t ... want .... to tell. I want .... a hug ! "

    All she needed right now was a warm giant bear hug from any of her brothers.

    That was the only thing that could possibly calm her down .

    But she knew it was not possible , so she simply disconnected the call .

    Hell !

    Now , they would worry for the entire time until they would see her .

    ____________

    Meanwhile ,

    In Zhi Corps. Headquarters , Pornd , Maine :

    Lu Wei and Zhi Xi stared at the phone which was cut by theirdy luck.

    After sometime , Zhi Xi took a deep breath and called his assistant , " Prepare my private jet right now. We will leave in half an hour for the New York City. Wei is going to be with me as well. "

    " But why are we going there , Sir ?! " , the old assistant BV was confused .

    " Why are we going there ? We are going there to hug her. " , Lu Wei smiled slightly .

    Her wish , theirmand .

    After all , it was rare for this girl to request for something. And she seemed really shattered making their heart ache. Her tears were , obviously , their biggest weakness.

    Only when they would see her , would they feel at ease now .

    So just like that , the two mennded in New York in 1 hour 45 minutes after their call with the girl .

 Chapter 100: " Definitely a confession ! "

    Chapter 100: " Definitely a confession ! "

    At 10:00 p.m.

    Zhi Xi and Lu Wei reached the hotel where Rong Xinghe was staying. This hotel belonged to Lu Corporation , so they had an easy ess to the girl''s suite''s extra key. And since they were the Military Chief''s family , MCST (Military Chief Security Team) had no problem with them going inside her suite .

    So they quickly rushed to the girl''s suite and opened the door cautiously .

    To their surprise , the girl was sleeping on the couch as she had a Sherlock Holmes novel in her hands. They walked towards the couch with soft and gentle footsteps , in order to not wake her up.

    " She really scared me ! " , Zhi Xi said in low voice.

    " I know, right ? It is so rare for her to cry ! " , Lu Wei breathed a sigh of relief.

    Zhi Xi bent down to take the Sherlock Holmes novel from the girl''s hands. She was literally hugging it in her sleep .

    " Wei ! Her body is burning up ! " , Zhi Xi suddenly said as he realized that her body''s temperature was way more than normal , despite the cool winds going on in New York City .

    " What ?! " , Lu Wei quickly ced the palm of his right hand on her forehead and furrowed his brows .

    Damn it !

    Her body temperature was really too high !

    He quickly picked her up and carried her to the bed as he said , " Call Rogguang ! And ask him for the medications ! "

    Zhi Xi nodded and took out his phone .

    Soon , Su Rogguang told about the required medicines and the two men called a nurse to inject the medication through syringe as the girl couldn''t open her eyes .

    After sometime , her body temperature started falling down and the nurse left the suite .

    " What the hell is happening there guys ?! She recuperated from the terrorist attack not too long ago and she already has a fever ! Why was she crying ?! Who the f*ck made her upset ?! " , Su Rogguang screamed angrily through the other end of the phone .

    The two men took a deep breath and exined about the girl''s call and that she refused to tell anything to them.

    Su Rogguang heard silently and told them to stay by her for the entire night , in case , she got any frightening dream as he hung up the call.

    " Who the hell did it ?! " , Zhi Xi clenched his teeth .

    " Calm down Xi. We need to respect her wishes and we are not going to ask her anything when she wakes up. Something big must have happened that she is hiding it from even us. " , Lu Wei pacified Zhi Xi in his ever calm tone .

    Zhi Xi calmed down a little after he heard the man''s words , " Yeah. There is no point making her feel ufortable. Its just I really wish to know the reason behind all this ! "

    " I think I know who did this. "

    " Who ?! "

    " That brat Yuan ! "

    " What ?!! You also think like that ?! "

    " What do you mean ? "

    Zhi Xi smiled bitterly , " Come on ! Does he really think that we are idiots ?! The way he looks at her and the way he treats her , exins it all. I am a man in love , after all ! "

    " That''s true. I , too , wasn''t suspicious earlier , but when he arrived at the hospital and waited their anxiously for two days , everything was clear. What more , he even wished to see her as soon as surgeons got out of the Operation Theatre. This was exactly how I had reacted , three years ago , when Ningtao had met with an ident , in front of her family " , Lu Wei said in a cold voice .

    " Do you think he confessed or something ?! " , Zhi Xi widened his eyes as he thought of the possibility .

    " I think so. And she must have rejected. It was inevitable. She is still having hard time in believing herself after the incidents with Rong Yufan and Zhou Che. " , Lu Wei squinted his eyes as he thought about the two people he hated the most and how they had hurt the person he loved the most .

    " Hmm. But if he confessed , he did the right thing. I would have literally killed him if he had kept her in the dark ! " , Zhi Xi looked at the girl sleeping soundly and sighed , " Only if she hadn''t been so sensitive andpassionate. It seems like she has hurt herself as much as she has hurt him ! "

    " She has always been like this. Do you remember , when she was little , Zhi Al had fallen down from bicycle and his knees had started bleeding ?! She had cried even more than him " , Lu Wei smiled as he reminisced the girl''s childhood .

    " HAHAHA ! How can I forget that ? You had to coax Zhi Al and I had to coax this girl ! Since her childhood , she had always had that apathy. Her heart literally feels the pain , even if a stranger is going through it. " , Zhi Xi smiled .

    At this time , one of Zhi Xi''s subordinates knocked on the door , " Sir ! Your suspicions were true , Mr. Xi Yuan had indeed taken Ms. Xinghe to the Statue of Liberty and there was also a private candle light arrangement. Right now , he is in a bar. "

    " Definitely a confession ! " , Lu Wei shook his head helplessly .

    " I am suddenly confused. Should I sympathize with this girl or that guy ! " , Zhi Xi looked at the aloof sleeping beauty who had hurt a grown up man''s feelings so ruthlessly .

    " I am not confident about his family. " Lu Wei sat down on the bed as he patted the girl''s forehead lovingly .

    " Exactly. Who knows what they will do ? The Xi elders have always been unpredictable. And what more , we will have to look at that brat in a whole new different light. He is a good student but that doesn''t guarantee his ability to be a good lover ! " , a bone-chilling coldness appeared in Zhi Xi''s voice .

    Lu Wei nodded .

    Xi Family was a very prosperous family to the outside world , but it was all messed up from the inside .

    He hoped that Xi Yuan would just give up , but knowing him , he would never do that.

    And since the question was about their sister , there was no way they would allow the Xi Family to act however they wanted .

    Things were going to get tough soon .

 Chapter 101: " I never expected her to go through a breakdown for me ! "

    Chapter 101: " I never expected her to go through a breakdown for me ! "

    Meanwhile , In ZKS Bar ,

    " Brother ! What happened ?! Why are you here ?! What did sister-inw say ?! " , Xi Fang rushed inside the VIP Lounge of the bar with Xi Ying and Xi Wei .

    The VIP Lounges in this high ss bar were on the first floor and they gave a clear view of the dance floor on the ground floor .

    The man was sitting on thefortable couch as he held a ss of Whiskey and looked down at the people dancing crazily in a daze .

    " She rejected " , the man said expressionlessly .

    The Xi trio : " ..... "

    Crap !

    Did they heard it wrong ?!

    How could someone reject their brother ?!

    W...What happened ?!

    Did he said something offensive ?!

    Both , Xi Fang and Xi Wei , had no experience in handling such situations .

    So Xi Ying rolled her eyes and sat beside her brother who had no expression on his face , " What happened , brother ? "

    Xi Yuan put down his ss and looked at his younger sister as he asked , " How could the Zhou Family and Rong Family hurt her like that ?! How could they ?! "

    The moment Xi Ying heard the man , she understood what had happened.

    He didn''t make any mistake.

    It was her past !

    " Ying ... They killed her confidence. The confidence that she deserved the best for herself is nowhere to be seen. They made her believe that she can never love again and that she doesn''t deserve aplete happy family. " , Xi Yuan said with a pained expression .

    Xi Fang and Xi Wei also sat down opposite the man and heard him silently .

    No one knew Xi Yuan better than these three people. They were well aware that he needed to let it all out. After all the things he had gone through in the past , they were not going to let him be alone again.

    They were going to stay by his side this time.

    " You know what she said to me Fang ? She said that she didn''t deserved love and that she wasn''t made for it. If she was destined for anything , then it was pain , tears and hatred. Can you believe it ?! Deep inside her heart , she feels like this about herself.

    " She also said that she doesn''t deserve a man like me. Just how should I tell her that I am the one , who doesn''t deserve such an amazing girl like her ?! Just how do I tell her that she deserves only the best in her life and not , even the slightest bit of pain ?!! " , Xi Yuan sighed .

    " So .... What have you decided ? " , Xi Fang asked .

    " What do you think ?! " , a suggestive look appeared on the man''s face .

    " You won''t give up , right ? " , Xi Wei smiled .

    Xi Yuan nodded as he reverted his gaze back to the dance floor , " I am really worried about her , though. "

    " About her ? " , Xi Ying looked confused .

    " I don''t know but my instincts tell me that she isn''t fine. My heart has been feeling uneasy since she left. You know .... as if she was more broken than I was. " , the man said .

    " Why do you think like that brother ? Why would she be more affected than you ? " , Xi Fang was confused .

    " ... Maybe because her past had affected her decision today. She has been trying to run away from it , but today , she realized that her past has imnted a fear of betrayal in her heart.

    " I don''t know , if I was hallucinating or something , but I also think that as soon as she got onto the boat to leave ... her shoulders slumped down and maybe .... just maybe .... she might have also cried " , the man remembered the girl''s muscles tensing and shoulders shivering as she had covered her face when she was leaving .

    The Xi trio were stunned when they heard their brother .

    This man noticed even the slightest smile or pain of his woman. How could he say that he didn''t deserved her ?!

    And that girl too ...

    She also didn''t epted him because she didn''t wanted to give him fake promises of forevers and eternal love and she didn''t meant to cause him any pain.

    They both were simply made for each other !

    Xi Wei picked up his jacket and patted Xi Yuan''s shoulder , " Don''t worry , brother ! I will go to her hotel to check on her. Okay ?! "

    The man nodded .

    _______________

    After sometime , Xi Wei rushed back as he looked worried , " Brother ! Sister-inw has got a high fever ! "

    " What ?! " , Xi Ying looked shocked while the man furrowed his brows .

    " When I reached there , I saw a nurse leaving sister-inw''s hotel suite. I followed her out of curiosity and eavesdropped her conversation with the officers of MCST. Brother , she told them that Sister-inw had a body temperature of 104 F. She even imed that she must have cried a lot which resulted in this. As she is a patient of Migraine andbined with the recent terrorist attack , she shouldn''t have had exhausted herself like that. " , Xi Wei exined every detail .

    " Is there anyone with her ? " , Xi Yuan asked in a raspy voice .

    " Yes. She told that both Senior Lu and Senior Zhi are there with her. In fact , they were the ones who called the nurse " , Xi Wei replied .

    " What should we do now , brother ? Do you want to see her ? " , Xi Fang looked at his brother anxiously .

    See her ?!

    God .... only he knew how much he wanted to see her !

    But he would rather let her have a proper rest and him showing up there wasn''t going to help that .

    So the man shook his head , " Its fine. She needs her brothers right now. "

    The man then again became silent after that .

    " What are you thinking , bro ?! " , Xi Ying asked anxiously .

    " Its just I never expected her to go through a breakdown for me. She must have felt bad for hurting me. If she cried to this extent , it must mean that she does care about me , right ? " , the man smiled bitterly .

    Rong Xinghe , my love .... I , Xi Yuan will definitely fight this battle against your past alongside you .

    I will make you believe that you deserve the best .

    And I will love you all my life , no matter how many times you reject me .

 Chapter 102: He was going to change that !

    Chapter 102: He was going to change that !

    Next Morning , Rong Xinghe woke up to witness Lu Wei sleeping on the chair beside her bed and Zhi Xi sleeping on the couch nearby.

    She was simply stunned by this unexpected sight !

    What the hell ?!

    Was she back in Country X or were they here in New York City ?!

    Wasn''t it just yesterday , that they had called her ?!

    Howe they were here ?!

    And weren''t they supposed to be in Maine for the meeting with the members of Boards of Directors of Lu and Zhi empire ?!

    W...what was going on ?!

    At this time , Lu Wei''s rm set on his smartwatch went on. He sleepily put it off as he stretched his arms .

    His eyes were still closed when his hands reflexively picked up a medicine bottle on the side table of the bed.

    The man , with his perfect facial features , opened his eyes slightly as he saw the girl looking at him with confused expression .

    " Oh ! You wake up ?! How do you feel ?! " Lu Wei smiled as he cupped the girl''s cheeks and kissed her forehead as a sign of security and warmth .

    " Hmm... What are you two doing here ?! You guys missed your meeting ?! " , the girl asked .

    " Yeah ! We missed the meeting and came here to hug you ", Lu Wei shrugged nonchntly .

    " W.... What ?! " , Rong Xinghe almost screamed in shock .

    Were they kidding her ?!

    Missed the meeting !

    To hug her !

    " So ... noisy ! " , Zhi Xi''s voice came from behind .

    Rong Xinghe turned to look at the man as he walked towards her and gave her a big bear hug , " How do you feel now ?! You had a pretty high fever. Rogguang has been jumping anxiously like a popcorn sincest night in Country X ! "

    " But .... your meeting ... how much did you lost ?! " , the girl was worried .

    " Just ... 3 billion dors ? " , the man said a matter-of-factly .

    " What ?! Why did you ... " , the girl didn''t wanted them to do this .

    She didn''t liked it when they took their professional life for granted for her sake .

    " Keep quiet ! " , Lu Wei hugged her this time and said in amanding tone , " Since ... we made such a huge sacrifice , you are going to take us to the best restaurant in New York City and then we fly back to Country X. "

    " Get ready. We are living in half an hour. The jet is ready. Okay ?! " , Zhi Xi said as he gave the girl her medicines and walked out of the suite with Lu Wei .

    They neither discussedst night with her , nor did they brought up Xi Yuan .

    After all , they had a strong idea about thest night and making her ufortable was something they didn''t wanted to do .

    All they wanted to do was to take her mind off the confession .

    ____________

    Some more days passed ,

    Rong Xinghe returned back to Country X and concentrated on strengthening the Military .

    After her inspiring speech in New York , many countries were dying to work under the leadership of Country X and its Military Chief .

    They all wanted liberation from the terrifying ordeal called terrorism .

    Rong Xinghe''s personality was extremely intimidating and she was an ideal leader. She made the world believe every word she said. And her aura in itself was like a tigress , always prepared for any war at any time .

    But Rong Xinghe didn''t took any country into Country X''s shade. Instead , she focussed on converting her own military into the strongest workforce of the world .

    She kept tabs on even the slightest movement of the terrorism oriented nations.

    She personally selected the Military Trainers and diet for the trainee officers.

    She appointed many engineers from different branches to construct proper fighter jets and naval ship structures .

    This was her one of the best decisions as she utilized the maximum of human potential of the entire country.

    She made the country believe that even civilians are responsible for their nation and it wasn''t just the duty of the people in Military Forces .

    She busied herself in her work most of the time and refused to even return back to Military Chief Mansion.

    She didn''t even went to meet the kids in the NGO for some days to avoid Xi Yuan .

    She couldn''t force him to leave the Youth Team because the kids in the NGO had gotten emotionally attached to him .

    And even he seemed to be at peace when he chatted with them.

    She just couldn''t separate him from the little bit of happiness he got .

    Xi Yuan , obviously knew why she was avoiding him.

    He also deliberately spent time with the children because he knew that Youth Team and this NGO was the thread that connected her to him .

    Whenever she woulde to see the kids , he would simply hide and look at his love for the entire time she would be there .

    The Xi twins and Xi Wei felt pity for their brother but they couldn''t do anything.

    Sister-inw !

    Could you please give him a fair chance ?!!!

    He loves you so much !!!

    Soon , Xi Yuan even finished watching the girl''s entire reality show " Voice of the World ".

    He was mesmerized by her voice and dedication towards singing .

    As he observed her change in career paths and her brilliance in everything she did , he realized that she was not normal , but extraordinary .

    Whether , she was a singer , a social service activist , or a Military authority , her willpower and optimism was simply unparallel .

    It was a shame that shecked this optimism and confidence in her personal life .

    But it was fine , he was going to change that .

    Also , Rong Xinghe''s sister-inws had scolded him for confessing to the girl before the right time.

    They were still thinking of more opportunities to make them meet soon.

    On the other hand , Zhi Bo , Zhi Al and Mo Zixuan were also told about the New York incident by the other three men .

    To their amazement , all of them had the same suspicions about Xi Yuan.

    They all had the same doubts about the man''s intentions for the girl after the terrorist attack .

    Obviously , some of them had decided to simply observe the progression while some had internally decided to keep the man away from their sister !

    Next few days were definitely not going to be smooth for Xi Yuan !

 Chapter 103: Any girl .... except one !

    Chapter 103: Any girl .... except one !

    Soon , the day of Zhi Bo and Ruo Cy''s wedding finally arrived .

    Total of five months had passed since Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan had met .

    Rong Xinghe had done her best to avoid the man as much as she could after the proposal .

    But this was the day she couldn''t do that .

    Xi Yuan represented Xi Family which was one of the most influential business families in the world.

    Also , Xi Yuan and Zhi Xi had a special rtionship of student-teacher .

    So even if her brothers didn''t nned to invite him , the Zhi family would have to give some face to the the Xi family.

    Earlier , she had thought that if she would distance herself from him , he would be able to forget her and set his eyes on another woman .

    She was hoping from the depths of her heart that he would just not waste his time on her.

    What to do ?

    She couldn''t miss her own brother''s wedding , could she ?!

    But if she had known that this wedding wasn''t going to be just about Xi Yuan , and that an unexpected guest was going to appear tonight , she would have genuinely considered giving it a miss.

    ______________

    In Elite Wedding Banquet :

    Many Businessmen , Politicians , Journalists , and Socialites were present in the magnificent wedding hall .

    The wedding was to take ce ording to Catholic rituals .

    The priest was already present and proper arrangements were already done.

    The decoration of the entire Wedding Hall was extremely captivating , maising and mesmerising.

    And why wouldn''t it be ?!

    After all , the Wedding Organizer was non other than the groom''s sister-inw Songyan .

    Songyan was one of the most renowned and influential Wedding nners in the entire Asia , Europe , United Kingdoms and America .

    She owned a wedding organisingpany called ''The Wedding Diaries'' and she had had been ying the first position of the Best Wedding nner since three continuous years.

    Naturally , every wedding she nned was worth being a part of ... and so was this .

    After sometime Rong Xinghe arrived at the venue .

    She was wearing Baby Pink Elegant , hollowce , deep V neck , backless , fishtail pattern OEM Gown. Her jet ck hair were opened and curled up as they fell down like a waterfall reaching the small of her back. She was also wearing a pair of matching color pencil heels. She had put on a light make up and her perfectly shaped lips were covered with ayer of dark red lipstick .

    She looked just like a goddess who hadnded on the earth directly from the heavens .

    The media started clicking her photos frantically as she walked in with Lu Wei and Mo Zixuan protecting her .

    The girl smiled slightly as she approached the Prime Minister of Country X and shook hands in a professional manner with him , " Fancy meeting you here , Mr. Prime Minister "

    " Fancy meeting , Military Chief ! Imend your bravery during the the SGN Stadium terrorist attack incident ! " , the Prime Minister smiled .

    " Just doing the duty ! ", the girl gave a humble smile .

    As the two heads of the country immersed into conversation , Lu Wei , Mo Zixuan and Su Rogguang got back at hosting the guests .

    Meanwhile , Zhi Xi and Zhi Al were giving a motivational lecture to Zhi Bo in the dressing room. The brothers'' conversation ranged from the traits of perfect husband to the wedding night .

    While at this time , Xi Yuan also arrived at the venue along with the Xi trio .

    The man also attracted as much attention as Rong Xinghe did when she had stepped into the hall .

    The man was wearing a Single Breasted three piece Jacquard Luxury Wine Red British suit and he looked as handsome as ever. The suit enhanced the perfect body beneath the thinyer of clothing. And even his smile could make any girl fall for him .

    Any girl .... except one .

    Rong Xinghe nced at the man and reverted her gaze back at the caterers she was talking to .

    Xi Yuan smiled and shook his head as he started making small talk with other business tycoons .

    Meanwhile , the girl''s brothers observed his every action.

    After sometime , a woman walked towards Xi Yuan ," Good evening , Mr. Yuan. Can we talk about the project of our telmunicationspany today ? "

    The woman deliberately threw her napkin on the floor and then bent down seductively , enough for Xi Yuan to see her cleavage .

    Rong Xinghe was seeing all this and for some unknown reason , she felt anger boiling up inside her !

    What the f*ck does this b*tch think she is doing ?!!

    Wait ...

    Why are YOU getting all worked up girl ?!

    On the other hand , Xi Yuan frowned when he saw the woman pulling such cheap tricks.

    He hated such women the most who could sell themselves for benefits.

    He said in a cold tone , " Fang , Deal with this!"

    The man''s voice was so cold that the people surrounding him felt a chill run down their spine as they turned around to look at him .

    Xi Yuan turned around to leave when the woman suddenly grabbed Xi Yuan''s right hand and went close to him such that his arm touched her bosom ( chest area ) , " But I would like to negotiate that with you , sir ! "

    Almost everyone in the hall stared at the girl in shock !

    Did she had a death wish ?!

    Why was she waking up the sleeping lion ?!

    At this point of time , Xi Yuan''s anger had reached its limit .

    When he observed the silent hall staring at him , he didn''t cared that much .

    But when he noticed Rong Xinghe leaving the hall with a disappointed and upset expression on her face from the corner of his eyes , he couldn''t handle his fury anymore !

    How dare a sl*t like her arise a misunderstanding between him and his woman ?!!!

    How dare this woman make my girl misunderstand me ?!

    The man roared akin to a demon sitting on the throne of hell , " Since when did the pole dancers of strip clubs started showing their faces in such high profile events ?!! "

    As the man said the words , entire hall erupted into murmurs while the woman started trembling with fear as she was the only person in the man''s dangerous radar .

    She felt her legs go weak as she quickly released Xi Yuan''s hand and backed away .

    The man readjusted his clothes and left the hall from the same door , from which , the girl had left .

    " I don''t care whom she hase with , throw her out right now ! This is the marriage of us Zhi family , not a pool party where such woman can just walk in ! " , Songyan issued orders as the headdy of Zhi family .

 Chapter 104: " I wont give up on you , no matter what you say ! "

    Chapter 104: " I won''t give up on you , no matter what you say ! "

    The woman had indeed worked in a strip club for three years and she got into the wedding by sleeping with one of the Zhi Empire''s business associates .

    She desperately wanted Xi Empire to merge with her recently built Telmunicationspany.

    Since , she had got where she was today by using some cheap tricks , she thought that those tricks would work against Xi Yuan as well .

    s !

    This man had eyes only for one woman !

    Xi Yuan didn''t even bothered looking after Xi Corporations'' telmunications branch.

    He had handed over every right of decision making to Xi Fang .

    But every month , he would check the records of business partners and the ones who wanted to merge with them.

    It was a month ago that he had read this woman''s background , which was basically the reason that Xi Fang had rejected herpany.

    And this man had a memory as sharp as an elephant .

    But even Xi trio hadn''t expected their brother to expose the woman so ruthlessly !

    Their brother had a habit of working behind the scenes.

    Even if he was to destroy someone , that person wouldn''t ever know the destruction approaching him .

    He rarely expressed himself in front of the world .

    But today ... he had literally made a woman lose all her face in front of the entire media !

    This man ....

    He could go beyond the limits of his character for his woman !

    __________

    Meanwhile , the girl rushed out of the hall and took a deep breath as she rubbed both her arms .

    What the hell was wrong with her ?!

    Why was she feeling so ufortable when that woman was exposing her body to him ?!

    Why did she felt upset when a woman made physical contact with him ?!

    Why did she wanted to kill that woman when she rubbed her chest against his arms ?!

    What was happening to her ?!

    She never felt like this when anyone did such things to her brothers or friends.

    Then why was she not able to see him with anyone else ?!

    No ... No ... Xinghe !

    Don''t do that again to yourself !

    Don''t let love blind you again !

    This is not what you are made for !

    He deserves better than you. In fact , he deserves the best !

    The girl shook her head to throw away the thoughts in her mind .

    The girl was just about to turn around and go back in when suddenly , a pair of hands touched her waist area and firmly pulled her back against a steady body .

    The man closed in on the girl and said , " I threw her out. Don''t worry ! "

    In normal circumstances , this girl would have turned around and punched the person in face but , right now , she just froze on the spot when she heard the calm and deep voice.

    It was ..... Yuan !

    Oh my god !!!

    Why was her heart beating so fast ?!

    Why did she felt an electric sensation run through her body when the man rested his chin on her right shoulder ?!

    What the hell was happening ?!

    The girl tried to get free when the firmness of the two warm hands on her waist increased even more , " Don''t Xinghe ! Just stay like this for a while ! You haven''t talked to me since more than a month ! I haven''t seen you for so many days ! Just let me have this for a while ! "

    Rong Xinghe was stupefied by the man''s words !

    Did he .... missed her ?!

    Did he not forget her after so many days ?! How could it be ?!

    The girl wanted to get away from him , but she clearly heard the pain and stiffness in the man''s voice .

    It seemed as if the time when she was not with him was a torment to him .

    Atst , she gave up and allowed the man to hug her like that until he was ready to himself release her .

    The man felt relieved when the girl responded with silence.

    At least , she was trying to understand his pain and his need to be near her .

    She was like a source of energy to him. Just being near her was enough for his survival .

    The man buried his face into the perfect curves of the girl''s shoulder as none of them made a sound for a few good minutes .

    To Xi Yuan , these were the most beautiful minutes he lived in the past few months.

    Couldn''t time just stop here ?!

    The man fed his heart and soul with her presence as he inhaled her body''s unique smell before he tilted his head slightly and kissed the girl''s perfect neck , " Xinghe , no matter what you say , I won''t give up on you. Ever ! "

    The man then finally released the girl from the back hug and turned her around to face him .

    The girl looked at him with wide eyes as if she didn''t understood what just happened .

    Her hand subconsciously reached her neck and touched the ce where she was just kissed .

    She could still sense the burning sensation of the man''s lips there !

    Did he just did that ?!

    And did he just said that he was never going to give up ?!

    The man smiled when he saw the girl''s expression , " Your brother is getting married. Remove that expression and enjoy the wedding. And remember that I love you so .... " , the man again closed in on the girl and whispered in her ear , " ... so don''t get too close to other men. Okay ?! "

    The man turned around and left !

    Rong Xinghe just stared at the man''s disappearing back for some while !

    After sometime , she finally came back to her senses and clenched her fists in anger .

    F*ck !

    This man back hugged her !

    Then kissed her !

    He even told her that he had not given up yet !

    And she didn''t even retaliated !

    He did what he wanted to and he said what he needed to , while she just stood there like a pole !

    This damned man took advantage of her shocked state !

    He was too evil !!!

 Chapter 105: This was a trauma to her !

    Chapter 105: This was a trauma to her !

    The man and the woman returned back to the hall one after the other just before the bride and groom came down .

    Lu Wei and Su Rogguang rushed towards the girl to check if she was fine. They had clearly noticed disappearance of the two people when the woman was being thrown out of the Wedding hall .

    Both the men breathed a sigh of relief only after the girl reassured them .

    Soon , the bride and the groom arrived as well .

    Zhi Bo walked down the stairs of the hall with Zhi Al and Zhi Xi while Ruo Cy elegantly came down through the opposite stairs with Ningtao and Songyan.

    When the three men reached the end of the stairs , Lu Wei , Su Rogguang and Mo Zixuan joined them as they were also the supposed groomsmen .

    Simrly , when Ruo Cy''s feet touched the floor of the hall , Rong Xinghe joined her indicating that she was happy being a bridesmaid .

    Zhi Xi squinted his eyes as he crossed his arms , " You are groom''s sister ! Come over here ! "

    " But I love my sister-inws more ! " , the girl shrugged nonchntly .

    " Women! Always loving gossiping ! " , Su Rogguang sighed dramatically .

    " Men ! Always wasting time ! " , the girl sighed in the same tone .

    Entire hall burst outughing as they listened the harmonious bickering of the siblings.

    In an instant , the stiff atmosphere created by the cheap woman some time ago was converted into a happy and lively atmosphere by the girl .

    " Come on ! Don''t dy anymore ! " , the girl dragged and ushered the two towards the stage where the priest was waiting for them .

    Soon , the wedding ceremony started .

    While everybody was enjoying the event. Rong Xinghe was in her own little world. She was desperately trying to stay away from the Xi siblings as she made conversation with the political leaders and her friends from youth team .

    Xi Yuan also didn''t made things awkward for her. He patiently kept his eyes on her as she tried her best to keep a distance .

    When the Xi trio saw their sister-inw''s attempts to distance herself from their brother , they felt bad for their brother .

    Sis-inw !

    How could you be so cruel to him ?!

    This man won''t be able to live if you keep doing this to him !

    Shortly after , the wedding came to an end as the bride and groom delivered their vows and kissed each other softly as gestured by the priest .

    The girl pped enthusiastically along with the crowd when the words " It is my pleasure to now pronounce Zhi Bo and Ruo Cy as husband and wife. You may now kiss one another. " left the priest''s mouth .

    Finally !

    3 down !

    3 more to go !

    Xi Yuan''s lips curled up into an amused smile as he saw the genuine smile on his girl''s face. She was probably even more happier than the bride and groom themselves.

    _____________

    After Zhi Bo and Ruo Cy got down the stage and greeted the Prime Minister followed by the other guests , post-wedding rituals began .

    First , came the throwing of the wedding bouquet .

    Many unmarried girls stood at a distance from Ruo Cy as they faced her back eager to catch the bunch of flowers .

    Almost every guest nned to force Rong Xinghe to stand with the girls , but this woman was quite foresighted .

    She literally locked herself in one of the guest rooms before anyone could get a hold of her !

    She simply watched the CCTV footage of the hall and had no ns toe out until this particr damned ceremony would end.

    ording to this ritual of Catholic marriage , it was said that whoever would catch the bouquet would be the one to get married next !

    Although , she didn''t believed in these rituals , she knew that her brothers'' parents and grandparents did. She was afraid that they would get inspired and would start searching suitable men for her. But she had no intention to get married in this lifetime !

    So she had been doing this since Lu Wei and Zhi Xi''s marriage.

    All the guestsughed again as they didn''t expected Rong Xinghe to have such an escapist tendency , or to be precise , they didn''t expected such a cowardly behaviour from the Military Chief of the country !

    On the contrary to the guests , Xi Yuan felt proud of his girl as a smile crept across his lips. That was definitely a smart move. He knew that his girl was the beloved daughter to the Zhi , Su and Lu family ns. He would have hated it if they would have started searching grooms for her !

    The ritual ended as a young heiress of a socialite family caught the bouquet and the other girls teased her as she blushed .

    Rong Xinghe rolled her eyes when she saw the girls teasing the girl .

    This was the reason she had run away !

    To that girl , this might have been an honor .

    But to Xinghe , this was a trauma !!!

    Soon , the Prime Minister and some important yet busy guests took their leave .

    __________

    After that , came the infamous Toast ceremony .

    This was one of the family rituals so the media was not allowed inside the dinner room where only the close friends , siblings and family rtives of the married couple were allowed .

    The term ''infamous'' was used because these siblings were known for giving the funniest toasts !

    They teased each other to the extent where they felt pain in their stomachs due to continuousughing !

    After that , the people in the dinner room came out and joined the other guests .

    Lu Wei and Zhi Xi got into conversation with their business associates while Zhi Al interacted with his fellow hacker friends.

    Ningtao introduced Ruo Cy to her acquaintances in the entertainment industry while Zhi Bo made conversations with some known politicians of the country .

    At this time Rong Xinghe walked towards her two left out brothers and stood between them as she looked through the crowd with them .

    After sometime she whispered in Mo Zixuan''s ears , " Her name is Cheng Tai. She is a junior reporter in the news channel BSK Daily. She is hot , by the way. "

    The man looked at the girl with a shocked expression .

    What the holly hell ?!

    When did she came ?! And how did she knew the name of the woman he was looking at ?!

    The girl smiled at the man with an encouraging gaze and then turned towards her other brother , " Bro Su , she is the famous Gynecologist Dr. Ching Tong ! She has a family of doctors , you know ? I heard that she is shifting to City A soon. "

    Now , it was Su Rogguang''s turn to be startled !

    Damn !

    Where did this girl jumped in from ?!

 Chapter 106: The two unexpected arrivals

    Chapter 106: The two unexpected arrivals

    Both Su Rogguang and Mo Zixuan stared wordlessly at the girl and then at each other .

    Then , they reverted their gaze back at their respective women .

    Rong Xinghe had an expertise when it came to understanding her brothers'' feelings. So she could naturally tell when they were ying around with a girl or when they were genuinely attracted to a woman.

    She smiled cheekily and sighed , " You people are so lucky ! You both liked the women from your own careers. I mean Dr. Su Rogguang is fancying Dr. Ching Tong while Media Ma Mo Zixuan is attracted to the journalist Cheng Tai ! That is so awesome !!! "

    The two men side-eyed the girl as if she was an idiot and asked , " What is so ''awesome'' about it ? "

    The girl pulled both the men close to her and said with a double-meaning to her words , " If destiny bestow you both to work with your respective crushes , you can always have a sensual office romance ! You know what I mean , right ?! "

    The two men quickly shoved away the girl''s hands off their shoulders as they red at her for sometime before heading to meet the women who had just caught their attention .

    But the girl pulled their sleeves , " All the best both of you ! Do I need to teach some savage pickup lines ?! "

    " Shameless !! " , the men uttered the single word before they left .

    " HEHEHE ! Cute !! " , the girl chuckled .

    _____________

    It was already 11:00 p.m. at night

    Zhi Bo and Ruo Cy were still greeting the guests .

    Same was the case with the girl''s brothers , sister-inws and the Xi siblings .

    The girl was having a drink when there was suddenly a hugemotion at the main entrance of the wedding hall .

    Out of nowhere , the soft clicking sounds of the cameras converted into fierce shuttering ones and the journalists went crazy all of a sudden .

    Although , the ruckus was not as high as it was when Rong Xinghe , Xi Yuan or bride-groom had arrived , it was still high enough for the guests to draw their attention to it !

    All the six men , three sister-inws , Rong Xinghe and Xi siblings also looked at the door .

    All they knew was that almost every important guest had already arrived .

    So who was the one left behind ?!

    Under the inquisitive scrutiny of the guests , an elderly man stepped inside the hall with a slightly younger woman .

    The woman was wearing a Dark Green color gown which was a little too exposing and waspletely inappropriate for a sacred event like marriage. The woman was leaning seductively against the man''s chest as he had ced his right hand on her slim waist .

    As soon as he saw the man and the woman , Zhi Bo''s face turned pale as a thin sheet of paper !

    The man was his and Zhi Al''s biological father Mr. Zhi Benyamin ! While the woman was his stepmother Han Kum !

    They were the only two people he hated the most in his entire life .

    This man had abandoned him and Zhi Al when they were just teenagers. And this woman had pushed his mother tomit suicide !

    They two were akin to an animal who had destroyed his entire childhood !

    If it were not for his elder brother Zhi Xi and his kiddo Rong Xinghe back then , he would have had already died due to drug consumption by now !

    The man gave his own son a devilish and nefarious smile , " Hohoho ! My son has already grown up so much that he has married on his own ! And my daughter-inw seems quite a decentdy ! Today , on this auspicious event , I''d like to give my son and nephew Zhi Xi a surprise gift ! "

    The media got even more fierce after they listened the man. They surrounded him as they inquired about the present he wanted he give .

    Zhi Bo clenched fists as he stared straight through the man !

    One look , and he could tell that this person was upto no good !

    Even Zhi Xi frowned when he heard his uncle. Why would he add his name into the mix until and unless it was about the Zhi Business Empire ?!

    No matter what , he was not going to allow anyone to hurt Zhi Bo or any of his other siblings anymore !

    Only after the media became a little silent did Zhi Benyamin uttered his next words , " A new gentleman is going to rece Mr. Zhai from the position of shareholders in the Board of Directors of Zhi Corporation soon ! Please help me invite him properly ! "

    The man stared back at Zhi Bo and Zhi Xi mockingly as he stepped aside so that the other person could walk in .

    Shortly after that , a young , long and stunning man stepped inside the ce as he radiated a dangerous and vengeful aura .

    The moment the six men and the three sister-inws saw the man''s face , they froze on the spot !

    Meanwhile , the journalists got even more excited as they started asking questions crazily and cameramen started snapping the photos of the man furiously !

    The man smiled wickedly at the six men before he said in the mics directed towards him , " Long time no see , Mr. Zhi and Mr.Lu. Nice to see you after so long , Mr. Mo and Dr. Su ! And Mr. Bo , Mr. Al ! I am back ! "

    " Mr. Zhou ! Mr. Zhou ! Is it true that Zhi Corporation is merging with the Zhous ?! "

    " Are you going to settle your work in Country X from now onwards , Mr. Zhou Che ?! "

    " Mater Zhou Che ! Is there a special reason that you are back in the country ?! "

    " Mr. Che ! Are you going to settle with your family here permanently ?! "

    The man ignored the question being asked to him and walked straight towards Zhi Bo and Ruo Cy !

    He then passed the couple a gift box as he said , " Congrattions for the sacred union , Mr. Bo and Ms. Cy ! "

    None of the six men reacted as expected and nor did they looked pleased by the appearance of these three people !

    Earlier , they were too shocked to even think anything else .

    But now , as soon as they came back to their senses , they reflexively turned around to look and check on their sister !

    How could her past enter like this in her life and not affect her ?!

    They were just hoping for her to act a little stronger , if she could !

 Chapter 107: The six men werent easy to be destroyed !

    Chapter 107: The six men weren''t easy to be destroyed !

    And as they had expected , the girl''s face had gonepletely pale , her eyes wide in shock and her smile disappeared .

    The girl stared at the man for a few more seconds before she turned around and left .

    The girl quickly rushed to Zhi Xi''s room , picked up his car keys and drove his car away to who knows where!

    All she knew was that she didn''t wanted to see that man even for one more second .

    Meanwhile , the brothers'' brows furrowed when they saw their sister act on impulse.

    Zhi Xi clenched his fists and was about to follow her when Zhou Che held his arm as he smiled cunningly , " The game has just begun CEO Zhi ! "

    Zhi Xi was about to punch the man on his face hard until his tooth broke but he had to restrain himself in front of the media .

    ___________

    Meanwhile , Xi Yuan and the Xi trio had been watching the entire scene silently .

    As soon as Xi Yuan heard the name Zhou Che , the tall figured man radiated an extremely icy cold aura around him. It was as if temperature in the wedding hall had fallen down a few degrees. His pit-like cold eyes skimmed the person with a chilly gaze ! The air around him was extremely chilling like a tiger who had just seen his prey !

    The most scared were , obviously , the three siblings of the man who were standing just beside him .

    From the corner of her eyes , when Xi Ying saw her brother''s eyes filled with the fire of fury and rage , she gulped anxiously .While Xi Wei didn''t even dared to to look at the man. He could tell that a storm was taking ce in his brother''s mind .

    Xi Fang knew that Xi Wei or Xi Ying wouldn''t dare to take the initiative , so he cautiously ced his hand on the man''s shoulder , " Sister-inw just left brother ! She seemed hurt and pained. Her brothers and sister-inws will have to take care of the media and guests before they focus back on her. Although , they will definitely send their men , it will be better if someone she trusts , would be with her ! "

    The moment his girl was mentioned , the ice around him seemed to be melted as a slight softness appeared in his eyes .

    But before he could do anything for his girl , Zhou Che who was facing the six men , turned around and walked towards him .

    Zhou Che didn''t stopped until both the men were face to face. The entire media was a little surprised by the man''s actions. What did Master Zhou wanted to say to the Business Legend Xi Yuan?! Did he wanted to merge with Xi Empire ?! But as much as they knew , no matter how strong Zhou Corporation was , it was still nothing in front of Xi Corps. ! Even Zhi Corps. had high standards than the Zhous , much less the Xis !

    At this time , Zhou Che raised his hands in mid air for a professional handshake , " Mr. Xi ! Nice to meet you here after so many attempts ! I hope that wee to know each other better in near future ! "

    Definitely for a business matter !

    Xi Yuan didn''t reacted for almost fifteen seconds as he stared straight into the man''s eyes while the person stood awkwardly .

    After that , Xi Yuan turned around and left the Wedding Hall as he went to search for his girl who was upset !

    One could say , that Xi Yuan was insulting Zhou Che with his simple actions .

    But Zhou Che himself couldn''t understand why he was being treated like that !

    As the Xi siblings noticed the oddness in the atmosphere , they sighed .

    Brother !

    Could you not keep your romantic rivalry on hold for sometime ?!

    Xi Fang quickly smiled warmly and shook the man''s hand , " I hope the same , Mr. Zhou ! "

    But Zhou Che wasn''t convinced by this.

    For some unknown reason , he felt thatpared to the six men , Xi Yuan''s gaze and actions had more hatred for him !

    Anyhow , he couldn''t do anything even if that was true .

    Xi Yuan was the type of person who could destroy him because he was always in the dark. This man was extremely cold-blooded when it came to showing hatred and revenge !

    He just hoped that it was not the case with Zhou Empire !

    He already had to deal with Zhi Xi and that woman''s five more brothers !

    Whenbined , they were powerful enough to destroy the Xi Corporations , much less the Zhous !

    He was literally ying with the fire here !

    But it wasn''t his fault. It was that woman who had killed his brother , so he naturally wanted revenge !

    Since the girl had killed his brother , he was going to destroy all the six of her brothers !

    s !

    If these six men could be so easily destroyed , they wouldn''t be where they were today !

    After the train incident in Country I nine years ago , each one of them had reached the pinnacle of their respective professions just so they could protect their sister all her life !

    And also , now , her three sister-inws and the almighty Xi Yuan with the Xi trio were in the mix as well !

    But whatever it was , his arrival was going to make a huge change in Rong Xinghe''s life and Rong Business Empire''s destiny !

    The girl was going to do something that not even her brothers could predict !

    ______________

    Meanwhile , In a local bar on the outskirts of City A :

    " Master Lu Xi ! Master Lu Xi ! What do you want to drink tonight ?!"

    " Master Lu ! Stop drinking too much alcohol ! We don''t know your address. How will we drop you to your ce?! "

    " Master Lu ! Here ! I made this drink specially for you ! "

    The girl had taken over the alias and look of her male version as she drank all her sorrows and troubles with the alcohol !

    This was what the girl would always do whenever she felt upset or angry !

    And right now , she was worked up because of the arrival of a certain someone !

    The girl got up from her seat and , out of nowhere ,nded a punch on a drunk man beside her who was forcing a girl to kiss him .

    The music went off as the entire bar looked sympathetically at the poor soul who had probably lost his tooth after the fierce punch !

    The ''man'' then stood up on the table and red down at the crowd , " I want every man out of this bar in 30 seconds. Only beautiful and hot girls will stay ! Do what I say or ... "

    All the men ran out like wild chickens as soon as they heard the man !

    F*ck !

    They had no intention to die !

 Chapter 108: " All I care about is my Sister ! "

    Chapter 108: " All I care about is my Sister ! "

    The girl took out a bottle of whiskey from the Liquor shelf and started drinking it without even caring about pouring it into a ss first !

    Only the women were left into the small dimly lit bar and none of them had any issues with it .

    After all , they had Master Lu Xi to '' take care of '' with them. They were more than happy to pester him !

    But soon , the girl got bored and finished the entire bottle before she left the bar despite the insistence of the women !

    She was fascinated by a sports bike standing on the side of the road opposite the bar .

    She rushed towards it but was stopped by a rowdy troublemaker !

    " I want that bike ! " , the girl pointed angrily at the sports bike .

    " Shut up ! Who the hell do you think you are ?! That is my thing ?! " , the man pushed the girl back .

    " How dare you shove me like that ?! You son of a b*tch !!! " , the girl approached the man even more angrily and in just few seconds , the man was lying down on the road as blood flowed down his left arm !

    " Key ! " , the girl demanded coldly .

    The man quickly pulled out the sport bike''s key as he trembled with fear , " Sorry boss ! I am really a fool ! "

    " Yes ! You are a fool ! " , the girl drove away the bike after she said these words .

    ___________

    Meanwhile , XI Yuan drove the car as he followed the directions of the GPS navigation .

    Zhi Xi was one of the VIP citizens of the country X and his security was always a matter of concern for the Zhi family.

    So the government engineering experts had proposed an idea to connect a tracking chip in all his cars .

    Xi Yuan was excellent in coding just like Zhi Al. So it was just a matter of seconds that he hacked into the navigation satellite system of Country X and located the girl''s most possible location .

    But when he reached the location , he saw an interesting scene .

    The White SUV was parked at the side of the door and .... a man was sitting beside it on the ground as he held his arm and groaned in pain !

    One look at the man , and Xi Yuan could tell that his woman had done that !

    He frowned and got out of the car , " Where is the girl ?! "

    " There is no girl here. Go away ! " , the man was crying in pain .

    " Uhh... Was there a man here who had a trimmed strong mustache connected to the beardon both the sides ?! Also , his hair were jet ck in colour " , Xi Yuan realized that the girl must have changed her appearance before going out like that.

    " Yeah ! He was the one ! He was that psycho who broke my shoulder !!! Sir , are you police ?! Please kill him !! Please ! " , the man was angered when that bastard was mentioned .

    " Where did he go ?! "

    _______________

    Meanwhile , at the Zhi Family Mansion :

    " F*ck ! Why don''t you just go somewhere and not affect our lives ?!! " , Zhi Al screamed at the top of his lungs .

    " Exactly !!! Even your every breath is a load on Country X , Mr. Zhi !!! Who told you to show this annoying face of yours at my wedding ?!! " , Zhi Bo also raised his voice at his father .

    Zhi Benyamin was angered as well , " Bo ! Al ! How dare you both talk like that to your father ?! I have every right to attend your wedding !!! "

    Both Zhi Bo and Zhi Al were arguing with their father while the other four men were trying to desperately search for their little angel !

    This entire mess wasn''t worth their attention but their sister was. She was their biggest concern at the time !

    Ningtao and Songyan had taken Ruo Cy to her room to change and Zhi brothers'' grandmother Zhi Rui was also tired by this hopeless son of hers and had gone to have rest .

    So only the six men , Zhi Benyamin and his ex-mistress and current wife Han Kum were present in the grand living room.

    After sometime , one of Mo Zixuan''s stringers came rushing towards the door !

    " Mr. Mo ! Boss ! I have just seen Xinghe ma''am ride a sports bike as she was heading towards the dense forest in the outskirts of the city ! She might be in danger ! Recently , many drug dealers and criminals have been hiding there ! And I think she was drunk ! I am afraid , she won''t be able to do anything in that state of hers !! " , the man huffed impatiently .

    " My phone was dead so I had to rush here ! And sir , I think I also saw Mr. Xi Yuan''s car heading towards the same direction ! " , the man spilled out everything he knew .

    Lu Wei , Zhi Xi , Su Rogguang , Zhi Bo , Zhi Al and Mo Zixuan heard every word of the man patiently and clearly , and so did Zhi Benyamin and Han Kum .

    But the only words that the six men heard were " She might be in danger ! ". And these words were enough for them to be scared.

    Entire living room of Zhi Mansion was covered in dead silence for sometime !

    But after some time passed by , Lu Wei , who was the most calm ,posed and silent one amongst the six , walked towards Zhi Benyamin .

    Without considering the old man''s age and his rtionship with the Zhi brothers , he grabbed his cor and said in an extremely cold and bone-chilling tone , " Now .... listen up Mr. Benyamin ! "

    " I don''t care how you are rted to Bo , Al and Xi ! I don''t care what your age is ! All I care about is my sister Rong Xinghe. The crap that you said today and mess that you created today has hurt her deeply !! I reallymend your courage to bring that Zhou Che in front of her !!! I really do !!!

    " But Rong Xinghe isn''t just Bo , Al and Xi''s sister ! She has me , Rogguang and Zixuan as well. Just pray to every god existing in the world that not even a single hair on her head has been affected.

    Because if that happens , I will personally ensure your destruction Mr. Zhi Benyamin ! "

    After saying these words of warning , Lu Wei looked at Zhi Xi who waved his hands as he indicated that he had no issues with whatever he had just said .

    Zhi Bo then nodded slightly as all the six men left the Zhi Family Mansion leaving behind a frozen Zhi Benyamin !

    After all , Lu Wei''s anger was really scary !

    But the men had already left on their search operation so he couldn''te up with anyeback .

    The scariest part was that even if the situation was about life and death , these six men had always prioritised their sister the most .

 Chapter 109: Was his girl .... behind all this ?!!

    Chapter 109: Was his girl .... behind all this ?!!

    Meanwhile , the girl drove the sports bike rashly through the woods without any worry about any sort of danger .

    " Woohoo ! I am the king ! ", the girl screamed as the cool wind passed against her face .

    The girl increased the eleration of the bike as much as she could but she was still feeling numb to the adrenaline rush and the thrill which calmed down her uneasy heart .

    After sometime , the girl decreased the speed as tears rolled down her eyes.

    All she could think of was the day when she was med for Zhou Zhichen''s death !

    The memories of Zhou Che''s ruthless words came back to her !

    The p of Mother Zhou was still etched deep in her heart !

    No matter what exterior the girl put on and no matter how bright she smiled , it was all ayer which covered these painful memories beneath it .

    Soon , her tears made her vision a little blurry .

    She stopped the bike and got down from it as she walked alone inside the forest .

    After walking for few minutes , the girl was about to turn around and head back to her bike when she saw a scene from the corner of her eyes .

    She saw that some youngsters were consuming drugs and wereughing .

    The girl quickly wiped her tears and tried to clearly recognize the drugs .

    Marijuana !

    Cocaine !

    Crack !

    Heroin !

    OxyContin !

    MDMA , Molly !

    These young 20-something year old men were literally consuming the most addictive drugs present in the world !

    Worst of all ! They were actually sharing their stories of how they had fooled their family members toe there !

    They were there just for the fun of it !

    Unlike Zhi Bo , who had once done that because of depression due to his mother''s death or Zhou Zhichen , who was traumatized by his breakup , they were doing that for no reason !

    They were literally inviting addiction into their life .

    The men were still chatting merrily , when a man''s voice rang throughout the woods , " Surrender those drugs to me ! "

    The men quickly took out their revolvers as soon as they heard the dangerous voice .

    " Who is it ?! "

    " Who the f*ck is messing around at this time of night ?!! "

    " Show your face , bastard !! "

    The girl stepped out from the bushes in her male getup as she said in a deep manly voice , " Its me ! "

    " Get lost , kid ! This is not a chalk powder you want to y with ! Don''t mess around !! " , the menughed as they thought that this weak looking ''man'' couldn''t do anything .

    But in the next second , " Aaaahhhhh !!! "

    A loud scream was heard clearly into the silent forest as the men turned around to look what had happened !

    One of their men groaned in pain as he held his twisted hand !

    " Believe me kids ! I am the one who should be telling you not to mess around ! " , the ''man'' smiled wickedly .

    " What the hell ?! " , the men rushed towards the girl in the male disguise .

    Who was this brat that hade out of nowhere and was picking up a fight for no reason ?!

    But before they could even reach her , they were alreadyying down on the ground like corpses , simply unable to move !

    " Tell me ! How much time have you all consumed drugs ?! " , the girl asked as she picked up a iron rod lying on the ground .

    The men were so scared to her that they would tell her anything until and unless she was willing to let them go .

    " Two times , Master ! Can you please let me go now ?! "

    " Two times ? "

    " Yes ! "

    " Aaahh ! No please no ! Aaahhh !! " , the man was whipped hard with the rod two times on his chest as he clutched it and cried out in pain !

    The ''man'' then turned around to look at a healthy man with curly hair , " And you ?! "

    The man was so frightened by the scene that took ce just now in front of him , that he pursed his trembling lips in horror as if the devil had himself crawled out of hell to punish him .

    " If you don''t answer , I will beat twice the number of times you have gulped it down your throat ! " , the girl warned .

    "F..Fi...Five , Boss ! "

    Again , the thunderous and terrifying ear piercing sound of the iron rod on the mortal human was heard five times!

    The act of barbarity and brutality continued as the girl punished every person in ordance to their amount of drug consumption !

    The men , inside their hearts , had wept to the gods of the worlds for mercy for almost thousand times already but thedy devil didn''t bothered to stop for even a second !

    Just who was this guy ?!

    Where the hell did he came from ?!

    This person was worse than a psycho , he was a lunatic !

    They were so hoping for someone toe and save them from ''him'' .

    At this time , a bright light shed through the headlights of a car and covered the entire darkened area akin to a ray of hope !

    All the ''victims'' looked in the direction from which the car had approached them with hopeful gazes !

    Was their saviour finally here ?!!

    Who was the brave legend who had came to their rescue from this maniac !

    The car stopped at a considerable distance from the group of people and the door to the driver''s seat opened as a tall and intimidating figure appeared in everyone''s line of sight .

    The headlights of the car were still turned on when the man had hurriedly got down to see his girl , so the real situation of the men was clear to the man .

    He frowned when he saw the ripped clothes and whipping marks of iron rod on their bodies .

    Was his girl .... behind all this ?!!

    But obviously , these people were of least concern to him !

    Even if she had done this , he would handle all of that himself !

    After all , he had already decided that even if she was to kill someone , he would be the one to help her hide the dead body ! So this was just a small matter to him !

    The only thing he was worried about was that during this beating session his girl had given to these men , she might have hurt her delicate hands !

    And he couldn''t see her in pain !

    The man skimmed his cold eyes through the crowd as his eyes softened like melting ice when they stopped at his girl in her manly outfit !

    " Xiao Xinghe ! "

 Chapter 110: " Yes ! I want to ! "

    Chapter 110: " Yes ! I want to ! "

    " Xiao Xinghe ! "

    As soon as the man''s voice reached the girl''s ears , she turned around in her dizzy state and looked at the familiar figure .

    " Yuan ! I .... " , the girl was about to say something but she suddenly felt her body losing all the strength as it started to falter .

    The man was very quick with his actions as well as he pulled her close to him and grabbed her by her arms to help her stand steadily , " Careful ! "

    " Oops ! Sorry ! " , the girl giggled .

    The man was still worried about her , so he gently ced his hands on the small of her back as she stood with his support .

    The man looked at the young men and then looked at the drug boxes. It seemed as if they were drug smugglers .

    " Assistant Ning ! Please inform the police department about this drug smuggling incident. And yes ! Keep my and Xiao Xinghe''s identity anonymous. " , the man informed the person on the other side through his Bluetooth earpiece .

    Assistant Ning was also reaching the location to take care of the media on behalf of his boss , but he had never expected a smuggling scandal to be revealed like that .

    He simply did what he was asked to do .

    On the other hand , when the man was busy informing about the situation in hand , a certaindy devil was staring at his handsome facial features in a daze !

    Only after he disconnected the call did Xi Yuan realised that the girl was looking at him as he also looked back straight into her eyes and none of them uttered a word .

    After who knows how long , Xi Yuan''s hand reached the girl''s head as he gently removed her wig and unpinned her silky and wavy hair making them fall down wlessly akin to a waterfall .

    His one hand was still supporting the girl''s waist while his other hand reached her face as he removed her fake moustache and beard revealing her beautiful face with the perfect facial curves !

    The girl didn''t retaliated like the rebel she was. Instead , she leaned against the man''s chest and rested her head just where his heart was as tears started flowing from her eyes again .

    Xi Yuan , whose heart had started beating rapidly when the girl had closed in on him , felt his heart tighten when he listened to the girl''s sobs amidst the silence of the forest .

    Meanwhile , the young men who thought that they were beaten by a man , were dumbstruck when they realised that this guy was a woman !

    All of a sudden , they felt that their pain had increased by ten folds !

    A woman had been torturing them all this while !

    Wasn''t this too much of a blow to their male ego ?! Wasn''t their self-esteem shattered like a mere ssware into pieces just now ?!

    Just when they were going through this pain , they saw the devil-likedy hug their saviour and ... cry !

    She ... just cried ?!!!

    How ?!! And why ?!!

    Weren''t they supposed to weep in this situation ?!!

    At this time , police jeeps reached the location along with Assistant Ning .

    They quickly arrested the men and took them away .

    The policemen wanted to thank Xi Yuan for his contribution to the society but the man was too focused on patting the girl''s head to provide her somefort , that he didn''t even bothered to look at anyone else other than her .

    So the cops helplessly expressed their appreciation to Assistant Ning before they left the ce .

    The ce now only had the man , woman and the old assistant .

    The old man knew that his boss wanted to be alone with thedy boss , so he bowed down and took his leave .

    ____________

    " Calm down ! Let''s go home first ." , the man said calmly .

    This man had never beenfortable when dealing with women other than his sister Xi Ying , but today , he found out that handling her in her vulnerable state came naturally to him.

    The girl started crying even more she heard the man''s deep voice , " You still want to be with me after today, don''t you ?! "

    " Yes ! I want to ! " , the man caressed the girl''s hair lovingly .

    " Don''t do this to yourself , Yuan ! I don''t deserve ... I can''t .... "

    But before the girl could say another word , the man ced his lips onto her soft ones .

    The girl closed her eyes and grabbed the man''s cor as she couldn''t register anything in this state of hers .

    What ...

    Why was she short of breath ?!

    Did he just kissed her ?!!

    Why was she feeling like she needed to let herself go ?!!

    Why did she wanted to keep her guard down in front of this man ?!!

    No ... she shouldn''t love any man again ever !

    With these thoughts , the girl started struggling in the man''s strong arms !!

    The man also let her go when he realised that she was getting ufortable !

    " Silly girl ! There is nothing that you don''t deserve or you can''t do ! You are Rong Xinghe ! The most beautiful , brainy and brave woman I know ! You have your six brothers ! They need you and you need them ! You can''t lose hope Xinghe ! You know it more than anyone else that your brothers won''t be able to do anything without your support !! "

    Something revived inside the girl when she thought about her brothers , " You are right ! Bros need me ! "

    " Hmmm. Everyone of us need you ! And you are the most beautiful when you are confident ! Never let that go ! "

    The girl was still drunk so she nodded vigorously like rattle drum , " Yes ! I will be good ! "

    The man smiled and tried to take her to the car but the girl stopped and pulled the man''s cor , " You ! Mr. Xi Yuan ! How dare you kiss me just now ?! And you also kissed my neck during the wedding !! I will punish you ! "

    The man sighed helplessly , " How do you want to punish me ?! "

    This girl was back to her troublemaker character !

    He shouldn''t have motivated her just now !

    Who knew what she was upto ?!!

    The girl brought her lips closer to the man''s neck and .... bit him !

 Chapter 111: Wish me luck , my lady !

    Chapter 111: Wish me luck , mydy !

    The girl swiftly pressed her teeth against the man''s shoulder as he groaned and his grip on her waist strengthened even more .

    What kind of punishment was this ?!

    She was literally seducing him by these actions of hers !!

    Was she not afraid that he might lose his control ?!

    But even though he could feel that she was venting her anger , he didn''t stopped her .

    He would probably have noint even if she was to eat him up whole .

    After sometime , the girl released the man''s broad shoulder from her teeth trap and smiled at him victoriously .

    " Okay enough ! Let''s take you home! " , the man dragged the girl to his car without any further bickering and made her seated on the passenger seat.

    ____________

    Military Chief Mansion , 03:00 a.m.

    The man entered the girl''s room and ced the already asleep woman onto her bed as he sat down beside her .

    With gentleness in his every touch , he removed her shoes and socks .

    Then he removed her jacket and wrist watch before he covered her with a nket .

    The man caressed the girl''s hair for sometime and kissed her forehead before he turned around to leave .

    But as soon as he turned around , Xi Yuan froze as his heart almost stopped beating.

    The six brothers of the girl were staring at him as their eyes had '' You sure have the guts '' written all over them !

    Xi Yuan dared not even breath as his back stiffened !

    " We need to talk ! ", Lu Wei squinted his eyes .

    " Come out ! " , Zhi Xi walked out of the room followed by Lu Wei , Zhi Al , Mo Zixuan and Zhi Bo .

    " Aunty Chi ! Please change her clothes intofortable ones ! She needs to sleep well ! ", Su Rogguang also walked out after he said these words to the old nanny .

    Only when the six men left the room , was Xi Yuan finally able to rx a little and let out the breath he had been holding for who knows how long .

    The man then looked at the girl sleeping soundly like a kidpletely unknown to the war he was going to face and smiled .

    Wish me luck , mydy !

    This battle is definitely going to be a tough one .

    ________________

    Meanwhile , In the Zhou Family Mansion :

    " My son ! You are finally back ?!! Where were you ?!! You almost gave a heart attack to your mother ! " , Mother Zhou rushed towards Zhou Che as soon as he got out of his car .

    " Mom ! Did you take your medications ?! And stop worrying ! I am not a child anymore ! ", Zhou Che smiled helplessly as he hugged his mother .

    " Children are always young for their parents , son ! Come , sit ! I made food for you myself. ", Mother Zhou dragged her son to dining room as she went into kitchen .

    Zhou Che nodded slightly as he waited for his mother patiently.

    Mother Zhou''s name was Yan Tianyi and she was always a charismaticdy.

    Yan Tianyi had married Zhou Che''s father Zhou Chongshan , after the death of Zhou Che''s biological mother but had always considered him as her own flesh and blood .

    Initially , he hated her because he thought that she was the reason behind his mother''s death .

    But , after Rong Xinghe had came into his life , she had brought the truth of his mother''s mental disorder in front of him and exined that Yan Tianyi was very selfless to love him like a real mother .

    It was all thanks to Rong Xinghe that they had such a good rtionship with each other .

    But it didn''t took them any time to believe that such apassionate girl would have hurt Zhou Zhichen on purpose .

    It was a shame that even after being with the girl for more than a year , they hadn''t trusted her at all !

    This Zhou family was indeed ungrateful !

    " What the hell is this ?!! " , Zhou Chongshan angrily walked into the dining room and showed the news headlines on his phone screen to Zhou Che .

    " Uhh ... What happened ? Why are you being so angry on him ?! He has just returned ! Shouldn''t you wee our son happily ?!! " , Yan Tianyi frowned as she looked at the father and son confusedly from the kitchen .

    " This gentleman over here is doing a business merger with the Zhis'' ! " , Zhou Chongshan fumed up.

    " Aaahhh ! " , Yan Tianyi screamed through the kitchen as she had cut her finger with the vegetable knife absent-mindedly .

    Zhou Che quickly got up and ran into the kitchen as panic crossed his eyes , " Mom ! Why the hell were you doing that yourself ?! Where are the maids ?! "

    The man quickly made his mother sit on a chair nearby as he brought a medical kit and started cleaning the wound before applying the antiseptic .

    " Che ! Why are you working with the Zhi family ?! Has that trash girl charmed you again ?! " , Yan Tianyi asked in a choked up voice .

    Zhi Xi and those five men represented that witch who had killed her child once !

    She was not going to allow her to snatch away her only remaining son !

    " Revenge ! " , the man answered in a cold voice .

    " Revenge ? "

    " She has killed my brother Zhichen , so I am going to destroy her Six brothers right in front of her ! I want to see her suffering the same pain I had suffered five years ago. ", the man exined in the same cold tone .

    " Promise me ! Nothing will happen to you and you will never leave me ! " , Yan Tianyi said .

    " I promise , mother ! "

    " Revenge ! Revenge ! Revenge ! Have you hit your head somewhere and lost your brain ?!! You think it is a piece of cake to destroy those six people ?! Let me tell you one thing ! It is not just not easy , it is impossible to end them ! They are not six , but one united force in themselves !!! And each one of them treats each other like real brothers ! " , Zhou Chongshan raged .

    " Okay ! You might''ve found an opening in the Zhi family through that Zhi Benyamin ! But you are forgetting about Su Rogguang , Lu Wei and Mo Zixuan. Lu Wei is extremely unpredictable as he always keeps himself calm andposed. Lu Corporation is no less powerful than the Xi Corporation ! You think you can stand against him ?!

    " And , of course , Su Rogguang is the ''Miracle Man'' of medical world ! He can practically ensure that none us Zhous are provided with a decent medical facility if ever needed in the near future ! Worse would be the case if the Su family involves in the feud ! They treat the girl as their own daughter just like the Lu family ! They won''t go easy on you !!!

    " And you are doomed to hell if that Mo Zixuan decides to get involved ! That person rules the media. He could im North to be West and the public would believe him ! There is a reason for him being titled as the ''Media Ma'' by the entire country ! He has a lot of international influence as well !! Zhou Corporation will face a huge loss if even a wordes out of his mouth !

    " Listen to me , Che ! You need to know about the pros and the cons of the situation. Forget the past and move on ! Those six people shouldn''t be messed around with. We do business , not revenge ! " , Zhou Chongshan warned his son .

 Chapter 112: " I love your Sister ! "

    Chapter 112: " I love your Sister ! "

    Zhou Che remained silent for sometime before he stood up and looked into his father''s eyes , " They might be powerful but nothing in this world is more powerful than my hatred for her ! Zhichen had grabbed my hands when he was dying dad ! You know what hisst word was ?!! It was " Xinghe " ! He was killed by her ! She should''ve told us about his addiction the moment she came to know about it ! We were his family , not her ! I don''t care how crazy I sound but I have been working hard for these past five years just so I could return back and avenge Zhichen ! And I will end the game she had started back then ! She sacrificed my brother , so I will sacrifice all the six of hers ! "

    Zhou Chongshan stared at the mother and son pair climb up the stairs after the man said his part of words and clenched his fists .

    He sighed.

    Its just not you two who have lost Zhichen !

    I have lost my son as well !

    But my heart is constantly telling me to trust that girl''s innocence !

    Che , my son , I really hope that you don''t end up destroying yourself in this fire of revenge .

    _______________

    Meanwhile , In Military Chief Mansion :

    Xi Yuan stepped out of the girl''s room as he gently closed the door and faced the six men who were waiting for him there already .

    " So .... young man ! Care to exin what you were doing with our sister at this time of night ?! ", Zhi Xi asked coldly .

    " You have clear idea about her importance to us , yet you dared to persue her. I really appreciate your courage , brat ! ", Lu Wei smiled wickedly .

    " I thought you understood the meaning of rejection , but you don''t look like you are taking your steps back ! What do you think you are doing ?! ", Zhi Al''s voice was a little hostile as well.

    Mo Zixuan , Zhi Bo and Su Rogguang decided to stay silent as the three men had already said what they wanted to convey .

    On the other hand , Xi Yuan was a little stunned when he heard the word ''rejection'' !

    Did that mean that these six already knew about his confession to the girl in New York ?!

    That was really an unexpected turn !

    Then why did they not looked for him earlier ?!

    " Exin. We already know everything. ", Mo Zixuan said impatiently as he looked at the tongue-tied man .

    Xi Yuan took a deep breath to gather some courage .

    No matter how calm he was , he had to select his words carefully in front of these six people .

    After all , their opinions mattered the most to his girl. Also , they were the only people who had given her warmth and love when she was at the weakest stage of her life. So he also genuinely respected all of them .

    What more , this 25 year old young man was feeling vulnerable in front of his mentors Lu Wei and Zhi Xi .

    At this time , Xi Yuan closed his eyes and imagined his girl''s divine smiling face which filled up his heart with confidence .

    He then opened his eyes again and replied with a smile , " I love your Sister."

    The six men : " ... "

    " I heard that after seven months of your rtionship , Mrs. Ningtao had misunderstood you and left you for one year , Senior Lu. Why didn''t you gave up ? Wasn''t that a rejection ?

    " And if I remember it correctly , Mrs. Songyan had also rejected your proposals for three times before she finally let you inside her heart , Senior Zhi. She thought that you were too arrogant. Why didn''t you gave up ?

    " And second senior Zhi Bo , I heard that Mrs. Ruo Cy had actually took you for a thief and had even reported you to police. She had also rejected you many times before she epted a single date , right ? Despite being a man of such a high respect and honour , howe you never took a step back ? Why didn''t you gave up ? "

    Lu Wei : "..."

    Zhi Xi : "..."

    Zhi Bo : "..."

    " You all are my inspiration when ites to love. After observing your love stories , I havee to a conclusion that love does not end until and unless both the people give up. Her reasons are not wrong. Her past has indeed hurt her the most and I know that. She needs time to see through the things clearly.

    " But I can''t give up. Because if I do , I don''t think I will be able to survive. Just looking at her gives me courage to keep going on even if there is a risk of failure. Her every smile fills up my heart with strength , warmth and life. I had been working like a robot , until my eyes fell on her. I can''t live without her. Not now that she is in so much pain. I will help her fight her past.

    " She is bing my drug , my addiction. I really love her and I will not stop until she gives me a fair chance. I don''t want her decision to be blurred by her past.

    " I understand your hostility and resentment towards me. I am a brother as well. I would have reacted the same way you have reacted today if it was about Ying. Of course , I cannot measure upto you all. You all are way more better brothers than I could ever be. Xinghe just doesn''t love you all , but she respects you. That''s why it is even more important for me to have your blessings ." , the man answered .

    The room was covered in an atmosphere of silence after the man said the words .

    " Do you think you deserve her ? ", Mo Zixuan asked .

    " Nope. I don''t think I deserve a person as amazing as her. But everyone likes the stars in the sky even though they know they can''t reach them ." , Xi Yuan replied .

    " What if she loves someone else ? ", Su Rogguang asked .

    " I won''t show up in front of her again if that happens because I can''t bear the thought of her being close to any other man. ", the man replied truthfully .

    " How much can you wait for her ? " , Zhi Bo targeted his question this time .

    " I will wait for her until myst breath ! "

    " What about her work ? Her life is always on the edge. ", Zhi Xi asked.

    " I know. But as much as I would hate to lose her , her spirit will die if her freedom is snatched from her. So I will have to respect that. ", the man took a deep breath .

 Chapter 113: Like squashing an ant for them

    Chapter 113: Like squashing an ant for them

    " And my biggest concern is your family. What about your dad and second uncle ?! How will they react ?! ", Lu Wei asked .

    " I will try my best to convince them but ... I don''t think I will need to do anything. Xinghe has the ability to make anyone admire and love her. I think they will have no problem from the start. " , the man replied .

    " You are too naive if you think that ! " , Zhi Xi sighed .

    Xi Yuan didn''t understood the meaning of Zhi Xi''s words but he was going to understand that very soon.

    " Look Yuan. Rong Xinghe was a child when I had first held her in my hands. Since then , she has been the first woman I have loved and respected. She has gone through a lot of pain since she was born and it was not just the incident nine years ago with Rongs or the incident five years ago with Zhous. Rong family had treated her like trash from the time , when she was left by her parents with them. I have seen her every tear and her every wound.

    " So there is no way I am going to allow the Xi family''s internal politics to affect her. Rong Xinghe is our bottom line. So I advice you to make things clear with your family. Because blood rtion or not , Rong Xinghe is our sister. The Xi family elders better not forget that ." , Lu Wei warned in a cold tone .

    The man nodded obediently .

    Zhi Al , who had been quite for sometime , walked towards the man as he stared straight into Xi Yuan''s eyes , " Bro Wei and Bro Xi might have problem with Xi family. But I already don''t like you. I don''t know why but my instincts tell me that you are trouble ! Remember one thing , you are safe until she hasn''t epted your confession but the moment my sister gets into a rtionship with you , you will have my eyes on you ! "

    " Same here. I don''t like the idea of her getting into any serious rtionship again. She was a mess after her breakup with that Zhou Che. I don''t know about anyone else , but I am not going to support this crap. ", Su Rogguang threw his hands up in defeat .

    " Exactly ! And you also made her cry in New York after that confession. Its already a reason enough for me to hate you. I don''t want that to happen again. Understood ?! ", Mo Zixuan pinched the space between his brows .

    "Understood !" , Xi Yuan replied seriously .

    It seemed like he had to work even more hard to impress all of them .

    But it was fine. It was practically impossible to impress everyone in one go. He had to be patient because even if one of these six men was to oppose his rtionship , the girl would not give him a chance.

    He had already didn''t expected for them to hear him so patiently .

    It was a progress !

    "Its midnight. You can rest in the guest room. Leave tomorrow morning. " , Lu Wei pointed in the direction of the guest rooms .

    _____________

    After that , the men handled the media as they covered up the girl''s involvement in the exposure of drug smuggling case and returned to her room.

    The girl was sleeping and her clothes had been changed into a Baby Pink night dress by the nanny .

    Zhi Bo sat on the edge of the bed and he rubbed the kiddo''s cheeks which still had some tear stains carefully .

    " Mmm ... Bros ... need me .. ", the girl mumbled in sleepy voice .

    Earlier , Xi Yuan had told her that she couldn''t give up and ept defeat because her brothers also needed her the same way she needed them , so those words were still imnted into her mind .

    " Yes my little girl. Your brothers need you. Stay strong !" , Zhi Bo kissed the girl''s forehead lovingly .

    But as soon as Su Rogguang heard the girl''s mumble , he furrowed his brows , " It seems like that Yuan guy is genuine towards her. "

    "Huh ?! How ?! ", Mo Zixuan asked .

    " Well ... She is too drunk. And human psychology says that a drunk person repeats the words he heard thest time , the most in his sleep. And the only person she heard before going to bed was that man , which means that he had said this to her. ", the ''doctor of the family'' exined.

    " Jesus ! Is he really that serious that he is motivating her to stay strong for our sake ?! He is trying to help her have confidence in herself. And had you guys noticed the hostility in his eyes when that Zhou Che greeted him ?! His expression was as frightening as any of us !", Zhi Xi said .

    " I know, right ? The best part in the entire evening was , when this Xi Yuan insulted that Zhou Che and walked out of the ce. Maybe ... just maybe .... I might be 0.0000000001 % impressed by him. " , Mo Zixuan smiled .

    " What are you thinking , Zhi Xi ? ", Lu Wei observed the man in a deep thought .

    " My days ahead are gonna be troublesome for sure. Damn it ! Who told me to takeover Zhi Corporation ?! I should have had gone for my own separate business n ! Now that Zhou Che is going to be such a pain. Worse , I will have to see his face everyday until I figure out a way to kick him out of the Zhi business group. ", Zhi Xi clenched his teeth angrily .

    " You know I really sympathize with you ! ", Lu Wei grinned .

    "What ?! Sympathize ?! I am in no need of sympathy. You all will have to help me to get rid of that bastard! ", the man became alert .

    " Its your business. You handle ! ", Lu Wei shrugged .

    Zhi Xi stared at the man angrily. Was this guy trying to back off at this point of time ?! Seriously ?!

    Weren''t they supposed to stick together ?!

    He raked his hawk-like eyes through the room as he looked at the other four men .

    And as expected , they all raised their hands in surrender indicating that it was his war and they were going to stay out of this !

    "Bastards ! Traitors ! I will kill you all !!! ", Zhi Xi started throwing pillows at each one of them while all the remaining five men dodged andughed as they also got into this game of pillow fight !

    Laughter was heard throughout the Military Chief Mansion !

    It was as if they didn''t even cared if the Zhou family showed or not .

    They were simply worried for their sister .

    Otherwise , destroying Zhou family was like squashing an ant for them considering their power , influence and brain !

 Chapter 114: " You are irreplaceable , Xinghe "

    Chapter 114: " You are irreceable , Xinghe "

    Next day , the girl woke up and rubbed her eyeszily as she found herself in her room .

    She remembered the events that took ce a day ago .

    The girl took a deep breath and clenched her fists as she knew that it was all a revenge plot by Zhou Che.

    She couldn''t be weak at this point of time because she knew that she was her brothers'' strength as well as their weakness.

    " Good morning , Lady Luck ! Here , your morning tea ! " , Zhi Al walked in with a tray in his hands.

    " Morning. Bro Al ... uh ... how is Bro Xi and Bro Bo ? " , the girl asked the question concerning her the most .

    " They are fine. They just woke up and we were having breakfast outside. When I heard you yawn , I brought your breakfast here. ", Zhi Al smiled.

    " Oh ! " , the girl jumped down the bed quickly and rushed towards the living hall .

    The five men were sitting on the sofa with the girl''s three sister-inws as they were chatting when the girl barged in and sat down on the sofa between Zhi Xi and Lu Wei .

    All the five men almost got a heart attack by this sudden stormy entry of the girl , so they red at her.

    One by one , the girl looked guiltily at all the six men and sighed , " Sorry ! I shouldn''t have dealt with the problem the way I did. I should have been more strong. I ... "

    But before the girl could say anything more , Zhi Bo quickly cut her mid-sentence , " Its fine. As long as you are fine , that man is not a big deal. Don''t worry. "

    Every man nodded at the girl lovingly as Zhi Xi patted the back of her head .

    The girl finally calmed down , " Okay. So what are you going to do with the business , Bro Xi ?! He will be your work buddy from now on , huh ?! "

    " What will I do with the business ? I will burn it downpletely ! You know why ?! These so called brothers of yours have left me in the middle of the sea. They don''t intend to help me ! " , Zhi Xiined.

    Rong Xinghe looked coldly at every single man beforeing to a decision , " Bro Lu! You are going to help him. And Bro Zhi Al , you too. "

    " Okay ! ", Zhi Al and Lu Wei said in unison.

    Zhi Xi was dumbstruck when he heard the quick replies of the men as soon as the girl''s words left her mouth !

    He had practically threatened them with his lifest night. Yet , they had no ns to help him.

    But today , orders of the girl were being carried out as if she was some ancient king !

    That was too unfair !

    But .... forget it , how was he any different ?!

    " Wait ... Why did you exclude Zhi Bo , Mo Zixuan and Su Rogguang ?! Aren''t they also supposed to help ? ", Ningtao asked .

    The girl grinned cheekily as she nced at Ruo Cy , " Well ... you see ... Bro Bo and Sister Cy still needs to have their ... um ... Wedding Night ! "

    " ( cough ) ... ( cough ) ... What the hell ?! " , Zhi Bo choked on his juice as soon as he heard the girl .

    " Bo ! Calm down ! ", Ruo Cy quickly rubbed her husband''s back as her cheeks turned red by the girl''s words .

    " Get a room guys ! We singles don''t need your PDA ! ", Zhi Al threw up his hands in exhaustion .

    Now there were going to be three couples in the house !

    And it was more traumatizing than handling the Zhou Family !

    " And what about Mo Zixuan and Su Rogguang ?! ", Songyan giggled as she gazed at the newlyweds being lovey-dovey.

    " Well ... they both have got their own women to chase ! Guys , all the best ! ", the girl said with a hidden meaning in her words.

    " What ?!! When did this happen ?! Who are they ?! ", Ruo Cy asked excitedly.

    " Actually ... "

    " Xinghe ... We need to talk. Can youe out for a second ? "

    The girl froze when she heard heard the familiar deep and silvery voice of the man. She lifted her head to look at the person who was leaning by the door as he looked at her with expectant eyes .

    " Uhh ... Sure ! Let''s go ." , the girl got up and left the room followed by Xi Yuan.

    " The guts of this man ... ", Lu Wei smirked.

    " Turn on the CCTV cameras Al ! ", Mo Zixuan gritted his teeth.

    This man better not put any emotional pressure on her when her ex-boyfriend has just shown up a day ago .

    Zhi Al nodded and connected hisptop to the big LED screen in the wall .

    While Ningtao , Songyan and Ruo Cy felt a chill run down their spine when they saw the six men''s odd behaviour .

    Why would they check on him ?

    Did they already ...

    Crap !!!

    ____________

    In the garden of Military Chief Mansion ,

    " Yuan ... What are you doing here ? ", the girl asked confusedly.

    " I was the one who brought you back homest night. It was already midnight , so they told me to stay the night. ", the man exined .

    " Also , I wanted to make some things clear for you. " , Xi Yuan added .

    " Huh ?! ",

    " Don''t avoid me , Xinghe. Its useless if you think that I can set my eyes on another woman if I won''t see you. You are not someone who can be reced by just anyone. You are irreceable , Xinghe. And I am not the type of man who gets attracted to just anyone.

    " You might not have confidence on yourself but I believe that you deserve every happiness in your life. And I am just trying to be reason for that. No matter how much you try , but I n to wait for you for my entire life. So ..... don''t do this. Don''t ignore me. Having feelings for you is my decision. I am a grown man and I obviously understand your concerns. I am not going to push you .... but I will wait for you. At least , stay at ease around me because I would rather die myself than hurting you. "

    " Why are you so ... stubborn ?! ", the girl sighed as she realised that man had long known about the reason behind her avoiding him .

    " I think ... that''s because I have fallen for a stubborn woman. ", the man smiled .

 Chapter 115: How did they even knew each other ?

    Chapter 115: How did they even knew each other ?

    " Alright , then. Although I am still not convinced about any rtionship , I can''t call the shots for you. And ... yeah ! I won''t avoid you. Its not like I hate you or something. Its just that I can''t love. ", the girl sighed .

    Xi Yuan smiled.

    Don''t worry my darling. I will make you fall for me !

    Meanwhile , certain six men breathed a sigh of relief as they heard their sister''s answer .

    They were too afraid to let her get emotionally attached to any other man after her past with Zhou Che .

    As her brothers , their concerns were not unreasonable. After all , they had seen her endure pain and they had witnessed her tears. It was only natural for them to be a little over-protective.

    At this time , Rong Xinghe''s phone rang .

    " What is it Assistant Shou ? "

    " Military Chief. Finance Minister Wu Chuanli wants to meet you here. Also , Commander Feng Mian has returned back from her mission , so she would like to meet you. And you ... also have many other meetings aligned. ", Assistant Shou Wu informed from the other end .

    " Crap ! So much work ! Alright ... I will be there soon. And ... uhh... have hackers made any progress in hacking into themunication software of the terrorist''sptop I had grabbedst time ?! ", Rong Xinghe asked.

    " Not till now , Military Chief. ", Shou Wu informed .

    " Its fine. Give them a break. I will tell Mr. Zhi Al to visit the office today. He can definitely do that ! ", the girl said.

    What was the use of having a ''White Hat Hacker '' in the house , if he couldn''t help the military ?!

    ________________

    In Military Chief Office :

    Rong Xinghe came out of meeting room after discussing the capital requirements of the military for the year with finance minister and headed towards her office .

    " Long Live the Country X , Military Chief ! "

    As soon as Rong Xinghe stepped into her office , she was weed by an enthusiastic salute from Feng Mian .

    " Long Live the Country X , Officer Feng ! " , the girl smiled warmly and walked towards her seat .

    " Your performance in this particr mission was quite impressive. I mean ... you literally fooled the entire Military Family ! ", Rong Xinghe chuckled .

    " HEHEHE ... I just didn''t wanted you to worry anymore. After I heard about how you were shot twice during the bomb diffusion , I decided there and then that I am going to destroy all their Naval attack nnings in December. After all , you needed rest ! Tell me .... how are you ?! " , Feng Mian asked worriedly.

    " I am fine , my friend. Now since we are friends , let''s hang out sometime ? "

    " Sure " , Feng Mian , always a die hard fan of Rong Xinghe , naturally epted the invite .

    " Military Chief ! Your brother is here ! ", Assistant Shou Wu entered the office room.

    " Send him in. "

    As soon as Feng Mian heard Shou Wu mention Rong Xinghe''s brothers , she got even more excited , " Is it the Legendary CEO Lu Wei or CEO Zhi Xi ?! Or ... oh my god ... is it the ''Media Ma'' Mo Zixuan ?! Or... "

    " Woah ! Hold on ! You know all my brothers ?!! ", Rong Xinghe raised her eyebrows ever so slightly in amusement.

    " Uhh ... Yeah ! I do know their names and their achievements ! But I have not seen everyone''s faces. So ... I might not be able to identify ! ", Feng Mian scratched her head awkwardly .

    Rong Xinghe smiled as she saw the silliness of the woman .

    _____________

    " Kiddo ! " , Zhi Al entered the room excitedly ," I heard that the Military Chief of the country remembered me ?! "

    Feng Mian turned around to look at the supposed legend exuberantly .

    And as soon as both the man and woman saw each other , they froze akin to ice sculptures on the spot .

    " What the hell are you doing here ?!! ", Zhi Al fumed up after sometime .

    " Forget that ! You tell me who let in a bastard like you here ?!! ", Feng Mian was even more furious .

    " Don''t dull my view. You can leave ! ", Zhi Al opened the door to the office wide as he gestured Feng Mian to leave .

    " You don''t pollute Military Chief''s aura ! You get out ! ", Feng Mian crossed her arms .

    While the duo were indulged in their bickering , a certain someone knitted her brows and looked at them inplete confusion .

    What the hell was happening ?

    How did they even knew each other ?

    Why were they in an argument all of a sudden ?

    " Shut up ! ", the girl banged her hands on the edge of her table and red at both of them with irritation pasted on her face .

    Rong Xinghe then walked around the table and stood in front of Zhi Al , " Exin ! "

    " Uhh ... She is a corrupt cop who only knows how to wrongly frame the citizens and bully them with the power provided to her by government ! That day , when my friend got into an ident , I hurried towards the hospital to meet him. But all of a sudden , she stopped my car and used me of over-speeding ! She even asked for a bribe of 50,000 rmb ! Can you believe this ?! ", Zhi Al followed his sister''s orders instantly .

    " It is called fine for breaking traffic rules and not bribe , you idiot ! Let me exin Military Chief. You know ... I had simply reced my friend who is a traffic cop for a 2-hour shift since his wife was pregnant and was going through delivery pain alone in the hospital. At that time , this psycho drove his car on the highway with a terrifying speed of 120 kmph. I , obviously , stopped him and tried to charge him. But this guy created a scene there and then on the highway as he imed that I was asking for bribe and was misusing my power ! You know he had even blocked the entire highway ! Bloody IDIOT ! ", Feng Mian defended herself .

    Zhi Al : " Excuse me , madam ! Whatever your name is .... don''t think that she will believe you just like that ! "

    Feng Mian : " Mr.Whoever you are ! Why would she believe a nobody like you instead of me ?! Dream on ! "

    Zhi Al : " Nasty ! "

    Feng Mian : " Disgusting ! "

    Rong Xinghe : " ..... "

    Are you both sure you are grown up adults of the society ?!

    Hmmm... Interesting !

    It seemed she had no idea who Zhi Al was and she thought of him as a mere troublemaker .

    And he also thought of her as an unprincipled traffic officer and had not considered the possibility of her being a Special Forces Combat Soldier .

    Most importantly , none of them had any idea about her rtion with the ''rival'' party !

    Guys ... I am really looking forward to see your reactions when you know each other''s real identities .

 Chapter 116: " Its Sis-in-law Ningtao ! "

    Chapter 116: " Its Sis-inw Ningtao ! "

    " Okay guys ... let me introduce you to each other ", Rong Xinghe took a deep breath .

    " Al , she is my trustworthy Special Forces officer , Commander Feng Mian. And Mian , he is the youngest amongst the six brothers of mine , Mr. Zhi Al ! ", the girl said.

    Zhi Al : " .... "

    Feng Mian : " ..... "

    Both the people stared at each other speechlessly .

    Most shocked was , obviously , Feng Mian .

    She never expected this ''good-for-nothing'' man to be her idol''s infamous brother Zhi Al .

    How could this be ?!

    How could he be '' THE '' Zhi Al ?!

    The man who was known as the most skilled man withputers !

    The man who was a legend in the world of hackers and coders !

    The Third Master of Zhi Business Empire !

    And the man who was said to be Rong Xinghe''s biggest support system as well as her friend !

    While , Zhi Al was himself quite shocked by the fact that this woman was a Special Forces officer !

    After all , this particr branch of the Military was a tough one to get trained into !

    And most surprising part was that Rong Xinghe found her trustworthy !

    Since the incident nine years ago with the Rong Family , Rong Xinghe rarely trusted people .

    In fact , it was tough for even the six of them to make her believe in rtions again.

    So it was a big deal if she trusted this woman .

    " So you are not a corrupt traffic cop ?! " , Zhi Al asked confusedly.

    " Wait ... you are not a pervert and roadside troublemaker ?! " , Feng Mian also came back to her senses .

    " You ... ", Zhi Al clenched his fists .

    What pervert ?!

    Rong Xinghe obviously noticed her brother''s anger boiling up ... so she felt a little helpless.

    " Alright , Mian. We will discuss our brunch soon. Right now , I need Mr. Al. You guys can solve this matter another time. "

    She''d better not make things ufortable and awkward for them .

    But her Cupid eyes were telling her something else clearly .

    A sizzling love was on its way !!!

    Feng Mian nodded and left the office.

    ...

    Rong Xinghe then walked closer to her brother and massaged his tensed shoulders as she tried to pacify him , " Its alright. My Bro Al is not a pervert. Calm down !"

    As soon as hisdy luckplimented him , Zhi Al''s lips curled up slightly into a smile .

    No matter how angry he would be , one word from this girl and his heart would be filled with warmth and security .

    " Why did you called me here ? ", the man came to the point.

    " Uhh.. I need you to hack into the Defense Communication System of Country N. Grab theptop on the table over there and please do the work. ", Rong Xinghe exined.

    " How much are you going to pay me ? ", Zhi Al asked seriously .

    " Huh ?! "

    What pay ?

    " What ''Huh?'' ?! I am Zhi Al. Of course , the government will have to pay me for my skills. ", the man looked offended .

    " 20,000 rmb ? ", Rong Xinghe guessed .

    " Are you kidding me ?! ", Zhi Al red at the girl angrily.

    " 30,000 rmb ? ", the girl asked again .

    " Military Chief ! I earn minimum of 10 million rmb from a single task I do for the government. The money you are offering is not worth a penny to me ! ", Zhi Al fumed up .

    " What ?! You earn so much ?! ", the girl''s eyes widened as she gasped and covered her mouth in horror and shock , " That much money is insane !! "

    " How do you think I handle all my girlfriends ?! Brother Zhi Xi never gives me money for that. I am always short on money. Rtionships are so expensive man. ", the man said in a tired voice .

    Rong Xinghe : " ..... "

    This man ....

    Why was he always focussed on the wrong things ?!

    " You either hack into this security system for free , or ... ", the girl warned .

    " Or what ?! ", Zhi Al crossed his arms .

    " ... or I will call Bro Lu and Bro Xi right now and cry out my sorrows to them ! ", the girl gave a wicked grin.

    " You ... Fine ! Get me thatptop. I will do it. ", the man sighed helplessly .

    Lu Wei and Zhi Xi could clearly see through her every act but no matter what , they would still beat him up if they were to see even a single drop of tear on her cheek .

    They just couldn''t see her sad and upset face even if they knew that it was just for a show .

    What more , this littledy devil was too good at acting as well .

    She was so good that she could sit in front of the temple along with beggars and the devotees would end up donating her hundreds of rmb !

    There was a reason that everyone believed the existence of a non-existing Lu Xi so easily , after all .

    Also , forget Lu Wei and Zhi Xi , even he couldn''t see her in tears .

    She was his strength as well as his weakness .

    Obviously , he was teasing her about the money from the start. He couldn''t possibly make hisdy luck pay him. After all , everything he had achieved in his lifetime , he had achieved it for this girl .

    Every skill he had , he had it because of her .

    The girl quickly brought him theptop and he focused on the screen while Rong Xinghe looked at him intently .

    She was always a curious soul ready to learn anything that was new and interesting to her .

    But s !

    As soon as Zhi Al''s fingers touched the keyboard , she was dumbfounded and her mind went nk !

    His fingers practically danced on the keyboard like hers danced on the piano with the speed of light .

    She couldn''t catch up to the codes he was typing at all !

    After some seconds passed , she threw her hands in air and gave up. Screw it ! Let this cyber maniac do what he wants.

    In merely two minutes , Zhi Al closed theptop ," Done ! That was too boring. "

    Boring ?

    And so quick ?

    " Good job ! You may leave now Mr. Al .", the girl didn''t even bothered to look up from her files .

    " You... "

    Zhi Al was about to get angry again when his phone rang and he picked it up .

    " What ?! Hospital ?! Oh my god !! When did this happened Sis-inw ? I aming !!! Yeah ! ", Zhi Al panicked when he heard Songyan''s voice from the other end .

    " What happened ? ", Rong Xinghe asked worriedly as she heard her brother''s anxious tone .

    " Its Sis-inw Ningtao ! We need to go to the City Hospital ! Now !!! "

 Chapter 117: " I am going to be Aunt Xinghe ?!! "

    Chapter 117: " I am going to be Aunt Xinghe ?!! "

    In City Hospital , City A :

    " What happened to her ?! Where is she ?! ", Rong Xinghe barged inside the hospital corridor with hurried footsteps followed by an anxious Zhi Al .

    " Sis Xinghe ! We don''t know. We went into the shopping mall to buy some jewellery with Sis Ningtao. She was fine ... but all of a sudden , she fainted. Thankfully , we caught her before she hit her body on the floor ! ", Ruo Cy exined quickly .

    " The doctors are checking her inside. ", Songyan pointed at the hospital room door where Ningtao was being checked.

    Rong Xinghe knitted her brows with confused expression before she swept her eyes through the entire crowd .

    Besides Songyan and Ruo Cy , Zhi Xi and Zhi Bo were also there as they were signing some formal documents of the hospital .

    Her eyes finally stopped at the man who was sitting on the bench silently. His expression was as calm as ever but she could tell that a storm was taking ce in his heart.

    Lu Wei was deeply in love with his wife , after all.

    It could be said that he respected Ningtao as much as he respected Rong Xinghe.

    The man and the woman had seen almost all the ups and downs of their life together .

    So he was , obviously worried about her.

    Rong Xinghe took a deep breath as she walked towards the man and sat down beside him on the bench.

    She then patted her brother''s shoulder before hugging him ," She will be fine , Bro Lu ! She is your woman. She is even more stronger than you ."

    As soon as the girl''s words reached Lu Wei''s ears , the storm inside him came to halt and he reflexively hugged her back .

    " Why am I feeling so nervous , Kiddo ?! "

    " Its all going to be fine. I know how strong she is. It might be overexertion. ", Rong Xinghe patted the man''s back .

    __________

    Soon after , a female doctor came out of the check-up room as all the people stood up and looked at her anxiously .

    " Who is the patient''s husband ?! "

    " He is ! ", Rong Xinghe quickly pointed her index finger towards Lu Wei .

    " Congrattions ! You are going to be a father soon !!! Your wife is already 4 weeks pregnant ! ", thedy doctor smiled .

    " WHAT ?!! I am going to be Aunt Xinghe ?!! ", Rong Xinghe screamed so excitedly that every hospital staff stopped in their tracks to look at her .

    Zhi Xi , Songyan , Zhi Bo , Ruo Cy and Zhi Al also started celebrating by hugging each other happily .

    Meanwhile , Lu Wei stood frozen on the spot when he heard the doctor''s words.

    He ... was going to be a father ?!

    Was this the reason behind his nervousness ?!

    The fact that there would soon be a mini version of him or his beloved was making him nervous.

    He was finding it hard to even digest this piece of news.

    But even now , he had only one concern ...

    " Can I see my wife ? ", the man asked in a hoarse voice.

    " Sure. She is conscious now ."

    Lu Wei turned his head to look at his sister nervously.

    One look at her brothers , and Rong Xinghe would know the concerns of their heart .

    She nodded at the man with an encouraging gaze before she pushed him inside the room .

    The girl then turned around to look at the audience she had ," For next one hour , no one is going inside. We might be the victims of some destructive disy of affection ! "

    The five people giggled .

    " Oh My Gosh ! I can''t believe I am going to be Aunt Xinghe !!! ", the girl jumped excitedly.

    " I know , right ?! I am going to be Uncle Xi soon ! ", Zhi Xi was delighted as well.

    " Oh ... I am going to spoil this child so much ! ", Zhi Al sped his hands excitedly.

    " Me too ! ", Songyan and Rong Xinghe said in unison.

    " Quickly inform about this to Zixuan and Rogguang ! ", Ruo Cy nudged Zhi Bo.

    ______

    Rong Xinghe noticed that thedy doctor , who had given them such a good news was a little familiar.

    Oh f*ck !

    She was ... Dr. Ching Tong , the famous gynecologist.

    He was her brother''s crush , so it was impossible for Rong Xinghe to not identify her. She was just too focused on Ningtao and her health , that she didn''t gave attention to anything else earlier.

    But now ... HEHEHE ... Matchmaking time !

    " Dr. Tong ! Do you know Dr. Rogguang ?! ", the girl asked straightforwardly.

    " He is my inspiration in the profession , Military Chief ! Why do you ask ? ", Ching Tong answered honestly.

    " Oh nothing. Its just that he is my brother , you see. I was told that he has a friend here in this hospital , so I was just wondering if you were the one ?! ", Rong Xinghe shrugged with a perfect expression of embarrassment and awkwardness .

    " Really ?! He is your brother ?!! Can I meet him once ?!! He is a legend in the Medical field. I really admire him ! ", Ching Tong requested like a crazy fan .

    Hah ! As expected of her brother ! Always the ''Miracle Man'' of Medical Science .

    " Sure ! I will tell him about you ! He will need to look through his schedule , though. ", the girl smiled .

    " Thank you so much , Military Chief ! Here , my number ! ", the youngdy smiled back and left after saving her number in Xinghe''s phone.

    Rong Xinghe turned around again to look at her family who were shaking their heads helplessly at her.

    This girl ...

    _________

    Meanwhile , in the hospital room :

    The man helped the woman sitfortably and sat down beside her on the edge of the bed .

    " Wei ... "

    " I am sorry , Tao. I brought this on you. You just got the lead in your dream Hollywood project and I .... If you want , we can always go for the option of abor... "

    " Shut up ! Nothing ... not even my life is more important than this mini human inside me , let alone be a film. You really think that this film is worth our baby''s life ? Although , this baby is unnned , this is ours. It is going to call you dad and me mom , Wei. I like acting but I love you , Mr. Lu ! Its fine .... I want to keep it. You tell me ... are you prepared to be a father ?! ", Ningtao asked expectantly .

    " I want to ... ", Lu Wei smiled slightly as he ced the warm palm of his hand on the woman''s belly , " ... but I was there during Xinghe and Xiao''s birth. Giving birth will be painful , Mrs. Lu. And that is the only thing I can''t see you go through."

    Ningtao smiled and ced a soft kiss on the man''s lips ," That pain is a gift for a woman because it brings happiness with it. Let us do this ! "

    " Whatever my woman wants , happens ! ", Lu Wei smiled brightly this time as he finally took the decision , " I love you , wifey ! "

    " I love you too , hubby ! "

    With these words , both the man and woman started kissing each other passionately with the urge to be one .

 Chapter 118: " I am really happy , Yuan ! "

    Chapter 118: " I am really happy , Yuan ! "

    Only after the couple were out of breath , did the two separated .

    " Is Xinghe here ? ", Ningtao asked .

    " Yes "

    " How did she react ?! "

    " She was jumping like a kangaroo ! If I wasn''t your husband , she wouldn''t have allowed me to step into this room ! ", Lu Wei smiled .

    " Call everybody in. I want to see them. ", Ningtao said .

    ___________

    Soon , the entire family were chatting happily inside the hospital ward .

    " Sis-inw ! I will write some luby and baby songs for the child. Okay ?! ", Xinghe said .

    " Okay ! "

    " And I am going to spoil him or her so much... that you two will cry almost everyday ! ", Songyan chirped.

    " By the way , do you want boy or a girl ? ", Zhi Bo asked.

    " Anything ! ", both Ningtao and Lu Wei said together .

    " I want a cute little Ningtao ! ", Songyan dered .

    " No ... a little , calm and chubby Lu Wei will look more cute ! ", Zhi Xi refuted .

    " Let''s have twins then ! ", Rong Xinghe sped her hands excitedly .

    " That is not upto us , kiddo ! ", Su Rogguang rolled his eyes .

    " But who will the child love more ?! ", Mo Zixuan asked .

    " Me ! ", the entire family shouted in unison as they got into their little bickering .

    Ningtao and Lu Wei looked at each other and smiled helplessly.

    These little sweet arguments were going to happen for the next nine months , they thought .

    And these silly chitter-chatters were going to make these months more special .

    ...

    " Sir ... you called me ?! ", Lu Wei''s manager knocked on the door .

    " Hmm ... Cancel my all the meetings that are going to take ce abroad for the next one year. And , from now on , I am going to do most of my work from home. So , make proper arrangements. Alright ?! ", Lu Wei informed .

    The man nodded and left. He had a rough idea of what was going on becausedy boss was sitting on the hospital bed and even the CEO Zhi and Military Chief were there.

    It was not that much tough to guess.

    Meanwhile , Ningtao''s heart melted when she saw her man''s concern for her .

    This person was the biggest strength she had ! He was there for her whenever she needed a shoulder to lean on and cry. He was the only reason that she and her mother were on speaking terms. He was the only person who believed in her when she told him about her desire to act. He had been her personal manager since then and had helped her reach the pinnacle of Entertainment Industry !

    Every fight they fought , they fought it together .

    This one ... was no different .

    He was prepared to put his entire business on hold for her.

    With every passing day , she felt that she was in love with him more than before .

    Ningtao , didn''t knew when , but amidst these memories , tears of happiness escaped her eyes .

    " You are making the soon-to-be-mother cry , Bro Lu ! ", Rong Xinghe pulled the man''s cor and made him sit on the bed ," Calm her down however you can ! "

    One look at her , and he knew what his wife was thinking .

    Lu Wei caressed the woman''s cheeks lovingly as he wiped the tears before he turned around to look at the unnecessary people .

    " Get out , everyone ! ", the man said in irritated tone .

    " Come on guys ! The ones who are not interested in the steamy scenes that are going to take ce now , please follow me ! ", Rong Xinghe rushed out followed by the rest of the family .

    " HAHAHAHA ! This girl ... Such a dirty mind she has ! ", Ningtao burst outughing when she heard the girl .

    " I know ... ", Lu Wei smirked , " ... but she was right about ''steamy scenes'' part ! "

    __________

    Evening , SLV Night Club :

    " Yo Xinghe ! Why did you called me here ?! And you are not even in your ''Lu Xi'' get up. Whatsupp ?! ", William questioned the girl who was in a jolly mood .

    " I called you to celebrate "

    " Celebrate what ? ", the man was confused .

    " I am going to be an aunt ! ", the girl smiled.

    " What ?! Who is it ?! Bro Al or Bro Rogguang ?! ", William was bbergasted .

    " Wait ... they both are not even married. "

    " What is the connection between marriage and pregnancy ?! I guessed them because they both are quite good with flirting and has had the most rtionships. ", William shrugged.

    " Its Bro Lu "

    " F*ck ! Really ?! That''s awesome ! I will treat you tonight. ", the man jumped excitedly .

    " No I will treat you ! "

    " No I will ! "

    At this time , two handsnded on the girl''s waist as a deep soothing voice resonated throughout the club , " What''s the bickering all about ?! "

    " Hey Yuan ! Whatsupp man ?! ", William smiled while the girl stood frozen as she stared at the man and his three followers .

    Was he here to crash the party ?!

    After sometime , everyone was drunk to their limits except Xi Yuan. He had to drop the girl home safely , after all. Xi Wei had even slept on the couch of the club while Xi Ying was dizzy and had rested her head on Xi Fang''s shoulder who was himself quite tired. William had went on the dance floor to enjoy himself .

    Only Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe were left. The girl was herself a little drunk and was staring at the dance floor .

    All of a sudden , the girl stood up and started going towards the dance stage but she stumbled and Xi Yuan quickly caught her.

    " I want to dance ! ", the girl protested in the man''s arms .

    " Let''s dance together ? ", the man asked.

    " Okay ! "

    Both the people walked on the stage and became a part of the rowdy crowd .

    But after dancing on a jazz song for a while , the song changed into a slow soft one .

    Rong Xinghe pouted angrily because she was yet to dance to her fullest but at this time , Xi Yuan pulled her closer to him and swayed his body along with her .

    For some unknown reason , Rong Xinghe liked that , so she rested her head on his shoulder as their bodies moved in a sync.

    It was a ssic couple dance step but it looked like it was just Xi Yuan who was handling the girl as she was simply leaning on him.

    " Yuan ! Bro Lu is going to be a father , you know ? ", the girl said.

    " That''s amazing , Xinghe ! ", the man said calmly. She was telling this news for the 17th time now .

    " I am really happy , Yuan. My brothers deserve every happiness. This child will bring a very good luck for its parents. I know that ! "

    " Yes ... your brothers deserve every happiness. ", the man caressed his girl''s hair lovingly , " Okay ! Lets take you home ?! "

    " Okie dokie ! "

    The man pulled out his phone and informed his chauffeur to take Xi Ying , Xi Fang , Xi Wei and William to his apartment before he carried his girl to his ck Maybach .

 Chapter 119: " I will do it ! "

    Chapter 119: " I will do it ! "

    Next Morning ,

    In Lu Family Mansion :

    " Xinghe ! Why are you cleaning the house yourself ?! We have hired staff for that ! ", Lu Wei yelled as he saw the girl on the top of adder dusting the bookshelf on the wall .

    " These nine months are very important for Sister Ningtao ! Her surroundings and its hygiene needs to be taken into consideration ! I can''t trust anyone with my soon-to-be niece or nephew , after all ! And what are you doing Sis Tao ? Finish that te of apples and oranges in 10 minutes ! And put on that shawl around your neck ! Its freezing already. ", Rong Xinghe raged while dusting the bookshelves .

    " These fruits are too much , Xinghe ! And I am already wearing threeyers of clothing. All the heaters are also turned on ! In fact , I am sweating now. Can I remove this jacket ?! ", Ningtao asked expectantly .

    " No !!! ", both brother and sister screamed together .

    " Okay ", thedy pouted .

    " HAHAHA. This is so fun to watch ! I am definitely moving into Lu Mansion from Zhi Mansion soon. These next few months are going to be so interesting. ", Songyanughed .

    " I am fine with you moving in , but then ... Bro Zhi Xi will also have to move in ", Rong Xinghe smirked as she continued dusting .

    " Why will I move in ?!! ", Zhi Xi looked up from hisptop .

    " Come on , brother ! Don''t tell me that you that you are not working hard enough to bring my soon-to-be niece or nephew''s sibling in this world !!! ", Rong Xinghe winked at Songyan .

    Zhi Xi : " ..... "

    Songyan : " ..... "

    Lu Wei and Ningtao : " HAHAHA ! This is indeed going to be fun ! "

    ...

    " My dear little volunteers ... how is work going on over there ?! ", Rong Xinghe peeked into the kitchen and dining room .

    " Sister Xinghe ! Don''t worry. I have cleaned the chimney and even the insides of its conduction pipes. ", a little thin boy yelled from the kitchen .

    " I have also cleaned the fridge and reced the stale vegetables and fruits into it with the fresh ones ! ", another five or six year old boy shrieked .

    " And ... I have also cleaned the bathroom and all its mirrors. ", a small boy came out of the bathroom with a floor wiper in his hands .

    " Walk-in wardrobe closet has also been taken care of Sister Xinghe ! ", two seven year old girls walked out of the dressing room .

    " I have repaired the broken video game as well. You know , just in case , Madam Lu gets an urge to y it. ", another thirteen year old girl popped out her head from the virtual device room.

    Almost , twenty five kids of Youth Team NGO jumped out from the different corners of the house as they looked at Rong Xinghe with the gaze that had " appreciate us " written all over it .

    They had willingly volunteered to join Rong Xinghe when she had distributed sweets in the early morning with the good news and had told them that she intended to clean up the Lu Family Mansion herself !

    They didn''t wanted their Queen to tire herself out , after all. And these kids respected Rong Xinghe''s every brother as they had been her support system in the darkest time of her life .

    They were genuinely happy for Lu Wei and Ningtao .

    Rong Xinghe hadplete confidence in these kids because she had taught them these skills of hygiene maintenance herself .

    She nodded and smiled encouragingly at these little friends of hers. This simple action from their Queen , and the twenty five fatigued faces beamed with happiness .

    " Where is your Brother William ?!! Why hasn''t hee yet ?! ", Rong Xinghe asked a chubby girl who was quite close to William .

    " I am here ! I am here ! ", William walked in with books in his hands that were piled up to the extent that he could not even see anything clearly .

    " What took you so long ?!! ", Rong Xinghe didn''t cared about the man''s distress anymore .

    " F*ck you , Rong Xinghe ! ", William kept the books on table in front of him as he red at the girl angrily.

    " What did you just say ? ", Lu Wei asked in a threatening tone as he twisted William''s ears ruthlessly .

    " Aaahhh ! That hurts! Mercy Bro Lu! Mercy! No abusing and swearing ... I get it ... I get it! ", William screeched in pain .

    What the hell was this man''s problem with abusing ?!

    It helped in controlling high blood pressure .

    Wasn''t that healthy ?!

    " Leave him , Wei ! ", Ningtao smiled helplessly .

    " Okay ! ", Lu Wei smiled back as he shrugged , " I just don''t want my little baby to hear such words "

    Rong Xinghe : '' ..... ''

    William : " ..... "

    The 25 kids : " ..... "

    Zhi Xi and Songyan : " ..... "

    " Screw this. I don''t want to be a victim of this PDA anymore. I will just leave. Kids , get seated into the minibus we came in. William , take them to Domino''s pizza outlet before dropping them to the NGO. Its your treat , my cuties ! ", Rong Xinghe smiled .

    The kids cheered and excitedly left with William .

    Rong Xinghe turned around to look at Lu Wei as she pointed at the pile of books ," These are almost 34 books written on pregnancy and parenting. You better read them all before the birth of the child or ... you know me. And yes ! Call your mom-dad and Sis Ningtao''s mom here .They will be able to take better care of her as they are more experienced. And ... "

    " ... And ? ", Lu Wei asked in a daze. There was still an ''and'' ?!

    " .... And I will tell you if I remember anything else ! ", the girl picked up her revolver kept on the table and tucked it into her jacket .

    " Xinghe , I have business to handle. How can I ... ", Lu Wei was a little troubled .

    In these uing months , he wouldn''t be able to read his own business files , let alone be these 34 thick books.

    He couldn''t ask Zhi Xi for the favour because he was himself busy handling his uncle Zhi Benyamin and that Zhou Che .

    Although other four brothers were there , but they were not skilled with business. They all were geniuses in cyber world , medical science , artistry and journalism.

    Although he was excited for this child and he wanted to do all this , but nine months was a long time and he couldn''t keep the entire Lu Corporation on hold .

    Suddenly , when Lu Wei was deep in his thoughts , two voices rang into the living room , " I will do it ! "

    One was ... Xi Yuan , who was standing on the threshold of the door with a flower bouquet in his hands .

    And the other was ..... Rong Xinghe !

 Chapter 120: The toughest part !

    Chapter 120: The toughest part !

    " What ?! ", Zhi Xi stood up with a shocked expression .

    Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe were also stunned as they looked at each other .

    " Wait a second ... what are you both thinking ?! ", Lu Wei frowned .

    Xi Yuan took a deep breath as then walked towards Ningtao and gave her the flower bouquet with a smile , " Congrattions ! "

    Ningtao nodded back with a smile .

    The man turned back to face Lu Wei ," I figured that this problem might ur when Xinghe told me the good news yesterday. Senior Lu , you and Senior Zhi are the ones who has trained me with the business in the first ce. I know almost each one of your business associates and business rivals. Since , the new member is arriving soon , you have a lot of responsibilities all of a sudden and Senior Zhi has a lot on his te himself.

    So ... I suggest you make me your temporary Power of Attorney representative until you are ready to get back into the battlefield. "

    Rong Xinghe who was silent till now finally spoke up , " No ! Yuan is usually very busy. He has just started the telmunicationpany "Infinity" not too long ago. "

    Everyone turned around to look at the worried girl .

    What the hell ?! How did she knew all that ?! Was she keeping tabs on him ?!

    Meanwhile , Xi Yuan''s lips curled up into an amused smile as he realised that his girl was concerned for him .

    The moment Rong Xinghe noticed the man''s smile , her heart started racing rapidly.

    This had been happening to her after that confession every time she saw him .

    Wait ...

    Why would she say something like that so reflexively ?!

    Why was she concerned for his work load so much ?!

    Was this how she would feel for the person she had rejected not too long ago ?!

    " Uhh ... what I mean is that you and Bro Zhi have trained me in business management as well. I will take care of all this. We don''t need to trouble Yuan. I will handle all the associates , business partners , rivals and shareholders. If I face any problem , I can always look for you , Bro Zhi or Yuan , right ? I will take over the position of Power of Attorney representative. ", the girl exined.

    " Xinghe ... I will be fine. I am used to all this. You are the Military Chief of the country. It will be tiresome for you to handle all this together. Don''t worry , I have done this many times before ! ", Xi Yuan disapproved .

    " I can manage that. I know myself Yuan. It will be troublesome for you as you will have to focus on two business empires together. ", Rong Xinghe fought back .

    " Xinghe ... This will affect your health adversely ! Listen to me , I will take care of all that. ", Xi Yuan tried to convince the girl again.

    " No ! What about your health then ? Trust me , I am really good at multitasking ! ", the girl refuted .

    Both the man and the woman started convincing each other instead of convincing Lu Wei while Ningtao and Songyan grinned and enjoyed the lovely bickering .

    So cute !

    They were practically arguing like a married couple !

    And they were literally asking for more responsibilities on their shoulders !

    Lu Wei silently thought something and took a deep breath. It seemed ... he was left with no other option. He really didn''t wanted to leave Ningtao for even a second and he couldn''t trouble Zhi Xi.

    So the man silenced the two people indulged in their argument and said after some thought , " Alright. This seems to be the only option then. But the Power of Attorney rights will go to you both ."

    " What ?!! ", both the man and woman were dumbstruck .

    To both ? How ? And why ?!

    " You both are busy with your own professional life. Xinghe can''t ignore the country''s security for few million rmb and Yuan should not let his new project suffer as well. I have trained you both , of course , I know what you can and can''t do. I am afraid none of you can handle this alone. And even if you do , you will simply exhaust yourself. So ... I would give the Power of Attorney rights to the both of you. And whatever final decision you both take , you will have to discuss that with each other. Xinghe is capable as well as convincing but Yuan has more experience and skills. With your talentsbined , I believe that Lu Corporation will face more profits. ", Lu Wei exined.

    " Alright. I am fine with it. ", Rong Xinghe smiled .

    " That''s why I am yet to reach your level , Senior. ", Xi Yuan epted the arrangement as well .

    " Hmmm... Xinghe , you leave first. I want to discuss something with this brat ", Lu Wei smiled gently .

    " I will be waiting outside ", the girl left after saying these words , to which , the man nodded .

    ....

    As soon as the door closed , Lu Wei''s expression turned cold , " Lu Corporation is my turf Yuan. Keep your interactions with her , whether physical or emotional , in check when you work with her. Although she can handle you herself , I would still not like to see her shattered. Am I clear ? "

    The man nodded slightly before he left the ce with the ''kind'' gesture he recieved.

    This man was indeed dangerous when it was about his sister !

    Hell ! Why did it felt like even loving this girl was like a crime ?!

    But whatever it was , he still had to first make her fall for him before impressing these six over-protective tigers .

    And right now ... that was the most toughest part !

    _________

    " Hey ! Mr. RichXi ! "

    The moment the man came out of the house , he was greeted by the familiar sweet voice of his woman making his heart feel warmth and contented .

    If it was for this amazing girl , he could endure every insult , warning and threat thrown at him by her family of six men and three women .

    " Hey ! "

    " So ... we work together ! ", the girl''s voice showed clear traces of excitement.

    " Hmmm "

    " Bro Lu said you are very skilled. I am really looking forward to learn new things from you. You will teach me , right ?! ", the girl asked expectantly .

    The man was taken aback by her willpower to retain new things , because at her age , people were normally inclined towards materialistic things.

    What more , she was already very talented and skilled .

    " Of course I will teach you but you are already so intelligent. What do you have to learn from me ? ", the man asked .

    " As long as there is something that can be learned and it suits my interests , I can go through hell to achieve sess in it. And business is one of my interests. ", the girl shrugged .

    Why did he suddenly felt like ... this girl was just like him ?! He had the same curious and determined nature .

    One thing was for sure , it was not just her who was looking forward to work with him .

    He was excited as well .

 Chapter 121: The game of the camera angles !

    Chapter 121: The game of the camera angles !

    Just as the man and the woman were about to leave , Rong Xinghe''s phone rang .

    The girl picked it up to hear a creepy voice ," Military Chief Xinghe ! How have you been these days ? "

    " Who is it ? "

    " Forget that. Let me tell you what you have to do. You will send all the 50 new fighter jets of Country X''s Air Force to South Yemen by tomorrow. "

    " Nope. I won''t do that ", Rong Xinghe''s voice turned cold.

    " Think about it , Military Chief. I don''t like this ''No'' attitude. I will wait till tomorrow and if I don''t see 50 jet shadows on the horizon of Yemen , I will make your life a living hell. Trust me when I say this , I will make your own country hate you ! ", the person''s mocking voice came from the other end.

    Rong Xinghe tilted her head slightly as she chuckled ," I don''t like when people threaten me. So .... I am waiting !"

    The girl then hung up , " Let''s go "

    " Is everything fine ? ", Xi Yuan opened the door of his car as he helped the girl take the passenger seat .

    " Yeah ! Just some lovely threats. You know , the ones that make my day. ", the girl rolled her eyes .

    " You are crazy ! "

    " I know ! "

    Xi Yuan shook his head helplessly as he drove the car to Military Chief office before he left for his work .

    ___________

    Next morning , In Lu Corporation main office :

    Both Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe signed the Power of Attorney contract with Lu Wei. The media was kept in the dark as Lu Wei already had many business rivals. He naturally was not going to allow anyone to hurt his wife or unborn child.

    After the legalities and introductions were taken care of , Lu Wei left the office and Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe joined the meeting room with the shareholders as they discussed the main projects of Lu Corporations and distributed them among each other .

    Both of them were surprised by each other''s business tactics and understanding.

    Most astonished was , obviously , Xi Yuan. He had never expected Rong Xinghe to be so talented in this game of numbers and , even her every judgement regarding any issue was quite urate .It was very impressive that she remembered everything taught to her 6-7 years ago by Zhi Xi and Lu Wei. It was exactly now that he realized that this girl was indeed very capable. She wasn''t merely limited to sharpshooting , military management , analyzing ,bat skills , cooking , disguising herself or business. Her irs and expertise would always be unknown to the world .

    Sigh !

    Only if her self-confidence was not shattered like a mere ssware by those damned people !

    Xi Yuan had an important call to attend ,so he had to excuse himself from the meeting for a while .

    Rong Xinghe also dismissed the people after every important detail was taken care of .

    Only now did she picked up her phone , which was silent during the meeting , and connected the bluetooth earpiece to her ears as she started to exit the meeting room .

    She was a little stunned to see 57 missed calls from Assistant Shou Wu .

    The girl was about to call him back when she was pushed against the wall of the meeting room and a pair of strong arms grabbed her waist forcefully !

    The girl''s front was pinned against the wall while the attacker''s front was pressing against her backpletely caging her any movement.

    But who were they kidding ?!!!

    She was the strongestbat fighter of Country X. It was impossible to lock her so childishly until and unless .....

    " I never knew that the Military Chief of this Country is such a vulgar sl*t ! "

    Rong Xinghe was about kill the man but she froze on the spot when the familiar voice of Zhou Che fell upon her ears .

    The man seemed satisfied by her reaction as he smirked and continued .

    " Oh ... my Xinghe ! I have missed you so much for the past 5 years that words can''t describe my happiness today ! "

    Hate?!

    Who the f*ck gave him the right to hate ?!

    He was not the one who had taken Zhou Zhichen to drug rehabilitation center every third day. She was !

    He was not the one who was pped or called a murderer. She was !

    He was not the one who was wronged. She was !

    But that was enough now !

    The naive and innocent Rong Xinghe died a long time ago.

    She was the Military Chief of Country X now !

    She was not allowed to let anyone bully her because she had to maintain the dignity of her authority .

    " Leave me ! ", Rong Xinghe finally found her voice .

    As soon as Zhou Che heard these words , his grip on her waist tightened even more .

    In one swift move , he swirled the girl around and made her face him as he pulled her even more closer .

    But to his disappointment , there was no trace of regret , guilt or sadness in her eyes. Instead , her eyes were filled with confidence , courage and fearlessness !

    The manughed maniacally for sometime before he turned serious and squinted his eyes dangerously.

    " May I know the reason that , during our rtionship of one entire year , we never even kissed. But today , you have stooped so low that you can warm the beds of any man for your benefits. Okay , tell me. How many men have you wrapped around that little finger of yours ?! ", Zhou Che smiled wickedly .

    " I said hands off ! ", the girl''s voice turned even more cold .

    " You don''t believe me , do you ? Alright , look at this. Your true face has been revealed to the entire Country X. "

    Saying this , the man took out his phone and showed the news headlines to the girl .

    But opposite to his expectations , Rong Xinghe''s brows raised ever so slightly in surprise. Instead of the pale face , she seemed like she was just waiting for this !

    But .... this news could literally push her to the point where she would have to resign from her authority as the Military Chief !

    The news headlines were like this :

    { Military Chief Rong Xinghe : a shame to the nation ! }

    { Did the Military Chief of Country X hooked up with the son of Military Chief of Country N for benefits ? }

    { Is this the shameful way , in which , Military Chief ns to bring world peace and unity ?! }

    Actually , some photos were released by a famous journalist name Ali Ahmed from Country N on his social media ounts .

    In these photos , Rong Xinghe was kissing a young man. All these photos were clearly showing the two faces who were fairly recognizable even though the pictures were clicked in the dark .

    But it was just the game of the camera angles !

    In reality , the man''s lips hadn''t even touched Rong Xinghe''s lips .

    .... Because these were the photos clicked during the incident after the United Defense Summit , 2018 in New York City .

    At that time , a certain pervert and spoiled brat had tried to harm the girl''s honor and yet , she was being scolded and looked down upon by the citizens of her own Country !

 Chapter 122: Not worth her explanations

    Chapter 122: Not worth her exnations

    But the public was notpletely wrong .

    Country N and Country X had a long history of rivalry and enmity .

    Actually , Country N was once a part of Country X and after the freedom struggle against the British Colonies many years ago , they had demanded their different and independent state because of their differences with Country X .

    Country X had agreed to their appeal after almost an year of argument but their greed never ended .

    They kept on demanding for more and morend from Country X. But Country X couldn''t naturally agree to it due to its own massive poption.

    At the end , Country N took offence and started giving home to terrorist organisations to plot the destruction of Country X .

    Since then , there had been many terrorist attacks in Country X which resulted in deaths of millions of citizens.

    The entire Country X slowly came to the conclusion that Country N was their enemy and that they had to beware themselves of Country N''s every action .

    So now , whenever anything rted to Country N appeared in news , the channel ratings of News Channels automatically sky-rocketed .

    Therefore obviously , the news of the highest authority having such an intimate rtionship with Country N''s Military Chief''s son was bound to attract the attention and resentment from the public .

    __________

    But right now , Rong Xinghe had to handle this man in front of her first .

    " I said step back , Mr. Zhou !", Rong Xinghe raised her voice as if she was in a Military drill .

    But Zhou Che refused to do what he was told to do .

    He thought that just because the girl didn''t tried to exin him anything , she was epting that she had done those things with other men.

    For some unknown reason , the thought of her being touched by any other man made him ufortable .

    But he didn''t realized that , ording to this girl , he was not worth her exnations .

    He closed in on the girl and whispered in her ears ," Since you have turned so cheap , name your price and be my mistress !"

    Rong Xinghe clenched her fists tightly when she heard those words as she stared straight into the man''s eyes .

    With the close contact between them and his desire to hurt her , Zhou Che tried to ce his lips on hers but ...

    PAK !

    The man stumbled as he took a few steps back and ced his hands on his right cheek in shock .

    He was pped by the girl !

    He red at the girl angrily and tried to grab her again .

    But the girl was always one step ahead .

    " Aaahhh ! "

    One simple kick on his torso , and the mannded on the floor of the meeting room with a thud. He groaned in pain as he held his stomach.

    " Mr. Zhou ! You better remember your limits when you approach the highest authorities of this nation ! To you fortune , you are lucky enough that none of my Military subordinates are present here. Otherwise , they would''ve surely bathed you in your own pool of blood , by the bullets of their guns. And regarding me being with you again , I am sorry but I don''t have such low standards like yourselves anymore. I''d rather not see your face again in my life. I have big dreams and not some lowly revenge !" , the girl said coldly .

    After a pause , she again continued ," And please go and entertain Brother Zhi Xi as he is getting bored these past few days. Only when he is satisfied , should you turn around and target Lu Corporation. I am busy , you see !"

    With these words , the girl turned around and exited the meeting room , leaving behind a shocked and raging Zhou Che .

    :::::::::::::::

    As soon as Rong Xinghe stepped out of the meeting room , she saw a tall and intimidating man leaning against the wall connected to the door .

    " Eavesdropping is not a propriety neither is it a civilized behaviour , Mr. Xi.", the girl sighed .

    The man smiled tenderly as he reminded the girl of her own eavesdropping habit ," I am learning a thing or two from Miss. Xinghe. Come. I will drop you to Military Chief Office ."

    Barging in was the first thing he wanted to do when he heard that man''s voice and saw him forcing himself on his woman , but he still refrained.

    Because he wanted to know his woman''s feelings for him ...

    What if she still loved him ?!

    What if she rejected him because she still liked that Zhou Che ?!

    But , he couldn''t express his satisfaction and relief when he saw his girl p her ex-boyfriend !!!

    And that kick ..... well , that was a killer one !!!

    And when she said that Zhou Che was a low standard for her now , he was overjoyed and his heart had even started dancing !!!

    Good one. My soon-to-be-wifey ! Good one .

    It wouldn''t have been that much fun if he had personally beaten him up , though .

    " Nope ! I need to reach the Prime Minister Office. I have a meeting with the Prime Minister and President. ", the girl replied as she signaled the head manager of Lu Corporation toe over ," I don''t care if you throw him away or burn him down. But I want that man out of my brother''s workce in 5 minutes ! "

    " But ma''am , he is the CEO of Zhou Corporations ! ", the manager was troubled .

    " Are you trying to defy me ? ", Rong Xinghe red angrily.

    "Do as she says. Ask him to leave. ", Xi Yuan ordered coldly .

    If the manager was troubled by Rong Xinghe''s words earlier , he was terrified by Xi Yuan''s tone now. He nodded anxiously and went inside the meeting room .

    Rong Xinghe continued to walk as Xi Yuan caught upto her ," No big deal ! I will drop you to the Prime Minister Office ! "

    " I will drive. And you are going to have noints with my driving speed. You will survive. ", Rong Xinghe told the conditions .

    Xi Yuan was amused by the girl''s tone .

    It seemed like his woman was quite worked up because she had seen an unwanted face and it was for the best if she was infuriated by that Zhou Che.

    If she wanted to vent her anger by driving rashly , he was cool with it .

    " Okay. ", the man smiled.

    Both the people arrived in the parking area and took their seats in Xi Yuan''s ck Mercedes .

    " You ready ?! ", this girl smirked .

    " Yeah. "

    ___________

    After half an hour of speed driving rashly at a speed of 100 kph in some grasnds , the ck Mercedes finallynded back on the highway .

    Rong Xinghe nced at the man who was sitting beside her silently and calmly for the entire time.

    It was as if he waspletely confident that she would never hurt him , which in a way ... was true !

    For some unknown reason , she would never like to be the reason behind the pain of this man .

    The girl then thought about something and asked the man ," Yuan ! Can I ask you something ?! "

    The man nodded ," Sure !"

    " If you were standing just outside the meeting room , then why didn''t you came to save me from him ? "

    "Because I know that my woman can fight her own battles. I am aware of your capabilities. Its fine if you want to y around but ... ", the man smirked.

    "But ? "

    Suddenly , Xi Yuan leaned in on the girl and kissed her cheek ," You will be punished the next time you get too close to another man and try to make me jealous like today ! "

 Chapter 123: "I am afraid that they will demand your resignation !"

    Chapter 123: "I am afraid that they will demand your resignation !"

    SCREEECHHH !

    As soon as the man''s lips touched Rong Xinghe''s cheeks , her hands slipped over the steering wheel and the car turned around in the opposite direction !

    Since they were on a highway , many other vehicles were following their car and the driver in the car opposite them was terrified by this sudden change !

    Thankfully , the Mercedes model was a super car and it turned around on its own as it drove steadily .

    " F*cking hell ! How dare you ?! ", Rong Xinghe red at the man beside her angrily .

    Xi Yuan raised his brows ever so slightly and chuckled ," I can''t believe that the legendary Lu Wei allows his sister to abuse ! "

    Lu Wei was known for his ss , civilized behaviour and propriety. He , in particr , disliked the people who swore or abused in front of him. In fact , Zhi Al and Rong Xinghe had gotten scolded for who knows how many times because of this. Xi Yuan knew about this because during the one year of business management training , he had seen Lu Wei firing an employee of his for abusing .

    " No ! No ! Please. Don''t tell Bro Lu about this.", Rong Xinghe begged. Her anger had vanished the moment her brother was mentioned. That man would make her eat crappy oats for a whole month if he was told about this .

    " Alright. And about the kiss ... "

    " ... "

    " I don''t regret it ", the man grinned .

    " Of course you don''t !"

    How could she forget that this man had made it pretty much clear already that he was going to continue persuing her ?!

    She was just so excited to learn business tactics from Xi Yuan that shepletely forgot about it .

    Was this how it was going to be from now on ?

    These sudden intimacies ....

    Although , she felt a tingle and warmth in her body whenever he touched her , she couldn''t forget that she had rejected him and that she had to maintain a distance .

    But now that both of them had signed the Power of Attorney contract with Lu Corporations , they both were bound to work together ande in contact with each other .

    Aaarghhh !!!

    What had she gotten herself into ?!

    .... Because clearly , this certain person beside her was not going to give up any time soon !

    She nced at the man from the corner of her eyes with a furious gaze as he burst outughing when he heard her answer .

    .....

    As the car reached the main entrance of Prime Minister Office , Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan unfastened their seat belts but before the girl could step out of the car , Xi Yuan grabbed her hand and brought it near his heart .

    " Xinghe. About the scandal , do you want me to step out and clear everything ? ", the man asked seriously .

    He could do that because he was the one who had almost killed that man that night when that pervert had tried to force his woman.

    The girl''s heart literally jumped out by this sudden lovely gesture .

    " Yuan ... What''s wrong ? ", the girl asked .

    " I won''t allow anyone to bully my woman ! "

    " I am not your ... Aaaah ! Screw it ! ", the girl fumed up ," You don''t need to get involved. I can handle this alone. "

    The man smiled as he saw the furious girl and nodded slightly before caressing her open hair lovingly ," Hmm ... I will do as you say. "

    "..."

    The girl was scared when she realized the man was getting close !

    What the heck was he up to now ?!

    Without dying it for even a millisecond , the girl escaped the car and rushed inside the government building .

    Get away from him Xinghe !

    Xi Yuan shook his head helplessly as he got into the driver''s seat and drove away towards his office .

    __________

    " Wee , Military Chief ! Can we get some exnation about this ? "

    As soon as Rong Xinghe entered the Prime Minister''s main office , the old man stood up respectfully , bowed down and then showed her the same photos that were going viral .

    " What can I say ? This man tried to assault me. ", Rong Xinghe shrugged .

    " You think I''d believe that ? ", the President sitting on another chair smiled .

    " Do you think I want you to believe me ? The entire country is using me. You are wee to do that as well .", the girl smiled back with a meaningful gaze .

    " Military Chief , please don''t joke around. We have been working together for months now and I know all therades you work with. I refuse to believe that this is your personality. You are a woman of dignity and honor and of course , I believe you ! But you know the public. They have suffered quite some blows of terrorism and are quite sensitive regarding matters rted to Country N. If we don''t give them an exnation soon , I am afraid that they will demand your resignation ! And the Military needs you , Miss Rong. ", Prime Minister Ning Feng sighed .

    Was it necessary for her to make things tough for him ?

    Rong Xinghe giggled ," I have my own ways to deal with this. I was here to simply tell you both to rx. Maybe a massage in Thand could help with that. Rest assured , I will get out of this unscathed ! "

    The girl then turned around and left the office .

    What ?

    Rx ... Massage .... Thand ....

    Where did her confidence even came from ?!

    Both the old fellows looked at each other with perplexed expressions .

    They were left with the only option and that was to sit back and watch how she had nned to get out unscathed from such a situation ?

    ______________

    Meanwhile , as soon as Rong Xinghe reached Military Chief Office , she got a call from Mo Zixuan .

    " Seems like that Rong Xinghe is a ''bedwarmer'' and ''bodytrader'' ?! ", the manughed .

    " Is ''Media Ma'' Mo Zixuan teasing a lowly evil b*tch ?! ", the girl giggled as well .

    " How could the Military Chief of the Country be so cheap ? Right ?! ", Mo Zixuan made a shocked expression .

    " Indeed ! But I already knew it ! She couldn''t reach such heights by mere hardwork , you know. She must have had those skills of seduction up her sleeves ! ", the girl said in a taunting tone .

    As soon as the brother-sister were done with their act , they fell into fits ofughter. Both of themughed until they had to hold their stomachs .

    Only after calming down did Rong Xinghe reassured the man ," I will handle this. Be professional. You are a journalist and do what you need you to do. Don''t be partial towards me. I am just waiting for the right time. Also tell the other five about this. "

 Chapter 124: "Only then will I throw my trump card !"

    Chapter 124: "Only then will I throw my trump card !"

    " When did this happened , by the way ? Because clearly ... the angle of the camera is the problem. But the photos are not false. ", Mo Zixuan asked.

    " Umm ... it happened just after the United Defense Summit 2018. ", the girl replied .

    " I remember. The day after that you were wearing that brat Yuan''s shirt. Rogguang had told us that there were nail scratch marks on your wrist. Wait a second ... did that son of a bi*ch forced you ?! ", the man''s voice turned icy cold all of a sudden .

    " Yeah. He intended to sexually assault me. And the photos were of the time when he had tried to forcefully kiss me. I had already punched him on the mouth before that but these photos are clearly hiding that .",the girl answered honestly.

    " Damn ! Why didn''t you told us about it there and then kiddo ?! I would have killed him ! ", the man fumed up .

    " Bro Mo. Calm down. I already had a feeling that him approaching me out of nowhere was a bit odd. If I had been impulsive at that time , how would I have had been able to n the destruction of Country N''s Military Chief and his family ? ", the girl said coldly .

    " Destruction ? "

    " Mr. Mo ! PATIENCE is not simply the ability to wait - it''s how we behave while we''re waiting. Also , the two most powerful warriors are PATIENCE and time. I hope you understand ..... my son ! ", the girl smiled .

    " Forget Country N ! Forget its Military Chief ! Forget destruction ! First you exin me how does that damned insightful , philosophical , pensive and deep thinker Zhi Bo gets inside you all of a sudden ?!!! ", the man asked in an irritated tone .

    Could she not talk like a monk ?

    He was a fricken'' Crime Journalist ! How was he to adapt to such intense and deep conversations all of a sudden ?!

    And who was she calling " MY SON " ?

    The girlughed again before she cut the call with simple words " I mean that just be patient and do nothing. "

    ___________

    Meanwhile , entire Country X was raging in the mes of anger !

    They felt like Rong Xinghe had just been putting up an act when she had promised Country X the best security of the world .

    They were feeling betrayed and insecure .

    But most of them were feeling anger boiling up inside them .

    Many of Rong Xinghe''s followers turned into her anti-fans and started to scold her online .

    No matter how influential journalist Mo Zixuan was , resentment and anger from the entire nation was something even he could not handle.

    After all , a poption of 98 Million people was impossible to control .

    As a result , a huge angry mob of people showed up in front of Military Chief Office with banners and hoardings in their hands .

    They were there to protest and demand a resignation from Rong Xinghe .

    { Rong Xinghe , Leave the Country }

    { Resign ! Resign ! Resign ! }

    { Stop ying with our security , Leave Country X }

    { The traitor of the decade : Rong Xinghe }

    These were some slogans printed on the huge banners as the people held them above their heads and screamed with all their might .

    They wanted to get rid of this trash as soon as possible !

    On the other hand , Rong Xinghe smiled when she saw the CCTV footage of Office entrance calmly .

    What a lovely and warm country I am born in !

    " Military chief. Please allow us to shoot them all ! ", a young soldier clenched his fists angrily .

    Obviously , none of the officers in Military Chief team believed those photos .

    Whenever it came to army , trust was always the most important thing. Most of the Military Officers had seen Rong Xinghe''s capabilities. So they were sure that she would never need to stoop so low to acquire benefits.

    " Officer , we are here to give them a sense of security and not to kill them. How could you ask something like that ? Why would I allow you to kill them when I am myself living to safeguard their lives ? ", Rong Xinghe nced at the young officer .

    " But Military Chief ... they are insulting you ! "

    " I am not an actress who would care about what the world and society thinks of me. I will simply do my duties. ", the girl immersed herself back into the files in front of her .

    " But boss , they are also disrespecting your brothers ! "

    " If my brothers were so weak , then there was no way that I could be the Military Chief of this nation. I have learnt to be tough from those six men ! But don''t worry. I am waiting for Country N to demand Brother Bo''s removal from UNESCO. Only then will I throw my trump card ! ", the girl''s eyes darkened when she heard that her brothers had to endure these things as well .

    The young soldier became silent as he didn''t understood his boss''s words .

    But he was no one to teach her anything. She was herself quite brainy .

    So just like Prime Minister , President , her brothers and the entire Country X , he also was left with no choice but to wait .

    _____________

    The massive mob was waiting for Rong Xinghe to show her face but Rong Xinghe had other ns .

    In the evening , when Rong Xinghe was done with most of her work , she stood up and looked at the crowd through the floor-to-ceiling window .

    There was no way that they were going to let her out easily.

    But she had no intention to waste her energy on them either .

    So ... just when the people at the entrance were prepared to teach the ''traitor'' a lesson and were waiting for her outside the ce .... the powerful F15 Eagle with its advanced robust control system flew over their heads with a high pitched sound and a terrifying speed of 3000 km/h !

    The crowd couldn''t even digest what had happened as everything happened in a matter of two to three seconds !

    But ... when they realized what had just happened they were frightened to the core !!

    Hell !

    A Military Aircraft !

    Air Force''s most famous Fighter Jet !

    Did they just witnessed that ?!

    At this time , Rong Xinghe''s Assistant , Shou Wu came out of the government building as he held a mic in his hands and informed the crowd ," I request everyone to not create a scene here. Military needs to work and your shouting is not helping it at all. "

    " If you all are waiting for Military Chief Xinghe , I suggest you return back because she left just now ! ", Shou Wu then pointed towards the clear sky with an innocent smile .

    Public : " ..... "

    Did she just fooled them all ?

    Why were they waiting for an entire day if this was to happen ?

    And wait ... wasn''t F 15 Eagle''s recently developed model a ''One-seat'' aircraft ?

    Damn !

    Didn''t that mean that she flew it herself ?!!!

 Chapter 125: The bitter irony of this society

    Chapter 125: The bitter irony of this society

    Next day ,

    Just like Rong Xinghe had predicted , Country N''s Government and Military made a statement to the media that since Rong Xinghe had affected the feelings of citizens of both the nations adversely , her six brothers couldn''t be any better than her .

    After all , they were the ones who had brought her up .

    So they requested that any family member of such a person should not be allowed to acquire the influential position such as the General Representative for Country X in UNESCO. Apparently , it was too dangerous .

    Hence , Country N ended up appealing for Zhi Bo''s resignation from his post .

    ___________

    But an hour after Country N''s statement was released , Country X''s Military also called for an urgent press conference !

    Soon , In the Press Briefing Room of Military Chief Office :

    Many journalists and camera operators were waiting for Rong Xinghe''s arrival with toxic intentions of identity shaming. Their target was not just Rong Xinghe but also her six pirs of strength. After all , these seven people ranked at the top , no matter whatever they did or whichever profession they were associated with .

    Worst part was , that despite being such famous public identities and having media surveincing their every move , the ck sea of cameras could still not find any dirt on any of them .

    So , although Country N had targeted just Zhi Bo , the media was ready to tear apart everyone associated with Rong Xinghe !

    Shortly after , Rong Xinghe arrived in front of the evilly hunting gazes and silently walked in front of the podium and tapped the mic twice before speaking in a cold and intimidating toneplimenting her authority ," Please ask every question one by one. Only then will I answer. "

    The reporters were slightly taken aback by the woman''s confidence as they looked at each other with muddled expressions. Wasn''t she supposed to have a guilty approach at such a point of time ? Howe she was so confident ?

    " Military Chief ! Are the photos of you kissing Country N''s Military Chief''s son true ? "

    " Nope "

    " But we have discussed the authenticity of these images with the experts. Are you trying to deny that Military Chief ? Don''t you feel any shame for revealing your body to an enemy for the benefit of power ?!", a female reporter who had gotten married not too long ago was infuriated. She , obviously , hated the people who made such a pure rtionship , a mere thing of benefit and pleasure.

    " I refuse to believe that the journalists of this nation do not know the limits of their tongues ! Is this how the media is supposed to address one of the highest positions of the country ?! ", Rong Xinghe red coldly at the youngdy , who had started to involuntarily tremble by the icy words.

    Rong Xinghe then turned to look at Shou Wu ," Note down her name ! "

    The entire Briefing Room fell silent as they reflexively removed all the offensive words from their minds .

    " Can the Military Chief exin the photos please ?! ", another reporter asked after sometime .

    Rong Xinghe took a deep breath before she started providing details ," It was not a kiss but an attempt of sexual harassment. "

    What ?

    Every journalist was shocked when they heard the two words ''sexual harassment'' ?

    How could it be ?

    Did that mean that she was a victim in this entire plot ?

    This conference was streaming live in every corner of the world , so millions of people were intrigued by such a shocking revtion. They were now keen to see the second face of the coin .

    The girl continued ," Of course , with mybat skills , it was impossible for him to get away with his intentions. This had happened after the United Defense Summit when I was waiting for my car. Well ... I know that my words won''t speak louder than the proof I have. So let''s just get over with it. Since this was a game of camera angles , then there can surely be two cameras. Officer , please show them the video ."

    A soldier nodded and connected a pen drive to the projector and the big screen lit up to reveal a scandalous video !

    In this video , the son of Country N''s Military Chief had grabbed Rong Xinghe''s right arm forcefully as blood flowed down his mouth and he seemed to be angry .

    Rong Xinghe''s back was clearly facing the camera but she could be identified because of the unique Military Uniform on her body.

    But this was not the shocking part. The shocking part was that Rong Xinghe had taken out her revolver from her waistband belt holster by her free left hand after tucking her phone into her pocket !

    The video clipsted for merely five - six seconds .

    Rong Xinghe turned around to face the media again as she replied ,"This is a small clip of the CCTV footage from the camera in the adjacent street to the venue of the event. I am guessing some of you might even falsify this video. But why would I want to kill my ''lover'' or ''benefactor'' , as per you say ? Anyway , its fine if no one believes it. I always keep an option B. "

    The girl then nodded towards Shou Wu and as if on cue , he walked towards the podium and yed an audio recording .

    {{{ " Military Chief Rong. One night. Name your cost "

    THUMP !

    " Who the f*ck do you think you are ?! And what the f*ck do you think you can do to a man ?! Let me tell you one thing. I can strip you right here ! I can **** you right here on this very street !!! Just because you are a crappy Military Chief of a crappy country doesn''t mean that you can hide the fact that you are a woman. I am a man and I can f*ck you right here ! " }}}

    The moment the recording stopped , entire briefing room erupted into heated discussions !

    This was such a breaking news !

    What a scandal ?!!

    She was a victim in the whole scenario , yet she was the one who was being judged , insulted and defamed ruthlessly while the person guilty was being praised in his country for ruining the honor of Country X.

    This was matter of immense shame for Country X because it was their fault to not trust their own daughter .

    But then again , this was the bitter irony of this society where women were judged and men were unaffected by such situations .

    But who did they thought this woman was ?

    This woman was not a pushover. Everything she did , she did it for a reason

    And their was a very calctive reasoning behind this press conference as well.

    The real mercilessness of Rong Xinghe was yet to be seen .

    She was going to tell the entire Country N , who the real boss was !

 Chapter 126: Were they even left with anything to do ?

    Chapter 126: Were they even left with anything to do ?

    Meanwhile , certain six men clenched their fists when they heard the contents of the recording .

    It seemed like they hadn''t doted much on their kiddo ....

    Someone actually had the guts to talk to their sister in such a manner !

    " I am going to kill that bastard ! ", Zhi Al was worked up the most .

    " No need ", Mo Zixuan said calmly .

    The other five men looked at him with puzzled expression. Wasn''t he angry at all ?!

    " Guys ... Our sister can''t be bullied so easily. I can tell that she ispletely prepared. Let''s just sit back and watch the show. ", Mo Zixuan smiled meaningfully.

    ___________

    In the Press Briefing Room ,

    Rong Xinghe silenced the media before speaking again .

    " I hope that things are clear now. Now it is the time for punishment. Mr. Shin Zo , the person involved in this incident has tried to harm the honour of Country X by attacking its Military Chief. And our country''s military has never gone easy on such people.

    "So I hereby dere a death sentence to Mr. Shin Zo !

    " While , we are here discussing the incident , the Military Chief Security Team (MCST) is following the Military Protocols in Country N. I guess Mr. Shin Zo should have died by now. ", the girl said as she nced at the smartwatch on her wrist .

    All the members of media were shocked by this revtion !

    Damn ! The man was already dead !

    There was indeed a Military Protocol in the army which stated that whoever tried to physically hurt or harm the honour of Prime Minister , President or Military Chief of Country X , would be straight away killed by the Union Security Teams like MCST .

    This protocol applied on any individual , no matter , which nation he/she belonged to .

    But the fact that Rong Xinghe could be so strict and merciless was a little terrifying .

    She was not someone who could be offended so easily .

    But Rong Xinghe wasn''t done yet. After all , her brothers were disrespected in this entire scenario. What more , Zhi Bo was under pressure to resign from the position of General Representative of Country X from UNESCO .

    " Also , the Military of Country X demands a resignation from the Military Chief of Country N , Mr. Yun Zo by tomorrow evening. ", the girl said in a cold bone-chilling tone .

    As soon as Rong Xinghe''s words fell onto their ears , the reporters'' backs stiffened as they weren''t just shocked , but horrified !

    What the hell ?

    How could she demand something like that ?

    She was taking things one level up straight to the international level !

    " Military Chief ! We ept that Mr. Shin Zo had crossed his line. But was it really necessary to kill him ?! ", a journalist asked .

    " Also , what is the connection between Mr. Yun Zo''s resignation and this incident ?! Why would he do that ?! ", another reporter asked .

    " Firstly , I don''t think that rapists should be allowed to even breathe. So of course , it was necessary for Mr. Shin Zo to die. Because if he had the guts to assault the highest military authority of a country , then it is impossible to guess how many women had been the victims of his lust ! ", Rong Xinghe''s words were sharp and to the point .

    " And secondly , regarding Mr. Yun Zo''s resignation definitely has a connection to the incident. After all , this is the theory Country N , itself believes in. ", the girl answered .

    " What do you mean by '' Country N itself believes in this theory '' , Military Chief ?!! ", a reporter asked with perplexed expression .

    Rong Xinghe took a deep breath before she replied swiftly ," Since , Country N believes that any individual connected to a criminal or a traitor should not be allowed to behold the high thrones of the society , doesn''t this imply on themselves ?!

    " Under the illusion that I had betrayed Country X , the entire world was asking for Mr. Zhi Bo''s resignation from the position of General Representative of Country X in UNESCO , because he is associated to me.

    " Then now that Mr. Shin Zo is proved guilty for an assault attempt , I want to know if Mr. Yun Zo , as his father , is permitted to behold this highest throne of an entire army ?!

    " I have turned the tables now. And I expect a resignation soon. Because rules of a game are applied to every yer. And I hope that Country N won''t back out because I do hold grudges. Thank you everyone. "

    With these words , Rong Xinghe left the Briefing Room leaving the media with a lot of breaking news .

    Damn it !

    She had actually defeated the enemies in their own game .

    Soon , the news of Country N''s Military Chief''s son''s death went viral !

    She was really not joking !

    She had actually killed him and she was really serious about the resignation .

    This woman was surely calctive and brilliant at devising ns for revenge .

    _____________

    Meanwhile , each one of the six men were stunned speechless by the girl''s actions .

    They had never expected her to go to this extent for them ....

    Everything she did , she did it in a very calcted manner !

    She deliberately waited for the Country N to add Zhi Bo in the mix before striking back her counterattack !

    She had even killed that bastard who had forced her so ruthlessly !

    Were they even left with anything to do ?

    " Brothers !!! "

    Just when they were pondering upon the turn of events , Rong Xinghe''s excited shriek rang throughout the room !

    The men turned around to look in the direction of the door as Rong Xinghe ran inside the ce with the speed of light as she hugged Zhi Bo with a grin .

    " I saved you ! "

    Zhi Bo ced a soft kiss on the girl''s forehead and smiled back ," Hmm ... I have an amazing sister ! "

    There was no cold and dangerous aura radiating the girl anymore. Instead , there was just warmth and love .

    This girl had switched off the facade of the fierce Military Chief and converted herself into a tender and sweet sister .

    All the six men buried every question in their heart and simply smiled .

    Let bygones be bygones .

    It was all fine if she was satisfied in the end .

 Chapter 127: Xi Yuans embarrassing photo !

    Chapter 127: Xi Yuan''s embarrassing photo !

    Meanwhile , In Zhou Family Mansion :

    The man''s face turned pale as soon as the video and voice recording was yed in the live broadcast .

    Zhou Che''s grip on the TV remote loosened as it fell down.

    It ... was not the girl''s fault .

    In fact , she was the victim. She never did anything like that with any other man.

    The first thing that surged into him was guilt .

    The guilt that he had misunderstood her ....

    The guilt that he had even asked her to be his mistress .....

    The guilt that he had addressed her as a ''vulgar slut'' !

    No matter how much he hated her today , he could not deny Rong Xinghe''s chasteness and purity .

    No matter what , he had been with her for an entire year. He obviously knew how sensitive she was regarding such matters .

    Although they never had any intimacy during that year , she was still a woman who never allowed desires to overpower her believes and thoughts .

    He felt even more ashamed by the fact that he had even forced himself onto her and had tried to kiss her.

    Was he any different than that Sin Zo on the TV screen ?!

    Didn''t he do the same thing ?!

    No wonder the girl pped him that day !

    No wonder she kicked him so hard that day !

    Why would she ept his meaningless usations when she knew that she had done nothing wrong ?!

    The man clenched his fists as anger surged him !

    He was never a man who would force himself on someone like that , back then. Just what had gotten into him ?!

    Why couldn''t he imagine her melting in someone else''s arms ?!

    Why couldn''t he control himself when she was so close to him ?!

    Why did he felt his heart beat faster when he was about to kiss her ?!

    No ! He should be hating her !

    She had killed his Zhichen. She had killed his brother !

    He was supposed to avenge his brother !

    ______________

    Next day , In Elite Saphhire Penthouse :

    Xi Yuan woke up in the early morning as he did some regr workout in his personal gym. After that , he went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast for his threeckeys who were looking at their childhood photo collection on the huge TV screen.

    These three had discussed Rong Xinghe''s bold actions with so much excitement the night before , that theypletely forgot that Xi Yuan was himself present there at the time of incident.

    All of a sudden , his woman was their inspiration , goddess and boss .

    He had been noticing that these three had actually started to get quite close to the girl from the past few days.

    Especially , Xi Wei. It was as if he did everything to impress her. Apparently, he wanted to earn the tag of ''best brother-inw'' from the girl.

    Xi Ying was no less. Even her criteria for dating was based on Rong Xinghe''s male alias. She would straight away reject a guy whose beard was not like Lu Xi .

    After sometime , Xi Yuan brought the breakfast into the living room as Xi Wei and Xi Ying were busy with chuckling .

    The screen showed a picture of Xi Fang and Xi Ying throwing flour on each other .

    Then another came , where Xi Wei had poured water on his father , Xi Chonglin''s head .

    And another one , in which , Xi Yuan was teaching Mathematics to the trio .

    This photo was the cutest one. Xi Yuan was merely 9 years old while Xi twins were 5 years old and Xi Wei was just 4 years old. Xi Yuan was wearing spectacles akin to an aged professor as he wrote a math equation on the ckboard. While the Xi trio made awkward faces as they understood nothing .

    At this time , Xi Ying got a phone call and she stepped out to take it .

    After it , came the photo Xi Yuan hated the most. It was photo when he was 1 year old and he was naked in it !

    But this was not the funniest part. He was quite a fluffy child back then , so it made him look even more cuter .

    As soon as this photo shed on the screen , Xi Yuan''s smile faded from his lips while the two men burst outughing .

    Aaaarghhh !

    He had already told them to delete this but they never listened to him. They literally intended to protect this photo with their life .

    Bastards !!

    At this time , Xi Yuan heard soft footsteps approaching the living room .

    And within a second , he knew who it was ! He quickly picked up the remote and changed the contents on the TV screen quickly .

    " Hello , neighbors ! ", Rong Xinghe entered the room as she waved at Xi Wei .

    But then her eyesnded on the remote in Xi Yuan''s hands and then on the TV screen as she burst outughing ,"HAHAHAHA ! Yuan ! I never expected you to be a Tom and Jerry fan ! You are so cute ! "

    It was now that the three Xi men looked at the screen and saw the usual bantering between famous cartoon characters Tom and Jerry going on.

    Damn it !

    Did god saved him from one embarrassment to put him into another embarrassing situation ?

    "No ... I was just ... ", the man tried to exin but ...

    " You are right , Xiao Xinghe ! Brother loves to watch all type of cartoons. He is a fan Scooby-Doo , Spongebob , Looney Tunes and many more. He never misses a single episode , you see ! ", Xi Wei butted in to draw his goddess''s attention .

    Who the hell needed enemies if they had brothers like this moron , Xi Yuan thought .

    "Really ?",the girl raised her brows .

    Xi Wei made the girl sitfortable and after 10 minutes of exining , he finally convinced her that Xi Yuan was still a cartoon loving person .

    Xi Yuan also let it be. It was fine. At least , she hadn''t seen that photo. What would she have thought ?

    "Alright Yuan , I need you to sign this partnership contract with Williamsons'' Business Corporation. You know these documents need ourbined consent since we both are power of attorney representative for Lu Corporations .", the girl passed a brown colored folder to the man .

    Xi Yuan nodded and sat down on the opposite couch .

    As if on cue , Xi Wei quickly passed his breakfast te to his sis-inw and asked her some flirting tricks. While , the man signed the files silently .

 Chapter 128: " It must be a boy!"

    Chapter 128: " It must be a boy!"

    After sometime , Xi Ying entered the ce with an exhausted expression as she sat down on the couch beside Rong Xinghe and hugged her .

    " What happened , Ying ? ", Rong Xinghe patted the girl''s back .

    " How do I tell , Xiao Xinghe ? All my friends ditched me. We had nned to go shopping the morning day after tomorrow , but it is all ruined now. I really need new clothes. ", Xi Yingined .

    " What is the big deal in that ? I will go shopping with you ", Rong Xinghe shrugged .

    " What ?! Really ?! "

    " Obviously ! Aren''t you my darling ? But I have some official work in the Pearl market. I need to get some information about the military rivals. I hope you will be fine with it. ", Rong Xinghe smiled.

    " No probs. You are the best ! "

    After sometime , the Xi trio left the living room for their business meetings leaving behind their goddess and their brother .

    " Done ", Xi Yuan smiled .

    " Perfect ! I will go then .", Rong Xinghe finished the sandwich as she stood up and stretched her hand to take the documents .

    But Xi Yuan grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him and swiftly made her sit on hisp .

    Rong Xinghe was shocked but not too much .

    This man had gotten more and more shameless after the confession .

    Earlier , he might have had held himself back. But now , he feared nothing .

    The girl frowned and tried to stand.

    But the next second , Xi Yuan hugged her lovingly as he caressed her hair ," I am proud of you ! "

    Rong Xinghe didn''t reacted .

    Was he saying this because of how she handled things with the Country N ?!

    He was proud of her ?

    Why did she felt a sense of joy in her heart after she heard his words ?!

    The man then released the girl from.his embrace.

    " Xinghe. Since you are going with Ying , please take your security into consideration. I won''t be able to see you hurt again. I will send my bodyguards with you both. And enjoy yourselves. "

    The girl stood up and took the documents in her hands ," Don''t worry. I won''t let anything happen to your sister. "

    " I know. And that''s the reason that I am more worried for my woman. Don''t take your own security for granted. ", Xi Yuan said .

    Just when the girl was about to say something , the man moved closer to her and kissed her cheek making her freeze , " Take care "

    But the moment the man retreated , Rong Xinghe turned around and left the ce without looking back for once .

    She really needed to make sure that she would not be left alone with this man again !

    ___________

    09:00 p.m. ;

    Rong Xinghe reached Lu Family Mansion with some scented candles as she had read somewhere that sweet fragrance is good for the health of pregnant woman and baby .

    If anyone was the most excited about this child , it was definitely Rong Xinghe. She was eagerly waiting to see her niece or nephew. Although , she was busy with Lu Corporations and Military , she still managed to visit Ningtao everyday.

    When Rong Xinghe reached the living room , she saw that Lu Wei''s father and mother had already arrived and even Ningtao''s mother was present there .

    Obviously , everyone were in a jolly mood as they were going to be grandparents. Ningtao was taken care of as if she was a delicate ssware while Lu Wei was making snacks for the elders .

    As soon as Lu Wei''s father , Lu Hongguang saw Rong Xinghe , his smile widened even more ,"My daughter ! Why are you standing there ? Come. Come to uncle !"

    Everybody turned around and lifted their heads to look at the girl and smiled .

    "Uncle ! Aunty !", Rong Xinghe approached the old couple and hugged them .

    Lu Wei''s mother , Zheng Keer smiled warmly and ced her hand on the girl''s shoulder where she had been shot not too long ago as she teared up ," Oh my baby ! You were so brave during that terrorist incident. Tell me ! Does it still hurt ?! "

    " No aunty. I am fine ", the girl smiled .

    Father Lu turned around to look at Lu Wei ," What are you standing there for ? Go and make tea for my daughter !"

    " Exactly ! She has gotten so weak ! How have you six been taking care of her ? Shame on you all .",Mother Lu red angrily at the man .

    Lu Wei : " ..... "

    Why don''t you guys just disown me ?

    Because clearly , you love her more !

    Is this how someone treats their own child ?

    Then again , both Father Lu and Mother Lu were fond of Ningtao and Rong Xinghe more than him .

    He was their only child and both of them had always wanted a daughter .

    But even after trying for a long time , Mother Lu couldn''t conceive.

    Lu Hongguang and Rong Xinghe''s father were University friends. In fact , when Rong Xinghe''s mother had delivered her and Rong Xiao , both Father Lu and Mother Lu had pledged to treat both the sisters as their own daughters .

    Hence , one could say that Lu Family had three children : Lu Wei , Rong Xinghe and Rong Xiao .

    Of course , Ningtao was also treated by the Lu family as their own .

    " Bro Lu. Make me some lemon tea. ", Rong Xinghe also giggled and sat down beside Ningtao as she enjoyed all the pampering .

    She knew it very well that he was helpless around Father Lu and Mother Lu .

    So she could make him do whatever she wanted .

    " Baby , get me some juice also .", Ningtao joined Rong Xinghe .

    Lu Wei red at the two not-so-obedientdies of his life for sometime before he headed towards the kitchen as he muttered under his breath ," I should take upon the profession of a servant soon ! No use being a CEO !"

    The man''s words were clearly heard by everyone as they startedughing uncontrobly .

    After that , Rong Xinghe went to help Mother Lu unpack the bag in her room while Father Lu went into the kitchen to discuss something with Lu Wei .

    ...

    Rong Xinghe was climbing down the stairs when she suddenly stopped in her tracks as she heard Ningtao and her mother''s conversation .

    " Okay Tao , tell me. Who touched your belly for the first time after you were diagnosed pregnant by the doctors ? ", Mother Ning asked in an anxious tone .

    " Wei did , Mom. But why are you asking this ? ", Ningtao was a little confused .

    " Oh dear. I recently visited a saint in India. He looked into your and Wei''s profile and said that you both will have only one child. ", Mother Ning tried to exin .

    " What are you trying to say Mom ?"

    " Tao. If you are going to have only one child , then it must be a boy ! "

 Chapter 129: Past with the Rongs ...

    Chapter 129: Past with the Rongs ...

    " What are you saying Mom ?! ", Ningtao was shocked .

    " Look Tao. Your father is no more. So I naturally believe and hope that he wille back to us as your son. Also , only a son can expand a family one step further. He will bring you a daughter-inw and will stay with you in your twilight years. So this child should be a boy. ", Mother Ning expressed her views .

    " And what if it is a girl ? ", Ningtao subconsciously touched her belly .

    " Then that will be too bad. ", Mother Ning sighed .

    " I can''t believe that you still have such a narrow mindset in 21st century , Mrs. Ning ! ", Lu Hongguang entered into the living room ,"Do you even have any idea how sweet daughters are ? In today''s society , girls are as much capable as boys. Our Lu family will wee the child , no matter what the gender it has , with open arms. "

    " And who will take the blood lineage of your family further ? A boy. Mr. Lu , I understand your broad thoughts but we can''t help the way this society works. ", Mother Ning refuted .

    Soon , even Zheng Keer and Lu Wei entered the living room as they tried to calm down the situation but Mother Ning had no intention to retreat or back down.

    But even Lu Wei had to speak up when mother Ning proposed a gender determination checkup ," I am sorry Mom , but gender determination is a crime in country X and there is no way that me and Ningtao are going to be involved in anything illegal. We are not going to those good-for-nothing roadside doctors you have found. This is me and my wife''s child you are talking about. You need to stop involving in our lives. I won''t even allow my own Mom and Dad to say something in this ."

    :::::::::::::::::::::::::

    " Xinghe !!! "

    Suddenly , Xi Yuan''s panic stricken voice rang out throughout the living room as everyone turned around to look in the direction of the stairs .

    As soon as Lu Wei saw his sister lying unconscious in Xi Yuan''s arms , his face turned as pale as a sheet .

    Crap !

    Did she listened everything ?!!

    How could he forget that this was an extremely sensitive topic for her ?!!

    " Senior Lu ! Please call Senior Rogguang ! ", Xi Yuan looked anxiously at Lu Wei before he lifted up the girl in his arms and took her into a nearby room .

    _______________

    " H..How is she ?!" , Mother Lu asked worriedly as soon as she saw Su Rogguanging out of the room where the girl was still lying insensately .

    Su Rogguang didn''t answered anything directly , but he approached Lu Wei angrily and confronted him ," She had a migraine stroke , Wei ! When she was diagnosed with Basr-type migraine , didn''t we all read heaps of books on this disease ? Although nothing happened to her today , it doesn''t change the fact that these strokes can be fatal and dangerous .

    " And I know for a fact that this stroke took ce because some disturbing visual images had shed through her mind before she got unconscious. Can you exin that ?! And don''t you dare tell me that it was about her past with the Rongs ! You know better than ignoring her existence whenever any rtable topices up. "

    On the sidelines , when Xi Yuan heard Su Rogguang''s words , his back stiffened involuntarily .

    Past with the Rongs ....

    Disturbing visual images ....

    What the hell was going on ?!

    Xi Yuan then took a deep breath and handed the file in his hand to Lu Wei ,"You need to sign this ."

    And under the confused and perplexed gazes , the man fearlessly walked inside the room to see his girl .

    He simply held the girl''s soft yet cold hands into his warm ones as he gazed at her with concern enveloping his heart .

    Su Rogguang had to leave as he had to perform a surgery he was scheduled for .

    And after calming down Mother Lu , Father Lu and Mother Ning and sending them to rest , Lu Wei put Ningtao to bed beforeing back into the girl''s room .

    To his surprise , Xi Yuan was still sitting in the same ce and in the same position .

    " You should go back ... "

    " Please , let me just sit here Senior ." , the man requested.

    " Sigh ! ..... Do you want to know about her past with the Rongs ? ", Lu Wei sat down on the bed facing Xi Yuan and asked him.

    The man stayed silent.

    " Yuan , I believe that her time with the Rong family was worse than that with the Zhou family. She was never treated like a princess there. In fact , she was treated worse than any animal. Unlike your grandfather and grandmother , her grandparents hated her. The reason was simple , her gender. I was in the hospital with my parents when her mother was giving birth to her and Xiao.

    " Her grandparents and the entire Rong family was also there. I had myself seen her grandmother praying to god that at least one child should be a boy. But when doctors informed that her mother had given birth to twin girls , her grandmother broke down in tears and created a huge scene in the hospital corridor. None of the Rong family members smiled for once .

    " In fact , they didn''t even bothered to look at the girls and directly went back home. Of course, both of her parents were happy with these two little bundles of joy.

    "You know who was the first person to hold her in arms ? It was me. At that time , I had pledged to treat her as my own sister. I had pledged to protect the both of them all my life.

    " But the reaction of Rong family proved one thing to me that day. Life in that family was not going to be easy for her and Xiao. s ! I couldn''t do anything back then because Rongs had her legal custody. At first , she was fine. But after her mom and dad left for their confidential mission when she was just 2 , her situation became miserable.

    " I can''t tell you what they did to her since she was a child , because it is not my ce to do so. When she is prepared to open up to you about this , she will tell you everything herself.

    " What I want you to know is that she never had a childhood. All she has seen is pain and sufferings. Her today''s reaction was also the result of that. The images of her painful past , her horrifying childhood came back to her mind resulting in this migraine stroke.

    " Gender discrimination is a sensitive topic for her because she herself has been a victim of that. Today , when Ningtao''s mother said what she said today , she reflexively thought about her days in the Rong family. "

 Chapter 130: " Is this the way to treat a guest , Military Chief ? "

    Chapter 130: " Is this the way to treat a guest , Military Chief ? "

    Xi Yuan felt his heart tighten when he heard Lu Wei''s words .

    His woman never had a childhood. All she had seen were pain and sufferings.

    When she had walked into his life , he had felt as if he had got a reason to live. Even her absence made it difficult for him to survive.

    How could the Rong family be ruthless enough to treat such an angel like some trash .The person whose presence in itself was a source of energy for him , how could they not feel their luck to have her in their lives ?

    In this century , it was a shame that gender discrimination still existed.

    No wonder she kept fighting ...

    She kept fighting to prove herself to the world ....

    She kept fighting to make herself tough ....

    She kept fighting love ....

    She kept fighting happiness ....

    She had seen so much pain that she had stopped believing that she deserved love , happiness and warmth of a family .

    Instead , she had started fearing these things .

    Her hope and desperation to be loved must have had pushed her towards that Zhou Che back then. But in the end , what happened ?

    Everyone who entered her life had caused her immense pain. It waspletely understandable for her to reject him. Her fears were reasonable. And he understood these things very well .

    He had to take baby steps.

    He couldn''t push her because although she was a tough woman , her heart was quite fragile. He had to take her emotions into consideration .

    ....

    The man then lifted his head to look at Lu Wei .

    Lu Wei was still patting the girl''s forehead with a helpless expression .

    Xi Yuan was a little stunned when he saw his strict mentor like this. It turned out that it wasn''t just him whose hands were tied when it came to this girl .

    But no matter how these six men threatened him , Xi Yuan was never offended.

    Instead , he respected them all the more. Because if it weren''t for them and their support , this girl of his would have suffered even more. They were her biggest support system , after all .

    .....

    " Wei ! I am sorry ! ", Ningtao entered the room with tears in her eyes .

    " Mrs. Lu , you should be sleeping. ", Lu Wei stood up from the bed and wiped his woman''s tears .

    " How could I sleep ? My baby girl is in so much pain because of me .", the woman looked at the girl .

    " Its not because of you Tao .... ", the man sighed but was cut off mid-sentence by the woman .

    " It was my mother who brought this up. You know what , I will tell her to leave tomorrow. You and Xinghe are my first priority. I don''t want her to hurt you both. Xinghe could have been in danger today , Wei. I can''t lose any of you two. I .... can''t ... ", Ningtao choked .

    " Silly , she is ''our'' mother , not just yours. She had been brought up with this mindset since her childhood. We can''t just tell her to leave. This is not the way rtionships are handled. We will try to convince her. And about Xinghe , I am her brother. I will talk to her tomorrow when she wakes up. ", Lu Wei pulled the sobbing woman in his arms .

    " Why are you so calm ? She has clearly lost her mind ! I don''t care what you do. But if I see my sister-inw going through such a pain again , I will pack her bags and throw them out of this ce ! ", Ningtao warned .

    " Hmmm ", a smile appeared across Lu Wei''s lips .

    And of course , her sister-inws were no less , Xi Yuan thought .

    ________

    Next morning ;

    The girl finally opened her eyes and sat up on the bed as she scratched her head in confusion .

    She was stunned to see the scene in front of her. Lu Wei and Xi Yuan were signing some documents on the coffee table.

    But then she rememberedst night .

    " Brother ", the girl said in hoarse and raspy voice .

    The two men looked at her before Lu Wei stood up and walked towards her .

    The girl put on a slight smile on her lips and stretched her hands ," Morning "

    Lu Wei sat down beside her and hugged her tightly ," I am sorry ! "

    Rong Xinghe smiled ,"Its fine. I was wrong. I reacted too sensitively. But brother , you will have to talk to her. There is no way I am tolerating this gender determination crap. "

    The man released the girl from his embrace and patted her head ," Of course , I will not allow that. But don''t take any of her words to heart. Alright ? "

    The girl nodded like a rattle drum before she pushed Lu Wei out of the bed ," Now go ! Go and give my sister-inw a morning kiss. And make some breakfast for her as well ."

    ::::::::::::::::::

    After Lu Wei left , the girl nced at Xi Yuan with a muddled expression before she got down the bed and walked towards him .

    " I came here to talk business with Senior Lu ", the man exined .

    " Did he told you something about mest night ? ", the girl furrowed her brows.

    " Nope ", the man smiled .

    It was better for her to not worry about it .

    " Alright. Get out. I need to get a shower. ", the girl pointed towards the door .

    The man smirked and closed in on the girl as he kissed her forehead lovingly ," Is this the way to treat a guest , Military Chief ?! I am so grateful ... I will be waiting down for you. "

    The man then turned around as he left the girl in her frozen state .

    ____________

    9:00 a.m.

    As soon as the girl walked down the stairs of the ce , Ningtao rushed towards her and pulled her in a warm hug .

    " I am sorry baby ! "

    " Its alright. Calm down. ", Rong Xinghe patted the woman''s back.

    " Bro Lu. I will leave now. Take care of my sister-inw "

    Lu Wei nodded and the girl turned around to leave but it was now that she saw Mother Ning approaching her .

    " Xinghe ... I ... "

    " If my brother or sister-inw are affected in all this , then I might do something beyond your imagination. And trust me. My anger is not something even the toughest of the terrorists can endure , then who do you think you are ?! ", Rong Xinghe''s voice turned colder than the ice .

    Almost everyone in the living room were shocked when they heard the girl''s words.

    It was rare for Rong Xinghe to use such a tone when she interacted with anyone rted to her brothers .

    But then again , her reaction wasn''t unreasonable at all .

    Everyone knew how much this girl doted on her brothers .

    It wasn''t just the six men who liked to protect her .

    " Let''s go , Yuan ", the girl exited the ce and the man followed her.

 Chapter 131: " I will not let anything happen to you "

    Chapter 131: " I will not let anything happen to you "

    Next Morning ,

    " Alright , Ying. I am done with my work. Now we can go for shopping ! ", Rong Xinghe reached the mall where Xi Ying was waiting for her.

    " Let''s buy some clothes first and then we will get some heals and after that , I need new shades of lipstick as well. After that , we will have some coffee. Okay ? ", Xi Ying was quite excited to shop around with her to be sis-inw.

    Rong Xinghe frowned a little when she heard all that. She never liked to do shopping. Every time she stepped out for shopping , she would end up in a fast food restaurant at the end. She had practically zero knowledge about these things.

    Even her clothes and jewellery were taken care of by her sister-inws and brothers .

    " Uhhh... I am not that good with shopping , you know. So don''t even ask my opinions about any brand. ", Rong Xinghe rubbed her neck awkwardly .

    " Then why did you joined me for shopping , Xiao Xinghe ? ", Xi Ying was confused .

    " To hold your shopping bags , of course. ", the girl shrugged .

    " HAHAHA , You are so cute , Xiao Xinghe .", Xi Ying burst outughing .

    " Okay , fine. I will tell you about these brands , alright ?! ", Xi Ying said.

    Rong Xinghe nodded and the two women walked inside the mall followed by MCST officers and Xi Ying''s bodyguards .

    _________

    At evening ; 7:00 p.m.

    Xi Yuan was sitting in his office and was looking through some documents rted to his recent project when the door of his office opened with a thud .

    " Brother ! Ying and sister-inw are missing ! ", Xi Wei walked inside the office with a horrified expression .

    Xi Fang , who was sitting on the chair facing Xi Yuan , turned around abruptly as well ," What ?!! "

    Xi Yuan also lifted up his head from the pile of the documents and furrowed his brows worriedly.

    The man then stood up and looked calmly at Xi Ying''s assistant who was standing behind Xi Wei ," Which bracelet was Ying wearing ? "

    " Uhh ... ", the assistant was taken aback by this question of the big boss at such a time ," It was tinum and ck gems bracelet that you had gifted her on herst birthday , boss ."

    " Fang , that bracelet has tracking chip inserted into it. Locate her. And Wei , take out the car. Also , call our men. ", the man ordered impatiently .

    He then turned to look at Xi Ying''s assistant with a darkened gaze ," Its understandable if Ying''s bodyguards were fooled. But it is impossible to trick MCST officers deployed for security of the Military Chief. How did this even happened ?! "

    A chill ran down the assistant''s spine when she heard Xi Yuan''s stone cold tone.

    Damn !

    Big Boss was angry !

    "S... Sir. Actually , they both went for a coffee inside a cafe after the shopping. Since , Ms. Ying didn''t wanted anyone to disturb the two of them , she ordered the security people to stand out. But it was our fault ! We should have had listened to Military Chief Rong. She had told us to have a proper check of every ce before they both would step into it. We just took it for granted. "

    "You will suffer if anything happens to any of them ! ", the man''s bone-chilling voice rang throughout the room .

    " Brother ! Ying is located ! It is somewhere on the boundary of the forest near City A. ", Xi Fang showed the map on his iPad screen to the man .

    "Connect the drone to the location andmand it. I want to see and hear everything that happens. Let''s go .", Xi Yuan said as he exited the office anxiously .

    ____________

    Meanwhile , In an abandoned shack in the suburbs of City A :

    "Damn! ", Rong Xinghe flinched her eyes as her head ached because of the brightness of sunlight.

    The girl slowly adjusted her eyes to the light before she observed her surroundings.

    It was a dark ce and there were a lot of cardboard cartons aligned together. The ce almost looked like a storehouse. She also got a glimpse of Kerosene oil cans in the corner of the room as the smell was quite strong. There was only one door and practically no other way to escape the ce. However , there were some holes in the roof of the shack resulting in sunlight passing through them.

    Rong Xinghe tried to get up but she realized that her hands were tied down .

    Great !

    Just great Xinghe !

    You are kidnapped !

    Rong Xinghe shook her head helplessly as a smile appeared across her lips.

    No matter what , she had tomend the stupidity of these kidnappers .

    After all , a sensible person would have killed a dangerous person like her by now .

    At this time , Rong Xinghe heard a groan and she reflexively looked in the darkness where the voice had came from .

    But it was too dark for her to see anything .

    After sometime , a girl crawled towards her as tears spilled from her eyes .

    "Ying ! Oh my god ! Are you fine ?! ", Rong Xinghe was stunned as well as worried when she saw Xi Ying in such a state .

    " I am sorry , Xiao Xinghe ! I have got you into this mess. What if something happens to you ?! ", the girl sobbed .

    " Crazy girl ! You are lucky that I am here. I will not let anything happen to you. Trust me and stop crying .", Rong Xinghe smiled softly .

    At this time , sounds ofughter of some men came from outside the room.

    " HAHAHA ! Who does that Xi Yuan think our master is ?! How dare he step into telmunications business and bring losses to our boss ?! Now we will make him see the real humiliation ! "

    " Exactly ! By the way before we traffic these two b*tches into sex business , why don''t we have a taste of them ourselves ?! "

    " I know , right ? The sister of that Yuan guy has such a perfect figure man ! I really want to eat her up."

    " Come on ! The friend of that girl is no less. I mean her body is so toned and she seems to be more fit. I would rather f*ck her first ! "

    " Calm down , my boys. Let''s see if they are awake. It will be more fun that way. HHAHAHA ! "

    The moment Xi Ying heard the conversation between the men , her face turned pale as a sheet.

    Did this meant that they were her brother''s business rivals ?

    It seemed like they were nning to do sex trafficking with them ?

    They even themselves intended to molest them .

    Damn it !

    She had even put her sister-inw in danger .

    Brother Yuan !

    Pleasee and save us !

 Chapter 132: The female version of Xi Yuan !

    Chapter 132: The female version of Xi Yuan !

    At the same time , In the ck SUV :

    Xi Yuan''s heart almost stopped beating when he saw his woman and his sister in such a painful condition. The mini-drone clearly showed their current location and their situation through a tiny hole in the shack .

    Rong Xinghe and Xi Ying were probably the most importantdies in his life. One was his support system , while the other gave a reason for him to live. But today , they both were in such an awful state. Rong Xinghe''s forehead was bleeding while Xi Ying had an injury on her arm.

    At this time , if one was to describe Xi Yuan''s feelings , it would be in helplessness and regret .

    He wasn''t able to protect the two most significant people he had in his life .

    "Drive fast , Wei !!!"

    At this time the three men in the car clearly heard the conversation between the kidnappers and their blood boiled up !

    Who the f*ck were they thinking they were talking about ?!

    They weredies of the Xi family !

    One was the princess while the other was the future Queen !

    Xi Fang worriedly looked at the man beside him and noticed that he had clenched his fists in anger !

    It was rare for Xi Yuan to be angry but whenever that would happen , it simply meant one thing : Destruction !

    This time , Xi Yuan didn''t even needed to tell Xi Wei to speed up .

    Xi Wei was quite anxious himself for his sister and sister-inw !

    ____________

    Meanwhile , Rong Xinghe heard the sound of door opening and gestured Xi Ying to stay quiet ," Ying ! I will take care of all this. You just don''t utter a single word , no matter what I say or what I do. Okay ?! "

    Xi Ying nodded subconsciously as Rong Xinghe was the only person she could rely on now .

    "Oh my god ! Look who have just woken up ? Ketamine drug is surely effective , I guess. How are youdies feeling ? ", a bald man walked in followed by his three subordinates .

    "Wh .. What do y ... you want sir ?", Rong Xinghe suddenly converted herself into a fragile and weak girl as she asked in a trembling voice.

    "HAHAHA ! You were right Jamey ! This one is a good to y with ! Baby girl ... I want to have some fun with you because I like you. What do you think about it ? Huh ?! ", the bald man bent down slightly as he asked Rong Xinghe .

    " S ... Sir. Please let us go ! We will ask Yuan sir to give you as much mon ... money as you want .", Rong Xinghe ''trembled''.

    "But we want to humiliate him. We don''t want his money. And only when we defile his sister will he feel shamed. So ... ", the bald man turned around and started walking towards Xi Ying.

    " Hey Wen ! This is no fun. Let''s make this interesting ! ", the man named Jamey chuckled making the bald man stop in his tracks .

    "Okay little doll , what is your name ? "

    " Ji You ... Youyou ", Rong Xinghe purposely hid her identity .

    "Hmm ... so Youyou ! Here is the thing. We want to taste you both before we sell you in the market. So tell me , who do you think we should attack first ? You or that Yuan''s sister ?! "

    "HAHAHA ! Jamey ! You are such a bastard. Hey girl , don''t y tricks. You have to say just one name. Quick ! ", a thin manughed .

    " Me "

    This time , Rong Xinghe''s voice had no trace of fear or uncertainty , but a certain degree of coldness and impulse. It was as if this answer was not something she had to even consider. She was literally prepared to sacrifice her honor for Xi Ying .

    The moment Xi Ying heard Rong Xinghe''s reply , she looked at her with a shocked expression. She never thought that anyone could sacrifice anything for her except , for her brother Xi Yuan.

    But here was this woman ....

    It was now that she realized why her brother was in love with Rong Xinghe !

    She was practically the female version of Xi Yuan .

    Xi Ying had always considered Xi Yuan as her father-figure. And today , she was feeling like she had just been gifted with the warmth of a mother .

    She wanted to refute but Rong Xinghe shook her head gesturing her to stay low .

    Meanwhile , in the ck SUV :

    All the three men froze the moment they heard the word "Me" from the girl''s mouth .

    While Xi Wei and Xi Fang were shocked by their sister-inw''s decision , Xi Yuan had already predicted this. It was like he could read her mind .

    So he wasn''t shocked , but a fear crept into his heart .

    His woman shouldn''t have been the one sacrificing here ....

    His woman shouldn''t have been in such a situation in the first ce ....

    He couldn''t let his Xinghe go through this pain but it would still take him almost 20 minutes to reach the location .

    This was the first time Xi Yuan was fearing something to this extent !

    ...

    In the shack :

    " Oh my Devil ! You sure have a good friend Miss. Xi ! But I am sorry Miss. Ji Youyou. You will be the next. We are enemies with Miss. Ying''s brother , so we will naturally go for Miss. Xi Ying first. ", the bald man smiled .

    "Hey Howwy ! You keep eye on this girl while we y with Miss. Xi. Make sure she doesn''t cause trouble. And you Miss. Ji. Please watch your friend''s innocence being ruined. ", the man named Jamey threw off his jacket and walked towards Xi Ying as the bald Wen followed him .

    Till this point of time , Xi Ying was terrified to death .

    She knew what was going to happen next .

    She was going to be defiled .

    No ! How could this happen to her ?!

    She was really hoping for her superhero , her brother to appear right now .

    The man named Howwy walked and stood behind Rong Xinghe as he enjoyed the show .

    While the bald man released Xi Ying''s hands and tried to tear off her clothes .

    But as soon as her hands were freed , Xi Ying started struggling and pushed them away as she screamed and cried .

    This made it difficult for them to touch her clothes .

    But rapists were usually psychopaths and they enjoyed the challenge of controlling wild women so the two men simplyughed at Xi Ying''s struggles !

    Only if they knew that this was going to be theirstughter ...

 Chapter 133: "I dont want my woman to fight anymore"

    Chapter 133: "I don''t want my woman to fight anymore"

    Rong Xinghe was a soldier , no matter where she went and what she did .

    Being a Special Forces Officer , she had some habits which came naturally to her. One such habit was ... to hide sharp knife des into her footwear.

    During the Special Forces Training , she had to work in many sex trafficking rackets to get information about any terrorist or criminal. At such ces , there was always a chance of being caught or forced. So she had to hide the knife des into her scandals because she couldn''t risk anyone seeing her with them .

    So Rong Xinghe swiftly pulled out the knife de from her shoes and brought it behind her back .

    Due to her specialized training inbat and defense , it was just a matter of seconds that she was able to free herself from the rope ties .

    But she still had to deal with the man named Howwy who was standing behind her .

    However , it was not a problem anymore because the tigress was free now !

    Rong Xinghe mercilessly prated the same de into the man''s feet as he screamed and bent down to support his left leg .

    But Rong Xinghe didn''t cared and quickly stabbed Howwy into his chest and stood up with the speed of light .

    Howwy''s eyes widened in horror as he looked at the fierce woman who looked so harmless a moment ago , but turned out to be the most dangerous one.

    Before Howwy could fall down dead on the ground , Rong Xinghe snatched the revolver from his right hand and turned around .

    BANG !

    The moment Howwy fell down on the ground , a bullet made a hole in the forehead of the thin man and his body also copsed like a house made of cards .

    The guys name Jamey and Wen were now horrified by this woman .

    They had misunderstood her ...

    They had thought of her to be fragile , sensitive , weak and delicate ....

    Just how naive were they ?!

    Now that they looked at the girl , her eyes were not empty like they were earlier. Instead , bloodlust and ruthlessness was clearly visible in those eyes now !

    She was clearly not the person they had thought she was. She was the most unpredictable and dangerous person there !

    The bald Wen secretly messaged for more men toe while the guy named Jamey pulled out his gun .

    But before he could even point the gun towards Rong Xinghe , the woman pulled the trigger of the revolver in her hands as the bullet shot straight through the man''s heart .

    As the man leaned in on a cardboard carton nearby and sat down on the ground while clenching his chest , Rong Xinghe walked towards him and smiled coldly.

    " You know you were right Jamey ! I am the good one to y with. "

    And these were thest words Jamey heard .

    The girl then turned around to look at the bald Wen who was pointing his revolver towards her but didn''t dared to pull the trigger as his hands were trembling with fear .

    " If you are smart , you will throw it right now ! ", Rong Xinghe said in a cold icy tone .

    And as if following the orders issued by the devil , Wen quickly let go off the equipment in his hand and sat down on his knees as he pleaded ," Ms. Ji ! Please forgive me ! I am really sorry ! Sorry ! "

    " How much time will your men take toe here ? ", Rong Xinghe pointed the gun towards the man''s forehead .

    " Tw .. two minutes "

    BANG !

    Rong Xinghe looked at the man''s dead body and then turned to look at Xi Ying .

    Xi Ying''s top was torn off in such a way that her shoulders werepletely naked but thankfully , Rong Xinghe had reacted fast enough and she wasn''t harmed physically beyond that .

    Rong Xinghe sat down on the ground in front of her and took a deep breath to calm down the tornado that was taking ce inside her. It was tough for even her to handle her rage .

    After some seconds of silence , Rong Xinghe took off her coat and covered Xi Ying''s exposed body .

    "Ying ! Everyone who have seen you like this are dead. I told you that I will not let anything happen to you. Calm down. Okay ?! Aren''t you my sweet darling ? ", Rong Xinghe patted the girl''s forehead gently.

    Xi Ying was a little frightened by the woman she had seen just now. It was almost like she had never known her. But when the familiar sweet tone of the woman fell into Xi Ying''s ears , she broke down and hugged Rong Xinghe tightly as if she was her only support .

    Rong Xinghe also let the girl cry out all her pain .

    At this time , sound of hurried footsteps came from the other end of the shack. Some men with armed weapons rushed inside the dark ce .

    Rong Xinghe calmly separated Xi Ying from herself and took out her handkerchief from her pocket .

    "Don''t untie this blindfold until I say , Okay ? ", Rong Xinghe said as she covered the girl''s eyes with the piece of cloth.

    Xi Ying understood what was going to happen next and slightly nodded her head in submission and eptance .

    ...

    Meanwhile , In the ck SUV ;

    The three men were practically stunned speechless by Rong Xinghe''s bravery. She literally needed no one. This woman was an army herself.

    Pacifying Xi Ying.

    Untying herself.

    Killing without batting an eye.

    She did everything herself without anyint .

    Xi Yuan was even more restless now ," When the hell are we going to reach , Wei ?!! "

    " Its just 3 to 4 minutes , brother "

    "What happened ? ", Xi Fang ced his hand on Xi Yuan''s arm .

    " They both were drugged with Ketamine drug. Haven''t you noticed that Ying is not even able to stand properly ? Its just that Xinghe is trained for situations like these forplete five years. Her immunity is strong enough for her to sustain for this long.

    "You guys didn''t noticed but she has started to stumble now. What more , she is a migraine patient and drugs react directly to the brain. If she weakens right now , they both will be in danger again.

    " I don''t want my woman to fight anymore. ", Xi Yuan rubbed his chest to calm down his anxious heart .

 Chapter 134: " Silly ... we are fine "

    Chapter 134: " Silly ... we are fine "

    In the shack :

    Rong Xinghe stood up from her ce and started fighting the men as she shielded Xi Ying .

    She took the weapons of all the four men she had killed not too long ago and started attacking with them. One after the other , every person who entered the shack was shot dead by the woman as if their existence wasn''t a matter of any importance to her.

    But just like Xi Yuan had anticipated , after some time , Rong Xinghe started to feel dizzy .

    The drug Ketamine started affecting her brain for the worse as her head started aching .The girl was finding it difficult to even keep her eyes open .

    She couldn''t let anything happen to Xi Ying , no matter what. So she kept on fighting along with the physical struggles she was going through .

    After sometime , it became impossible for Rong Xinghe to even stand properly and her legs started shivering. Even her hands were left with no strength to pull the trigger anymore and as a result , the revolver in her hand fell down .

    The moment the remaining alive men saw Rong Xinghe weakening , they startedughing manically .

    " HAHAHA ... You sl*t ! I will kill you now and then I will throw your body to wild animals in this forest. You just wait. "

    After saying this , a man pointed his revolver at Rong Xinghe''s forehead and ced his fingers on the trigger .

    BANG !

    The sound of the bullet resonated throughout the small shack .

    Rong Xinghe subconsciously ced her hand on her forehead and then on her stomach but she realized that she was not shot at all .

    She lifted up her head to look at the attacker who was pointing his gun at her ... but blood was flowing through his own forehead .

    The attacker fell down and a blurry yet familiar figure appeared into the girl''s line of sight .

    BANG !

    BANG !

    BANG !

    Xi Yuan had a Sturm Ruger gun in his hand as he started shooting all the men present straight in their heads. The current Xi Yuan was a lot more different than the person everyone knew.

    His eyes reflected mercilessness and danger .

    His aura was filled with ruthlessness and bloodlust .

    At this point of time , Xi Yuan was probably the most angriest person there. He didn''t even bothered looking at the people he was killing.

    He simply shot with the uracy as correct as Rong Xinghe with mes of fury burning inside his eyes .The man kept killing even after the backup security staff arrived and joined him .

    " Yuan ... "

    At this time , Rong Xinghe''s weak and thin voice fell upon the man''s ears and he stopped his actions involuntarily. He turned around to look at his woman who was already looking at him with a tired expression.

    Suddenly , Rong Xinghe''s legs weakened and she started to fall down .

    But before the girl''s body could touch the floor , a pair of strong arms grabbed her and supported her. Xi Yuan quickly pulled the girl in his embrace as he also sat down beside her on the ground .

    " Yuan ... Take Ying to hospital. ", the girl said weakly .

    As if on cue , Xi Wei quickly rushed towards Xi Ying , removed her blindfold and left with her .

    "Thank god she is fine ... ", the girl finally breathed a sigh of relief .

    At this time , Xi Yuan''s throat choked as he felt a burning sensation in the corner of his eyes. When Rong Xinghe closed her eyes to catch her breath , she felt warm drops on her shoulder and she opened her eyes again .

    This man ... was crying ?

    The almighty Big Boss of business world had such a vulnerable side to himself ?

    She had never imagined him to be like this ...

    On the other hand , Xi Yuan felt no shame in expressing his true feelings in front of his woman. He wanted her to know that he was frightened. He wanted her to know that he was afraid to lose her. He knew that he could be his true self in front of her .

    Moreover , he was shocked by his woman''s selflessness when the first thing she asked him to do was to send Xi Ying to the hospital. She was even relieved that Xi Ying was fine.

    It was as if this woman had no worries about herself. How could she take her life for granted like this ?!

    At this time , his cheek was cupped by a thin fair hand as it wiped the tears ," Silly ... we are fine "

    Xi Yuan kissed the hand softly as a tear rolled down his eyes again.

    The man quickly lifted the girl in his arms and walked towards his car with steady steps .

    __________

    In a Multi-speciality Hospital in City A :

    " Mr. Xi. Miss Ying ispletely out of danger. But still , the incident was quite traumatizing for her. So we suggest that she goes through a proper counceling in order to prevent her from going into depression .", a doctor diagnosed Xi Ying''s condition to Xi Fang .

    " Please do everything that is necessary, Doctor ", Xi Fang requested calmly .

    " And what about Miss. Xinghe ? "

    " Well ... she seems to be fine as well. In fact , this is the first time in my medical career that I have seen an immune system dealing with Ketamine so efficiently. ", the doctor seemed impressed .

    " She was literally begging us to let her go but we had to inject some painkillers and morphine into her system. Her body needs to rest , after all. Overexertion can be dangerous for her. ", another doctor exined .

    At this time , sound of hurried footsteps were heard throughout the corridor .

    " Where is she ?! ", Su Rogguang entered the ce followed by the five men .

    " Military Chief is resting inside the general ward , Dr. Rogguang. Please step in. ", the doctor opened the hospital room door as he gestured Su Rogguang to enter .

    After Su Rogguang left , Zhi Xi loosened his tie and walked straight towards Xi Yuan ," Exin ! "

    Xi Yuan took a deep breath before he started telling about the entire incident as the five men listened everything silently .

 Chapter 135: "She is your woman. You should avenge her."

    Chapter 135: "She is your woman. You should avenge her."

    After listening about the entire incident , the girl''s five brothers remained silent for some time.

    "I am sorry , Senior Lu. It was my carelessness that resulted into this. I should have had known that this could happen. I should have thought about such a possibility. I ... ", Xi Yuan had a guilty expression on his face .

    "Are you crazy ? Yuan , this is not your fault. I and Zhi Xi are both businessmen as well. We have ourselves seen such things happening. Business rivals can indeed be a pain sometimes. Its all fine until they both are fine ", Lu Wei patted the man''s shoulders .

    " Exactly. Don''t take the me on yourself. All you need to do is that you have to give us the name of your business rival. ", Zhi Xi said with an extrayer of meaning .

    The six men were not going to go easy on that son of a bi*ch !

    " By the way , where did you get that gun from ? ", Mo Zixuan asked as he looked at the equipment tucked inside Xi Yuan''s jacket .

    " Uhh ... that is a licensed gun for security and defense purposes. I was trained for Armed Forces when I was 17 but couldn''t join because I had to takeover the Xi Empire. But rest assured. I keep it simply for self defense .", Xi Yuan exined .

    The men nodded and stayed silent after that as they waited for Su Rogguang toe out.

    " She is alright. Even I am amazed by her immunity. But of course , she needs a good bed rest ", Su Rogguang said as he stepped out .

    " Are you guys not angry that Xinghe injured herself for Ying ? ", Xi Yuan asked after he reassured his heart about the girl''s health .

    " Why would we be angry ? In fact , we are proud of her. This is how she is. She can do anything to protect the ones she loves. After all , that''s how we have brought her up. ", Zhi Bo shrugged .

    " She was bound to fight. Her authority as Military Chiefes with that , after all. She masters five martial arts and has been trained to be a Special Forces officer. She couldn''t possibly let those bastards have their way. ", Zhi Al smiled.

    " So .... none of you me me for this ? ", Xi Yuan asked .

    How could these six sister-doting men take this situation for granted ?

    It was too surreal .

    " Nah... Its fine. We wouldn''t have been able to stop her even if we would have been there. She is such a rebel sometimes.Also , you have saved her. We are somehow indebted to you. You have saved the reason for our existence , Yuan. ", Su Rogguang said .

    "And about her courage for sacrificing her honour for Ying , well ... it wasn''t unexpected of her. She would rather endure every pain than letting any innocent suffer. ", Mo Zixuan sighed .

    The Xi siblings were stunned speechless by the six men .

    They had indeed brought her up. No wonder she was so courageous .

    ...

    Next day ,

    " Brothers ! No more fruits. I am fine. Really ! Those doctors are morons. ", Rong Xinghe dodged before the apple slice could touch her lips .

    " Are you calling me a moron ?! Because I am the doctor who is working on you. ". Su Rogguang smiled as he leaned on the door of the ward .

    " No ... "

    " Forget that. Military Chief , you actually have the guts to abuse in front of me ! ", Lu Wei crossed his arms ," Al ! Cut five more apples. She is going to eat all of them ! "

    " Aaahhh ! Sorry brother. I won''t abuse again ! I don''t like apples. Please. Give me grapes. Even orange would be fine. Not this ... ", the girl was about to cry .

    " Who the hell is making my sister-inw cry ?!! Show me your face. ", Songyan barged inside the hospital room followed by Ningtao and Ruo Cy .

    " Ningtao''s husband ... ", Zhi Xi shrugged and pointed his chin towards Lu Wei.

    Ningtao turned around and red at Lu Wei angrily ," Seems like Mr. Lu needs some lessons now. How dare you upset her ?!! "

    Lu Wei : "....."

    " Sigh ... only wives can handle the husbands .... ", Rong Xinghe chuckled .

    "HAHAHAHA ", the singles in the room burst outughing .

    ....

    In the adjacent hospital room ,

    The unconscious girl finally opened her eyes and sat up on the bed after some struggles .

    Xi Yuan entered the room and sat beside the girl on the edge of the bed .

    " I am sorry "

    When Xi Ying heard such words from her elder brother''s mouth , she was slightly taken aback. But then she took a deep breath and patted the back of the man''s hand .

    " Is sister-inw alright ? "

    " Hmm "

    " Stop ming yourself brother. Nothing happened to me. After all , I had your woman with me. ", Xi Ying felt her heart ache when she saw the guilty expression on the man''s face ," Brother ! Sister-inw is more stronger than even you. She was so calm and collected in such a situation. She knew exactly what she was doing. "

    Xi Yuan nodded ," She has walked out of her horrid past with her head held high. She has endured every pain and cried countless nights. But she smiles vibrantly the next day. Of course , she is stronger than me. "

    "Brother ... I would have ignored this incident if it was just about me. But they intended to hurt the honour of sister-inw. That is not a joke. She is going to be the headdy of Xi family. She is going to be thedy boss of Xi Corporations. She is your woman. You should avenge her. ", Xi Ying clenched her fists .

    Xi Yuan looked speechlessly at his sister for some time .

    It wasn''t just Xinghe .

    Women , in general , were stronger than men. Maybe not physically , but emotionally and mentally .

    Xi Ying had herself suffered quite a blow but her major concern was Rong Xinghe just like Rong Xinghe had prioritized her when they were in the shack .

    " My darling ! "

    Suddenly , Rong Xinghe rushed inside the room and pulled Xi Ying into a big bear hug .

    A tear slipped Xi Ying''s eyes when she was taken into the familiar warm embrace .

    " Xiao Xinghe ! "

    " Are you fine ? ", Rong Xinghe asked with genuine concern .

    " I am perfectly fit ... "

    " No you are not ! You know what Ying , you areing to the Military base from next weak. Whenever I will get time , I will personally train you in martial arts. Ady should be able to protect herself. We don''t need men for that. ", Rong Xinghe shook her head .

    Xi Ying was convinced. It was true. Situations like these coulde up anytime. She looked at Xi Yuan whose gaze was already fixed on his woman.

    This man ...

    Could he , for once , stop admiring his girl ?

    " Don''t tell me that you need his permission ! ", Rong Xinghe pointed angrily at Xi Yuan .

    Both Xi Yuan and Xi Ying came out of their daze and looked at the furious girl .

    "No ! I will report to the Military base next Tuesday for sure. ", Xi Ying uttered the words reflexively .

    " Good ! "

    Rong Xinghe then turned around to look at her sister-inws ," Yan and Cy. You both are going to be there too. Its not like you or your husbands have no enemies."

    " And ... me ? ", Ningtao pouted .

    " After my niece or nephew is born. "

    "...."

 Chapter 136: Feng Mians Marriage !

    Chapter 136: Feng Mian''s Marriage !

    One more month passed by ,

    In this one month , many things changed in Country X and lives of Rong Xinghe , her brothers and Xi Yuan for good .

    Under the guidance and leadership of Rong Xinghe , thebat army of Country X was formed. This intellectually specialbat unit was personally trained by Rong Xinghe. It was even rumoured that this particr Military unit called "Dragon Rage" , was the most impressivebat unit in the entire world.

    Else than that , Rong Xinghe also brought a huge difference in the Air Force and Naval Force of the nation. A huge amount of graduating students with excellent skills were hired for construction of the bestest of fighter jets and submarines as well as naval ships .

    Many Computer Science Engineers and Software Engineers were deployed with the work of Cyber Security which was a major concern in 21st century .

    Since Rong Xinghe was handling such a wide workforce with such efficiency , her fan base increased even more. The public was literally loving the way she kept them on their toes and how she walked out of any situation unscathed .

    One more thing that impressed the public was that Rong Xinghe was strengthening Country X. Long gone were the days , when the world looked down on Country X''s power. And power of a nation had always been determined by its Military. Rong Xinghe''s every decision changed the world''s views on Country X .

    The public now felt proud as well as safe to be a part of Country X because of Rong Xinghe .

    One could say that Rong Xinghe was the only Military Authority in the entire world who was loved by the public more than any other living celebrity .

    Other than that , Xi Yuan was no less. He had been working on Xi Corporation''s recent telmunication project "Infinity" for almost eight months .

    The ideas that this man coulde up with had always been unexpected.

    In this project of service providing to the inte users , Xi Yuan had introduced many advanced features like Vehicle Tracking System , ident Identification System , Wireless Camera Position System , Wireless Voting Machine and Wireless Security System.

    "Infinity" wasunched in France , Ennd , Germany and Greece. And in merely 15 days , the feedback from the customers were highly positive .

    Initially , Xi Yuan had no intention to involve France and Greece into the mix. But when Zhou Che appeared in front of him , he had nned his revenge there and then. Zhou business empire had a profitable business mainly in Greece and France. The intrusion of Xi Empire''s "Infinity" had literally destroyed the Zhou Empire''s telmunicationpany in the two nations .

    Although Zhou Che felt something amiss , but he was too focused on his hatred to think about the other possibilities .

    However , he had to leave for Greece to handle the losses there so the six men and Xi Yuan rxed a little. It was for the best if Zhou Che would never appear in Rong Xinghe''s line of sight again .

    Meanwhile , Ningtao was already a month pregnant. Lu Wei stayed at home as a good husband while Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe handled almost every matter at Lu Corporations. Of course , Xi Yuan kept on giving the regr doses of romance to Rong Xinghe every now and then.

    Other than that , Rong Xinghe also met up with Su Rogguang''s girlfriend Ching Tong and both the women liked each other as well. One look at the woman , and Rong Xinghe was sure that she was the only one for her brother .

    She even tried to push Su Rogguang for marriage but had to eventually give up. They needed more time , apparently .

    ________

    On the other hand , Zhi Al kepting in contact with Feng Mian but everytime they met , they used to fight like kids. Only Rong Xinghe could see the possibility of romance between the two.

    But things were never going to be smooth for Rong Xinghe. Zhi Al was her brother and Feng Mian was her fellow militaryrade. Both the people loved and respected her. She couldn''t take sides in their bickering .

    One fine day ,

    Rong Xinghe was sitting in her office while Zhi Al was sitting opposite her. Rong Xinghe had called him to fix some errors in the official website''s program coding of Country X''s Air Force. Both the brother and sister had an amazing professional temperament. So none of them disturbed each other and focused on their own work .

    After sometime , a knock on the door was heard .

    "Come in ", Rong Xinghe blurted out absent-mindedly .

    Feng Mian walked inside the office and ced a card on Rong Xinghe''s tablepletely ignoring Zhi Al''s presence.

    "Xinghe ! I am getting married to Officer Yi six monthster. It would be an honor if you could grace us with your presence. ", Feng Mian chirped happily .

    Rong Xinghe had gotten quite close to some of her colleagues since she had joined Military Chief Office and she allowed them to address her by her name .

    Feng Mian was one of them .

    As soon as Rong Xinghe heard Feng Mian''s words , her eyes reflexively fell upon Zhi Al''s fingers that had stopped typing all of a sudden.

    The girl internally sighed and looked at Feng Mian with an expression of surprise .

    "That is wonderful Mian. But haven''t you dated him just for two months. Are you sure that he is the one ? "

    Feng Mian nodded her head happily ," I know but he is so good to me. He treats me so well. You know I really feel that he can give me a home. He works for the Prime Minister and that is the reason you don''t know him too well. Once you see him , you will also agree with me. "

    "Mian , you are an army officer. Your life is always at risk. It is possible that he is trying to use you. Please give a proper background check. I don''t want my close ones to suffer. ", Rong Xinghe reverted her gaze back to Feng Mian after ncing at the silent Zhi Al .

    Feng Mian felt a feeling of warmth flood her heart as she thought that , by ''closed ones'' , Rong Xinghe meant her .

    Only if she knew that in this case , two ''closed ones'' were involved.

    "Don''t worry , Xinghe. I am sure about this. ", Feng Mian reassured .

    "Sigh ... what can I say ? I will try toe to your wedding but I can''t promise. You know my schedules are always changed at thest minute. ", Rong Xinghe gave up .

    " I understand "

    Feng Mian left the ce after chatting with Rong Xinghe for sometime .

    Rong Xinghe kept staring at Zhi Al for few good minutes .

    This man ....

    He hadn''t made any movement since Feng Mian had informed about her uing marriage. He was obviously affected by this woman !

    Then why was he trying to hide his true feelings from himself and her .

    Only if he could be more like Xi Yuan ...

    He had always been honest to himself and had never backed down .

    Whatever that man had in his heart , he told about it to her sincerely.

    Wait ... why are you thinking about him girl ?!!

    "Do you love her ?! ", Rong Xinghe stared straight into Zhi Al''s eyes .

 Chapter 137: The unique and crazy arrival !

    Chapter 137: The unique and crazy arrival !

    "Yeah ... no ... are you crazy ?! Why would I love her. She is so stubborn , arrogant , and irritating ! No way in hell can I ... ", Zhi Al quickly tried to deny .

    Rong Xinghe took a deep breath and stood up from her chair as she walked towards Zhi Al.

    The girl stared straight into her brother''s eyes and demanded with some traces of threat in her tone ,"Truth!"

    Zhi Al gulped as he could sense that this littledy devil was really angry.

    And why not ?

    Rong Xinghe knew the six of them more than they knew themselves .

    "Yeah ", Zhi Al finally epted.

    " Brother ... so what do you n to do now ?! You already have a bad impression in front of her. ", Rong Xinghe shook her head , " We only have six months. How will we turn the tables around ? "

    " Should I kidnap her on her wedding day ? ", Zhi Al''s eyes sparkled .

    " Should I kill you right now and right here ? ", Rong Xinghe red back angrily .

    "Sigh ... I am such an idiot ! ", Zhi Al was frustrated .

    " Alright. Don''t stress. First go and confess your feelings truthfully to her. There is a chance of rejection , so be prepared for that. And start acting gentle towards her from now on. Meanwhile , I will try to investigate this Officer Yi. If he has any shady past , it might be of great help to us. ", Rong Xinghe said .

    Zhi Al nodded and followed his sister''s orders as he grabbed his car keys and headed out of the Military Chief Office.

    _________

    Three dayster ,

    In Francis Bar :

    " Master Su Bo ! Where were you all these years ?! "

    "Yes ! We have missed you so much. "

    " Master Su ! Here is your whiskey ! "

    Almost every woman in the bar was trying to get close to this person. In fact , some women were literally throwing themselves onto the person .

    This young man looked quite handsome. His eyes were pure ck and he had a fairplexion. The man had mischief in his smile. One look at him , and it wasn''t tough to tell that he was a troublemaker. This man known as Su Bo , was wearing a ck tuxedo and held whiskey in his hand.

    The man grabbed a young woman by her waist and said in hoarse yet mischievous tone ," Alright ! I am back. I will never leave you guys again. "

    The man then winked at the woman making her blush and released her before heading towards one of the bar stools to take a seat .

    But when he pulled the stool towards him , a woman had already eyed it and was about to sit on it .

    So the woman fell down on the floor !

    "You bastard ! How dare you snatch my woman''s stool ?! ", a well-built man rushed towards Su Bo angrily as he helped the woman stand up .

    The well-built man''s friends also followed him and were quite furious as well .

    "Darling ! My back is paining because of him. Please teach him a lesson !!! ", the woman cried out in pain .

    " Hey missy ! Don''t put on the pity act. I am a doctor. I can tell that there is no serious injury. And sir , I am really sorry but I had no idea that thisdy intended to sit on this stool. ", Su Bo tried to exin .

    "My woman can never lie to me ! I will definitely teach you a lesson today ! Guys , grab him ! ", the well-built boyfriend of the woman humphed .

    " Hey ! Please don''t ! Let''s talk it out. ", Su Bo panicked as he was held by the man''s friends.

    But the men had no intention to back down. They simply chuckled as the well-built man approached Su Bo with an evil smile .The man raised his left hand in mid air to punch Su Bo ...

    " AAAAHHHHH ! "

    Suddenly , a kicknded on the well-built man''s shoulder and he fell down on the floor with a thud. The man held his chest and started groaning in pain .

    " Who dares to hurt my brother ?! ", a machoistic and cold voice echoed throughout the bar .

    " Master Lu Xi ! Howe you are here ?! ", the manager of the bar rushed towards the ''man'' with a worried yet surprised expression .

    The ''man'' looked at the well-built man and then at his girlfriend coldly ''"Tell your men to leave my brother or I will kill you all. "

    "S...Sorry sir ! We had no idea that he is your brother ! Hey guys , leave him ", the man quickly ordered his men to release Su Bo .

    " Get out of this bar right now ! "

    " Y .. Yes ! "

    After the men and the woman left , Lu Xi walked towards Su Bo and hugged him tightly , " Such a troublemaker you are ! "

    Su Bo giggled and hugged back the ''man'' ," I know you are there to protect me ! "

    :::::::::::

    Meanwhile , In a private VIP lounge on first floor of the same bar ;

    Xi Yuan , Xi Fang and Xi Wei were celebrating their sess for "Infinity" project. Xi Yuan initially had no intention to join the two men but he didn''t wanted to upset them so he had to eventuallye along with them .

    They had also witnessed themotion on the ground floor .

    " Brother ! Lu Xi ... I mean sister-inw has hugged another man so tightly ! How could she do that ?! ", Xi Wei waspletely shocked .

    Xi Yuan''s grip on his ss of bourbon drink tightened as he stared at his woman getting close to another man .

    Did his Xinghe really liked someone else ?

    Was this the original reason that she had rejected him ?!

    Xi Wei and Xi Fang shut up when they felt the temperature of the room dropping a few degrees !

    After sometime , Rong Xinghe , in her male alias , finished her drink and got up to leave with Su Bo. She held Su Bo''s hands and dragged him towards the exit .

    Xi Yuan also got up from his seat and left the VIP Lounge followed by Xi Fang and Xi Wei. Before Rong Xinghe could drive away with Su Bo , Xi Yuan reached the parking space .

    " Yuan ... you .. "

    " Who is he ?! ", Xi Yuan pointed his finger towards Su Bo , who was sitting on the passenger seat of the car .

    "Uh ... this .. "

    At this time , Su Bo got out of the car and walked towards Xi Yuan as he raked his eyes over him from top to bottom withplete focus and curiosity .

    Xi Fang : "..."

    Xi Wei : "..."

    Xi Yuan : "..."

    Rong Xinghe : "..."

    Only after proper analysis did Su Bo took a deep breath and smiled ," My brother-inw sure looks stunning ! "

    "What ?! You ... ", Xi Wei gasped .

    Did sister-inw actually had a seventh brother ?!

    And he even acknowledged Xi Yuan as his brother-inw !!!

    But to their shock , Su Bo looked around the parking lot and ensured that there was no camera nted before his hands reached his hair and ... he removed the wig.

    The moment the wig was unpinned , long straightened ck hair fell down and reached below the person''s waist .

    The Xi siblings werepletely shocked by this scene !

    The person bowed down elegantly in front of Xi Yuan after removing the fake beard and mustache ," Hello brother-inw. I am twin sister of your to-be-wife. My name is Rong Xiao ! "

 Chapter 138: " She is diagnosed with ..... Leukemia "

    Chapter 138: " She is diagnosed with ..... Leukemia "

    Xi Yuan was stunned when he realized that Su Bo was Rong Xiao , his woman''s twin !

    That meant that he was getting jealous for no reason .

    How could he even think like that ? His Xinghe had never lied to him .

    She had told him that she would never consider any other man again. Xi Yuan''s uncertain heart finally calmed down again as warmth radiated through his body .

    He looked at Rong Xiao with a smile ," When did you returned back from Australia ? Are you done with your studies there ? "

    " Yes brother-inw ! I have finally done my Masters in Surgery. Now I will practice here in Country X. ", Rong Xiao nodded ," Well , I returned today only. I just wanted to get a bear. "

    Xi Yuan smiled ," You should get some rest now. "

    "What the hell ?! When did he be your ''brother-inw'' ?! ", Rong Xinghe pinched Rong Xiao''s ears angrily .

    " Aaahh ! Are you kidding me ?! Leave my ear ! "

    Rong Xinghe released the girl''s ear and looked at Xi Yuan , who was looking at her with a smirk. How dare this man act like they were already a family ?!

    "I can call anyone my ''brother-inw'' if I want to. Its my choice ! ", Rong Xiao pouted as Xi Fang and Xi Wei chuckled .

    " You ... "

    Before Rong Xinghe could even touch Rong Xiao , she jumped into the car and drove away after saying the words ," We will meet soon brother-inw ! "

    "Idiot !", Rong Xinghe stomped her foot in anger when she saw the brat leaving her alone like this .

    The girl then turned around to face the Xi siblings as she looked at Xi Yuan apologetically ," Forgive her for the stupidity ."

    "I am cool with her calling me ''brother-inw'' ", Xi Yuan shrugged .

    Rong Xinghe : "....."

    _____________

    " Oh my god !!! I am going to be Aunt Xiao !!!"

    Rong Xiao rushed inside the Lu family home with an excited shriek and started jumping after hugging Ningtao.

    " Why are you in your Su Bo get up ? ", Lu Wei crossed his arms as he red at the girl. These two twin devils were such a pain sometimes !

    "Uhh ... Iwantedsomealcohol "

    "What ?! "

    "I wanted some alcohol ! ", Rong Xiao smiled cheekily .

    "....."

    Shortly after that , five remaining men entered the ce and started chatting happily with the girl.

    "Rong fricking Xiao !!! You are so dead today !!! ", Rong Xinghe''s voice resonated throughout the room as she entered the ce with a hockey stick .

    "Aaaahhhhh ! ", Rong Xiao screamed and started running around the Lu family mansion followed by Rong Xinghe .

    " Who will say that they are meeting after one entire year ?! ", Zhi Xi sighed .

    " And why are they both in their Su Bo and Lu Xi get up ?! ", Zhi Al rubbed his chin .

    " Are we ever able to understand the logic behind any of their actions ?! ", Mo Zixuan smiled helplessly .

    ___________

    Next Day :

    "Military Chief , Country N has appointed a new Military Chief and it seems like he has been serving the terrorist organisation ''Al-Shabaab Haram'' till now. ", Shou Wu passed the documents in his hand to Rong Xinghe .

    "Name ?"

    "Ayman al-Asiri "

    Rong Xinghe raised her brows ever so slightly with amusement ," Ayman ? "

    "You know him , Ma''am ?"

    "He was my boyfriend when I was on the mission to destroy base camp of Al-Shabaab Haram in Nigeria during my training.", Rong Xinghe giggled .

    "....."

    A Terrorist boyfriend ? What the holly hell ?!

    Rong Xinghe smiled as she noticed the shocked expression on Shou Wu''s face ," Don''t worry. I was not ''deeply in love'' with him. I was just fooling him. He was a tough nut to crack ,though. I couldn''t make him spill the beans , so I had to eventually use the tracking chip , sound recorders and mini cameras to know about the hidden location of the base camp of Al-Shabaab Haram. It seems like he intends to hit two targets with one blow ."

    Shou Wu was literally bbergasted by his boss''s brain. She was able to fool the most dreaded terrorist of this world so easily. There could indeed be only one Rong Xinghe in this world .

    "Two targets ?", Shou Wu was intrigued .

    " Yeah ... He wants to strengthen his terrorist organisation in Country N as well as get back at me at the same time. After all , he wants the revenge for what I did to him. ", Rong Xinghe smiled wickedly .

    " What did you do to him Boss ? "

    " Ah .. I just tied him onto the bed and clicked a photo of his. Before leaving Nigeria , afterpletion of the mission , I had leaked that photo into the entire underworld. His ruthless and scary reputation waspletely ruined after that. "

    Shou Wu was confused. How could a mere photo ruin one''s reputation ?

    Rong Xinghe observed the muddled expression on the old man''s face and exined further ," The upper half of his body was naked in that photo and I was in my male get up. My ''manly'' shadow was quite visible in the photo. So the entire terrorism world now thinks that he is gay. What more , he was drugged. So he looked really helpless at that time , which left him with no face. "

    "..."

    " Military Chief , you sure are ruthless !", a familiar , calm and soothing voice came from behind Shou Wu .

    "Mr.Xi ",Shou Wu quickly acknowledged Xi Yuan and left the office while Xi Yuan walked closer to the girl and rubbed her head lovingly .

    Rong Xinghe tried to dodge but her every attempt went in vain .

    "Seems like every ex-boyfriend of yours is going to be a trouble for me .", Xi Yuanughed .

    He was a little stunned when he listened that this woman had actually harmed a man in such a ruthless manner. She literally left him with no pride !

    But then again , nothing less was expected from the girl he loved. Any man who dared to get too close to her deserved something as worse as this .

    "Don''t cross the line , Mr. Yuan !", Rong Xinghe red at the man .

    Xi Yuan removed his hands and made the girl stand. The man then held the girl''s both hands in his calmly and looked at her seriously. Rong Xinghe could tell that something was amiss when she saw the man''s expression.

    "What happened Yuan ?", Rong Xinghe asked .

    " Little Tiyanyi is diagnosed with ..... Leukemia , Xinghe ", Xi Yuan finally revealed the reason behind his arrival .

    " What ?! ", Rong Xinghe''s eyes widened in horror ," How could this be ? She is so ... small."

    Little Tiyanyi was one of the kids in Rong Xinghe''s Youth Team NGO. This six year old was very dear to Rong Xinghe. Little Tiyanyi was three year old when her father , a soldier in Naval army had died while trying to save Little Tiyanyi''s mother who was already abducted and killed by some shadowy underworld organisation .

    Rong Xinghe was going through her Military Chief training and was well acquainted with Little Tiyanyi''s father and his family back then. This was the reason that Rong Xinghe had decided to bring Little Tiyanyi to Youth Team NGO because she wanted the child to have a bright future .

    But ... Leukemia ?

    Did this mean that this little angel was not going to have ... any future at all ?

 Chapter 139: "I will grow up soon and marry Brother Yuan !"

    Chapter 139: "I will grow up soon and marry Brother Yuan !"

    Xi Yuan was fearing this the most.

    He knew how important these little kids were to Rong Xinghe. Especially , Little Tiyanyi. Rong Xinghe always said that Little Tiyanyi had the capability to be a great singer. In fact , she believed that Little Tiyanyi could even surpass Xinghe herself. Every time Rong Xinghe talked about this six year old doll , her eyes would liven up .

    This was the reason that he had been trying to hide about Little Tiyanyi''s recent frequent fevers from Rong Xinghe. But the moment the doctors diagnosed Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia in the child , he knew that things couldn''t be kept to himself and that Rong Xinghe deserved to know about this .

    He had also predicted that Rong Xinghe would panic after she would get the news , so he had decided to personally tell her about this.

    And his prediction waspletely urate .

    Rong Xinghe''s face was as pale as a sheet. And since he had held her hands into his , he could feel that they had turned cold and were shivering slightly .

    Xi Yuan could obviously , not see his woman like this but her reaction was understandable. He had lost his loved ones as well. He could tell what this girl of his was going through. At least , she could mentally prepare herself for the worst case scenario.

    Xi Yuan quickly cupped Rong Xinghe''s cheeks and looked straight into her eyes ," Do you want to see her ? "

    Rong Xinghe remained silent but her silence meant approval .

    "Come !", Xi Yuan easily understood his Xinghe''s unsaid words.

    " Wait ! Assistant Shou. Is there any important meeting left for the day ? ", Rong Xinghe stopped in her tracks and looked at Shou Wu .

    "No Military Chief. There is just a Military drill but the trainee officers can handle that on their own. You can analyze them tomorrow. ", Shou Wu looked at the schedule file in his hands and replied .

    "Alright then. I will leave first. There is an emergency. ", Rong Xinghe nodded her head and walked towards the lift along with Xi Yuan .

    Xi Yuan simply nced at the girl once. He was confused as to why she would reconfirm her schedule before leaving.

    " Life of 98 million citizens of Country X is more important than the life of one individual. Little Tiyanyi is dear to Rong Xinghe but so is this nation to the Military Chief. ", Rong Xinghe also answered the unasked question .

    Xi Yuan stayed silent .

    This girl ...

    She sure had her way to maintain bnce between her professional as well as her personal life. She knew very well , when to bepassionate and when to be patriotic and dutiful. She was obviously not in her right state of mind , yet she prioritized Country X more than anything else. This nation was lucky to give birth to a person like her .

    _________

    Soon , Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan arrived at the tinum Care Hospital where the little girl was admitted.

    Rong Xinghe walked inside the hospital room with soft footsteps and sat down on the stool beside the bed while Xi Yuan stood behind her.

    Little Tiyanyi was asleep and an IV drip was injected into the back of her hand. The girl had a cute bun like face , yet she looked pale and fragile.

    Rong Xinghe ced her hand on Little Tiyanyi''s hand and tilted her face slightly ," She must be going through so much pain , Yuan "

    Xi Yuan had nothing to say. What could he say ?

    The man simply massaged Rong Xinghe''s tensed shoulders .

    After sometime , Little Tiyanyi slowly opened her eyes and looked at the woman beside her .

    As soon as the girl saw Rong Xinghe , her eyes were filled with excitement ," Sister Xinghe ! You came to see me ?! "

    Rong Xinghe cleared her slightly choked throat and nodded .

    "Sister Xinghe ! You know Brother Yuan helped me with the lyrics of new song. I really like him. He is so good to all of us kids. You know , that day , he even cooked food for all of us. Brother William always teases us but Brother Yuan is so nice to us. He is just like you Sister Xinghe. I have decided that I will grow up soon and marry Brother Yuan !", Little Tiyanyi started talking to Rong Xinghe excitedly .

    " You will marry him when you ... grow up ?", Rong Xinghe patted the girl''s head. I really hope that you grow up like a normal child my dear .

    "Yes ! Brother Yuan ! Will you marry me when I grow up ?", Little Tiyanyi looked at Xi Yuan with an expectant gaze .

    Xi Yuan smiled and nodded ," How can I reject you , my dear ?"

    "Look Sister Xinghe ! He called me ''my dear'' !", Little Tiyanyi whispered in Rong Xinghe''s ears shyly.

    Rong Xinghe couldn''t control herself anymore as tears started welling up in her eyes. She didn''t wanted Little Tiyanyi to know that she had a serious disease , so she quickly got up and exited the hospital ward .

    But Little Tiyanyi got worried ,"Brother Yuan ! Was Sister Xinghe crying ?! Why did she wiped her cheeks when she left the room ?! Did I say something wrong ?! Did I hurt her ?! Is she worried about me ?! Tell her that I just had a small fever. Please Brother Yuan !!! "

    Xi Yuan quickly covered the girl with a nket and kissed her forehead ," Xinghe has cut her finger. She was crying because she was in pain. You don''t worry. I will take care of her. Just rest , okay ? "

    "Okay ..."

    _______

    Xi Yuan left the ward after making sure that Little Tiyanyi was asleep.

    But the moment he walked out of the room , he saw Rong Xinghe sitting on the floor with the support of the wall opposite the room. The woman had covered her face with the palm of her hands but her trembling shoulders clearly indicated that she was crying.

    The man felt his heart ache when he saw the woman in such a weak state. She was indeed too strong. Bottling up so much pain in front of others was always a tough task , yet she did it so wlessly .

    But no matter how strong she was , her heart was still filled with warmth , love andpassion. It waspletely normal for the Military Chief of Country X to get tired of putting up this tough exterior sometimes .

    It was understandable for her to weaken up .

 Chapter 140: " Until and unless you are strong , I can fight the world !"

    Chapter 140: " Until and unless you are strong , I can fight the world !"

    Xi Yuan sat down on the floor beside Rong Xinghe as he pulled her into his warm embrace and started rubbing her back ," Its alright ! Calm down. "

    Rong Xinghe didn''t pushed the man away like always. Instead , she buried her face into his chest and kept on crying. She even hugged him back .

    She needed this ....

    She needed this exact warmth right now ...

    Xi Yuan kept pacifying the girl but it was of no use. It was rare for Rong Xinghe to break down like this but whenever she did , it meant that she had reached the limit of her emotional strength .

    Eventually , the woman slept in the man''s embrace after she was exhausted .

    _________

    Next Morning ,

    Rong Xinghe woke up in an unknown environment. The girl sat up on the bed as she rubbed her eyes confusedly .

    "Good Morning , Xinghe. ", Xi Yuan entered the room and sat down on the edge of the bed beside the woman ," How are you feeling now ? "

    " This ce .... ", the girl asked in a hoarse voice .

    " Its Elite Saphhire. Your neighborhood penthouse ."

    "Oh ... ", Rong Xinghe rubbed her throat .

    Xi Yuan quickly picked up the ss of warm water kept on the side table and passed it to the girl ," Here ! "

    Rong Xinghe epted the water and drank it .

    No matter how much she tried to avoid this man , she couldn''t refuse the reality that she trusted him blindly.

    She was the Military Chief. Being wary of what she consumed and who gave that to her was her basic nature. But she reflexively trusted this man and her sworn family with her edibles and drinks .

    "Tiyanyi ..."

    Xi Yuan replied the questions before being asked ," Her health is stable now , Xinghe. Don''t tire yourself too much about this. She still has a chance to survive because the doctors diagnosed it quite early. All we need to do is find a suitable bone marrow for her and she will be fine after the transnt. I know that this might be tough but you need to trust me with this.

    "Xinghe , these NGO kids are important to me as well. No matter what , I will do all I can to save Tiyanyi. But for god''s sake , stay positive. You are my biggest source of optimism and hope. Until and unless you are strong , I can fight the world. You have no idea what that bright smile of yours can do.

    " And yes ! I am not going to allow you to get personally involved in this. I will find a matching bone marrow myself. You already have a lot on your te. You are the Military Chief of Country X. We both have to handle Lu Corporation. You have to be there for Mrs. Ningtao. What more , you have decided to train Ying and your other two sister-inws with self-defense as well.

    "I beg you to leave this to me. I believe I can handle Xi Corporation , Lu Corporation , Project "Infinity" and Little Tiyanyi''s treatment myself. All you need to do is act normal around Tiyanyi. She needs to be happy throughout this entire duration and you are the only one that can do that ."

    "But ... it will be tiring for you.", Rong Xinghe was concerned for the man .

    "As long as you take care of yourself , I will be fine. ", Xi Yuan smiled.

    "Alright then. We will go with this arrangement ", the girl nodded.

    ___________

    Few more months passed by ,

    In these two months , Xi Yuan had tried to find out a suitable bone marrow for Little Tiyanyi but had been unsessful so far. However , the doctors were handling the girl''s health pretty well. Rong Xinghe and William also visited the child every third day.

    But both Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe had hell of workload to take care of , all of a sudden. One had to take care of an entire nation''s security while the other had to handle two business empires together.

    These two months brought Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan quite close , though. Rong Xinghe no more felt any awkwardness or difort around the man.

    In fact , she was getting used to his touches and sweet talks. Most importantly , even she herself didn''t noticed the changes in their rtionship.

    Meanwhile , Zhou Che tried to meet Rong Xinghe multiple times so that he could humiliate her. But obviously , the six men had a meaning for their existence. Because of them , it was almost like Zhou Che had never came back in Rong Xinghe''s life .

    Ningtao was now five months pregnant and her belly had grown into a baby bump now. With thebined support from Lu Wei , the other five men , Rong Xinghe , Songyan and Ruo Cy ; her pregnancy was going pretty smoothly.

    No matter what issues any of them were going through , the family never allowed anything to affect Ningtao or baby''s health because they all were anticipating the birth of this child .They all were waiting to spoil this little brat to the limit of extremity .

    Of course , most excited were Rong Xinghe and Zhi Al.

    Rong Xinghe had even knitted four pairs of cute Yellow coloured mittens , six pairs of Green socks and three Woolen mufflers for the to-be-born child .

    While , Zhi Al had personally hired interior designers to design the baby room in the Lu family mansion .

    But toughest part was still for Lu Wei to face. After all, he was the one who had to go through Ningtao''s every mood swing and her every food craving.

    Ningtao had actually once woken him up in the middle of the night because she wanted to eat her favorite Red Velvet cake. The problem was that only Rong Xinghe knew Ningtao''s dream recipe .

    So Lu Wei had to call Rong Xinghe at 3:00 a.m. in the night to ask for the baking procedures. All the siblings stillughed at him for that incident because Rong Xinghe had ''identally leaked'' this information the next day .

    He had to even keep an eye on each and every action of Ningtao because the woman had developed an interest in watching action movies out of nowhere. Such visual scenes were not good for the personality development of the unborn baby.

    He was afraid that if everything went like this , his kid would definitely grow up to be either an army officer , a police cop or a ... criminal !

 Chapter 141: The right to write their destiny !

    Chapter 141: The right to write their destiny !

    It had been almost eleven months since Xi Yuan had met Rong Xinghe now .

    They both had started to understand each other pretty well. Even the slightest of the action of each person was noted by the other one reflexively. Xi Yuan knew almost everything about Rong Xinghe excluding her past .

    He had left that for Rong Xinghe to tell him herself and had decided to respect her privacy .

    Rong Xinghe also knew about it and she naturally appreciated Xi Yuan''s decision. It was hard to find a man like this .

    Regardless of what was happening in their lives , the Xi siblings and William along with the entire Youth Team members were excited for one particr thing .

    Rong Xinghe and Rong Xiao''s birthday wasing soon. The Rong twins were born on October 9 .

    They both hadn''t celebrated their birthday together since past seven years as Rong Xiao had been in Australia for her education while Rong Xinghe was in Country X , as she underwent the Military Chief training .

    Since both the sisters were together now , it was only right for the Youth Team to organize a magnificent birthday banquet for them .

    Xi Yuan obviously , was a part of this event management procedure. His woman was turning 23 soon , after all .

    Rong Xinghe and Rong Xiao had a rough idea about what was happening but they didn''t bothered looking into the matter. They both had their own work to handle and they hadplete confidence on their friends'' enthusiasm .

    __________

    Three days before the Rong twins'' birthday , Xi Yuan , Xi trio and William were sitting in the garden of Youth Team NGO and were discussing event details with an event organizer .

    After sometime , Lu Wei and Zhi Bo entered the garden and gestured the organizer to leave the ce before they sat down on the couch opposite the five people .

    "So you guys are nning Xinghe and Xiao''s birthday ?", Lu Wei asked as he picked up a juice ss .

    William nodded .

    " Guys ... it has always been like this. Youth team has been nning and celebrating their birthday for years now. And we have no issues with it. You guys alwayse up with more creative ideas. We just have one request for you all .", Zhi Bo said.

    "What is it , Senior Lu ?", Xi Yuan looked at Lu Wei. He knew that whatever these men were going to say , it was an important matter rted to the girl .

    " We would appreciate it if her ''family'' is not mentioned during the entire period. It has been tough for her to ept the past. ", Lu Wei smiled bitterly .

    The five people remained silent for sometime before they nodded their heads in approval. None of them had any idea about what the Rong family had done to Rong Xinghe ten years ago but they knew that it was the most dreadful part of her life .

    Although , her past was what had made her what she was today , some wounds were better left untouched. She needed time to heal from that .

    Xi Yuan , obviously , understood the concerns of the men.

    When Rong Xinghe had fainted in the Lu family mansion , he had got a rough idea about the insensitivity of Rong family towards his woman. He was obviously going to ensure that that family wouldn''t be mentioned throughout the entire night even once.

    ________

    The two men got up from their seats and walked out of the NGO garden after they got the reassurance from the girl''s friends .

    "What do you think ? Will she go to Country I this year as well ? ", Zhi Bo looked at Lu Wei.

    " Hopefully , she won''t. Maybe she will forget that incident as Rong Xiao has returned back. ", Lu Wei shrugged .

    " Poor child. She left behind the Rong family , but ... "

    " ... but couldn''t leave behind the painful memories. ", Lu Wei sighed ," Wounds given by the people you once considered family always hurts the most Bo. She had tried so hard to impress and make the Rongs proud of her since she was a child. But what happened in the end ? "

    " Aaarghh ! I hate those bastards ! ", Zhi Bo clenched his teeth .

    "We all hate that family more than even Xinghe does. They had practically killed ourdy-luck back then , Bo. But we can''t be too impulsive. Although Xinghe doesn''t care even if we burn that shameful lot alive , we do. ", Lu Wei patted the man''s shoulder .

    " Exactly ! Nothing can hurt those bloody psychos more than our Xinghe''s sess. Look where she is today. Her position can easily oppress the entire Rong n now. ", Zhi Bo said proudly .

    Lu Wei smiled .

    Ten years ago , the six men had thought of multiple ways to destroy the Rongs but they eventually realized that only Rong Xinghe had the right to write their destiny .

    Even if the Rongs were to be killed , their kiddo would be the one to be holding the gun !

    But as the time passed by , Rong Xinghe''s hatred for the Rong family increased so much that she didn''t even wanted to see their faces. At that time , Lu Wei and Zhi Xi had went with the option of business oppression. The Rong Corporation had suffered heavy losses under the leadership of their CEO Rong Yufan at that time .

    The Rong Family was affected so adversely that they had to leave Country X and settle abroad. But even then , the six men didn''t go easy on the morons. Almost every second day , Rong family''s scandals were being released one after the other in front of the world .

    What more was expected from the ck-bellied and ruthless ''Media Ma'' Mo Zixuan ? The level of influence he had in the world of journalism was simply unparalleled .

    One day , the scandal of the third miss of Rong family being a mistress of an old man would be released and the other day , the matter of second master of Rong family being a drug addict would be released .

    If these past ten years had been hard for Rong Xinghe , then they had been a trauma for the entire Rong family .

    While the Rong family kept on going through their downfall , Rong Xinghe waspletely unaffected by it .

    After all , her every path was carefully nned by her six pirs of strength , love and support .They had marked a clear line between Rong Xinghe and Rong family when they had taken over the custody of the girl ten years ago.

    Almost entire Country X had epted the fact that Rong Xinghe was literally brought up by these six men and not the Rong family.

    Rong Xinghe''s incident ten years ago had been quite a controversy then .

    Xi Yuan had a rough idea about it as he was living in Country X at that time and this incident was a headline on every news channel. But the man was himself going through the most difficult phase of his life. He was also not acquainted with Lu Wei and Zhi Xi during that time. It was only normal for him to not take note of the incident .

    But today , he regretted that he was not there for her when she needed every support she could get .

 Chapter 142: Her brain was even more frightening !

    Chapter 142: Her brain was even more frightening !

    As the two men were chatting about the incident , a certain someone was standing behind the adjacent door and hearing everything they said .

    Hate those bastards ?

    Almost killed theirdy-luck ?

    Hoping that the girl won''t go to Country I ?

    As soon as Xi Yuan heard those words , he frowned slightly and furrowed his brows .

    He knew that Lu Wei and Zhi Bo were talking about Rong Family and Rong Xinghe. So it was not tough for him to put the pieces of the puzzle together .

    By the words of the men , anyone could tell that Rong Xinghe hadn''t just been hurt by the Rongs. They had even tried to kill her. Could anyone be really that sinful to hurt their own flesh and blood like that ?!

    And ... what was the connection between Rong family and , Rong Xinghe going to Country I ?

    The two men even said that Rong Xinghe went to Country I every year. Did this mean that she visited that nation on her every birthday ? But ... why would she go there ?

    There was only one way to find out .

    If Rong Xinghe went to Country I this year as well , he was going to follow her .

    His instincts told him that it was important for him to do that. His heart told him that this trip to Country I was going to get him even more closer to Rong Xinghe .

    _______

    Meanwhile , In Military Chief Office :

    Rong Xinghe was sitting in the interrogation room as a terrorist was facing her.

    The terrorist was just brought in the room and his face was covered with a ck cloth while his hands were handcuffed .

    Rong Xinghe looked at the young officer beside her and nodded her head slightly gesturing him to uncover the man''s face .

    As soon as the terrorist opened his eyes after adjusting his vision to the bright light , he saw a woman sitting in front of him .

    The terrorist was a young 21 year oldd and his name was Iman Yasin. This person was a software engineer and was quite an intellectual. His brain was sharp ... but s ... he ended up making a wrong decision .

    "So I am lucky enough to personally witness the young and beautiful military chief of Country X , finally. You are indeed a feast to the eyes , Military Chief. ", the man smiled .

    "I am ?", Rong Xinghe raised her brows with amusement .

    "Uh...huh ! "

    "Well ... I am honored ! Since you like me so much , can you do me the favour of telling your Aaka (boss) Hassan Imaz''s exact location ? ", Rong Xinghe smiled .

    "Over my dead body ! ", the man humphed angrily ," I would rather die than let my Aaka go through any harm ! "

    "Who the f*ck is your Aaka ?!! That bastard was kneeling and begging for his life in front Country X''s Naval soldiers when he was caught and beaten up by them twenty years ago. He is a in coward. Only idiots like you follow him blindly and kill innocent people. ", Rong Xinghe said calmly .

    It was as if she had no fear regarding any possibility .

    "You ... "

    But before the young man could utter another word , the screen behind Rong Xinghe lit up and started showing a video .

    " Son ! Iman ! Please save us. These people are going to kill us. I have an important information to deliver to Aaka , otherwise , our entire organisation is going to be destroyed. I can''t die ! You have to save us !!! Please tell them whatever they ask for !!! " , an old man''s voice resonated throughout the room .

    Then the screen went nk again .

    "D.. dad !! ", Iman Yasin started to struggle in his seat when he watched the entire video ,"You bi*tch ! Leave him. He is my abba , my father ! Leave him ! "

    "Didn''t you hear what he said ? He told you to give me the exact location of your Aaka or .... ", Rong Xinghe looked at the young man meaningfully .

    Iman Yasin went silent for sometime before he let out a deep breath .

    He was really left with no option .

    Even if he was to sacrifice his father , the terrorist organisation would still be in danger. So all he could do was answer the questions asked to him.

    " Sunburn Complex , Room A357 , Country N. ", the man said in a low voice .

    "Verify! ", Rong Xinghe nced at a bureaucrat sitting on the other bench.

    The bureaucrat held onto hisptop and typed some codes before he looked back at Rong Xinghe ," The location is incorrect ma''am. "

    Rong Xinghe shook her head with an expression of disappointment ," Kids don''t love their parents anymore nowadays. "

    The woman then took out her cell phone as she made a call and put it on speaker ," Kill Iman Yasin''s father right now ! "

    "On it , Military Chief ! ", a soldier said from the other end .

    " N ... No ... Please don''t ! Its Becksert Central Station , Bungalow 75 , Country N. My Aaka lives here. "

    " The location is urate this time , boss ! ", the bureaucrat said after repeating the same procedures .

    "Good work. You can leave now officer ! And Colonel Han , acting was brilliant ! ", Rong Xinghe said into the phone .

    " Thank you boss ", the line went dead after that .

    Iman Yasin waspletely dumbfounded when he heard the word ''acting'' .

    "What are you wondering ? We don''t have your father. It was just an old footage. And a voice mimicry artist lip synced your father in it. We were just fooling you. ", Rong Xinghe smiled .

    "What ?!!! "

    He had given up such an important information for nothing ?!!

    It was all an act ?!

    This woman was quite terrifying. She was not just all beauty. Her brain was even more frightening !

    He had literally put an entire terrorist organisation in danger because of this woman''s measly games !

    Rong Xinghe smiled even more when she saw the man''s pale expression .

    This was the reaction she had expected .

    She loved to y with people''s minds and enjoiyed manipting and tormenting them like that .

    No matter how tough it was for her to handle her personal life , when it came to professionalism , no one could beat her .

    The woman stood up and looked at Feng Mian before leaving the interrogation room ," Kill him and bury the body ! "

    Feng Mian shook her head helplessly as she pulled out her tucked revolver and pointed it at Iman Yasin''s forehead .

    BANG !

    After working with Rong Xinghe for elevenplete months , she had already gotten used to this. Rong Xinghe never believed in keeping terrorists alive .

    ording to her , this group of people could never return back to humanity as they were brought up with this pcychic mentality .

 Chapter 143: " To visit the place , where all of it began ."

    Chapter 143: " To visit the ce , where all of it began ."

    "Xinghe ! I need to tell you something. ", Feng Mian followed Rong Xinghe .

    "What is it Mian ? ", Rong Xinghe stopped in her tracks and turned around to face the woman .

    " Your brother Zhi Al , confessed to me a week ago. "

    Rong Xinghe was slightly taken aback when Feng Mian mentioned Zhi Al ," I know. But as far as I remember , you had rejected him. Right ? "

    "You know about it already ? Aren''t you upset that I rejected him. After all , he is your brother .", Feng Mian was confused .

    " Why would I be upset ? Everyone has the right to make their own decisions. ", Rong Xinghe shrugged ," Why do you ask , by the way ? "

    "Uhh ... I just wanted to know if he is alright. You know he hasn''t shown up in the Military Chief office despite the fact that he has so much work here. I was just a little ... "

    " ... worried about him ? ", Rong Xinghe raised her brows ever so slightly ," Don''t worry. He is my brother. Until and unless Rong Xinghe is alive , her brothers would stay strong. Yeah , he has been a little zoned out for sometime now. He has been drinking a lot as well. But he will be fine. I am there for him. "

    "What ?! Why would he harm himself like that ? Xinghe , please make sure that he doesn''t drink alcohol like that anymore ! ", Feng Mian was concerned all of a sudden .

    Rong Xinghe shook her head helplessly when she listened to the tone of the woman .

    It seemed like she liked her brother as well , but she was herself havingplex feelings about the possibility of their rtionship .

    And why not ?

    Out of all her brothers , Zhi Al and Su Rogguang acted immaturely the most .

    That man had been picking up fights and arguments with this woman for almost every day just so that he coulde in contact with her .

    How was she to like him ?

    "Mian. Do you really think that I will let anything happen to the most important people in my life ? Trust me. He will be fine. You prepare for your wedding with Officer Yi. ", Rong Xinghe patted the woman''s shoulder and left her in a daze .

    _______

    " Assistant Shou. Did you get the information about that Officer Yi ? The man Feng Mian is going to marry. ", this was the first thing Rong Xinghe asked to Shou Wu as soon as she entered her office .

    "The investigation is still going on. So far , he is clean ."

    " Hmmm. Alright then , clear my schedule for 8th of October. ", the girl looked seriously at Shou Wu .

    " Is there something important , Military Chief ? ", Shou Wu was muddled .

    Rong Xinghe nodded ," Yeah. I am going to Country I. Prepare a basic flight. No security. I will go alone in my disguise. "

    " But why are you going to Country I , Boss? "

    Rong Xinghe clenched her fists as looked into the space ," To visit the ce , where all of it began ."

    The Youth Team had nned a Birthday Bash on 9th of October as Rong Xiao had also returned back , so she couldn''t leave Country X on that day. Instead , she would go there on 8th of October .

    Shou Wu nodded and left the office .

    He had no idea what his Boss was thinking about , but all he knew was that it was quite personal and going to Country I was important for her.

    ____________

    Meanwhile , In Country Shine Cafe :

    Rong Xiao was sipping her coffee and discussing her future ns with Su Rogguang ," Bro Su ! Do you think I should study more courses or ... should I start practicing. "

    "I think its perfect time for you to enter the battlefield. You are done with your masters in surgery. Although you are a cardiac surgeon now , it is all on the paper. You will have to take the scalpel in your hands in order to achieve the pinnacle of sess in medical world. And about other courses , you can do that side by side .

    "Remember one thing Xiao , a doctor can never stop learning. Even I am learning new things everyday. In this modern society , the lifestyle of people has been changing for worse which results in urrence of different , chronic and new diseases. A doctor needs to catch up with these diseases and their treatment , or we won''t be able to save the patients. ", Su Rogguang gave his words of wisdom .

    Rong Xiao nodded obediently .

    Both the Rong sisters had an extremely rebellious character butpared to Rong Xinghe , Rong Xiao was less stubborn .

    But then again , there was bound to be some differences between a surgeon and a soldier .

    Rong Xiao saved people''s lives but Rong Xinghe secured the entire nation.

    Moreover , Rong Xiao really respected Su Rogguang as he was her inspiration to get into the medical field .

    After chatting for a bit , Su Rogguang went out of the cafe to pick up a phone call while Rong Xiao kept on sipping her coffee.

    " Xiao Xiao ! "

    As soon as Rong Xiao heard someone calling her name so intimately , she turned around to look at the person. But the moment she saw the old man standing with a walking stick , her face turned pale.

    " Xiao Xiao ! My dear granddaughter ! I have missed you so much in the past years. I never expected to see you here .", the old man looked relieved and delighted yet a little weak .

    Rong Xiao kept her coffee cup on the table and started to walk out the cafe .

    She didn''t wanted to see this person at all .

    She knew it very well , that this weak and helpless state was a mere facade of this man .

    This man was Rong family''s elder , Rong Quiang !

    She could never forget how high and mighty he was acting ten years ago. She could never forget the pain her sister had gone through back then because of them.

    But before Rong Xiao could leave the ce , Rong Quiang grabbed her wrist and started wailing as if he was wronged ," Xiao Xiao ! What are you and Xiao Xinghe punishing us for ?! How many times have we called you both back to your home ?! Yet you don''t even meet us. What sin have we Rong familymitted ? Tell us ! We will quickly change ourselves. "

    " I could publish an entire book if I start writing the sins you people havemitted !", Su Rogguang''s icy cold voice resonated from Rong Xiao''s behind as the man walked over and stared straight into the old man''s eyes ," Leave her hand ".

    Rong Quiang''s eyes darkened but he eventually released Rong Xiao''s hand.

    "You sure have some guts to show your face in front of my sister , Mr. Rong ! "

 Chapter 144: "You will see how frightening your sister-in-law can be ... "

    Chapter 144: "You will see how frightening your sister-inw can be ... "

    Su Rogguang''s threatening re was enough for the old man to zip up his mouth .

    It was his luck that Lu Wei , Zhi Xi or Mo Zixuan were not present there because when it came to rage , no one could overpower them .

    Su Rogguang then looked at Rong Xiao ," Are you alright , kiddo ? "

    Rong Xiao nodded slightly .

    The man rubbed his sister''s head as he led her away from the cafe towards his car. It was as if the brother and sister hadn''t just had an encounter with Rong Quiang .

    As soon as the car sped off towards Military Chief Mansion , Su Rogguang connected his bluetooth earpiece and made a phone call ,"Zixuan ! Meet me with the other four in Military Chief Mansion in half an hour. And yes ! Ensure that Xinghe is still in Military Chief Office. "

    "What happened , Rogguang ? ", Mo Zixuan was in green room and was about to head to read the news bulletin when he received the call .

    "The Rongs are back "

    "F*ck ! Are you kidding me ?! "

    "Nope "

    "I aming ! I aming !"

    Rong Xiao was a little worried after the short encounter ," Why ? "

    Su Rogguang smiled slightly and patted the girl''s head ," Its alright. I don''t think that the entire family is back. Maybe it is just him. Don''t worry. We will deal with this. "

    "Is Xinghe still not able to forget that ? ", the girl looked at the man .

    The man simply shook her head ," Nope. She doesn''t want to. She believes that that incident has made her what she is today. "

    Rong Xiao clenched her fists when she heard the words. All her life , Rong Xinghe had tried to protect her. She had even sent her to Australia so that she would nevere in contact with these people. Rong Xinghe always ensured that Rong Xiao would get a perfect childhood , no matter how many wounds she got. A sister like Rong Xinghe was a blessing.

    But it was high time now !

    There was no way that she was going to allow these people to hurt her sister anymore. From now on , she was going to protect Rong Xinghe as well .

    ____________

    After half an hour , the six men and the three women met in Military Chief Mansion .

    "What the hell is he doing here ?! Weren''t they in Capetown ?! ", Zhi Al fumed up .

    Mo Zixuan returned back after attending a call and exined ," Actually , the Rongs are still in Capetown. Right now , only Rong Quiang is here for some legal documentation but .... "

    " But ? ", Ruo Cy asked anxiously .

    " But I am afraid that they will return back soon. They have been trying to contact Xinghe through mails and phone calls but of course , her authority is so high that not just anyone cane in contact with her. ", Mo Zixuan said .

    "Damn!!! Why are they trying to get close to her again ?! ", Ningtao clenched her teeth .

    " Rong Xinghe''s influence. ", Zhi Xi blurted out .

    "Huh ?! "

    " Exactly ! The Rong Family has been traveling like migrants from one country to another country for the past ten years now. The type of scandals we have been releasing are literally destroying the Rong Business Group. It is obvious that they want to tread onto Xinghe''s sess. ", Lu Wei replied calmly .

    " I am going to kill those sons of the bi-- ", Ningtao was about to abuse but Lu Wei cut her mid-sentence ,"Don''t you dare use such words , Mrs.Lu. Our baby''s brain has started developing. It will put on a negative effect on it. "

    " You seriously have no worries about Xinghe ?! All you care about is abusing ? ", Ningtao was stunned .

    " Do you really think we fear the Rongs ?! Or the Zhous ?! Moreover , Xinghe is no more the 13 year old naive Xinghe who trusted everyone. She has grown up to be quite ruthless. Zhou Che had hurt her. But when ites to the Rongs , she simply hates them. Trust me. We are here because we are worried about the Rong family. God knows what will happen to them if Xinghe gets to know that they areing back to tread onto her fame. ", Lu Wei shrugged.

    "Really ?! ", Songyan raised her brows ever so slightly in surprise .

    "Yeah. By the way , have you ever seen Xinghe''s anger ? ", Zhi Bo looked at Ruo Cy and she shook her head .

    "You will see how frightening your sister-inw can be if the Rongs return back .", Zhi Bo smiled .

    The threedies didn''t knew what the man meant , but they were going to understand that real soon .

    "What is happening here ? ", Rong Xinghe''s voice rang throughout the room as she entered the living room and sat down beside Ningtao. She ced the palm of her hand on her showing belly excitedly.

    "Did my to-be-niece or nephew kicked today ?! "

    "No Xinghe. Babies start noticeable movements in week 25 during first pregnancy. The baby might have started making small movements now but only the mother can feel them. ", Lu Wei talked like a learned gynecologist now .

    The 37 books given by Rong Xinghe were proving to be really helpful .

    Xinghe frowned slightly and the family startedughing as they noticed her reaction .

    What were they worried for ?

    This girl obviously had other priorities. She was anticipating the arrival of her first nephew or niece .

    Rongs were thest people she cared about .

    At this time , Rong Xinghe''s phone rang and she simply put it on speaker while she ced her ear on Ningtao''s stomach as she tried to listen any movement .

    "Military Chief. We have been trying to interrogate that terrorist Aizaz Al-zin since morning now but he hasn''t uttered a single word. Not even a single military torture is able to make him spill the beans. ", Shou Wu''s voice came from the other end .

    " It means that this terrorist has no idea about the uing terrorist attack. ", Rong Xinghe said while leaning in the same position .

    " It seems like it , Boss. So ... what should we do with this terrorist now ? "

    Rong Xinghe finally got up and covered Ningtao''s ears with both her hands before saying the two words ," Kill him ! "

    "Are you sure Military Chief ? "

    " If he is of no use to the military , then at least his dead body will be of use to the Military dogs. Do it. "

    "Alright Boss !"

    Rong Xinghe calmly retreated her hands ced on Ningtao''s ears and disconnected the call .

    The six men : "..."

    Ruo Cy : "..."

    Songyan : "..."

    Ningtao : " ????? "

    " Uhhh ... kiddo. Why did you covered Ningtao''s ears ? ", Lu Wei asked .

    " I didn''t wanted my to-be-niece or nephew to hear that. They should not have any bad impression about me. I want the baby to admire and love its Aunt ", the girl shrugged nonchntly and walked out leaving behind the speechless group of people .

 Chapter 145: Rong Xinghes painful past !

    Chapter 145: Rong Xinghe''s painful past !

    Finally , 8th of November arrived .

    Rong Xinghended in Country I after the flight journey of three tiring hours .

    Xi Yuan already knew that Rong Xinghe was going to visit Country I the day before her birthday , so he had made his own arrangements in order to follow her .

    But to his surprise , Rong Xinghe didn''t headed to any hotel or inn. Instead , she directly went to a railway station and as a man concerned for his woman , Xi Yuan simply kept on following her .

    It was almost One O''clock in the noon when the girl reached Rukawa Railway Station .

    She didn''t do anything odd .

    She simply bought a cup of tea from a local tea seller and sat down on the tform .The woman had no expression on her face.

    She was simply staring into the distance as she sipped the tea .

    This expressionless woman , for some unknown reason , seemed more frightening than her usual self .

    Even Xi Yuan was a little worried by Rong Xinghe''s actions .

    The man was standing behind a pole not too far away from Rong Xinghe and his gaze was fixed on her.

    What was the girl''s connection with this ce ?

    Why did she visited this ce every year ?

    How was her past rted to a railway station ?

    These questions were storming in the man''s heart , but he couldn''t just walk and confront the girl. She needed her space .

    It was just his own curiosity that brought him here .

    He had no right to push her for any answers .

    _________

    After sometime , Rong Xinghe took a deep breath and said while she continued looking into distance , " Yuan. Don''t stand behind the pole. Come here. "

    Xi Yuan was a little stunned when he heard the girl''s words but then he took a deep breath as he walked towards her and sat down beside her on the same tform .

    "How did you ... "

    " Your Caron Poivre perfume is rare and recognizable. ", Rong Xinghe said in the same zoned out tone .

    Oh ... so that''s how she knew that he had been following her .

    It seemed like she recognized her perfume as well .

    But then again , her senses were extraordinarily alert 24*7. Her five year Military Chief training had shaped her up like that .

    " You won''t ask why I came here ? ", Rong Xinghe finally looked at Xi Yuan .

    Xi Yuan simply shook his head ," I won''t. You can tell me if you arefortable enough. And even if you are not , don''t bother. I will just stay by your side till you are ready to go back with me ."

    Rong Xinghe felt warmth spread through her heart when she heard the words "I will just stay by your side " from Xi Yuan .

    This man ....

    He was always too good to her.

    He always knew the right words to say at the right time .

    He never pushed her for any exnation , even though he knew nothing about her .

    He always trusted her , no matter what the world said about her and that was the exact reason , that she felt that she was not worth a person as good as him .

    The girl felt like she should tell her reason behinding to Country I to this man .

    So she pointed her index finger towards the railway track a little further from the tform .

    "What is it Xinghe ? ", the man looked confusedly in the direction the woman had pointed .

    " Ten years ago , I was lying on those railway tracks covered in my own pool of blood for an entire night .", the girl said expressionlessly .

    What?! Xi Yuan waspletely shocked by this one sentence !

    What exactly had happened ? What was the story behind the incident ?

    The man quickly calmed himself down and kept listening to the girl .

    If even hearing those words were so tough for him , then he had no idea how difficult it was for Rong Xinghe to say those words.

    "You know Yuan , that in Country I , railways are not that technologically advanced. They are basically open and do not have automated doors like our country''s trains have.

    " So after winning the ''Voice of the World''petition , I was returning back to Country I''s capital city Shengu via train as National Airway staff was on a strike at that time.

    " This Rukawa railway station is one of the most isted locations in Country I. No single person is seen in this location at all during nighttime. Only one train named Viuf Central passes through this station once a day. I was in that train .

    " I still remember that it was two in the night when I was pushed down the train. The train was running at its maximum speed Yuan. It was not at halt. Can you even imagine how painful that must have been for me ?

    " I had hit the back of my head to that vertical yellow rod over there. That is the reason behind me being a post-traumatic migraine patient. Else than that , my legs were also hurt. I had to remain on wheelchair for an entire year. I had even been in vegetative state for two whole months. ", Rong Xinghe said in a robotic manner , void of any emotion .

    Xi Yuan was so worried about the girl that he quickly pulled her into his embrace and started rubbing her back .

    Pushed down a speeding train ....

    Two months in vegetative state ....

    One year on wheelchair ....

    Post-traumatic Migraine ....

    Damn it !

    He had really never expected that Rong Xinghe , his woman , once had went through such a horrid experience .

    At this point of time , Xi Yuan''s heart was aching too badly for the woman he loved .

    Just like Rong Xinghe had felt his pain when she had rejected him in New York , he was feeling her pain today .

    Love had always been like this .

    A person would always care more about his lover than himself , when in love .

    But Rong Xinghe didn''t stopped .

    She needed to let it all out .

    Although she didn''t tried to free herself from the man''s embrace , she kept on speaking ," You know what is he funniest part ? Can you guess the name of the person who pushed me down , Yuan ? "

    "Who was it ?", the man said in a heavy voice .

    He was literally at the brim of breaking down but he had to stay strong for the woman in his arms .

    He so wanted to kill the person who hadmitted such a sin ten years ago !

    "It was the son of my Second Uncle. My ''brother''. Rong Yufan !", the girl said .

    Xi Yuan''s hold on the girl''s shoulder tightened even more after that.

    Rong ?

    The Rong Family ?

    Her own brother ?

    No wonder she didn''t believed in a happily ever after for herself !

    No wonder she didn''t believed that she could too have a warm andplete family !

    No wonder she hated the Rongs so much !

    The damage they had done was beyond any repair .

    "And Yuan , do you know what day it was ? ", the girl looked at the man as she lifted her head up from his embrace .

    The man simply shook his head in a ''no'' .

    "It was my 13th birthday. "

 Chapter 146: " I am proud of the person you have become after that "

    Chapter 146: " I am proud of the person you have be after that "

    Thirteenth birthday ....

    She had just entered her teenage when that incident had happened to her !

    She had just won the title of ''Voice of the World'' when she had went through this !

    The moment when she should have had been celebrating her sess , was the moment when she was struggling for survival !

    The day when she was to cut the cake of her birthday turned into the day when she was lying lifelessly on these cold railway tracks !

    No wonder she came there on her every birthday .

    Xi Yuan felt like thousands of arrows had been stabbed into his heart , all at once. Could someone be really so ruthless to their own flesh and blood?!

    Rong Xinghe saw the man''s aching expression and sighed. It seemed he really liked her .

    But the girl didn''t stopped telling about the incident .

    She wanted him to know about this and didn''t wanted to bottle up anything inside her in front of him .

    But unlike the emotionless tone she had earlier , her eyes welled up and her throat choked when she said the next words ," I was lying there for an entire night Yuan. I screamed and I cried but no one came. As I told you , this is one of the most isted locations of Country I. There was not ev ... even a soul. It was just me. I could feel my blood flowing out of my back , my legs and my head. I ... I couldn''t even sit , let alone crawl to the nearby hospital.

    " I screamed m ... my six brothers'' names. All of them still regret that they were not there for me at that time. That was the most painful night I ever had. It w .. was so much pain Yuan. I was very weak ... then. Very very weak. I lied there for four hours. Fourpl ..plete hours ! I endured the pain which could never be described for four freaking hours. You know I even begged god to kill me , rather than letting me go through those four hours like that .

    " After that , I fainted from all the crying and pain. Maybe after that , some locals found me and took me to the hospital. It ... It was now that my brothers were informed about my situation.

    "It was difficult for Bro Mo and Bro Su toe as they were in America and had to go through a lot of legal formalities before flying off for Country I. But my other four brothers arrived as soon as they could.

    " The doctor dered that I might be in vegetative s .. state for my entire life and that they had the option of turning my venttor off. They refused. They believed that their ki ... kiddo was a fighter and that she would never leave them .

    " Can you believe this ? I have no blood rtion with any of them , yet th...they cared for me more than my own Rong family.

    "I had had been in vegetative state for t .. twoplete months Yuan. During these two months , I could hear everything that happened around me.

    " Yuan ... there had been not even a single day when I had not heard my br .. brothers'' voice. Each and everyone of them chatted with me everyday. They told me about everything that was going on in their life. I h .. had even heard my str ... strongest brothers , Bro Lu and Bro Zhi Xi breakdown while they sat beside me. Bro Al h...had even pleaded and begged me to wake up. Bro Mo , he had even stopped eating properly. He skipped his meals and worked endlessly just so he could protect me when I would wake up. Bro Su and Bro Zhi Bo were no less .They didn''t allowed Xiao Xiao to visit Country X because they didn''t wanted her to be traumatized by what happened to me. But she also video called me every day.

    " Those two months ... were difficult for all of us. For me , Xiao and the six men in my life .

    "But when I woke up two monthster , they were really very happy. Although , I couldn''t walk and it was still unknown if I could ever do that again , they were just overjoyed by the fact that I could talk to them.

    " I never stepped into Rong Family Mansion after that , though. I left everything for my six bros to handle. I hate all of them so much that I never want to see them again ! And I swear to god Yuan , if they ever return back in my life , I will destroy them. I will destroy them for hurting my brothers so much. You know who had nned that entire incident ? My grandparents. That''s why I had earlier said that you were lucky as your grandparents , at least , loved you.

    " Now you know why my bond with my bros is so strong ."

    Xi Yuan had no words to say anymore. What could he say ?

    None of the men had any blood rtion with the girl , yet they loved her so much. All of a sudden , his respect for the the six men had increased hundred folds .

    After everything she had gone through , their concern and protectiveness for her was not unreasonable .

    And now that he thought about it , it must have been her loneliness and desire to loved by a family , that she got into rtionship with Zhou Che .

    s !

    Excluding these six people and their wives , every person who entered in her life had hurt her pretty badly. But of course , no one couldpare to those shameful Rongs .

    One thing was for sure , it wasn''t going to be just Xinghe who would destroy those bastards if they were to ever reappear again .

    The man and the woman remained silent for sometime before the man separated her from himself and wiped the tear drops from her cheeks , "Its alright. I know that you don''t ever want to forget that incident again and that''s why youe here every year. That''spletely normal. Horrifying past can never be forgotten and I have experienced this myself. But never let that haunt you. You are an extremely strong woman to get through that. Don''t let that go. Ever. I am proud of the person you have be after that. And so are your brothers and sister-inws. Always remember that. Hmm ? "

    The girl simply nodded in a daze .

    He was proud of her ?

    That felt very ... warm .

    " So ... let''s go back to our country. I want to celebrate the birthday of the woman I admire the most. ", the man kissed the girl''s forehead and Rong Xinghe nodded .

    Why did she felt like she had suddenly started having feelings for him ?

 Chapter 147: "My brother-in-law is looking at you !"

    Chapter 147: "My brother-inw is looking at you !"

    Rong Xinghe returned back to Country X with Xi Yuan after looking at the ce for some more time.

    But what waited for her was a grand birthday bash !

    The entire Youth Team Members had returned back from different corners of the world .

    And why not ?

    This unique yet spectacr idea of starting Youth Team by Rong Xinghe had boosted their reputation in their respective professions .

    Any painter , singer , actor , gymnast , sports yer or any other celebrity belonging to Youth Team , was involuntarily respected wherever they went because of the deeds they did for the betterment of the society in general , and for humanity .

    It was as if Rong Xinghe had changed their entire destiny .

    So being a part of her happiness , was the least they could do for her.

    Moreover , they were recently notified that the man who had won ''Global Business Tycoon of the year'' award for three consecutive years , the legendary Xi Yuan had also joined their Youth Team. They were naturally anticipating this celebration even more because of him .

    Some of Rong Xinghe''s close friends were also going to be there and they were already taken into confidence by William about Xi Yuan''s feelings for her as he wanted them to also get into this "mission matchmaking" !

    ________

    On 9th of October :

    After getting wished and gifted by their six brothers and three sister-inws , Rong Xinghe and Rong Xiao were dragged to a famous fashion studio by William and Xi Wei .

    "Xinghe ! How do I look ?! "

    Rong Xiao was very excited because she was finally able to celebrate her big day with her sister after so long. Also , unlike Rong Xinghe , Rong Xiao was aplete shopaholic. To Rong Xiao , shopping was as necessary as Oxygen for her survival. So she was obviously happy to try new dresses .

    "You look hot !", Rong Xinghe winked .

    Although , she had no interest in shopping , she loved how her twin''s eyes brightened whenever she looked at herself in the mirror in a new dress.

    " Actually no ! I want to wear something else. Something more dark. "

    Rong Xinghe shook her head helplessly .

    By the looks of it , this was going to be a long day .

    And she was right .

    Rong Xiao changed almost 38 dresses before she finally selected a ck colored Muslin Highlow Stitched Gown .

    Xi Wei , who had literally taken a nap during this long selection procedure , stood up as he walked towards his goddess .

    " Xiao Xinghe ! Come. Now we will decide your dress. "

    Rong Xinghe looked at the young man and smiled as she stood up ," Hmm ... "

    " So .... what type of clothes do you like , my goddess ?! ", Xi Wei had been given the responsibility to select a dress that would render his brother speechless .

    " Uhh ... I don''t know. Is there anything in Military print ? ", Rong Xinghe asked innocently .

    After her training as the Military Chief for five years , she was naturally fascinated by everything rted to the army.

    Xi Wei : "....."

    Rong Xiao pped her forehead dramatically before she red at her fifteen minute older sister ," Are you kidding Xinghe ? Its your birthday ! Not a freaking Military drill ! "

    This woman really had no idea about fashion and shopping .

    Why did god switched her gender ?

    If she would have been a man , she would have had been the most infamousdy killer in the entire Country X !

    The girls already went crazy for her male alias , Lu Xi. What would have happened if she had had really been a guy , Rong Xiao always wondered .

    " Okay ... my goddess. I will decide the clothes for you. You just go and change. We will then decide what suits you the best. Okay ? ", Xi Wei couldn''t let his sister-inw feel bad for how she was on her important day .

    After all , this current Rong Xinghe was whom his brother loved , cherished and respected the most .

    " Okay ! ", Rong Xinghe shrugged .

    After changing clothes 6-7 times , a mesmerizing blood Red colored Off-Shoulder Silk re Lace Dress was decided for Rong Xinghe .

    Both thedies were looking extremely pretty as if they hadnded straight from heavens on the earth''s surface .

    Rong Xiao spread an aura of mischief akin to a troubemaker while Rong Xinghe radiated nobility , confidence and ss .

    Both the sisters were like two opposite poles .

    None of their qualities ever matched .

    But then again , twins were always like that. Opposite but harmonious .

    ::::::::::::::::::::::::

    Soon , the twins were taken to the beach where their birthday party was organized .

    This beach was in the outskirts of City A.

    Xi Yuan knew that his woman needed some time to rx as her profession always required her to be alert and stiff round the clock .

    She had also been quite busy with Lu Corporation and Ningtao for sometime now .

    And he was even more resolute to make this afortable and beautiful night for her after she had opened up to him about her past incident with the Rongs .

    The man had even booked the entire public beach for the Youth team and had also kept Rong Xinghe''s security in check.

    Shortly after , the twodies of the hour arrived at the location as William and Xi Wei joined the group of friends .

    As soon as Xi Yuan''s eyes fell on his Xinghe , his mindpletely went nk .

    She was looking so beautiful that she literally took his breath away.

    Actually no ...

    She wasn''t just looking beautiful ... but a little provoking !

    That little silk Red dress made her look so tempting !

    That damned Xi Wei !

    He sure knew how to select dresses ...

    Meanwhile , Rong Xiao saw the wild gaze of Xi Yuan fixed on her sister and giggled .

    These two ...

    Rong Xiao then whispered in Rong Xinghe''s ears ," Hey Xinghe ! My brother-inw is looking at you. Won''t you acknowledge the presence of your love over there ? "

    Rong Xinghe wasn''t even stunned when her twin troublemaker addressed a certain someone as her ''brother-inw'' .

    In these past few days , she had already gotten used to Rong Xiao mentioning Xi Yuan as her brother-inw just like Xi Yuan had gotten used to the Xi Trio dering Rong Xinghe as their sister-inw .

    It seemed like .... only thedy herself was left !

 Chapter 148: Xi Yuans gift

    Chapter 148: Xi Yuan''s gift

    Rong Xinghe swept her eyes across the crowd before they stopped at Xi Yuan .

    The man was wearing a Grey tuxedo and although he was standing amongst so many people , he stood out .

    The man was looking at her and his gaze was not gentle like it always would be. Instead , for the first time , she had seen passion and desire in those mesmerizing hazel eyes of the man .

    The woman literally felt an electric sensation run through her body under the intense and ardent scrutiny of the man as her cheeks involuntarily turned reddish and she looked down to calm down her rapidly beating heart .

    When Rong Xiao , Xi trio and William observed the actions of the two , they looked like they were struck with thunder !

    Were they both really the two most unromantic species they knew ?!

    It was fine with Xi Yuan because the man was already in love with her. But what was with her blushing ?!

    Wasn''t she the heartless Military Chief of Country X ? And hadn''t she already rejected him ? Then why was she so intimidated by his gaze ?

    Xi Yuan calmed himself down. He couldn''t spoil the ns of the evening under the influence of his inner fire .

    The man then smiled warmly and approached the twodies .

    " Happy birthday ! "

    "Thank you brother-inw !", Rong Xiao smiled cheekily .

    Xi Yuan simply nodded at Rong Xiao and reverted his gaze back to the woman in front of him. The girl didn''t replied but it was fine. The night was still young .

    ______________

    Rong Xinghe and Rong Xiao were surprised by the arrangements made by the Youth Team .

    Although the party was held on the beach , it was nothing like the parties they had celebrated ever.

    The decorations were out-of-the-box themselves. For instance , somerge ''lion paw''s '' shells were painted from the outside while lights were fixed inside them making them glow. It was like entire beach was glowing due to those shells .

    Also , many big screens were connected around the lighthouse and all those screens were lit up with the two sisters'' childhood memories. Whenever anyone saw these photos , their hearts would melt down in awe.

    The Rong twins'' favorite food was being served.

    Games like guess the dish , donut catch and many more were also prepared. Dance floor was on fire as well .

    As expected , Rong Xinghe had the most rxing evening in the past few months. Throughout the evening , the girl''s smile didn''t disappeared for even a second .

    After sometime , when everyone was drunk and were enjoying themselves on the beach , Xi Yuan gently grabbed the girl''s hand and whispered in her ears ," Come with me ? "

    Rong Xinghe nced at the man and nodded .

    _______

    Shortly after , Xi Yuan brought Rong Xinghe to the most isted part of the beach and as soon as the girl saw the ce , her eyes widened as she covered her mouth in surprise .

    The man had prepared a bewitching and enchanting Cocoon tree tent for her !

    After construction , it looked more like an spherical art instation. Since it was nighttime and the ball-like tent was lit up from inside , the entire ce glowed like a sacred space. The Cocoon ball had fit a mattress sized bed inside of it, while still amodating lighting, food prep equipment , and a mini fridge !

    The captivating cocoon ball was tied to the trees and was off the ground.

    Xi Yuan helped the girl get into the tent ball and then sat down beside her himself .

    The man smiled and caressed the girl''s cheeks ," Happy birthday , Xinghe ! "

    Rong Xinghe was in an extremely joyful mood when she saw the tent but it was still difficult for her to digest all of this , so she simply nodded with a smile and kept looking around with the excitement akin to a child .

    Xi Yuan was relieved that Rong Xinghe liked his gift ," I had been trying to know your likes and dislikes for the past 11 months but you are good with so many things that I could still not point out that one thing you liked the most.

    "So ... I asked your brothers ."

    "My brothers ?! ", Rong Xinghe was a little startled ," They told you ? "

    "They know about us ... And they have warned me as well. But they have decided to step into our matter when you ept me. That is a relief for me , by he way. But anyway , they wanted you to have a good birthday celebration so ... they told me willingly. ", the man scratched his head nervously .

    Rong Xinghe : "....."

    The six horrifyingly protective tigers knew already ?!

    ....And they decided to stay away ?

    That was unexpected from the people like them .

    From when on , did they started to be so ... understandable ?

    "They told me that you don''t like materialistic things like Diamonds or tinum , nor do you have any interest in things like bungalows , cruise ships , choppers ,or private jets. These were the things I could give you easily .

    " But then they said that you cherish memories. That you love to live in the moment and that you like something that couldst forever. They said that even they felt that their money is useless to you and that they had to spend time with you to make you happy. So ... Xinghe , although this gift of mine is not expensive enough , I hope that this will be memorable for you. ", the man smiled anxiously .

    "This is beautiful , Yuan !", Rong Xinghe''s lips curled into a huge smile.

    "Wait ... you made this yourself ?! ", the girl suddenly realized something .

    Since she and Xi Yuan were working together on some projects in Lu Corporation , she had seen some wounds on the man''s knuckles when he signed the required documents for the same.

    The man nodded honestly ," Yeah ... This Cocoon Tent is a littleplicated to set up than those normal ground tents. Specially , that tying the rope part. It took me almost five days to set this uppletely along with the amodations inside it. Moreover , I had to maintain the secrecy as it was meant to be a surprise ."

    Rong Xinghe was really touched by the man''s gesture this time. He actually exhausted himself so much in order to give her a memorable gift such as this. Just how much did he liked her ?!

    The woman''s eyes turned red and she did something which Xi Yuan had never expected to happen to him .

    The girl leaned in on the man and wrapped her arms around the man''s waist as she hugged him tightly. Her head rested on the man''s shoulder and he could easily feel the heated breath of the woman on his neck .

    "Thank you so much , Yuan !"

    Xi Yuan''s back stiffened as he dared not move .

    Was this really happening ?!

    Did she really took the initiative for the first time ?

 Chapter 149: "Do I have the permission ?"

    Chapter 149: "Do I have the permission ?"

    The man remained frozen for who knows how long before he came back to his senses and reflexively took the woman into his embrace as he patted her forehead .

    He could feel his clothes soaking a warm liquid which was flowing down the girl''s eyes ," Hey Xinghe ! I didn''t wanted to hurt you. Did I said something wrong ? I am sorry if I did. Please don''t cry. "

    "I am crying because I am very happy , Yuan ! You know as a child , I always dreamed to live in a lighted bright tent for one night. I even used to make house with the pillows and drink water in tea cups with Xiao in that house. HAHAHA .... We both were merely five or six but we acted like we were some grown adults. Of course , Rongs never allowed that. So I used to do it in Lu or Zhi family mansion.

    "You know my brothers had even predicted that I would be an amazing traveler but look where I am today. A Military Chief. Even I shock myself sometimes .

    "Anyway , I just wanted to tell you that you have helped meplete one of the tasks in my to-do list. You have helped me live my childhood today. So ... thank you so much .", the girl exined .

    Xi Yuan was relieved that the girl had tears of joy in her eyes and that she wasn''t upset. The girl then realized that they both were in quite an intimate position so she quickly freed herself .

    "Uhh ... I dirtied your shirt ", the girl looked embarrassed as her eyes fell upon the man''s shirt that was soaked by her tear stains .

    "Its fine. I am used to it. ", the man shook his head and took out two champagne flutes and a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne from the mini fridge.

    Of course , he was used to the girl breaking down in front of him. It hadn''t happened for the first time.

    Rong Xinghe scratched her head confusedly. She didn''t remembered the night when she had cried in front of him and had told him about Zhou Che .

    All she remembered was that she had broken down in his arms when she had seen Little Tiyanyi suffering from Leukemia .

    But .... whatever .

    The girl held the stem of the flute passed to her by the man and started sipping it slowly.

    " This is ... so tasty ! ", the girlmented .

    It was bound to be .

    Dom Perigon was the finest and costliest champagne in the world , after all .

    Xi Yuan smiled when he saw the girl rxing further and ced his palm on her waist as he pulled her closer to him .

    Rong Xinghe didn''tined , nor did she revolted .

    She wasfortable .

    Veryfortable .

    Her back was leaning on the man''s chest as her head rested on his shoulders.

    She wasn''t dizzy and she waspletely in her senses .

    But as her brothers said , she loved to live in the moment. She simply wanted to have a carefree time for herself .

    She had to head to Syria the next day for a Military mission. Even she couldn''t tell when she would be back as the mission involved many risky tasks. So what was wrong in breathing and resting a night before she jumped into the battlefield ?

    At this time , the woman saw a small firefly flying in front of her as it escaped through the cloth window of the tent .

    The another lightening insect flew over her head as her eyes followed it .

    The girl waspletely bbergasted by the view that was taking ce outside the tent .

    Arge number of fireflies had covered up the entire ce !

    The beauty of these bright light creatures had evoked wonder and delight in the girl''s heart .

    Her eyes were illuminated by the reflection of their light as she looked at them excitedly .

    So .... this was why Xi Yuan had selected this location of the beach !

    He knew that there were lots of fireflies here .

    The girl didn''t even knew how to appreciate this man anymore .This was really a divine experience .

    At this time , Xi Yuan nced at the girl in his arms and saw a smile on her petal-like lips. This was what he wanted to gift her on this birthday of hers .

    Smiles , Happiness and Warmth ....

    The man finally expressed his feelings with the help of poetry to his love :

    .....

    "Your smile lights my way through life,

    And keeps me warm inside.

    It reminds me that people are good,

    Especially when there are some snide.

    "Your smile helps me through each day,

    Knowing I''ll soon see it again.

    It even makes me want to smile,

    Even when I''m in pain.

    "Your smile can take my moods away,

    And help me to see it another way.

    It reminds me not too take things so hard,

    And so seriously every day.

    "Your smile .... I am so very thankful,

    And more so, for you as well.

    You always know just what to say,

    And never let me dwell.

    "So thank you so much for all your smiles,

    And for letting me love you each day.

    Life can be very tough but thankfully,

    I''ve got you to stay by my way. "

    ...

    The girl''s smile widened till the end of the poem .

    She still felt hat everything was surreal and that she was in a dream .This was the best birthday she ever had.

    "Xinghe...", the man''s deep voice rang into the girl''s ears at this time .

    "Hmm ?"

    " Can you help meplete one of the tasks in my to-do-list , the way I helped you ? ", the man asked with traces of nervousness in his tone .

    " What is it Yuan ? ", the girl was feeling very generous today .

    " I want to kiss you right now. I hate the fact that we didn''t met early or else , I would''ve celebrated your every birthday with many such surprises. I want to make it up to you for those past years we were not together with that one kiss. But I need thedy''s consent. Do I have the permission ? "

    The girl was stunned as she tilted her head slightly and lifted it up to look at the man only to see the burning desire in those hazel eyes of his .

    " I ... um ... How to ... ", the girl started panicking but didn''t pushed herself away from him.

    Xi Yuan couldn''t control himself anymore and assumed the woman''s hesitation as her consent and ced his lips onto hers .

    The woman reflexively grabbed the man''s hand ced on her belly as she closed her eyes and submitted herselfpletely.

    Initially , she was a little startled by the man''s sudden approach but then she started to sway as well .

    The man brushed his lips against hers tentatively, and a moment of exquisite anticipation spun out between them. Then his mouth captured hers in a bruising kiss that sought to make up for the years they''d been apart. She returned his fierce kisses, moaning as their lips and tongues met with frightening urgency.

    Both of them didn''t expected that they would match each other so perfectly.

    The blood in the woman''s veins boiled hot beneath her skin, warming every inch of her body with a delicious tingle. It was like they were the only two on earth : living, moving and breathing.

    The man started to lose control as their sensual interaction was getting so fierce by every passing second.

    But just when the man''s hand was about to slide beneath the girl''s red dress , he stopped .

    He needed to control himself.

    As much as he desired to cherish every part of her body , he had to make sure that she would befortable and willing when he did that .

    It was not the right time yet.

    The man simply continued kissing the girl .

    Only after both the people were out of breath , did they separated .

    Rong Xinghe looked at the man seriously before she turned around and locked her hands around his neck .

    " This was my first kiss. "

    Xi Yuan raised his eyebrows ever so slightly .

    No , my dear ...

    We have kissed many times. Its just that you were not in your conscious state back then .

    But yeah ...

    I am your first kisser !

    The girl frowned and reposed her head on the man''s shoulder again .

    Rong Xinghe then slept in the same position in the man''s embrace after saying the words ," Don''t make me fall in love with you , Xi Yuan ."

 Chapter 150: He was making her betray herself ...

    Chapter 150: He was making her betray herself ...

    Xi Yuan caressed the girl''s hair as he kissed her forehead.

    I am sorry , mydy.

    This request of yours can''t be fulfilled .

    I will have to make you fall for me .

    I also want to be loved by you , after all .

    I also want to experience how it feels to be loved by the Rong Xinghe .

    "Happy birthday again !"

    , the man whispered in the girl''s ears and then held her in his arms for the entire night as he also dozed off with her .

    __________

    Next day ,

    Rong Xinghe woke up by the sound of sea waves crashing against the shore. The girl sat up on the single bed in the Cocoon Tent and rubbed her eyeszily as a genuine , rxed and serene smile appeared on her soft lips. The girl simply kept staring at the sunrise in a daze as she remembered the events of thest night .

    Her slender fingers involuntarily touched her lips when she realized that she had willingly kissed Xi Yuanst night. That was such a new , unique and special experience .

    She never wanted to get close to any other man after what happened between her and Zhou Che. She had even stopped believing in existence and possibility of love in her destiny .

    She simply wanted her brothers to have aplete family but she never thought of having one herself .

    But this man ...

    He was making her forget every resolution she had against love ...

    He was making her do the things she never thought she would do ...

    He was making her betray herself ...

    At this time , the woman''s eyes fell on a tray ced above the mini fridge. There was breakfast along with a ... letter.

    The girl opened the letter and read the contents in it silently :

    " Good morning , Military Chief.

    "I had to leave for Russia early. You know ... this bloody business ! "

    The girl giggled when she read the words ''bloody business'' .

    "Well ... the Special Forces Commando are waiting for you outside the beach. Seems like you have some confidential military mission to take care of. Xinghe ...st night was amazing. The kiss was amazing. But I won''t discuss that further. I don''t want to make you feel ufortable about that. "

    A smile crept across the girl''s lips. So ... understanding !

    "Of course , I know you still need time to make a decision and I respect that. Take as much time as you want. I am happy with the fact that you enjoyed your birthday , though. Now let''s talk work.

    " I will handle the Lu corporation and Little Tiyanyi''s health until you return back from the mission. Of course , William and Xiao Xiao will help me to deal with the Youth Team and the NGO. You just have to focus on your work :-) "

    Rong Xinghe''s smile widened further .

    " Lastly , I have heard that when someone''s lover is in army and he is on some dangerous mission , the woman usually prays for her man''s safety. But in my case , my woman herself is in the army. She is a brave soldier. So ... I am the first man who will pray for her security.

    " Just like the military wives , I will say only one thing .

    " I will wait for you. Be safe. Come back soon. "

    " I love you "

    "Your Yuan "

    Rong Xinghe shook her head helplessly as she chuckled and refolded the letter as she left with it after eating the breakfast prepared by the man.

    __________

    " Long live the Country X , boss ! "

    "Long live the Country X , Officer Ron. Are the arrangements done ? We will have to stay there for quite sometime. ", Rong Xinghe looked at the soldier as soon as she stepped out of the beach.

    The earlier sweetness and gentleness hadpletely vanished from the woman''s eyes now .

    Instead , there were certain traces of ruthlessness and fury in her tone.

    This was probably the best thing about Rong Xinghe.

    She would always be vulnerable around the people she cared for. This woman would never hinder herself from showing her weaknesses in front of her loved ones like her family of six men and Xi Yuan .

    But no one in the military had ever seen her tears.

    They never knew that Rong Xinghe actually had a gentle side to herself. All they knew was that this woman had a merciless personality akin to a tigress.

    Many of them had seen her kill terrorists and anti-nationalists and the scene would always be an ugly one .

    And why not ?

    When you are at any high position , you are bound to make a clear distinction between your personal and professional life .

    One could even say that , Military Chief Rong Xinghe and Sister Rong Xinghe were two different people .

    "Also , inform the six men about the mission and we will leave in half an hour."

    ________________

    Soon , Rong Xinghe reached Syria along with five other military subordinates .

    Military had made proper arrangements of renting a small house in the country where the six people were supposed to live .

    Rong Xinghe had changed into civil clothes and had applied a makeover in such a manner that no one could recognize her.

    As soon as they reached the rented ce , Rong Xinghe left for a stroll in the city aftermanding the soldiers to unpack their bags .

    It was her way of working .

    She used to make herself known to the nature of the soil and working of an area before jumping into any battlefield.

    She even went to the shops in the locality and introduced herself to the shopkeepers and requested them to help her find some job as she was new to the area. The naive people actually believed her words and informed her about the possible jobs she could try out for .

    Rong Xinghe returned back to the rented house ," So guys. You know that we are going to kill two birds with one stone here. Firstly , we will tomorrow go and volunteer to work in the coal mine in the suburbs. That is where the terrorists are hiding. They have buried the gunpowder and firearms along withbat weapons there.

    " We are going to take the firearms and weapons with us but we will destroy the entire ce with that gunpowder before leaving.

    " And secondly , the most dreaded terrorist Hassan Imaz is hiding here. That man was the supreme nner of the bomb st in Ritzhin Hotel on the night of 31st of January 2006. 13 years ago , we lost 780 brothers and sisters of ours. We will avenge them.

    "Hassan Imaz shall breathe hisst breath here. His countdown begins now. "

 Chapter 151: The unexpected news !

    Chapter 151: The unexpected news !

    Almost fifteen days passed :

    Rong Xinghe had made the five special forces officers join the coal mine next day.

    She wasn''t allowed to join because she was a woman and was not allowed to work in a dangerous ce like a mine. So she was sent to a bungalow far away from the coal production arena where some other women also worked .

    Rong Xinghe was ... um ... a servant there. But that was not an issue for her. To her , it was all a simple act. She knew very well who she was and what authority she carried.

    In fact , she was extremely satisfied because she was directly sent to the turf of Hassan Imaz , her target .

    Apparently , many other Military Forces were also trying to search this man. He had been a reason for many terrorist attacks in many different countries , after all. Everyone wanted revenge and that was the exact reason for his hiding. But too bad. This chapter was going to be closed by Country X themselves .

    Rong Xinghe tried her best to get close to Hassan Imaz but she wasn''t able to do that in the past fifteen days. The man''s security was specially taken care of .

    The worst thing was that even though he was into hiding , he had still not given up on his psychic mentality of killing innocent people.

    He was still trying to plot a proper and authentic n to bombard an Atomic bomb in Berlin , Germany.

    But Rong Xinghe knew this .

    She was a maid there and as it is often said , ignoring the presence of the most insignificant people is the biggest mistake a sinner can do.

    Although she never came face to face with Hassan Imaz , Rong Xinghe had heard him while mopping the floor and knew that he was nning a destruction yet again .

    So ... whatever it was , she had to do that as soon as possible because no matter if they were from Country X or Germany , people were people. And everyone had the right to live.

    She was also keeping an eye on the five men side by side ...

    "Since you guys have found the location of gunpowder near the coal mines , we will move forward with our next step. Now that the people already believes and trusts you , so start taking breaks from work every now and then , one by one. In those breaks , go to the area where the equipments and gunpowder are stored.

    " After that , start bringing the weapons here , in this rented house. They will be stored here. Also , bring the barrels of gunpowder closer to each other. "

    One of the soldiers was confused ,"Why do we bring them closer to each other , boss ?"

    "You will knowter !", Rong Xinghe revealed a mysterious smile as she looked at the boiling tea in the tea pan .

    " We will follow your orders boss. Don''t worry .", another officer sounded resolute .

    " Hmmm. So where are you zoned out , Officer Jim ?! ", the woman passed the tea cups to the five men before grabbing one for herself and sitting with them .

    "Its alright, boss. Just some ... small issues. ", the man smiled bitterly .

    " Come on Sutzu ! Tell us. What''s on your mind ?! ", one of the remaining five soldiers nudged the man .

    " Ah. Its nothing boss. Its just that my wife is due for this month. We are going to have our first baby. I am just worried that she won''t be able to handle the pain on her own. But its fine. My and her parents are there. ", officer Jim scratched his head .

    "That''s an amazing news , officer. ", Rong Xinghe was genuinely delighted ," Stay calm , soldier. Your wife will definitely give birth to the strongest and cutest baby ever. May the child have a prosperous and long life. By the way , have you thought of any name ? "

    "Not yet. Didn''t got time to think about it. I am open to ideas , though ."

    After that , the other soldiers started to suggest some names. The five men soon got into their carefree state and indulged themselves into their usual bickering .

    Life of a soldier was always full of stress. But sometimes , simply remembering the people they were living for would be enough to instantly re-energize them for work .

    Rong Xinghe smiled as she looked at the five men .

    At this time , Ningtao''s face appeared in front her eyes. Her sister-inw was also 6 months pregnant now. She was also going to be an aunt soon.

    She was soon going to hold a little Lu Wei or Ningtao in her arms.

    No matter what one said , a person could not deny the fact that the first baby was always the most anticipated and ''awaited for'' one .

    Thinking about the little soon-to-be-member made the girl''s lips curl up in excitement .

    _________

    Meanwhile , In Country X

    Zhi Family Mansion :

    Zhi Xi returned back after a long day at office.

    Zhou Che had returned back from Greece and was being a pain for him again .

    That idiot had been spreading false rumors about Zhi Xi (being an illegitimate child and having mistresses in the dark) among the other shareholders in the board of directors. Of course , the shareholders had worked with Zhi Xi for a long time and knew him very well. So none of them believed Zhou Che.

    But it was still impacting his employees. Ever since Zhou Che had returned back , Zhi Corporations'' employees had beencking in efficiency.

    As a result , Zhi Business Empire was suffering quite some losses from the past two months.

    Of course , Zhi Xi had his own ns and those would take sometime. But still , the man was getting quite tired by this game of rat and cat .

    At this time , Songyan entered the hall and hugged her husband from behind .

    Zhi Xi turned around and hugged back his woman. Songyan was akin to some source of energy for him. No matter which battle he fought outside his home , he would be an ideal husband and brother the moment he stepped inside .

    "I want to tell you something ", the woman sounded a little hesitant.

    "Hmm ?"

    Songyan took a deep breath ,"We are ...uh ... pregnant. "

 Chapter 152: Biggest form of breakdown for a woman !

    Chapter 152: Biggest form of breakdown for a woman !

    After two seconds of silence , Zhi Xi looked at his wife with clear excitement ," Really ?! I am going to be a father Songyan ?!"

    Songyan smiled when she saw her husband''s beaming expression as she nodded slightly ," Yeah ! But ... "

    But before Songyan could even say a word further , Zhi Xi caught her lips into his !

    "Mmmm ", the woman tightly gripped onto the man''s cor as she adjusted her position and let her husband do whatever he wanted .

    " Cough .... Cough !"

    Zhi Xi and Songyan parted when they noticed Zhi Bo , Zhi Al and Ruo Cy entering the hall .

    " You both seriously need to get a room , guys ! ", Zhi Bo sighed dramatically .

    " Forget that. You guys got to listen to this. Bo ! Al ! You both are going to be uncles soon ! ", Zhi Xi was on the ninth cloud .

    "What ?!! ", Zhi Bo and Zhi Al shrieked excitedly in unison .

    " I am going to be Aunty two times ?!! ", Ruo Cy hugged Songyan excitedly .

    "You guys ... ", Songyan sighed and sat down on the couch nearby .

    It was at this time that the three Zhi brothers and Ruo Cy realized that Songyan wasn''t reacting as excitedly as they were .

    Zhi Xi then sat down beside his wife and patted her head ," Are you not ready to be a mother yet ? We can consider .... "

    "Are you kidding ?! Of course , I want to give birth to this little Zhi inside me ! Its just that .... you are already so busy with that Zhou Che. How will you manage so many things ? By the happiness on your face, I can tell that you are very excited for this little one. But how will you ... ", Songyan was worried about her man the most .

    Zhi Xi smiled when he realized the reason behind his woman''s worries ,"Don''t worry , Yan. We will figure it out. I have Bo and Al by my side. Al even has minors in Business Management. We three men will handle it. "

    "Are you sure ? I have been getting news from the office these past few days. ", Songyan was still worried .

    Seeing this , Zhi Xi clenched his fists. That idiot was actually worrying his woman now. And the first thing that their sister had taught them was to dote unconditionally on their women .

    It seemed like he needed to deal with this Zhou Che earlier than he had nned .

    "By the way , I am upset about one more thing. ", Songyanined ," My baby''s Aunt Xinghe still doesn''t know about its existence. "

    As soon as the three men , especially Zhi Xi , heard these words , they became silent .

    Since the moment they had seen her as a small three-month old baby , they had shared every good or bad news with her .

    But now that something so amazing was happening , she was not here .

    Now that it was one of the most important time for Zhi Xi , they still had to worry about her being safe on a foreignnd .

    But this was what every soldier''s family went through. The fear of never being able to see their loved one again was inevitable .

    _______________

    Meanwhile , Rong Xinghe waspletely oblivious about anything that was happening in Country X. Herplete focus was on one person. Hassan Imaz .

    The five soldiers on board with Rong Xinghe were the most prominent and noteworthy Special Forces Officers of Country X. They were naturally quite efficient with their work. In a mere time span of five days , they had smuggled almost all of the armed weapons and firearms from the storage barns into their rented old house. They even tactfully reced the real weapons with the fake ones , so no one noticed a single unusual thing. They had even brought all the gunpowder barrels closer to each other , although they didn''t understood this decision of Rong Xinghe .

    While on the 20th day of their stay in Syria , Rong Xinghe was ordered to clean the floor in a room she had never seen .

    Rong Xinghe picked up the broom and walked inside but as soon as she crossed the threshold of the room , she waspletely shocked by the scene in front of her .

    Approximately , 100 women were lying lifelessly on the beds in the grand room .

    All of their eyes were void of any form of emotion. It was like even if they were stabbed with a sword , they wouldn''t react .

    One look at them and Rong Xinghe could tell by her experience that they were ... sexually harassed !

    The nail scratch marks on their arms , the cigar burn marks on their chest , the swollen lips and theirck of energy to even sit up properly pointed towards only this one particr possibility .

    Rong Xinghe clenched her teeth as rage and disgust was clearly visible in her eyes .

    She hated it the most when women were treated like some trash. She knew this feeling more than anyone. She knew how disgusting it felt to be touched by men for their sexual desires .

    "Who did this ?! ", the girl asked through her gritted teeth.

    No one said anything. They simply looked at the woman who had entered with their same void and empty eyes .

    "I will take you all out of here but before that , I will avenge you. Tell me the name. "

    As soon as the women heard the woman promising them their independence , the nk eyes of the women finally turned hopeful.

    Independence ...

    That was so ...surreal for them .

    Could they actually get that ?

    At this time , a young girl started weeping strongly as she grabbed Rong Xinghe''s hand tightly ," Ask us who hasn''t done this ?! Those bastardse every night here with their boss. When their boss is done selecting one of us for his bed , only then they also chose one of us each for themselves and molests us. We are like toys over here ! Sister ! Even if you can''t save us , at least just kill us. This life is worse than death itself ."

    Rong Xinghe wasn''t shocked by the moronic behaviour of these men. She had seen many such cases. Terrorists were well known for their brutality and desire to instill fear in an individual.

    And sexual violence was considered to be the biggest form of breakdown for a woman.

    With such psychological mentality of theirs , this was not unexpected of them at all for Rong Xinghe.

    "Their boss ... Hassan Imaz?", Rong Xinghe looked at the girl .

    The women nodded as they shuddered in fear. That man was much too frightening for them but for a person like Rong Xinghe , he was nothing.

    "Are they going to select tomorrow night as well ? ", Rong Xinghe rubbed her chin .

    "Yes. But why ?"

    "I wille tomorrow. I want Hassan Imaz to select me ! ", the '' Military Chief '' smiled confidently.

 Chapter 153: "I wouldnt have even been alive if it wasnt for you ! "

    Chapter 153: "I wouldn''t have even been alive if it wasn''t for you ! "

    The women were literally shocked by Rong Xinghe''s words .

    Did she just said that she herself wanted to be defiled by that man ?

    Was she a maniac ?

    " Um ... Do you all , not have the urge to kill those bastards ? ", Rong Xinghe then directed her question towards all the women .

    After some seconds of silence , all the women nodded with unity .

    Of course , they wanted to choke those demons to death. No one liked to be tormented like that. No one liked to be abused and hit like that.

    But they werepletely incapable ...

    They were just some helpless women. What could they possibly do against theparatively stronger group of men ?!

    Rong Xinghe sighed when she saw the women nodding their heads .

    Only if they were as rebellious as her ...

    These women were not helpless , they were simply unknown of their strength .

    If they were smart enough , they would''ve already figured out that their unity was their biggest power.

    100 women could do anything whenbined .

    s ! She was destined to meet them .

    Thankfully , they had still not lost the hope for freedom. Otherwise , it would have been impossible to convince them .

    The woman then took a deep breath and exined her n to the women before returning back to old rented house.

    :::::::::::::::::::

    As soon as Rong Xinghe returned back to the ce , she informed the five soldiers about the future ns ," We willplete our mission tomorrow. Hassan Imaz will be dead by tomorrow night. You guys go to the coal mine as usual and gather the remaining weapons and firearms here. Also tell the Air Force General to send almost 10 military helicopters here. We will fly back in one. While the weapons and firearms will require minimum of two. The remaining seven will be enough to take those 100 women back to Country X. "

    "Why are we taking back the women, boss ? Isn''t it enough to free them ? ", one of the officers was confused .

    Rong Xinghe''s expression turned cold when she heard the insensitivity in the man''s tone ," They are victims of sexual and physical violence. Syria is still batting terrorism. Its not safe for them to remain here. After their bodies recuperate , we will send them back to their home countries. We are the army of Country X. Humanity should always be a priority to us. Understood ?! "

    The soldiers felt a chill run down their spine when they heard the coldness in Rong Xinghe''s voice as they nodded their heads reflexively.

    Even if their boss was ruthless , she never allowed an innocent to suffer .

    That was basically the reason that the entire military respected and liked her .

    ______________

    Meanwhile , In Elite Sapphire Penthouse :

    "Dad ! What are you saying ? How can I marry before brother ?! This is so not happening. Moreover , I don''t want an arranged marriage. ", Xi Fang said in low voice .

    Xi Yuan was resting in his room .

    Past few days had been quite tiring for him. It was not easy for him to take care of two well known business empires , all on his own .

    However , Lu Wei understood Xi Yuan''s troubles and had been helping him with some of his workload while taking care of Ningtao , side by side .

    But even so , Xi Yuan still had a lot of work to handle. Most importantly , he had been trying to find a matching bone marrow for little Tiyanyi. This little girl was very important to his woman , and hence , he naturally couldn''t let anything happen to her .

    The man was worried for his girl as well. Rong Xinghe couldn''t be contacted nor could she be reached or located. Their was no information about the girl since the past 20 days. Xi Yuan knew very well how skilled and brainy his woman was. But he still needed to hear her voice to feel at ease .

    Overall , things were a little tough and tiresome for the man .

    Xi Fang didn''t wanted to disturb his brother resting inside the bedroom as it was already a miracle that he was even taking a nap .

    "Fang. There is no point waiting for your brother. No one has ever been able to understand him. None of his actions are ever predicted. Who knows when he will chose a girl for him ? Moreover , if you are married , you will have more backing when you will fight for the position of CEO in near future .", Xi Chonglin said in a matter-of-factly tone .

    "And ... who told you that I will ever fight with my own brother for the inheritance of Xi Empire ?!", Xi Fang chuckled .

    " We are not going to discuss this matter again , Fang. I don''t care how much you worship your brother. Right now , all you need to do is find a girl of an influential family and marry her. Am I making myself clear ?! ", Xi Chonglin fumed up .

    " Who gave you the impression that I will listen to you , Dad ?! And can you stop making it sound like Brother is an outsider. Let me tell you something. To me and Ying , brother is our father as well as our mother. You better not harm him ! ", with these words , Xi Fang disconnected the call and threw his phone on the couch angrily .

    " This much anger is not good for your health , Fang. "

    Xi Fang froze the moment he heard his brother''s hoarse yet deep voice. The man turned around to look at Xi Yuan who had entered the living room and was looking at him with a helpless smile .

    Now all he could hope was that this man hadn''t heard any of his conversation with his father .

    Xi Yuan walked over towards his brother and patted his shoulder ," My brother has grown up so much that he is even trying to protect me now , huh ? That is impressive Fang ."

    "Brother ... no , its not like that ... Dad was just ... "

    "Fang ... if second uncle wants you to take over from me , what is wrong in that ? You are really very capable. I can always resign. You know me. Its not like I will be unemployed all my life. ", Xi Yuan sighed .

    He was really not obsessed with business. It was just that he wanted his three siblings to live afortable life , so he had taken the entire burden on his shoulder.

    " No brother ! Don''t take dad''s words too seriously. Xi Empire can never have as amazing CEO as you. And I can never match up to you. Hell brother ! I wouldn''t have even been alive if it wasn''t for you risking your life for me. How can I step into your shoes ? Things are fine the way they are. ", Xi Fang was anxious all of a sudden .

    "Hmm ... but what is wrong with marrying before me ? You already have a girlfriend. And she had a good family background as well. You both are even childhood friends. Why don''t you consider that option ? Xinghe will need more time. She will have to deal with her horrid past first. You can''t be waiting for me all your life. Just go ahead. Give it some thought .", Xi Yuan calmly patted the young man''s head as he looked at him helplessly .

    This guy indeed loved and respected him the most .

    But then again , with the past they both had , it waspletely understandable .

 Chapter 154: Which man wouldnt be attracted to a woman as irresistible as her ?

    Chapter 154: Which man wouldn''t be attracted to a woman as irresistible as her ?

    Xi Fang remained silent for sometime before he nodded his head ," I won''t marry her until sister-inw approves of her. After all , there is a reason that her every brother takes her opinions into consideration before making this important decision. I want sister-inw to be satisfied with the members of our family. "

    Xi Yuan gave an amused smile to his brother .

    Ever since Rong Xinghe had saved Xi Ying from those attackers hired by his business rivals , all the three of hisckeys had started respecting her even more .

    It could be even said that they liked Rong Xinghe as much as they liked him .

    That was good ... really good.

    Rong Xinghe was going to be the headdy of Xi family one day eventually. It was very important for her opinions and views to be given importance. This was the only way the Xi family could live in harmony and peace .

    ________________

    Next night ; In the abandoned bungalow in Syria :

    Rong Xinghe reached the room where the women were waiting for her anxiously. She then handed small sharp knives to every woman and asked them to hide the knives in their hair bun.

    "Tonight , as soon as the men select you , you will go into their room and do whatever they ask you to do. Make sure that they put their guardspletely down before you take out that knife and cut their throats. And yes guys , attack here .", Rong Xinghe pointed towards the right side of her own neck where jugr vein and cartoid artery were fixed in a human body ,"There are no chances of a person''s survival left if attacked here. Go and get your revenge. Stay strong. You have been suppressed for too long. Now is the time for showing your anger. Understood ?! "

    All the women nodded their heads with extreme vigor , determination and enthusiasm.

    Now that Rong Xinghe made them realize their years of suppression , this was their only chance at independence. It was aplete do or die situation for them.

    Rong Xinghe was relieved when she saw the fury in the women''s eyes. She was now hundred percent sure that these women won''t disappoint her and would definitely kill all the men.

    Now all she had to do was to handle that Hassan Imaz .

    Soon , the clock struck 11:05 p.m.

    At this time , a man entered the room followed by some more men .

    This man had a long beard and a cut mark above his left eyebrow. He had grey eyes and nude biege skinplexion. He was the infamous Hassan Imaz.

    One look at him , and Rong Xinghe could feel that the man was quite barbarous , nefarious and monstrous in nature .

    No wonder he was able to kill 780 people during the terrorist attack in Ritzhin Hotel back then .

    The man swept his eyes across the room but wasn''t pleased. He wanted something that was more of a challenge. All these women were too boring for him .

    Just when the man was about to turn around and leave , he heard the sound of something falling on the floor .

    Hassan Imaz looked into the direction of the sound and saw a twenty something year old girl standing in the corner of the room as her hands trembled .

    The moment the man''s eyes fell onto the woman , he waspletely shocked.

    This woman was .... such a beauty !

    Such a fair skin ...

    The beautiful dark brown eyes ...

    The jet ck hair ....

    The soft petal like red lips that were shivering due to fear ...

    She was so fragile and weak , so innocent and untouched ....

    Just like a delicate ssware ....

    Which man wouldn''t be attracted to a woman as irresistible as her ?

    Hassan Imaz walked towards Rong Xinghe and grabbed her wrist in a domineering manner .

    But the moment the man''s hand touched the girl , she fearfully shoved it aside and sat down on the floor as tears flowed down her cheeks .

    "P...Please s..sir ! I was wr...wrong ! I w...walked in the wrong room. I am just a m..maid sir. Pl...please let me go. ", Rong Xinghe sobbed pitifully .

    This helplessness and fear boosted Hassan Imaz''s ego and pride even further .

    People like him loved to be in power. They would be satisfied the most when people feared them. And Rong Xinghe knew this .

    Meanwhile , the 100 women on the sidelines were stunned speechless by Rong Xinghe''s acting .

    It was so real that even they had started to doubt her mental strength. They were suddenly doubtful about the person whose lead they were all following .

    Then again , there was a reason that Rong Xinghe''s brothers trusted her acting skills the most .

    Her talents were just .... immeasurable and innumerable .

    Hassan Imaz pointed his finger at the woman on the floor as an evil smirk appeared on his face ," I want this one. "

    The man then left the room with a satisfied smile while Rong Xinghe kept shivering .

    But as soon as all the men left the room after selecting a woman each for them , Rong Xinghe''s expression took a 180 degree turn as she stood up from the floor .

    The woman then wiped the tears on her cheeks as her eyes suddenly shed with bloodlust .

    There was no trace of the fright , dismay or weakness from earlier on her face anymore .

    Her expression turned icy cold as she stood straight like the soldier she was .

    It was now that the 100 women realized that this was all an act and their eyes widened in disbelief and bewilderment. They were suddenly feeling a sense of admiration for this woman. Why were they not as amazing as her ?

    The girl then swept her chilling gaze across the crowd as she said these words before exiting the room ," This is how pitiful you have to act until they let their guards down. And then ... attack. After you kill them , meet me at the barren ground not too far from here. We will leave then. "

    This is it , Hassan Imaz !

    This is where your story ends !

 Chapter 155: "Military Chief for Country X , Satan for you."

    Chapter 155: "Military Chief for Country X , Satan for you."

    Rong Xinghe entered the room where she was ''dragged'' .

    The room was a little dim and dark but huge.

    At this time , Hassan Imaz exited the washroom and saw the gentle and harmless girl who was still shivering. She had been forced to wear a seductive dark red mermaid pattern gown and her every body part excluding her face and hands , was covered by a transparent ck robe making her every curve visible.

    The man picked up his wine ss and rubbed the cut mark above his eyebrow as his throat suddenly dried up. He had never felt this much aroused by any woman before .

    "Drop the robe ! ", the man ordered as he sipped the wine .

    " S...Sir P...PLease ! ", the girl wept .

    Hassan Imaz sighed and approached the girl as he ced his one hand on her shoulder ," Don''t struggle. No one can save y ... "

    But before the man could finish his sentence , his eyes widened as a sharp pain was felt in his stomach .

    A double-sided ded dagger had prated the man''s body out of nowhere and his hand on Rong Xinghe''s shoulder went cold. The wine ss slipped through his fingers and fell down on the floor as it shattered into hundreds of pieces .

    The woman simply lifted up her head as her gaze was extremely cold and bone-chilling !

    For the first time in his life , this man , whom the entire world feared , had experienced the feeling of fright himself .

    The way the woman was looking at him made chills run down his spine .

    This girl was .... far from harmless !

    She was nowhere near fragile , weak and gentle .

    In fact , she was the most dangerous and brutal woman he had ever seen .

    But it was toote now ...

    " This is for the 780 deaths in Ritzhin Hotel 13 years ago in Country X , Hassan Imaz !", the woman said in an emotionless tone as the dagger teared through the body even further .

    "Aaaahhhhh ", the man screamed in pain.

    He tried to push away the woman but in vain .

    Rong Xinghe was much more powerful than him as she refused to even budge from her ce .

    The girl then twisted the de to the right causing an unbearable amount of pain .

    "This ... is for defiling so many innocent women and for looking down on ady''s strength and honor !", the woman continued her cruelty .

    "AAAHHHHH ! ", the man groaned as the pain this time was even more torturous .

    But Rong Xinghe still had no intention to stop .

    This time , she twisted the dagger to the left as her wrist took a 180 degree turn .

    "And ... this is for thinking that you could assault me as well ! ", the woman''s tone was filled with barbarity .

    This was much too inhumane ...

    This scene was much too terrifying ! The man felt his knees go weak as not even a single sound came out of his mouth anymore.

    Rong Xinghe finally took a deep breath and drew back the de out of the man''s body. The man fell down on the ground as he clenched his stomach in agony and stared back at the woman in front of him .

    " Who ... are ... you ?! ", were the only words he could say amidst the heavy breathing .

    " Military Chief for Country X , Satan for you. ", Rong Xinghe still had , not even an ounce ofpassion or sympathy for this man .

    As soon as the man heard the girl , he was shocked .

    So ... she was the new infamous Military authority of Country X !

    No wonder she wanted revenge for the incident at Ritzhin Hotel years ago ...

    She was indeed Satan , the one who ruled hell .

    He never saw thising. But then again , he never expected a woman to be so vengeful in the first ce !

    The man finally stopped moving .

    Rong Xinghe didn''t even bothered looking at the body as she directly started searching the entire room .

    After sometime , she finally retrieved a suitcase hidden under the man''s bed. It had a code lock. But Rong Xinghe was skilled withputers as well. White Hat Hacker Zhi Al was her brother , after all .

    The girl quickly connected aptop to the suitcase''s code application and unlocked it .

    As soon as the case opened ,the woman found some documents .

    A smile appeared on the girl''s face .

    This was the third reason that Rong Xinghe had personally participated in this mission .

    In this bag , was theplete information about the politicians and celebrities of Country X who were involved with the most dreaded terrorist organization "Al-Shabaab Haram".

    She wanted to know the identities of these traitors and had not taken anyone else other than the President and Prime Minister into confidence about this.

    This was an extremely confidential information .

    And Rong Xinghe never trusted anyonepletely .

    Not even the five Special Forces officers on board with her on the same mission had any idea about this .

    She couldn''t risk the info getting leaked .

    After all , she always had her own ns .

    The woman quickly picked up a nearby coat and covered herself before tucking the document into the coat''s inner pocket.

    At this time , two of the five soldiers rushed inside the room with hurried footsteps only to witness the lifeless body of Hassan Imaz !

    She had already killed him ?!

    So ... efficient .

    Merely 17 minutes had passed and he was already dead .

    "Have the helicopters arrived ? ". the woman rubbed her forehead tiredly .

    "Yes ma''am !", the soldiers replied .

    "Hmm ... Take this body with us. Country X deserves to see his dead body. 13 years had been a limit to their patience .", Rong Xinghe left the room after saying these words .

    ___________

    As soon as Rong Xinghe reached the barrennd , the hundred or so women pulled her into a hug !

    "Thank you so much ! You really saved us ! "

    "You are an angel for us. Thanks ! "

    " Thank you , Ms. Xinghe ! "

    All the women were extremely grateful to have met this woman .

    She didn''t even knew them , yet she had helped them so much. She had freed them and had given them their independence. Rong Xinghe was akin to some source of light for them that had brightened up their entire life !

    Rong Xinghe simply nodded her head and then gestured one of the Air Force officer toe over ," Officer Gu , escort them to the seven remaining helicopters. Also , are the two other helicopters filled up with the equipments ? "

    The old officer nodded his head respectfully and then escorted the women to their designated whirlybirds .

    Rong Xinghe lifted up her head and closed her eyes as the cold wind touched her face .

    "I aming brothers."

    For some unknown reason , her instincts were telling her that something really awful was going to happen .

 Chapter 156: He knew that he was wrong

    Chapter 156: He knew that he was wrong

    Soon , the five Special Forces Officers arrived at the required location.

    Rong Xinghe boarded the VIP AH-56 Cheyenne Aircraft with them as the helicopter finally started heading towards their home country .

    "Why did you asked me to bring this rough and carved flint stone , Military Chief ?", Officer Jim asked confusedly as he handed the piece of rock to the woman .

    "You will know soon. By the way , look down there. Is that the barn where the gunpowder is stored ? ", Rong Xinghe pointed her index finger towards the ground.

    The five men nodded .

    The girl chuckled ," Now just watch the show ! "

    Rong Xinghe tossed the flint rock piece three times in her hand before throwing it straight down the helicopter .

    The medium sized stone went inside the barn through the open ss panel and ...

    BOOOOMMMM !!!

    A massive explosion took ce and the entire coal mine burned down along with the barn in the short time span of 5-10 seconds .

    The five soldiers'' back stiffened as they witnessed the destructive st take ce in front of their eyes .

    What the hell ?!

    Although they had a rough idea about how it was happening , they still looked at Rong Xinghe with panic in their eyes .

    Rong Xinghe shrugged ," This was the reason why I told you to keep the gunpowder barrels together. Since , they wanted to produce explosives with this gunpowder , it was even better if they themselves suffered the pain caused by it. "

    The five officers were stunned speechless by the girl''s dangerous yet brilliant strategy .

    " But how ... ", Officer Jim was muddled .

    " The floor surface of the barn is extremely slippery as it ispletely covered with flint rocks. In ancient times , our ancestors used to strike two stones together to produce fire. This happened because of the friction caused between them due to the sudden sharp contact.

    " So when that flint rock thrown by me bashed against those flint stones on the barn ground , friction urred and heat sparks released which came in contact with the open gunpowder. Hence , the explosion. Got it ?", Rong Xinghe exined .

    The five men werepletely bbergasted when the reality hit them .

    They never expected their boss to be such an exceptional and excellent intellectual !

    She even used such an old technique in such a modern and technologically advanced time. Just how much of a genius was she ?!

    No wonder her every n and strategy went so smoothly. This thought made them bow down to the woman internally , there and then .

    __________

    Rong Xinghe reached Country X next morning .

    And the first thing she did was to inform the media about the death of Hassan Imaz.

    In an instant , the entire Country X was in an uproar !

    One of the most dreaded terrorists , was already dead. After all these years , someone had actually avenged them. Someone had finally taken the revenge for the death of their 780 fellow citizens .

    Many even started worshiping Rong Xinghe for her bravery .

    When she had taken the oath , she had promised the entire nation that she would punish every individual responsible for the past disturbing incidents in the nation. And today , she was sticking to her every word .

    This woman was indeed one of a type .

    Most importantly , at this time , video of destruction of the gunpowder storage in Syria was also released.

    Various news channels throughout the world were reporting about this mega explosion and proved that Country X was responsible for that as well .

    This further increased Rong Xinghe''s fan base.

    Even the President of Germany (Berlin-capital) showed his gratitude to Rong Xinghe as she had saved Berlin from a catastrophe .

    Who knows what would have had happened if Hassan Imaz would have been sessful in his ns ?

    All of a sudden , Rong Xinghe had reached the pinnacle in terms of respect and esteem .

    Entire world had developed an admiration for this beauty , brains and bravery !

    _________

    After taking care of all the legal formalities and sending the women for a proper health check up , Rong Xinghe finally returned back to Military Chief mansion .

    But as soon as she entered the main entrance , she received a call from Songyan ," Xinghe ! Pleasee home. Your brother is not feeling well. He needs you. "

    Rong Xinghe was a little taken aback when she heard the woman''s tensed tone. She quickly turned her car around and rushed towards Zhi family mansion .

    Rong Xinghe was escorted directly into Zhi Xi''s room where the man was sitting on the bed reading some files.

    One look at him , and Rong Xinghe could tell that he waspletely exhausted .

    Songyan , Ningtao , Zhi Bo and Zhi Al were looking helplessly at him but none of them dared to utter a single word .

    "What the f*ck is happening here ?! Why are you not resting Zhi feackin'' Xi ?!! ", Rong Xinghe fumed up when she saw the man in such a condition .

    Zhi Xi lifted up his head to look at the angry girl and a relieved smile appeared on his lips. Zhi Bo , Zhi Al and the twodies turned around as well .

    "I asked something ! ", the girl was still staring daggers at the man .

    "I am fine kiddo. Let me just finish this work. I will definitely sleep after this. I ... "

    But before the man could utter any other word , the girl walked over towards him and closed hisptop fiercely .

    Zhi Xi was a little startled by the girl''s rage and he simply kept silent .

    He knew that he was wrong .

    "Did I ever permit you to take your health for granted , Mr. Zhi ?! ", the girl roared .

    "Xinghe , I ... "

    "Shut up ! You are going to either get a well deserved sleep or I will never ever talk to you again. You decide ."

    "Fine. I will lie down for a while .", the man picked up his phone to set a timer but Rong Xinghe quickly snatched away the device ," No rm ! I will decide as to when you will wake up ."

    The man was left with no option.

    Rong Xinghe was truly angered this time.

    After the man finally went into his slumber , the five people left the room .

    "Exnation !", was the only word Rong Xinghe said as she red at the two Zhi brothers and then at her two sister-inws.

    Zhi Al took a deep breath ,"Actually , its Zhou Che. He has been such a pain for a while now. Although Brother Xi is used to handling such situations but ever since Sis-inw Songyan got pregnant , things have been rough for him. You know I and Brother Bo have been trying to help ... "

    "Who .... got pregnant ?! ", the girl''s eyes widened as she reflexively looked at the headdy of the Zhi family .

 Chapter 157: "You take care of your family , and I take care of you "

    Chapter 157: "You take care of your family , and I take care of you "

    Songyan blushed slightly as she nodded her head ,"Uhh ... yeah. You are going to be Aunt twice ."

    "WHAT ?! OH MY GOD !!!", Rong Xinghe almost jumped through the roof with excitement .

    "This is such a big news ! I am so lucky. Alright then , I will order all the necessary pregnancy requirements by tomorrow. And of course , I need to clean the Zhi family mansion just like I had cleaned Lu family mansion. And I will have to stitch little cute mittens for the baby as well. Also , we need to .... ", Rong Xinghe hadpletely stepped into her to-be-aunty shoes by now.

    It was as if she had really forgotten about Zhi Xi by now .

    But this was how the girl had always been like .

    Songyan felt a warmth crept through her heart when she saw Rong Xinghe''s enthusiasm .

    These past few days had been quite stressful for her because she could see her husband suffering .

    Obviously , Lu Wei , Zhi Al and Zhi Bo tried everything they could to help him but even then , it was Zhi Xi who had to tackle Zhou Che and Zhi Benyamin both .

    Then again , Zhi Xi was Rong Xinghe''s brother .

    His determination was bound to be firm .

    No matter how much tired or stressed he was , he never argued with his wife for once. Instead , he still took care of her devotedly .

    But now , that Rong Xinghe was back , she knew that everything was going to fall back into its ce .

    This little sister of her husband had the ability to do wonders .

    She had just arrived , yet she was able to force the stubborn man to have some rest. Rong Xinghe was eventually going to fix everything .

    After Rong Xinghe was done with her chitter-chatter , she finally came back to the main point ," So ... how is Zhou Che causing trouble for brother ? "

    "Well he has been spreading rumors about Zhi Xi being illegitimate heir of Zhi corporations and that he is keeping many mistresses behind Sis-inw Songyan''s back. Shareholders have started to get swayed by these words and the staff has also be quite inefficient. ", Zhi Bo sighed .

    " Hmm ... Hand over the Power of Attorney rights of Zhi Corporation to me. Brother needs to take care of Sister Yan and himself. So there is no way that he is going to be tiring himself out. I will take it from here. ", the girl said while she rubbed her chin .

    "But then Lu Corporations ... ", Ruo Cy was worried .

    It was already troublesome for her to handle Lu Corps alongside the Military. Now , she was adding Zhi Corporations into the mix as well .

    "Oh yeah ! About that .... ", the girl took out her phone and made a call .

    The man picked up the call after merely two rings , "Hello ? Xinghe ... you are fine ?! I saw the news. That bombardment in Syria and the death of Hassan Imaz ... You did everything yourself ? Were you hurt ?! "

    Rong Xinghe smiled when she heard the deep maizing voice of the man again after so many days ," I am fine Yuan. "

    Zhi Al and Zhi Bo were dumbfounded by the gentle look on this wild tigress''s face .

    What the holly hell ?!

    Why was she acting so sweetly with this Yuan guy ?

    Something was definitely fishy ...

    "What happened ? You sound tired .", the man was still a little worried .

    "Hmm ... Let''s meet up at the Arctic Mall''s Delight Cafe in one hour ? I need to discuss something with you. ", the girl said .

    "Okay. See you there. "

    It was for the best .

    He needed to see her himself so that he could brush away all his anxiety.

    Ever since he had got to know that she had aplished such a dangerous mission in Syria , he was really concerned about her.

    She had killed Hassan Imaz .

    She had burned down their weapon base .

    She had even prevented Berlin from facing a disastrous cmity .

    He was proud of her , but more than that , he was tensed and fretful about her. She had a tendency to put herself in danger .

    So as her man , he wanted to see her as soon as he could.

    Meanwhile , Zhi Al and Zhi Bo looked at each other with perplexed expressions.

    The girl turned around and looked at Zhi Bo ," Prepare the Power of Attorney documents. I will be back soon. "

    ___________

    8:00 p.m. ; Delight cafe :

    Rong Xinghe ordered twotte and grabbed a seat for herself .

    After sometime , Xi Yuan also arrived and sat down opposite the girl. The man then looked at her from top to bottom and breathed a sigh of relief .

    "Thank god ! "

    As soon as the girl saw the man after so many days , she reflexively bit her lower lip as her heart started thumping rapidly .

    Suddenly , she realized that thest time when they were together , they had kissed. And she had consented to that kiss .

    For some unknown reason , his presence was giving her the warmth and sooth , as if she had just returned home after wandering in some abandoned streets .

    But she had to control her nervous emotions. Moreover , he had already promised that he didn''t intended to make her ufortable by mentioning that kiss .

    "HEHEHE ! Seems like I gave quite a pain to Mr. RichXi. ", the girl giggled .

    "I am not RichXi , Xinghe. ", the man smiled back .

    "You are being a miser again. Let me tell you. You are paying the bill .", the girl cleared her intentions shamelessly .

    "Okay "

    "So ... how are things going ? How have you been ? Is Ying practicing martial arts every day ? "

    "Everything is fine. Lu Corporation has encountered not a single problem and Youth Team is running smoothly as well. ", the man replied .

    "Well ... there is a good news. ", the girl beamed with happiness ," I am going to be Aunt again ! Sister Songyan is expecting ! "

    Xi Yuan was entranced by the girl''s genuine and pleasant smile.

    This smile ....

    Rong Xinghe really loved the six men. Every happiness in their life was a matter of joy for her as well .

    "Congrattions Xinghe ! But ... what about Zhi Corporations ? As far as I know , Zhou Che and Senior Zhi''s second uncle has been causing trouble for him. ", the man always kept himself updated about the people around his woman .

    "I know. That idiot Zhou Che ! ", the girl squinched her eyes ," I was thinking of taking over Zhi empire. Most importantly , I want to throw out that guy from my brother''s life. He is really troublesome. What do you think ?! "

    "You will be very tired Xinghe. ", the man shook his head as if rejecting the idea .

    "But ... I can''t see my brothers suffer "

    The man took a deep breath and suggested ," Then move in with me. You take care of your family and I take care of you. "

 Chapter 158: Already sensed the burning desire

    Chapter 158: Already sensed the burning desire

    The girl choked on her coffee the moment she heard Xi Yuan''s words .

    Move in with him ?

    Was he crazy ?

    A man and a woman in the same house ...

    She had no doubt about his character. She knew that he would never force himself onto her and that he would respect her wishes. But with the unique identities they both had , the media would eat them up whole if word got out !

    Xi Yuan stood up and walked over to the girl''s side as he started rubbing her back when he saw her cough heavily.

    "Okay. Don''t move in with me. Move in beside me. I was mentioning Elite Diamond Penthouse. You will be near me and I could be of help to you if you ever encounter any problems rted to business. Also , you are still a Power of Attorney representative for Lu Corps. We both need to take care of somebined paperwork. It is only right for me to stay by your side. ", the man exined .

    Rong Xinghe finally calmed down when she understood the man''s words and leaned into his embrace .

    That was understandable .

    Having Xi Yuan by her side would definitely be beneficial for Zhi Corporation .

    "Alright.", the girl nodded and closed her eyes .

    The man remained silent for a while as he realized that Rong Xinghe was truly tired .

    Even coffee was ineffective against her .

    But then again , who wouldn''t be ?

    She had just returned back from Syria after sessful implementation of a dangerous mission. Yet , she wanted to shoulder such a huge responsibility for her brothers the same day she had came back.

    He really admired this woman but he hated the fact that she never prioritized herself. And this was something even the six men disliked about her .

    In fact , this was the exact reason that he wanted her to live in Elite Diamond , more closer to him. He knew that she would exhaust herself.

    The man''s heart aced when he saw the pale little face buried in his chest. She had already fallen asleep and he couldn''t bring himself to wake her up .

    The man called for the manager of the mall and ordered him to switch off all the cameras in the mall. The manager was obliged to do that because the mall was under the ownership of Xi Corporations. Who , in their right state of mind , would go against the CEO Yuan himself ?

    Xi Yuan then lifted the woman up in his arms swiftly and carried her towards the parking lot under the gazes that were admiring the harmonious couple .

    _____________

    Meanwhile , Zhou Che walked into the Arctic mall with a woman''s hand in his .

    "Che , what should I buy for you ?! ", the woman asked excitedly as she swept her eyes across the entire mall .

    "Whatever you want .", the man shrugged his shoulders nonchntly .

    The woman became silent and simply looked at the Zhou Che indulged in his phone .

    The woman''s name was Zheng Shiyi. She was the heiress of a noble socialite family. The Zheng family was well known for their textile business and were quite famous in the high ss society.

    Apparently , Zheng Shiyi always had a crush on Zhou Che but the man never looked at any woman until Rong Xinghe appeared in his life .

    And ever since Rong Xinghe had broken up with Zhou Che , Zheng Shiyi had been trying to get close to him .

    Even Mother Zhou had always liked her. So to respect his mother''s wishes , Zhou Che had started to hang out with Zheng Shiyi more often .

    But even so , Rong Xinghe was the only woman he ever thought of .

    Even if it was due to hatred , Rong Xinghe still ruled over his mind and heart .

    It was like Zheng Shiyi''s existence was of no importance to him .

    "You are again thinking about that Rong Xinghe , aren''t you ? ", Zheng Shiyi''s gaze suddenly darkened .

    As soon as the girl was mentioned , Zhou Che lifted his head up and looked at Zheng Shiyi , "No."

    "Really ? Who do you think I am , Che ?! A joke ? Why can''t you , for god''s sake , get over that sl*t ?! ", Zheng Shiyi was honestly irritated .

    "Don''t talk like that about her. She is not like that. ", Zhou Che warned in an icy cold tone .

    "She killed your brother , damn it !! ", Zheng Shiyi raised her voice and the man clenched his fists .

    That incident ... If only that incident had not happened ...

    ...

    At this time , the couple heard the sounds of people awing and admiring someone .

    Both Zhou Che and Zheng Shiyi subconsciously looked in the direction where the crowd was looking .

    A man was carrying a woman in his arms who seemed to be asleep .

    And that man was ... the legendary Xi Yuan !

    He was actually holding a woman in his arms !

    It was unbelievable for a man , as mighty and aloof as Xi Yuan , to allow a woman to be so intimately close to him .

    Since the woman''s face was buried in the man''s shoulder , her countenance were not clearly visible. But Zhou Che felt like her figure was quite familiar .

    The fair skin ....

    The Jet ck hair ....

    The clothing style ....

    Could it be that the woman was ....

    But as soon as the thought came to his mind , he quickly pushed it to the back .

    How could Rong Xinghe be connected to the Business King Xi Yuan ?

    No one could match up to him .

    This woman could be anyone , but Rong Xinghe .

    "What are you thinking ? Look at that couple. They are so intimately close to each other. That man dotes on his woman so much. Why can''t you dote on me like that ?! ", Zheng Shiyi waspletely captivated by the public disy of affection .

    The man remained silent .

    Even though he had convinced his heart about the woman in Xi Yuan''s arms not being Rong Xinghe , he was still feeling a little uneasy .

    ::::::::::::::::::::

    On the other hand , Xi Yuan had already seen Zhou Che quarreling with a woman when he had exited the cafe .

    So , he deliberately adjusted the girl''s position such that Zhou Che wouldn''t be able to identify her .

    This wife doting man didn''t wanted any more troubles to fall upon her. If Zhou Che had had identified the woman in his arms , he would have caused even more of a havoc for her in Zhi Corps .

    And that was thest thing he wanted .

    Of course , the other reason behind Xi Yuan''s actions was ... jealousy !

    As a man , he had already sensed the burning desire in Zhou Che''s eyes when he had forced himself upon Rong Xinghe earlier in Lu Corporations'' meeting room .

    He had seen the sh in the man''s gaze when he was about to kiss Rong Xinghe back then .

    Thankfully , Rong Xinghe was skilled with militarybat and had pushed him away .

    But now that Xi Yuan knew that Rong Xinghe was disgusted by even the sight of this guy , he was well determined to protect his woman .

    The man sat inside the car while the woman''s body was still leaning onto him .

    The man gestured the driver to drive and reverted his gaze back at the troublemaker in his embrace as a sweet smile crept across his lips .

    I love you , my soon-to-be wifey !

 Chapter 159: Thrown a diamond to cherish a stone

    Chapter 159: Thrown a diamond to cherish a stone

    Soon , Xi Yuan''s car entered the Military Chief Mansion premises .

    As soon as Xi Yuan entered the living room of the ce , he witnessed an unexpected scene .

    Zhi Al was sittingzily on the couch and a pizza was stuffed into his mouth. The man was watching a cricket match .

    Zhi Al was even more dumbfounded .

    Was this guy really carrying his sister around like that ?

    "What did you do to her ?! ", the man stood up and red angrily at Xi Yuan.

    Xi Yuan smiled andid the girl down on the adjacent couch .

    But just when the man was about to turn around and answer Zhi Al , Rong Xinghe grabbed his hand and pulled him towards herself in her sleepy state .

    The girl rubbed her cheeks on the palm of the man''s hand and mumbled drowsily ," Mmm ... Don''t go ... "

    Xi Yuan''s heart melted and his eyes softened when he saw his woman acting like a cute little kitten. A gentle smile crept across his perfect lips and he sat down beside the girl.

    He didn''t had the heart to reject this request of hers .

    Meanwhile , a certain devil waspletely stupefied .

    He had literally pulled up his sleeves to give a good round of warnings to Xi Yuan earlier. But ... it was now that he realized that his sister was the traitor herself !

    Zhi Al wasn''t angry , but confused. Rong Xinghe had extremely sharp reflexive senses. Even in her sleep.

    Su Rogguang had once told them that the girl''s brain was developed in a unique way and that she was not like any normal person.

    She had the ability to sense harm and warmth even in her sleep. There were times when the girl would wake up with a jolt whenever she sensed her surroundings to be dangerous. She never had a single night of peaceful sleep in the Rong household. It could be said that her instincts were akin to a dolphin. She would be up with a revolver in her hands the second her subconscious informed her of any peril approaching her .

    And that was the reason that not everyone could get near her when she was asleep. Only him , the other five men , Rong Xiao and her sister-inws could do that .

    Xi Yuan was actually an exception .

    She reflexively kept her guards down whenever this man was around her. She allowed him to be near her. And it wasn''t like he hadn''t noticed that she trusted this guy blindly , which was already a rare urrence in itself.

    Why did he suddenly had a feeling that she might actually give him a chance ?

    Xi Yuan finally removed his hand and ced a pillow beneath the girl''s head before he stood up and turned around to look at the man staring him.

    "Xinghe has decided to handle Zhi Business Empire under your , Senior Bo and Senior Zhi Xi''s guidance while I will take care of Lu Corporations with the help of Senior Lu. She doesn''t want her brothers to exhaust themselves. Please inform Senior Zhi Xi about our arrangements ... "

    "Forget that. Just tell me if you are genuine towards her or not. Because I am not going to tolerate another Zhou Che in her life ! ", business was thest thing on Zhi Al''s mind at that moment .

    "I love her , Mr. Zhi. ", the man replied humbly .

    "You know about her past with Rong family ? "

    " Not entirely. I don''t care about her past anyway. But yeah , I know about the ten year old train incident of Country I. She told me. "

    "What ? She herself opened up to you about it ?! ", Zhi Al waspletely stunned by this piece of news .

    Rong Xinghe rarely mentioned that incident. She didn''t liked to be reminded about the Rongs at all. It was unbelievable that she was talking about her past to someone and was actually a huge improvement .

    "Yes. She did. The Rongs have no idea that they have thrown a diamond to cherish a stone. I despise them and I don''t have even an ounce of sympathy for them currently. ", the man''s eyes darkened a few shades .

    "That''s true. But don''t ever sympathize with her for that. She hates it when she is treated like she is helpless and needs someone to be dependent on. ", Zhi Al gave a piece of advice .

    "I understand , Senior Zhi. I will take my leave then. Also , please help me congratte Mrs. Songyan and Senior Zhi Xi regarding the good news. ", the man bowed down before he left .

    Zhi Al felt like something was not right .Wait ... wasn''t he supposed to warn this brat ?!! He actually ended the conversation on a peaceful note with the man who was constantly trying to woo his sister away.

    Sly !

    At this time , Zhi Al got a phone call and he picked it up without checking the caller ID , "Who is it ?"

    "Hey bro ! I am Yun ! Your Feng Mian is getting engaged today ! The ceremony will begin in one hour. Don''t you have anything to say to her ? ", Zhi Al''s childhood friend screamed through the other end .

    Zhi Al felt like he was suddenly stabbed with a sword when he heard Yun''s words. Feng Mian was ... getting engaged ?!

    Zhi Al quickly disconnected his call and grabbed his car keys. The man left the ce after texting Mo Zixuan to rush back home and take care of Rong Xinghe .

    This was hisst chance !

    Only if he knew that his actions would impact his rtionship with not only Feng Mian , but his kiddo as well ...

    ___________

    Mo Zixuan reached Military Chief Mansion three minutes after Zhi Al had left.

    The man gently put the girl to bed and covered her with nkets before sitting beside her and continuing his work on hisptop .

    At this time , he received a call from one of his subordinates at MZX News Channel ," Sir , there is an issue ! "

    "Hmm ... what is it ? ", the man asked while he looked at thetest news updates of his channel .

    " Well ... our new Chief Operating Officer is Ms. He Chen. ", the man reported .

    As soon as Mo Zixuan heard the name , the phone in his hand almost slipped and fell down. But he quickly regained hisposure and cleared his throat ," Are you sure ? "

    "Yes sir ."

    The man hung up and looked at Rong Xinghe worriedly. Why was that woman back in his life again ?! He had almost lost his sister back then because of her. She was aplete psycho .

    But Rong Xinghe wasn''t his only concern.

    One more person he was worried about was Cheng Tai. She worked as a Junior Reporter in MZX with him. And they were in a rtionship now. Cheng Tai had been his follower before they met and she knew almost everything about him .

    So she naturally knew that He Chen was his ex-fiancee !

    But no one excluding Rong Xinghe and the five men knew about the reason behind his and He Chen''s breakup yet .

    He was fearing that He Chen''s arrival would adversely affect his and Cheng Tai''s rtionship .

    It seemed like Rong Xinghe''s two brothers were going to have some rough days soon ....

 Chapter 160: Caused a havoc overnight !

    Chapter 160: Caused a havoc overnight !

    Next Morning , Rong Xinghe woke up to find her Bro Mo sleeping beside her. The man was sitting on a chair and was leaning forward as he had buried his face in his arms .

    Had he been working for the entire night ?

    What the hell was wrong with her brothers ? And what was it with them and all the over-exertions ?

    Rong Xinghe''s heart ached when she saw the fatigue on the man''s face. This man was so careless with his health. Actually , most of them were.

    The girl ced her hand on the man''s head and massaged it slightly. The man genuinely felt rxed as his furrowed eyebrows eased up. But the next second , he woke up suddenly and looked at the girl ," Are you alright ? Do you need something ? "

    Rong Xinghe was taken aback be the man''s actions as her hand reflexivelynded on her heart ," Are you kidding me ?! Why are you sleeping here ? Don''t tell me you have worked for the whole night !! "

    Mo Zixuan smiled guiltily.

    "Sleep ! ", the girl jumped off the bed and pointed at it as she gestured the man tofortablyy down .

    "But Xinghe , I want to tell you about something. ", the man stood up and pulled the girl into a warm hug .

    Rong Xinghe could sense the uncertainty in the man''s tone and pinched the space between her brows ," What is it ?"

    "Well ... He Chen is the new Chief Operating Officer of MZX. ", the man sighed .

    "What ?! ", the girl was dumbstruck ," Why is that bi*ch back ?! For god''s sake , she better not be here for clinging onto you. I am not going to let her benefit herself from your fame and fortune. That ... "

    Mo Zixuan had expected his kiddo to boil up like that , so he simply chuckled ," Calm down. I will see what I can do. I just wanted you to know about it. I wanted you to know that no matter what , I am not going to let her in my life again after all these years. Moreover , I really like Cheng Tai. "

    "It better be like that.", the girl pouted .

    ...

    "Xinghe ! Come out. I need to talk with you ! ", suddenly , Feng Mian''s angered cry reached Rong Xinghe''s ears and she frowned .

    What was going on now ?

    Rong Xinghe looked at Mo Zixuan and the siblings rushed out of the bedroom hurriedly .

    When the girl reached the living room , Lu Wei , Zhi Xi , Zhi Bo , Su Rogguang and her three sister-inws were already there .

    The men were standing calmly while Songyan was passing a ss of water to the sobbing Feng Mian. Yes ... sobbing.

    The moment Rong Xinghe saw Feng Mian in such an awful state , her instincts told her that there was Zhi Al written all over it .

    "What is it Mian ? What happened ? ", the girl asked with concern in her tone .

    Feng Mian hugged Rong Xinghe and poured out all her feelings ," Xinghe ... Zhi Al ruined my wedding ! "

    When they heard thedy , Zhi Xi and Zhi Bo literally choked on their juice ! That brat did what ?! They had known Zhi Al all their life , so they naturally knew that this person had always been a yboy. But they had never heard about their younger brother causing such a havoc overnight .

    Rong Xinghe took a deep breath. She knew it.

    She gently separated Feng Mian from herself and looked straight into her eyes ," I am not partial with my brothers , Mian. If they are wrong , I will not go easy on any of them. Just trust me and tell me what happened honestly ."

    For some unknown reason , Feng Mian trusted Rong Xinghe. She knew that this woman in front of her was an extremely righteous person and that she knew how to distinguish between right and wrong .

    Meanwhile , the five men felt a chill run down their spine when they heard their kiddo''s words. They knew she was not joking at all. What had that Zhi Al gotten himself into ? They were simply hoping that Zhi Al had not done anything extreme or else , consequences could be drastic.

    Feng Mian finally spoke up after calming down ," Last night , I was to be engaged to Officer Yi. But Zhi Al came there and caused such a huge scene. I believe that he was drunk. You know he humiliated me in front of so many guests just when we were about to exchange the rings .

    " He said that since I had worked with him for many days , we both had gotten into an intimate rtionship. Can you believe that ? He said that in front of so many guests , Xinghe !

    " He made it look like I had slept with another man before marriage and that I was a woman of low moral grounds.

    " Xinghe , Officer Yi called off the wedding ! My inws also left. What should I do now ?! "

    After listening to everything , the entire living room was covered in silence. Only Feng Mian''s weeping could be heard ...

    Rong Xinghe never expected Zhi Al to act so recklessly and when she saw Feng Mian weaken up like that , she felt even more disgusted. The woman clenched her fists and closed her eyes to calm down the storm taking ce in her heart .

    "Call Zhi Al here right now !", the girl turned around to look at Zhi Bo .

    Even the five men were a little intimidated by the girl''s gaze. Had that Zhi Al lost his mind ? Treating ady like that ...

    Didn''t he had any idea about Rong Xinghe''s bottom line ?

    One thing was for sure , the girl was truly angered this time .

    ______________

    Soon , Zhi Al entered the living room.

    The man was slightly zoned out as he was thinking about the events ofst night , so he didn''t noticed that Feng Mian was sitting among the people present in the living room.

    He was regretful for what he had done but he couldn''t just see Feng Mian with any other man. Something ignited in his heart when that Officer Yi held the woman''s hand toplete the engagement ceremonyst night. After that , everything he did was out of , even his control .

    As soon as Rong Xinghe saw the man , she walked over to him and stood in front of him ," Were you drunkst night ? Do I need to make a hangover drink , Mr. Zhi ?"

    Zhi Al was stunned when he heard his sister''s words and that was when he realized what was happening .

    The man swept his eyes across the living room anxiously before they finally rested on the woman sitting on the couch .

 Chapter 161: "Give me my brother back !"

    Chapter 161: "Give me my brother back !"

    Zhi Al felt as if his heart was pierced with thousand knives when he saw Feng Mian covered in tears .

    The woman lifted her head up to look at the man but her eyes were filled with hatred and disgust for him .

    Damn ! Why the hell had he acted so impulsivelyst night ?!

    He shouldn''t have had disrespected a woman like that. That was not how he was. Moreover , his biggest concern was that he had disappointed Rong Xinghe by his behaviour.

    Rong Xinghe never allowed her brothers to look down on others. And to be precise , it was Rong Xinghe who had built up their character and personality. Every decision they took , they took it only after taking their sister''s opinion into consideration .

    But this time , he had done the otherwise. And the consequences were naturally dire .

    He had not only disrespected the woman he loved , but he had also failed his kiddo ...

    "Mian ... I ... ", the man tried to walk towards the woman but before he could even get any closer to her , Feng Mian stood up and left Military Chief Mansion .

    She simply didn''t wanted to see him for sometime. The words he had said the day ago had deeply hurt her feelings. She had started to think that there was something between them , but his actions ruined everything .

    Before Zhi Al could follow the woman , a pair of fair hands grabbed his cor forcefully .

    Rong Xinghe forced the man to look at her before she gritted her teeth angrily ," Did you or did you not insult Feng Mian publicly yesterday ?! "

    The man remained silent. What could he say ? Admitting was thest thing he had the courage for .

    "I have asked you something Mr. Zhi Al ! Are you or are you not the reason behind the ruination of Feng Mian''s wedding ?!! ", the girl''s voice turned a few degrees colder .

    The five remaining men and the three sister-inws of the girl gulped hard as they witnessed the inner tigress of the girl waking up. This was frightening ! Very frightening !

    It was rare for Rong Xinghe to have sh or argument with her brothers but whenever that happened , oues would always be ugly.

    Zhi Al simply nodded his head slightly as he surrendered himself to his sister. There was no point exining anything now. He was wrong here and he knew that .

    Rong Xinghe released the man''s cor and red at him angrily for some few good seconds .

    "Calm down , Xinghe. Lets talk it out with him .", Ruo Cy was really worried about her brother-inw by now .

    "Yeah. Lets discuss what to do , kiddo. We will sort this all out. ", Lu Wei also tried to defend the brat.

    "What the hell is left for discussion brother ?! ", Rong Xinghe exploded with rage as she roared akin to a tigress ," What do you think you can ''sort out'' now ?! He has done thest thing I want any of you to ever do. Tell me one thing , Bro Al. If someone is to walk in my wedding out of nowhere and that person ims that I am his mistress , what will you do ?! You will destroy him. All of you will do the same. Then who the f*ck gave you the right to treat anotherdy like that ?!!

    "I don''t think that love gives you that right. And if it does , then screw such love ! It isn''t love Bro Al , it is obsession. Love is hoping your woman or man to be always happy , no matter how far away he or she is from you. And how dare you approach her in your drunken state ? Did you even considered your identity ?! You are the third master of Zhi Family , Mr. Zhi !

    "You know what , you don''t deserve a woman like Feng Mian in your life. You are not worth her ! Forget Feng Mian , even I would not ept a man as disrespectful as you !

    "Do you even know what she has gone through since her childhood , Mr. Al ?! Well , let me tell you. She is an orphan. She has seen her mom-dad die in front of her ! When she was 7 years old , her parents were killed by a serial killer in a bakery shop. She was sitting in the car on the opposite side of road when the incident took ce. Since then , she has been struggling on her own.

    "Now you tell me , isn''t it only natural for her to wish to have a family of her own ?! Isn''t it normal for her to be attracted towards that Officer Yi who treats her nicely and promises her the warmth of a family ? All you did was quarrel with her like a child. How do you expect her to like you ?!"

    Zhi Al waspletely shocked when he heard about Feng Mian''s horrid childhood. Although, he had himself never experienced warmth of parents himself , but he at least had Lu Wei , Zhi Xi and Zhi Bo for him back then. But Feng Mian ....

    Rong Xinghe''s head started aching as she was exhausted by all the screaming. Su Rogguang noticed this and quickly helped her sit down on the couch ,"Careful !"

    Zhi Al now realized his mistake. And now that reality struck him like an electric lightening , he was feeling more and more guilty for what he had done to the woman he truly liked.

    He felt even more horrible when he saw his kiddo holding her head and groaning in pain.

    The man sat down on his knees in front of the girl and looked at her sincerely ,"I am sorry."

    The girl stayed silent for sometime before she looked back at him after making a tough decision ,"Mr. Zhi , you are going to apologize to Feng Mian and you are going to mean it. Screw every f*cking thing in your life and focus on apologizing to her. Kneel if you have to kneel. Bow if you have to bow. But until and unless Feng Mian forgives you for what you did , don''t you dare address me as your sister ."

    Zhi Al felt fear and panic crept through his heart when he heard the girl''s words ," Xinghe ... don''t ... "

    "I am not liking this Zhi Al at all. I loved my older brother more. You are not him. My brother was mischievous and a prankster but an amazing gentleman. This man in front of me is very insensitive and heartless .", tears welled up in the girl''s eyes as her throat choked ,"Give me my brother back ! "

 Chapter 162: Having a sister was indeed a blessing ...

    Chapter 162: Having a sister was indeed a blessing ...

    The six men could see anything , but Rong Xinghe''s tears were their weakness. And being a reason behind her breakdown was the most dreadful thing for them.

    Naturally , Zhi Al had never expected his actions to hurt the girl so much. She even said that he wasn''t the brother she loved anymore and that he had changed.

    The remaining five men , obviously , understood both Zhi Al and the girl. Although , they were disappointed by the man''s actions , they still decided to stay silent. They knew that Rong Xinghe''s words were already enough for Zhi Al to realize his mistake .

    So they simply tried to calm the girl down .

    Rong Xinghe finally got exhausted after venting her feelings for sometime and Mo Zixuan took her into the dining room so that she could at least have some breakfast .

    "Xinghe is not wrong , Al. This is indeed not you. Even if you didn''t knew anything about Feng Mian''s childhood , it is already inappropriate to defame an innocent woman publicly. ", Zhi Bo scolded his younger brother .

    "She is right. You should go and provide a heart felt apology to Feng Mian. This is the least you can do , regardless of the future possibility of your rtionship. ", Lu Wei advised .

    " But ... kiddo hates me now. ", Zhi Al''s voice turned heavy.

    Ningtao squeezd her brother-inw''s shoulder ,"No. She doesn''t hate any of you. Its just that she doesn''t like it when you do something that the Rongs would do ."

    "What do you mean ? ", Su Rogguang frowned .

    " What Ningtao is trying to say is that whenever any of you do something that imitates or emtes the Rongs , she gets upset. Weren''t the Rongs insensitive ? So , obviously , Xinghe erupted into anger when Al did something insensitive. She fears that you will be like Rongs and that she would lose the only family she has .", Songyan exined .

    It was now that the men understood the reason that the girl always wanted them to indulge in humanity and bepassionate. That girl cherished their presence in her life so much that she couldn''t bear to part from them. This thought alone moved their hearts. Having a sister was indeed a blessing ...

    Zhi Al picked up his car keys and rushed towards Feng Mian''s home. He didn''t just wanted to get back his sister. He wanted his woman as well .

    ___________

    Rong Xinghe soon reached Military Chief Office by noon .

    Feng Mian had already reported to the office and was working calmly as usual. However , her eyes still looked swollen. She simply avoided any discussion regarding her wedding.

    As soon as she saw Rong Xinghe enter her office , Feng Mian followed her and requested to upy few of her minutes.

    "Xinghe , please tell Al to leave. He has been standing outside my house since the morning and is constantly apologizing. I had to use the back door toe here. I just want him to stay away from me. I don''t want any apology. ", Feng Mian said.

    "Forget about him.", the girl took a deep breath ,"I want to tell you something about Officer Yi. "

    "What is it ?"

    "He is already married .", Rong Xinghe said before she took out some documents and photos and passed them to Feng Mian .

    After few seconds of shock , Feng Mian started reading through the documents and held onto the photos tightly. More she read the papers , more uglier her expression became ," How could this ... "

    "Well .... Officer Yi had married thisdy name Sophie from USA four years ago. But after three years , they came to know that this Sophie was infertile and couldn''t conceive the heir for his family. Officer Yi really loved her and refused to leave her. So ... his family eventually decided to find a capable woman so that she could bear Officer Yi''s child. And when the woman would give birth , they would throw her out and keep the baby. Mian ... you are that woman .", Rong Xinghe finally exined .

    Feng Mian felt like every ounce of strength had been sucked out of her when she heard Rong Xinghe''s words.

    The documents were Officer Yi and Sophie''s marriage certificate , and Sophie''s medical reports that proved her infertility. How could people be so insensitive ? How could they disregard other''s feelings just because they loved the people around them ?

    Rong Xinghe sighed when she saw the woman''s broken state and passed her a ss of water ced on her table ," Look Mian , I am not doing this because I want to protect Zhi Al. I simply don''t want the people around me to suffer. You are close to me.

    "Else than that , I don''t expect you to forgive my brother. Even if he unknowingly saved you from Officer Yi''s trap , the way he did that was extremely disappointing. No one , not even my brothers are allowed to look down on others. I don''t support my brother''s actions and I can differentiate between right and wrong. And Bro Al is wrong here.

    "Since he publicly insulted you , he deserves the pain he is going through now. Since he had the audacity to defame you , he should apologize to you all his life. For once , even you can ept him but there is no way in hell that I will go easy on him for this.

    "I am not actually on speaking terms with him currently so I am not going to tell him to leave. This is the matter between you two. I am not going to get involved.

    "Lastly , he was a dorkst night. Be as strict as you can to him. At least , that is what I expect from my trustworthy Special Forces Officer. "

    The girl then indulged herself back into the files in front of her .

    Feng Mian was rendered speechless by the girl. She couldn''t believe that Rong Xinghe had actually argued with her own brother for her.

    Entire Country X knew about the understanding and bonding between these eight siblings. Everyone knew how much they appreciated each other''s presence in their life. No one had ever heard about them ever getting into any sort of disagreement.

    But today , she was witnessing something else. Unlike Officer Yi , Rong Xinghe was not the type of person who would hurt others just because she loved her brothers. She had the courage to stand against them if they were wrong and never blindly supported anyone .

    No wonder this woman could see through things so clearly. She could distinguish between right and wrong quite easily.

    Feng Mian could tell that this dispute between the brother and sister was affecting the both of them. While Zhi Al looked like he had lost everything important to him , Rong Xinghe also wasn''t as bright and lively as always .

    They both loved each other but this girl actually argued with him for her. She was willing to hurt herself and Zhi Al just for her.

    All of a sudden , Feng Mian felt as if she hadmitted a sin. How could she be evil enough to separate these inseparable and indivisible pair of brother and sister ?

 Chapter 163: "Will you accept me ?"

    Chapter 163: "Will you ept me ?"

    In the evening , Feng Mian returned back home to find Zhi Al still standing outside her door. The woman sighed. This man was genuinely feeling guilty.

    Feng Mian approached Zhi Al and patted his shoulder from behind ,"Come inside. We need to talk ."

    "You .. "

    "I was in the Military Chief Office .", the woman replied and walked inside her ce .

    Zhi Al followed the woman''s orders and stepped inside the house as well.

    "I will make coffee for you .", the woman quickly rushed into the kitchen .

    Zhi Al looked around the the house and realized that thedy had truly went through many struggles throughout her childhood. Since she had lost her parents in childhood , she must have had paid for her own school and college fees. She had been a national level gymnast in her high school. She also had many newspaper cuttings about Rong Xinghe as well. By the looks of it , his sister was her inspiration to join the army.

    There was one more photo frame hanging on the wall of the living room. This particr photograph was her childhood photo with her parents. It was such ... a happy family once. But now , she was all alone in this world.

    "Your coffee ", Feng Mian ced the coffee cup on the mini table beside the man and turned around to shove the documents rted to Officer Yi in herptop bag .

    But at this time , a pair of strong arms pulled her closer and the man hugged her tightly.

    Zhi Al wrapped the woman in his arms and buried his face in her shoulder. The couple stayed silent. None of them made a single sound. Feng Mian didn''t struggled and neither did Zhi Al loosened his grip.

    After sometime , the man said in a hoarse and raspy voice ," I am sorry , Mian. I don''t know what got into me at that moment. Mian , I can''t see you with any other man. You can call it jealousy or insecurity , but that is how I am.

    "Yes. I was an a**hole to you. And yes , I did disappoint Xinghe. Yes , I am immature and childish. I am a jerk for not treating you well. I wasn''t true to you but more than that , I wasn''t true to myself. I wasn''t able to ept that a yboy like me had fallen for you. I got confused and acted like that .

    " But kiddo always expects us six to respect the dignity of women. Last night , I crossed that bottom line. You can punish me however you want. Just ... I am sorry."

    The woman felt warmth crept through her heart when she heard the sincerity and honesty in the man''s voice. She reflexively hugged him back and replied in a low yet audible voice ,"I forgive you ."

    The man was stunned as he separated the woman from him and looked at her with astonishment ,"Really ?"

    Feng Mian shrugged nonchntly ," I have never cared about what the world says about me. All I wanted was a family. I was upset with you because you snatched that possibility from me. Thankfully , Xinghe told me about Officer Yi''s ill intentions. In fact , I thank you for creating a scenest night. You saved me."

    "Xinghe ? ", the man was confused. How was his sister involved in all this ?

    "She really loves you Al. She had been secretly investigating Officer Yi''s background for you for sometime now. She wanted to disclose his reality to me before the wedding but you ''ruined'' everything. Not technically , though .", Feng Mian smiled.

    "But I made her hate me .", the man med himself for what happened .

    "She still cares about you Al. Don''t lose her ever. She is heartbroken but all she needs is her brother''s hug. You both are more like friends than siblings. She will forgive you .", the girl patted the man''s shoulder .

    "Mian... "

    "Hmm ?"

    "I will give you a family. I will give you the love you deserve. Will you ept me ? ", the man looked straight into the woman''s eyes .

    The moment Feng Mian heard the man''s intimate words , her heart started beating rapidly. She bit her lower lip nervously as her cheeks turned red. This man was so shameless .

    Zhi Al''s eyes brightened up when he saw the woman in his arms blush because of him and captured her lips into his.

    Soon , the couple melted into each other as they got swayed into the heat of the moment .

    ::::::::::::

    Meanwhile , a certain someone was looking at the couple kissing each other helplessly .

    Rong Xinghe shook her head ," Didn''t I asked you to be as strict as you can to him , Mian ?! "

    The man and the woman were startled the moment they heard the familiar voice and looked at the window.

    The littledy devil was looking at them through the window and was smiling wickedly ,"Are you sure you want to forgive him ?! I mean you should at least beat him up. "

    The girl then jumped inside the house and picked up the hot coffee cup as she sat down on a stool while she took a sip of it ," So ... can I im that I have got one more sister-inw ? "

    The girl''s actions were so cute that both Zhi Al and Feng Mian burst outughing. Feng Mian wiped the tears of happiness from her cheeks ," We will take it slow. So don''t go around iming anything. "

    The girl nodded.

    Zhi Al then knelt down in front of the girl and held her hands anxiously ,"Sorry kiddo. I won''t do that again ."

    The girl also sat down on the floor and hugged the man ," You better not. The way you behaved scared me , Bro Al. My brother is not like that ."

    The man kissed the girl''s forehead lovingly ," You are right. He isn''t like that. "

    Feng Mian finally breathed a sigh of relief as she witnessed the beautiful reunion of the brother and sister. This was how they were meant to be. Together and happy .

    ____________

    Next day , Rong Xinghe moved into the Elite Diamond Penthouse .

    She had already discussed everything with her brothers and they had no issues with her decision. No matter how cautious they were of Xi Yuan , they couldn''t deny that the man genuinely cared about the girl. Most importantly , they didn''t wanted the girl to exhaust herself. Xi Yuan''s experience with business could be helpful for her.

    Just as Xi Yuan had said , Rong Xinghe was able to handle Zhi Corporation way more easily with the man''s help and guidance.

    Obviously , Rong Xinghe''s presence itself was akin to a tonic for Xi Yuan as well.

    But that was not the important part. The noticeable thing was that , an important event wasing up soon.

    Xi Yuan was going to turn 26 ...

    ... and the girl nned to make the man''s birthday as special as he had made hers ...

    The man was unknown to all of this , though .

 Chapter 164: Wanted to celebrate his day with him ...

    Chapter 164: Wanted to celebrate his day with him ...

    Rong Xinghe involved her two "fans" into the event organization .

    Yep. Xi Ying and Xi Wei. The two Xi siblings told everything they knew about their brother to the girl , including the fact that he liked to be with his closed ones during his birthday and didn''t appreciated the magnificent birthday banquets for the socialite family heirs or heiresses.

    Since the past eight years , the man had been attending business meetings during his birthday and there were times when he would not even show up for his own parties.

    Xi family elders were tired by Xi Yuan''s aloof and introvert nature but they couldn''t force him to do anything. They had lost the right to do that after he had lost his grandparents in that frightening incident when he was merely 15 years old .

    Ultimately , after a lot of discussion , Rong Xinghe decided to organise a cozy and warm bonfire party. After all , this type of event suited this warm hearted and benevolent person the most.

    Xi Yuan''s birthday was on 25th November and it was 15th of November when the girl decided the theme. Unlike the man , she didn''t had too much time left to make the preparations.

    But then again , ording to her , he deserved this ...

    Since she was living practically with him after her working hours in Military Cief Office for the sake of Zhi Business empire , it was extremely difficult for her to hide this ''surprise'' from him .

    He was an observant man and could easily tell what was going on. Especially when it came to her , he noticed every little action of hers and heard every single word she said.

    He had been taking note of the girl biting her lips and not meeting his gaze whenever he would approach her from behind. He knew that she was hiding something from him but he still decided to not bother her about that. He was already satisfied that she was living closer to him and no more tried to run away from him .

    _____________

    Soon , 25th November arrived.

    The man got up like always and headed towards the washroom to take a shower. But when he entered his walk-in closet , he was dumbfounded.

    An eye-catching Dark Red Velvet Tuxedo was put on the male mannequin. There was even a Yellow note sticking on it.

    The man confusedly walked towards the mannequin and stretched out his hand to separate the note from the cloth and read the contents in it .

    {{ " Don''t wear your usual ck and White Tuxedo today .

    Or I will again mistake you as a bartender ...

    Wear this :-) " }}

    An amused smile crept over the man''s perfectly shaped lips as he raised his brows ever so slightly. The words and the handwriting were enough to tell him about the messenger. His love had written it to him ....

    The man looked up at the advanced electric calendar on the wall and that was when he realised why the day was so special. It seemed like the girl wanted to celebrate his day with him ...

    He had been so busy handling Xi and Lu Business groups that he hadpletely forgotten about his own birthday. Not to mention , he had to put his woman to bed almost every night as she had the habit of workingte.

    But who would have had thought that the girl had been nning his birthday all along ? No wonder she was acting so secretive from the past few days .

    His heart was suddenly filled with warmth and anticipation when the girl''s lively and mesmerizing face appeared in his mind. He was looking forward to what she had nned further !

    The man quickly changed into the Velvet Tuxedo as ordered by his queen and reached office.

    The moment the man entered Xi Corporations'' building , almost every employee stopped in their tracks and gawked at the sight of the handsome hunk. While the men had never seen Xi Yuan wearing such formal clothes before , women started to drool over their big boss .

    Xi Yuan remained emotionless and didn''t even bothered ncing at any other woman. He strode towards his office and swiftly disappeared from everyone''s line of sight .

    "Oh my god ! Sir looks so handsome today ! ", one of the female employeesplimented .

    " I know , right ? What is the good event ?! ", another woman chirped .

    "Don''t you know ? Today is boss''s birthday. "

    "Crap. I didn''t arranged any gift for him. Should I order a watch for him ?", a young girl joined the conversation.

    "Do you want to be kicked out of Xi Publications , youngdy ? Boss hates it when anyone tries to pester him .", another male employee side-eyed the girl .

    "I can even gift my body to him ", another girl jumped excitedly .

    "Go ahead. He will gift you resignation in return ."

    "HAHAHA ..."

    _________

    Xi Yuan entered his office and as soon as he took his seat , he saw a dark brown cup of hot chocte with dipped chocte stick and seven home-made cookies ced on the table. Again , with a note .

    The man shook his head helplessly and picked up the note .

    {{ " Its not a good habit to skip breakfast , Mr. Tom and Jerry lover. " }}

    Below the words , was a sketch , in which , cartoon character Tom was running behind Jerry .

    The man chuckled. Ever since the girl had seen him watching cartoon when he was trying to randomly switch the channels to prevent her from seeing his embarrassing photo , she had been teasing him about that. Xi Wei , the bastard had made her believe that he was fond of cartoons. Although she knew he wasn''t that childish , but she still enjoyed poking him about that .

    The man did what he was told to do and the day went ahead .

    He got such a note once again during his lunch time andter , before he was going to attend an important meeting with ''All The Best , Mr. RichXi " written on it .

    This girl sure knew how to make someone feel special .

    Xi Yuan had , not even the slightest idea about what more was waiting for him ...

 Chapter 165: What magic had this man tried on her ?!

    Chapter 165: What magic had this man tried on her ?!

    Xi Yuan returned back to Elite Sapphire Penthouse in the evening.

    And as soon as he stepped into the living room , almost every member of the Youth Team jumped out from their hidden ces and wished him excitedly. The man smiled and nodded to everyone before turning to face William , " Where is she ? "

    William grinned at the man and handed him the whiskey ss in his hand ," Patience , Mr. Xi , Patience. She will appear in front of you when she truly wants to. "

    Patience... That was thest thing he was able to keep after the day he had.

    Xi Yuan red coldly at this ''best friend'' of his woman and William gulped nervously ," Look , I really don''t know where she is. Don''t kill me for that ."

    After sometime , the man excused himself and entered the walk-in closet to change into somethingfortable before joining back the guests.

    Soon , a three-tier Chocte cake arrived in the living room along with the Xi trio. The three siblings hugged the man tightly and wished him. But when the man asked about the girl , even they refused to reveal anything .

    Traitors !

    Shortly after cutting the cake , the man was taken into the backyard of his penthouse. A beautiful bonfire was set up there and the ce was dimly lit by Chrome cubes and Hyphaemps. The decoration was done in such a manner that his backyard almost looked like a forest and he felt like he was there for camping.

    Even the Xi trio hadn''t expected their sister-inw to think so out-of-the-box. Could she be any less talented when it came to giving surprises ?

    Xi Yuan was really moved by all the sweet and simple gestures of the girl. He knew that only his woman could think like that and that she had done all of this alone.

    He was even hundred percent sure that the cake was baked by the girl herself. He really wanted her to be near him when he was cutting the cake but she apparently had other ns. No matter what , he could never bepletely satisfied by this birthday until he would see her. Her presence was the biggest gift he could ask for.

    The man sat down on the wooden bench along with the Youth Team members as they started telling him about how they met Rong Xinghe and how she decided to add them for the social service. Not everyone in Youth Team were actors and dancers like William Young. Some were gymnasts , while some were singers. Some were famed for sports , while some were known for mimicry and stand upedy. Each and everyone in Youth Team had a unique story and most of them had a middle ss or poor background.

    Some of them had met Rong Xinghe in awkward and embarrassing circumstances while some had simply been discovered by her. But no matter what , Rong Xinghe cherished everyone of them. She kept a group of positive and ambitious people around her because she believed that friendship affected the mental mindset of a person.

    But in the entire Youth Team , no one was as sessful as Rong Xinghe. After all , it was not easy to reach the pinnacle of an entire nation in such a young age. But they sincerely admired Rong Xinghe and never envied her. They knew about her past and hence , respected her for where she had reached today .

    Just when Xi Yuan was listening to an Indian 19 year old actress telling about her first meet up with Rong Xinghe , he heard the soft key sound of a piano. The man turned around to look at the woman sitting in front of the grand board as her slender and fair fingers danced over the keys softly .

    The woman was wearing a Dark Blue Starry night Mermaid style off-shoulder gown and had put on a light make up.

    This scene was so serene and radiated so much purity that the man could literally hear the sound of his rapidly beating heart. None of the Youth Team members dared to make any noise as well as they stared at the girl with shocked expressions.

    When did she started singing publicly ?

    Hadn''t she stopped that after the incident ten years ago ?!

    What magic had this man tried on her ?!!

    The girl looked at the man and her lips curled upwards. She cleared her throat and tapped the microphone attached to her dress before singing .

    [[[ "I admit that we are not lovers

    It''s decided that we have no love yet

    But, don''t meet your eyes with mine

    I do not trust my heart

    You look like a path on which warmth run

    You look like a rtion between sleep and eyes

    You are like a changing time that brings happiness to me

    You are the moment that doesn''t stop my tomorrow

    I admit that we are not lovers

    It''s decided that we have no love yet

    But , don''t smile the way you smile at me

    I do not trust my heart

    Those all praising words are true

    Those are said from heart and I deeply wish

    May you live a life with sess and love

    May you live a life filled with the honor you deserve

    I admit that we are not lovers

    It''s decided that we have no love yet

    But , don''t stand by me the way you do

    I really do not trust my heart. "

    ]]]

    Almost everyone were speechless by the depth in the girl''s words and the sweetness in her voice. No one had ever expected Rong Xinghe to still have such a maizing and captivating voice. No one had expected her to still be the same "Voice of the world" she was back then .

    Of course , Xi Yuan was touched the most. This was his girl''s biggest gift. She had done something she had not done for the past ten years. She had expressed her true feelings honestly in front of everyone.

    She had admitted to him that she was confused about him. She had epted that his presence affected her and that she was afraid that his actions could possess her heart. Although , they were not lovers yet , she had possibly started to like him back. She had epted that there was something between them and that she was giving a serious thought to their rtionship.

    The man strode over towards the girl and pulled her in his embrace in front of everyone as he buried his face into her naked shoulder ," Thank you so much Xinghe !"

    The girl smiled gently and hugged the man back ," I am still not clear about ..."

    "Take your time. This is already the brightest ray of hope for me. I can wait for you till myst breath , my love.", the man cut-in in a raspy voice.

    When it came to loving this woman , patience was the key and he always knew that. After all , who would understand Xinghe more than her Yuan ?

 Chapter 166: It was his birthday ...

    Chapter 166: It was ''his'' birthday ...

    The entire Youth Team already knew about the man and the woman''s rtionship and they all were genuinely happy for them. Moreover , they both looked like an ideal couple whenever they stood with each other. They were like two pieces of a puzzle whichpleted each other.

    Yes. The woman had quite some issues rted to her past to deal with. But then again , Xi Yuan was always there to stand by her side. Her Six knights in shining armors were there for her as well.

    But was it necessary for them to show their PDA like this ?

    Singing for him publicly. Expressing her feelings by writing a song for him. Organising such a cozy and rxing party for him. Hugging each other so intimately in front of everyone.

    They could practically predict the future of this couple ...

    William finally sensed the admiring and helpless gazes around him and coughed slightly ,"Can you both just get a room ?! "

    The crowd broke out inughter as they started teasing the couple.

    "This bastard !", Rong Xinghe clenched her teeth angrily as she red at William after separating herself from the man.

    Xi Yuan simply smiled as he caressed the girl''s hair. She looked so adorable when she red angrily at someone.

    At this time , Xi Fang approached the couple and held out his hand to his ''to be sister-inw'' with a smile ,"Dance?"

    Rong Xinghe smiled and nodded at the man as she joined him on the dance floor.

    Xi Yuan joined back the crowd as he could roughly guess the conversation his brother was going to have with the girl.

    ____________

    Both Xi Fang and Rong Xinghe reached the floor as the song changed into a rxing one and they started performing a couple dance. Just like his brother , Xi Fang was quite skilled with such formal etiquettes and courtesies. In fact , Xi Fang was more or less a shadow of his brother. Although it was impossible to be exactly as legendary as Xi Yuan , this one individual imitated and emted him the most.

    Rong Xinghe wasn''t too good at dance but she was a fast learner. So it didn''t took long for her to sync up with Xi Fang.

    "I wanted to talk about something to you , Xiao Xinghe. ", the man said as other couples joined them on the stage as well .

    "I sensed that. What is it ?", Rong Xinghe smiled .

    "Um ...I have a girl ...girlfriend. Her name is Yue. Jiang Yue .", the man cleared his throat awkwardly.

    "Jian Yue ... Isn''t she the only daughter of ''The Diamond Merchant'' Jiang Qiyang ? The man''s solitaire diamond collections are just ... love !", Rong Xinghe giggled dreamily as well as dramatically .

    "Do you love diamonds , Xiao Xinghe ?", the man didn''t forget to take important notes for his brother.

    "Nah ... I am not a jewelry person. I have lost many earrings and nes till date. So don''t bother .", the girl smiled ," You tell me. Why are you telling me about this ? What do you want ? And does my bartender know about this ?"

    "HEHEHE ... Your bartender definitely knows about it and he has no opinions about our rtionship status. ", the man really liked how his sister-inw had met his brother back then .

    "All he cares about is our career and happiness. Other than that , he simply does a basic background check on whomever we date , taking our security into consideration .", the man continued ," That''s why I need you."

    "Hmm ... go ahead. "

    "Well ... I have heard that you have an eye for people and that all your brothers make sure that they marry thedies whom you genuinely like. Apparently , everyone around you believes that you can easily see through a person and that you are never wrong with your judgement. So ... "

    "...so you want me to meet Jiang Yue and tell what I feel about her ? ", the girlpleted Xi Fang''s words .

    The man nodded innocently ," Brother admires you and I admire him. He is no less than a god to me , Xiao Xinghe. But ever since you have saved Ying''s honour from our rivals and I have seen your selflessness , I believe that I have changed my inspiration. I am your fan , devotee , servant , cook , and whatever you want from now on. Always ready to serve you. "

    Rong Xinghe burst outughing , "Really ? My gardener has been asking for one week leave from the past few days. Care to join ?"

    "Where are the damned Trowel , shears and hayforks , Military Chief ?!! ", Xi Fang straightened his back and acted as if he was on a military drill and had been given an important mission just now .

    The girl startedughing even more .

    Xi Fang smiled and adjusted back his dance posture ," No , but seriously. I do care about your opinions , Xiao Xinghe. Could you meet Yue just once ?"

    Rong Xinghe nodded ," Of course , I would like to teach her some tricks to annoy you. You are too calm. Just like your brother. There should always be a pebble to cause beautiful ripples in the calm water or it might get stagnated and that can be risky ."

    "Why do I suddenly feel like this was not a good idea ? ", Xi Fang sighed helplessly .

    "HAHAHA...Toote to back down. ", Rong Xinghe chuckled .

    Suddenly , a pair of strong arms touched the girl''s waist and pulled her against a firm chest. The man then turned her around and red at Xi Fang ,"Enough !"

    Why the hell were their conversation taking too long ?! And what was with all theughing and smiling ?! It was ''his'' birthday ...

    Xi Fang raised his hand in air gesturing his surrender and walked away. Do whatever you want now. No reason to be jealous of me just because I stole your woman for few minutes , brother !

    Rong Xinghe hadn''t seen thising. Did this guy really had to be so impatient and insecure ?! But that "Enough!" was so cute and charming .

    Xi Yuan held out his hand in mid-air as he gestured that he also wanted a couple dance.

    Rong Xinghe rolled her eyes. Childish !

    The girl then smiled and fulfilled the birthday man''s wish by cing her hand onto his. With all the special treatment , why was she suddenly feeling like it was her own birthday ?

 Chapter 167: "Why do our birthdays always end with this ?! "

    Chapter 167: "Why do our birthdays always end with this ?! "

    Soon , the party ended and all the Youth Team members headed back to their homes on a satisfied note. The Xi Trio also fell asleep as they were quite tired themselves. After all , they were responsible for sliding the notes anonymously and for keeping their brother in dark about the entire event from the beginning.

    Xi Wei had to be coaxed to sleep by Rong Xinghe , though. That grown up man had almost wept for the entire evening because his two brothers got to dance with his goddess before him. He wanted to have the first dance. Xi Yuan and Xi Fang were intending to kill him for his childish behaviour tonight but no one dared to touch him because he was under Rong Xinghe''s protection. How could she let anyone harm her cute little Panda ? Ultimately , Rong Xinghe promised him her first dance in the near future party and only then did the man calmed down.

    The interactions between the Xi Trio and their sister-inw could practically melt anyone''s heart.

    After he ensured that the three idiots were asleep , Xi Yuan silently read the medical reports of Xi Ying. He wanted to ensure that she waspletely fine now. Initially , after the kidnapping incident , Xi Ying had started to bottle up her feelings and merely talked to anyone and those were some strong symptoms of depression. That had given quite a fear to Xi Yuan. As a brother , he had his concerns.

    But thankfully , they had an angel like his woman in their lives. Rong Xinghe not only helped Xi Ying gain back her confidence by conversing with her daily , she even personally trained her in Taekwondo. Even when Rong Xinghe would go on confidential missions and could not reach to anyone , she would record her voice for everyday she would be absent. Everyday , William would give one voice recording to Xi Ying so the girl could hear her sister-inw daily.

    The three Xi men had no idea about the contents of the recordings but they had noticed Xi Ying getting better and stronger everyday. Their sister was even a Red Belt in Taekwondo now. Although she was the daughter of the Xi''s and always had bodyguards following her wherever she went , she could now protect herself as well.

    Now that he read the final reports , the man finally felt relieved. ording to Su Rogguang''s close friend , who was a famous counselor as well as psychologist , Xi Ying waspletely stable and fit now. Xi Yuan suddenly felt that he was indebted to his woman. He was grateful to the lovelydy whose selflessness was simply worth-worshiping.

    At this time , the man saw the lights of his room turned on. The man ced the medical reports on the side table and entered his room to find Rong Xinghe searching for something.

    "What happened ?", the man asked.

    Rong Xinghe kept on searching as she giggled ,"Just the usual theft. Searching for something expensive , you know ? Something like some money , your diamond watch or that unique jade brooch you have."

    Xi Yuan smiled when he heard the sarcasm in the girl''s tone ," What business file do you want , Xinghe ?"

    "How did you ...", Rong Xinghe covered her wide open mouth with shocked expression. She did wanted a file but didn''t wanted to spoil the man''s mood by talking about business.

    "I can read you , ma''jolie ."

    "Gwen group. I wanted to study about that before I decide anything about Zhou group.", the girl pouted.

    Xi Yuan took out a folder from a bookshelf and walked towards the girl ,"Here..."

    Rong Xinghe smiled and grabbed the documents. But before she could exit the room , Xi Yuan pulled her closer to him and hugged her in such a way that she could hear his heartbeat ," This was the best birthday I ever had. Thank you. "

    "AAAHHHH !", Rong Xinghe suddenly screamed in pain .

    Xi Yuan quickly released the girl from his embrace and looked at her worriedly ," What''s wrong ?! "

    It was now that the man saw cut marks on the girl''s upper back and shoulders. Earlier , she had opened up her hair in cindere hairstyle , so no one noticed the marks. But now that she had tied them in a pony tail , the red marks were clearly visible.

    Rong Xinghe bit her tongue when she saw the pained expression on the man''s face ," During one of the Military missions , I had to hide in the thorns. In order to protect my face and preventing my brothers to worry , shoulders and back were harmed but don''t worry. I will be fine. "

    But before she could say anything further , the man lifted her up swiftly in his arms andid her down on his king-sized bed ,"Don''t move ! Because if you do , I will take you directly to hospital and call your brothers. Do you want that ? "

    The girl shook her head like a rattle drum. She couldn''t let the six tigers know about this but currently , this man was being more of a paranoid than her brothers. She didn''t even got the time to react to his speedy actions.

    Xi Yuan took out an ointment from the drawer of his side table and sat down beside the girl as he helped her lean on him gently. Rong Xinghe''s back was facing Xi Yuan''s front and their position seemed like that of a loving married couple.

    When the woman realized their posture , she blushed slightly. But when the man enveloped his long hands around her and covered her with his nket , she slowly rxed and snuggled in his embrace. It was like they could fit into each other perfectly.

    Xi Yuan smiled when the woman adjusted her position without any objection. Neither did she retaliated or resisted his touch. She was pretty muchfortable around him and that was important for their rtionship to advance further.

    The man then started massaging the girl''s shoulders as he applied the ointment onto them.

    The more the man''s fingers ran across the girl''s shoulders and back , the more she rxed. She felt like she was in heaven all of a sudden. Could this man be any more perfect ? He was a legendary businessman , an amazing cook , a sharpshooter , a sweet talker , a ssy dancer , good with flirting , and now this ! She was actually feeling like all her pain was extinguishing at once.

    It was not just Xi Yuan who was curious about his woman''s talents. Even Rong Xinghe had the same curiosities about him.

    Soon , Xi Yuan was finished with massaging. He silently closed the ointment and adjusted the girl''s dress as it was an off-shoulder gown and had slid down slightly when he was rubbing her arms.

    The man always respected his boundaries and never acted recklessly around her and that made her admire him even more.

    Xi Yuan was about to call the girl when he realized that she had already fallen asleep in his embrace. The man smiled and pulled up the nket even more. She looked so alluring and bewitching in her sleep. Just like a warrior who had returned home after fighting some dangerous battles...

    The girl snuggled even closer to the man and hooked her arms around his neck as she mumbled sleepily ," Be my masseur as well. Not just ... bartender ."

    Xi Yuanughed when he heard the sleepypliment.

    The man then lovingly kissed the girl''s forehead , bridge of nose and then her lips , one-by-one ,"Sure !"

    Rong Xinghe furrowed her brows as she unconsciously grabbed the man''s cor and responded to the kiss passionately.

    Only when the two were out of breath did the girl softly punched the man''s shoulder ," Why do our birthdays always end with this ?!"

    The manughed and coaxed the girl back to sleep ," Because your silly admirer can''t control himself ! "

 Chapter 168: Time to take their doting one level up...

    Chapter 168: Time to take their doting one level up...

    Next day , Rong Xinghe got up to find herself in the man''s arms. The girl smiled slightly when she saw Xi Yuan sleeping like a child. He hadpletely locked her in his embrace as if he was afraid that she would run away. The man''s one hand was firmly holding the small of her back while his other hand supported her head on his arms.

    It was now that the girl observed the man from so up close. His toned and masculine body , his perfectly carved thin lips , his calm and unmoving eyshes , his breath against her cheeks , his cropped ck hair , his thin jawline and his long neck. Damn it ! This man was like a sculpture made by god himself. Rong Xinghe finally freed herself from the man and ced a cushion in his arms.

    But how could Xi Yuan not sense the absence of his Xinghe ?

    The man''sshes fluttered vigorously and his brows involuntarily furrowed as he opened his eyes ,"Where are you going ? "

    Rong Xinghe froze in her path when she heard the man''s deep yet raspy voice. Was he also a light sleeper like her ?!

    The girl turned around and shrugged helplessly ,"I have three brothers to get married , two sister-inws to take care of as my niece or nephew are waiting for their aunt and an entire country to secure. Of course , Zhi business empire is not going to run by itself , is it? "

    Xi Yuan''s heart ached when he thought about the responsibilities on his woman ," Can I help you with Zhi Business Empire ? I hate to see you like this."

    Rong Xinghe shook her head ,"Nope. All you need to do is guide me whenever I make reckless decisions. Of course , tea and coffee are appreciated as well. You are amazing when ites to that."

    _____________

    Rong Xinghe reached Military Chief Mansion to be weed by her six brothers. The scenario there was quite funny though. Su Rogguang was sitting on the couch as the five men and her three sister-inws were ring at him as if he had said something unexpected.

    "What happened people ?!", Rong Xinghe asked curiously.

    "He wants to marry ... ", Rong Xiao entered the living room as she cupped her own face with her palms in disbelief.

    "Really ?! ", Rong Xinghe was shocked. Not even surprised. Shocked !

    "Why are you all behaving like I can''t marry ? I have a girlfriend and I love her .", Su Rogguang rubbed his forehead tiredly.

    Why were everyone being so melodramatic ?! What was wrong with their heads ? This was not how everyone had reacted when Zhi Xi , Lu Wei and Zhi Bo had brought up the topic of marriage back then...

    "We are just having trouble believing that." , Lu Wei shook his head.

    "What is the trouble in believing that ?"

    "Uh...well... we thought that you were not straight ." , Mo Zixuan mumbled but his voice was loud enough for everyone to hear.

    Almost everyone in the living room covered their mouths with their hands as they looked at ''Media Ma'' Zixuan with horror evident in their eyes. Their faces had "You are so dead !" written all over them.

    Su Rogguang : "..."

    "You thought I was ... WHAT ?! Its not like being gay or lesbian is wrong in any way but how the hell did you all came to this conclusion ? ", Su Rogguang finally found back his voice after some awkward seconds of silence.

    "What can we do ? You always had boy friends since you were in school. Many girls proposed you and unted their bodies in front of you but you rejected them or ignored them. Even all your friends in hospital and university have been men." , Rong Xinghe pulled out her phone and showed a photo to the man before passing it to her sister-inws ," Your friend Robert in America had sent me this photo which clearly shows you sleeping with this James guy. What else do you expect from us ? "

    "I was drunk that night and we are wearing our clothes in that photo. How could you directly assume that possibility kiddo ?! ", Su Rogguang clenched his fists.

    "Don''t yell at us. You both are wearing couple T-shirts in that photo and ''LOVE'' is written on both the shirts. Moreover , even when you said that you had started dating Ching Tong , a female ; we thought that you were confused about your sexuality and needed time to deal with it. ", Zhi Al smirked at Su Rogguang.

    Rong Xinghe side-eyed the youngest man amongst her six brothers and rolled her eyes ,"What are youughing about , Bro Al ? If I hadn''t myself seen you kissing Feng Mian that day , I had almost believed that you were... um... Bro Rogguang''s love. After all , you two hang around with each other too much. I was actually confused about addressing you as my brother or brother-inw ! "

    Su Rogguang : "....."

    Zhi Al : "....."

    The remaining four men and fourdies : "HAHAHAHA !"

    Zhi Al : "You start staying away from me , Rogguang. My reputation is at risk. Moreover , what will Mian think if she hears about it ?! "

    Su Rogguang : " Same ! Tong won''t even marry me ."

    The family burst outughing again. Both Zhi Al and Su Rogguang were childhood friends , so it was only reasonable for them to have strong bonding. They were always teasing each other and it was impossible to understand about the things they talked. It was like they had their ownnguage.

    They were of the same age and naturally had known each other for years. But of course , Rong Xinghe was simply teasing her brothers.

    Rong Xinghe turned serious and approached Su Rogguang after the family was done with their chitter-chatter.

    The girl hugged the man ,"Are you sure about this ? It is an important decision ."

    The man nodded and hugged back the girl ,"Of course. I can tell that she is quite sensible ,passionate , smart , cheerful and understanding. It is extremely easy to talk with her and she is quite a strong-willed woman. Xinghe , shepletes me. Moreover , we have been dating each other for a long time now. I think I can open my life and my heart only for her."

    "Aaaa ! ", Ningtao , Songyan and Ruo Cy awed dreamily in unison after hearing Su Rogguang''s romantic speech.

    "Seems like I need to do something for you to awe our rtionship as well , Mrs. Cy ? Am I not romancing you enough ? ", Zhi Bo crossed his arms as he red at his wife making Ruo Cy blush.

    Lu Wei and Zhi Xi nodded as well. What the hell was that ?! It seemed like they needed to take their doting one level up.

    "Sigh ... young love ! ", Rong Xinghe shook her head helplessly as she acted like she was an oldie stuck between the hopelessly romantic youth.

    This girl ....

    Why was she like that ?

 Chapter 169: No limit to what we can achieve !

    Chapter 169: No limit to what we can achieve !

    After all the childish quarrels , Rong Xinghe ordered Lu Wei and Zhi Xi to put their wives to bed before they would start nning a proposal. Ningtao was eight months pregnant now and hence , got tired too easily these days. Meanwhile , Songyan was two months pregnant and her rest was important for the baby''s health and development. No matter what , nothing was more important for Rong Xinghe than her sister-inws'' health.

    The six men , Rong Xinghe and Rong Xiao first handled all the important work they had in their respective workces before gathering back together.

    Su Rogguang was a famous doctor and his personal life had always been in limelight since he was Su Family''s only heir. Su Family was a business family , yet Su Rogguang had followed his passion and joined medical field against his parents'' will. But Rong Xinghe was very dear to his parents and it was this girl who had convinced them about Su Rogguang''s true capabilities. So it could be said that Su Rogguang was sessful today because he had an extremely supporting sister by his side.

    Coming back to the original point , Su Rogguang wanted to make Ching Tong feel special. And hence , he wanted to keep media away from her on her special day. But they had to eventually make a public announcement as well. So ... Zhi Al suggested to upload the proposal video on social media. He was well-known to the world ofputers and knew the power of social media more than anyone. All the siblings ultimately decided to upload the proposal clip at the same time. There was no way , with their influence in Country X , that the video wouldn''t go viral.

    Of course , the proposal was going to be grand but it would only involve closed ones.

    Now all they had to do was to wait for Ching Tong to return back to Country X from Ennd.

    __________

    After handling everything at home , Rong Xinghe rushed towards military hospital.

    "Military Chief ! ", one of the soldier escorted thedy to general wards of the hospital.

    "How are the 118dies ? Are they fit to go ? ", Rong Xinghe asked Shou Wu as she followed the officer.

    After returning back from Syria , Rong Xinghe had provided proper medical treatment to the women she had rescued from the frightening web of sex very there. The women had suffered many internal injuries over the years and many had even lost the ability to bear a child again in their lifetime. But they didn''t cared about that anymore. After all , hoping for everything , when independence itself was their biggest dream once , was illogical. For them , the fact that they could walk and talk freely without any fear of being molested or killed , was already god''s biggest gift.

    And they knew only one god : Rong Xinghe.

    If it wasn''t for this one irondy , there was no way that they could have the life they were having. She was their inspiration who inspired them to be like her. But , in this world , there could be only one Rong Xinghe and they knew that ...

    "Yes Military Chief. They have recuperatedpletely. And we have got all the information about their native countries. They are free to go .", Shou Wu replied and entered the general ward corridor with Rong Xinghe.

    As soon as the woman appeared in thedies'' line of sight , all of them stood up from their beds and surrounded her.

    "How are you all feeling now ?", Rong Xinghe smiled warmly.

    "We don''t want to go, Military Chief .", a young girl sobbed ,"Can we not stay with you here in Country X ?"

    "Yes , Military Chief. We can even join your army if you want. We are willing to sacrifice our life for you. ", another woman in her early 20''s choked up.

    "We had been in that hell for 14 years now , yet our own countries never attempted to free us. While we were being defiled their everyday , our own nations remained silent. Our own kin didn''t cared about us , but Country X did. You did. We simply don''t know how to thank you , Military Chief. "

    "Indeed. We are indebted to Country X and you. No matter what we do , we can never possibly repay your kindness. You didn''t simply left us there after rescuing us. Instead , you are making sure that we return back to our countries safe and sound. You are a goddess , Ms. Xinghe. You have no idea about what you have done. "

    "We really don''t want to leave your side , Ms. Xinghe! "

    Rong Xinghe shook her head helplessly ,"Some goodbyes are inevitable. You all have shown immense strength by fighting back against those psychos for your honour in Syria. I am proud about that. And about your countries , its not that they didn''t cared about you. Its just that they are too weak in terms of strength tobat such deadly terrorist organizations. They appealed about you all to UNESCO many times , but many factors hindered your freedom back then. Your families are waiting for you. You should go back to where you belong.

    "And about thanking me , there is a way , in which , you can truly repay me ."

    "What is it , Military Chief ? "

    "Just order us. We will do anything you want ."

    Rong Xinghe patted a woman''s back and looked at everyone seriously ," Empower yourself. Help me make this world a beautiful and peaceful ce to live. When you go back to your countries , educate yourself further and encourage others to educate their kids as well. Education is an important weapon that helps us win many battles. Every battle doesn''t involve rifles , revolvers , grenades and explosives. Most of the time , wars are all about society''s narrow mindset that needs to be forced out as they are buried deep down like roots of a tree.

    "Just like every single drop makes the mighty ocean , every single resolute , educated , broad-minded person can join hands to make an harmonious world. I am a soldier and I know value of life more than anyone. Whilew safeguards life , education makes it better. We , the army , are not obsessed with wars. But until and unless terrorism exists , we are bound to prepare ourselves for the worst. I personally believe that education can help us eradicate terrorism as well.

    "Of course , education helps us eliminate other severe acts like murders , kidnappings , sexual harassments , robberies and many more. An educated person would never need to stoop low to these extreme levels. More than anyone , women need education the most in current society because they have more stronger emotional temperament than men. Men think about things , but women observe those things silently. And so , they can efficiently shape the situation as per the requirements. Also , if women understands the importance of education , they make sure that future generations get educated as well and hence , the cycle continues. Women need to empower themselves. No one hands over ''equal rights'' adorned in a tray. You have to snatch it.

    "Lastly , I will simply quote the words former firstdy of America , Michelle Obama once said. ''''There is NO LIMIT to what we , as women , can aplish. '''' Always remember that. "

 Chapter 170: Wasnt even able to recognize them

    Chapter 170: Wasn''t even able to recognize them

    When the 118dies listened every single word Rong Xinghe preached them with , their hearts were suddenly filled with a fiery determination. She was right. It was something that was worth thinking. Why did women always settled for something less , when they had the ability to achieve milestones? Why did they restricted their urge to do something they loved just because the society expected them to? Why did they never selected the option of rebellion that always awaited them ? Weren''t they themselves responsible for the situation they were in today ? Weren''t they themselves responsible to get up and jump back from the bottom of the pits ?

    Rong Xinghe was the best example standing in front of them. Although they didn''t knew about her past with Rong and Zhou family , they knew that the five year training of Military Chief of Country X was considered to be the toughest. Yet , here she was , standing tall as everyone respectfully bowed down to her.

    Wasn''t she also a woman just like them ? Yes , she was. But the difference was that she always knew what she was capable of. She knew how to fight her own battles and she never dreamed small. She was extremely ambitious and had the strong willpower to get what she wanted.

    There could never be a second Rong Xinghe. They could never be exactly like her but even if they could be one-hundredth of her , they would feel like they did justice to what she had done for them.

    "Don''t worry , Military Chief. We will definitely educate ourselves and make you proud. ", the young girl clenched her fist with a will running through her body.

    "Yes ! We will work hard on our dreams and achieve sess ."

    The other women also nodded in unison.

    Rong Xinghe smiled ,"Good. Very good. Keep this fire burning inside your hearts ."

    This was what she wanted. It didn''t mattered if it was Country X or any other nation , after the past with Rong family , Rong Xinghe hoped that no other girl would have to go through a childhood as terrifying as hers. She wanted every woman to be independent , strong and courageous.

    After sometime , the women left the hospital unwillingly as Country X''s Air Force personally dropped them to their respective countries to reunite with their families and loved ones.

    _____________

    Rong Xinghe continued her work in Military Chief Office and returned back to Elite Saphhire Penthouse in the evening with some files rted to Zhi Business Empire. She wanted to ask Xi Yuan for his opinions regarding a Polymer textilepany.

    Despite her protests , Xi Yuan had given a set of spare keys of his penthouse to her. So she simply unlocked the door and walked inside the living room to witness a cute scene.

    The four Xi siblings were sleeping soundly while Xi Ying''s countless dresses lied on the floor. Xi Ying had applied face mask and was having her beauty nap on sofa while the three men were sitting on the floor and had rested their heads upon the edges of the couch. It seemed like Xi Ying had an important event to attend and she had exhausted her brothers for it. The fatigued faces of the men exined it all. Maybe Princess Ying wanted the men to select a dress for her and men being men , they might have failed miserably.

    The girl tried hard to not burst outughing and covered her mouth with her hands quickly. Xi Yuan was looking the most helpless among the three men. This was what happened with her six brothers as well. She was not that much into fashion , but Rong Xiao was aplete fashionista. This scene was quite familiar to her because it had been happening more and more recently as that brat had been forcing them to shop with her.

    Suddenly , a mischief took birth in Rong Xinghe''s cunning brain and she indulged herself into the ''mission'' .

    ______________

    Evening , 7:30 p.m.

    Xi Ying rubbed her eyes sleepily and walked in the washroom to remove her face mask. But when she returned back to the living room , she froze on the spot and stared at the three sleeping men with a shocked expression. For sometime , she wasn''t even able to recognize them.

    "HAHAHAHA ! Oh god ... ! Who did this ? HEHEHE ! Ouch ! My stomach hurts. Ah! "

    The Xi brothers woke up with a jolt when they heard the scaryughter of Xi Ying. Normally , this sister of theirsughed gently and with an evident mannerism. But which demon had walked into her soul today ? Whoughs like that ?!

    Xi Wei confusedly turned around to look at Xi Fang and Xi Yuan and his eyes widened before he startedughing as well. Simrly , when Xi Fang looked at Xi Wei and then at the man beside him , he also broke into fits ofughter.

    Xi Yuan furrowed his brows when he saw his two brothers acting like maniacs and stood up to face the floor-to-ceiling mirror.

    All the three men were wearing feminine wigs and ''someone'' had done their makeup. That ''someone'' had even applied lipstick and eyeliner on their lips and eyes. For a split second , Xi Yuan didn''t even recognized himself. He stretched out his hand and helped his brothers stand so that they could see their own reflections in the mirror.

    Xi Wei and Xi Fang stoppedughing the moment they saw what had happened with them and started panicking instead ,"What ? Who did this ? Ying ! This better not be you. I will definitely kill you if you are behind this. ", Xi Fang roared at his stillughing twin.

    Xi Ying raised her hands in surrender ,"I didn''t ! I swear I didn''t. Why would I waste my makeup on you all ?"

    At this time , a smile appeared across Xi Yuan''s lips.

    The Xi trio were stunned when they saw the man smiling ,"What happened brother ?"

    "My Xinghe did this... ", the man shook his head helplessly and pulled off the wig ,"Ying , she might be in kitchen searching for food. Help her out. We three will freshen up ourselves first ."

    And the man''s guess wasn''tpletely wrong. After all , he knew Rong Xinghe too well. The girl was indeed stuffing chocte-almond cookies into her mouth while listening to the siblings'' reactions with a sense of satisfaction.

    Indeed , the littledy devil of the six men...

 Chapter 171: His ability to possess her

    Chapter 171: His ability to possess her

    Rong Xinghe was rendered speechless by Xi Yuan''s urate guess. He knew her so well ! Not only did he spected that she was the culprit behind the ''makeover crime'' , he even knew where she would be and what she would be doing.

    The girl quickly jumped back into the kitchen. After everything she had done , eavesdropping was thest thing she wanted to get caught for.

    Soon , Xi Ying entered the kitchen and hugged her goddess ," Xiao Xinghe ! How are you ? Any special reason to grace us with your presence ?"

    Rong Xinghe giggled and pinched the girl''s nose ,"I was missing my darling ."

    "Stop calling me that ..."

    "Why ?"

    "He gets jealous easily !", Xi Ying pointed her chin towards Xi Yuan''s wall frame.

    Rong Xinghe squinted her eyes at Xi Ying and the girl zipped up her mouth. From past few days , the Xi trio had started to tease her about her rtionship with their brother. She had even twisted Xi Wei''s ears so hard once that he was about to die by the pain. But the Xi trio refused to back off. As stubborn as their brother !

    "Military Chief , can you tell me about face block technique ?", Xi Ying changed the topic to Taekwondo.

    "Hmm... Its basically useful for weapon defence. If you ever get attacked by something like a wooden stick , brick or iron rod , the first body part you should protect is your head. Look how it is done. ", Rong Xinghe swiftly took the position and started exining about it to the girl ,"Shoot your arm up at and angle it , stopping it just over your brow. It should look like a roof or a church steeple. This makes strikes nce off. Understood ?"

    "Like this ?", Xi Ying followed Rong Xinghe''s directions and took the position.

    "Yep. Just like this. You are a good student. All you Xi siblings are. ", Rong Xinghe smiled when she thought about Xi Yuan. Lu Wei and Zhi Xi also believed that Xi Yuan was the most brilliant businessman they had ever seen. He was a fast learner and was quite talented with no matter what he did.

    Rong Xinghe came out of her thoughts when a pair of strong arms grabbed her waist and pulled her against a built trunk of the body. The woman was taken aback by the man''s actions. Why was he like this ? Why did he always hugged her like that ?!

    This brutal disy of affection was enough for the Xi trio to understand their brother''s gestures and run out of the ce.

    Xi Yuan inhaled the unique scent of his woman before whispering in her ears ,"Why are you so obsessed with cross-dressing , Lu Xi ?"

    Earlier when she was doing the makeover of the three men , Rong Xinghe felt that it was quite thrilling. But now that the man mentioned it , she felt a chill run down her spine ! Was he angry ? Well... it was understandable if he actually was.

    "Sorry ", Rong Xinghe looked down guiltily.

    Xi Yuan turned the girl around and looked at her threateningly ,"Do you really think that a sorry can fix that ? I want somepensation."

    "Huh ?!", panic filled the girl''s eyes ,"I ... oh !"

    Next second , Xi Yuan shifted the girl''s hands behind her back and held them tightly with his one hand while his other hand grabbed the small of her back and supported her. The man looked into the girl''s eyes and brushed his lips against hers unwilling to part from her. The man only showed some mercy when the girl was out of breath. But before the girl couldin , another kissnded on her naked shoulder as she was wearing an off-shoulder crop top. The intensity of the man''s kisses increased slowly as his lips traveled the perfect path from her shoulders to her soft spot below her ear.

    Rong Xinghe simply didn''t knew how to react. Why was she feeling so...plete ? She knew that she had started having feelings for him. But whenever he touched her like that , she felt like he was akin to some poison. He was like a drug that had the ability to possess her. He was like thatst piece of puzzle thatpleted her. His every touch , his every word and his every smile left a deep impression on her heart.

    The girl simply closed her eyes and savoured the man''s intimate touches silently and willingly. She submitted herself entirely to him. Neither did she made any movement , nor did she hindered any of his actions. For once , she allowed him to do whatever he wanted to do to her.

    Xi Yuan''s lips curled upwards slightly when he realized that the girl had surrendered herselfpletely to him. Her silence meant her consent.

    This was the most addictive thing about her. This woman always knew what his heart and soul craved for. He was leaving for Ennd next day and wouldn''t be able to return back for few days.

    Business needed him but he needed his Xinghe. He couldn''t ask her to go along with him because she was focused on Country X currently. So he wanted to get every little thing he could.

    But he knew he would be unable to control himself if this went any further. It was true that he wanted to make love to her. It was true that he wanted to touch every curve of her body. But he was determined to restrain himself until she epted himpletely.

    He wanted her to know that he cherished her presence , not her perfect figure. He wanted her to know that he valued her opinions and not just her body.

    Xi Yuan brought his mouth towards the girl''s right ear and bit her gently around the small ck mole , just behind the ear.

    "Ah !", Rong Xinghe red angrily at the man. She hated it when people touched her hair , cheeks and this little ck mole. How dare this man bit her there like this ?!

    "This is your punishment !", Xi Yuan smirked ," Don''t cross-dress me again ."

    As soon as the man freed the girl''s hand , she grabbed his cor angrily and whispered back ,"I will avenge myself soon ."

    Xi Yuan froze when he heard the girl''s words. Wasn''t her tone a little.. seductive ?

    If her payback was going to be something like that , he was more than willing to get punished !

 Chapter 172: How could his woman be manipulated so easily ?

    Chapter 172: How could his woman be manipted so easily ?

    Just when Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe were indulged in their eye-lock , Xi Wei creepily crawled inside the kitchen and stood between them as he faced his to be sister-inw. It was now that Rong Xinghe noticed the man and fixed her gaze at him.

    "Little Panda. What happened? Why are you here?", the woman asked.

    "How could you do that to me, my goddess ?! What would my girlfriends have thought of me if they had seen me like this ?", the manined.

    "HEHEHE. I am sorry. I wronged you.", Rong Xinghe patted Xi Wei''s back ,"Let me make my special choco-vani cupcakes for you as an apology ?"

    Xi Wei was just waiting for this bribe all along. So just like a little puppy , his eyes brightened up and he nodded his head vigorously. His goddess was brilliant at cooking and he was her personal taster.

    But at this time , he felt that the temperature of the room was falling down rapidly. Crap ! How could he forget the existence of this jealous and possessive , wife-doting devil behind him? Xi Wei could sense the man staring daggers at him. Involuntarily , a chill ran down his spine and his back stiffened.

    Xi Weiughed nervously as he removed Rong Xinghe''s hand resting on his shoulder and swiftly ced it on Xi Yuan''s shoulder ,"Please continue ! I will prepare the ingredients !"

    Xinguan : "....."

    Shortly after , Rong Xinghe was discussing business matters with Xi Yuan and the Xi trio were stuffing their mouths with the delicious cupcakes. After sometime , Rong Xinghe''s phone rang.

    The girl picked it up and heard Mo Zixuan''s subordinate''s panic-stricken voice ,"Ma''am ! Boss is extremely angry. He is quarreling with Cheng Tai. It is about you. Could you pleasee here at MZX News headquarters ? We are afraid that he might take some rash decisions."

    Rong Xinghe''s brows furrowed as she took some seconds to digest the wordspletely. Why would her brother argue with his girlfriend all of a sudden ? And even if they had some disagreements , Mo Zixuan was not the type of person who would create a scene in front of the entire office. Unless a certain bi*ch was involved...

    "Is the argument initiated by your Chief Operating Officer He Chen ?", Rong Xinghe asked.

    "I don''t know what happened Ma''am but Cheng Tai started using Mr. Mo of impartiality and even disrespected you which resulted into Boss''s extreme reaction. But yes ! This happened only after Cheng Tai stepped out from COO He Chen''s office.", the junior reporter informed.

    As expected of that psycho woman , Rong Xinghe thought.

    "I aming. Keep it confidential. MCST is not going to be with me and I don''t n on attracting danger for you all.", Rong Xinghe hung up after saying the words and turned around to look at the man beside her ,"I don''t think I will able to take my revenge just yet. HEHEHE ! Will you drop me at MZX Headquarters? I need to make some calls in the car , so I won''t be able to drive."

    "Is that even a question?", the man picked up the car keys.

    ______________

    Meanwhile , In MZX Channel HQ :

    "Zixuan ! Why are you acting like this , nowadays? When Ms. He suggested to promote me to Senior Reporter, why did you refused ?! Where is your professionalism ? Just because she was your ex-wife doesn''t mean that I have to suffer. Or do you think that I am not capable enough?", Cheng Tai shouted angrily.

    " Don''t mix your professional and personal life. I have a valid reason to refuse the proposal. I am not underestimating your capabilities. I simply believe that you need to experience more groundwork before you step into those big shoes. Its a huge responsibility , after all.", Mo Zixuan replied calmly and red at He Chen standing behind Cheng Tai ," Ms. Chen is COO and I am the Editor-in-Chief as well as CEO of MZX. She is simply here to take care of the business but I am the one calling the shots here. I naturally know what is right for this channel."

    Mo Zixuan was a very professional person. One could say that Rong Xinghe had learnt the skill of separating professional and personal life from this man. Even though Cheng Tai was his girlfriend in personal life , he treated her like his any other colleague in professional life. And it was due to this fair mindset of the man , that the entire MZX bowed down to him and never felt wronged. They also had no opinions about his rtionship with Cheng Tai.

    But right now , he was very disappointed in this woman in front of him. How could she not distinguish right from wrong? How could she allow He Chen to manipte her? How could his woman be manipted so easily?

    "So you are trying to say that I can not take this ''huge responsibility''?", Cheng Tai raised her voice ,"Don''t you dare tell me about professionalism, Zixuan. You yourself involve your sister in your professional life. Why do you keep the information she gives to you to yourself ? Don''t you know that such information can increase MZX''s TRP ?! Yet , you do everything she tells you. Are you her puppet !?"

    The moment Cheng Tai mentioned Rong Xinghe , every staff and employee in MZX gulped nervously and fixed their gazes on Mo Zixuan. Entire Country X knew how much the six men doted on their sisters.

    Moreover , almost everyone knew that Rong Xinghe was a woman with high moral ground and that she had never been involved in anything indecent. Yet , Cheng Tai was making it sound like the Military Chief of the nation was doing something improper and a man as righteous as Mo Zixuan was covering for his sister deliberately.

    As expected , Mo Zixuan''s gaze turned a few shades darker and a certain level of coldness started radiating through his body. The man looked like he had just appeared from hell and things were about to get ugly.

    Mo Zixuan reverted his gaze back at Cheng Tai from He Chen as he said in a threatening tone ," Ms.Tai , I suggest that you take note of every word you say. Don''t say anything you would regretter."

    But Cheng Tai was still oblivious of what was going to happen next. It was not she didn''t sensed Mo Zixuan''s change in expression. It was just that she decided to ignore it.

    "What did I say wrong? Not only did your sister created misunderstanding between you and Ms. He Chen back then, but she also forced you to divorce her. Is this what you would do to me as well one day? Then... aren''t you just a puppet of hers?! "

    Mo Zixuan nced at He Chen and lifted up his head akin to a demon ," Cheng Tai , did you really confronted her about my past ? And worse , you seem to have trusted her story already. Did you even considered to look at the second face of the coin ? Did you even thought about listening to my side of the things ? After all , you are in a rtionship with me. Not her."

    Cheng Tai was not in her right state of mind and didn''t sensed the disbelief and disappointment in Mo Zixuan''s voice as she broke thest straw of their rtionship ," What is there to talk to you about ? Isn''t what Chen Jie told me the truth ? That Rong Xinghe has tied you around her little finger, Zixuan ! Are you blind ? You know what , He Chen is right. Your sister is a measly person worse than the wolves ! She is quite ungrateful for what you six people have done for her. Thankfully , you all weren''t unlucky enough to be blood-rted to her."

    "Enough ! ", Mo Zixuan finally exploded. There was no need for him to maintain his calm anymore. Especially , for the people who looked down on his kiddo and questioned the validity of his rtionship with her.

 Chapter 173: "I was an orphan but she gave me a family ! "

    Chapter 173: "I was an orphan but she gave me a family ! "

    It was now that Cheng Tai realized what she had said just now. She suddenly felt like she had distanced herself too apart from Mo Zixuan. The man in front of her didn''t looked like the person she knew. There were no traces of usual care , love and gentleness in his eyes. Instead , the way he shouted was enough for everyone to tremble in fear !

    Even the employees of MZX felt that Cheng Tai had gone too overboard with her words. She had literally stepped onto Mo Zixuan''s bottom line. How could a brother hear such wrong usations against his own sister ?

    While on the sidelines , He Chen''s lips curled up in mockery. This was what she wanted all along. She had deliberately pulled the strings to be the Chief Operating Officer of MZX after she got to know that Mo Zixuan was also working there. Earlier , when she was in a marital rtionship with him , situations were quite different from what they were now. Now , Mo Zixuan was a big name. He wasn''t a nobody anymore and was capable enough to change the direction of winds in Country X , as well as the entire world.

    How could she not want to get back with a man as sessful as him ?

    But when she joined MZX , she found out that Mo Zixuan had moved on and was dating Cheng Tai. She was obviously not going to let Cheng Tai snatch away what was hers once. But thankfully , this woman was gullible and naive. She purposely got on her good side and made Cheng Tai believe that she was quite impressed by her. But it wasn''t easy to fool her. Cheng Tai was a smart journalist and had followed Mo Zixuan for many years. Mo Zixuan was an inspiration to every journalism student in Country X. Naturally , Cheng Tai was a die hard fan of this brother of Rong Xinghe. But the reason behind his divorce with He Chen had always been unknown.

    After ensuring that Cheng Tai trusted her more than Mo Zixuan , He Chen cried her eyes out and made up a false story about her and Mo Zixuan''s past. She used Rong Xinghe of spoiling her rtionship with the man she once ''loved'' and Cheng Tai trusted her with that as well.

    She knew that this was the end of Mo Zixuan''s rtionship with Cheng Tai because even today , this man loved and valued his sister the most. Now she could cling onto this man again...

    Meanwhile , Mo Zixuan didn''t cared about what He Chen was thinking. He knew this woman too well. The fact that she was the one who had imnted such views about Rong Xinghe in Cheng Tai''s mind wasn''t hidden from him. But even then , this was the reality that Cheng Tai trusted an outsider more than him and that she had allowed He Chen to manipte her herself.

    But who did they thought he was ? And how dare they look down on the person he loved the most ?

    "Cheng Tai , you have no idea what that girl has done for me. Then how dare you disrespect the Military Chief of Country X ? Who gave you right to defame the highest authority of this nation ?! And who allowed you to question her importance in my life ?! ", the man roared.

    " Let me tell you that I wouldn''t have been alive today , if not for her. I wouldn''t have been the ''Media Ma'' Mo Zixuan today , if not for her !

    "There was a time when I was almost killed by my Uncle after my parent''s death in a bomb st. I was lying in an unknown street with blood flowing through my head as I was attacked by an Iron rod. That old Uncle of mine had hit me because I was a burden for him. At that time , I had epted of it as my end. But then , an 8 year old girl rushed towards me and begged the people around to take me to the nearest hospital.

    " This 8 year old girl was Rong Xinghe. The '' measly person worse than a wolf '' , Cheng Tai ! I went into aa and doctors were uncertain of my survival. But that little girl fought with her own ''blood'' family just so she could stay by my side. When I woke up from thea , this little girl was reading her story book to me. You know what was the first word she said to me when she saw me conscious ? She addressed me as her BROTHER !

    "What do you expect our rtionship to be after all that ?! You think that she is ungrateful ? Please ! I was the helpless one and I am the one indebted to her. Not the other way around.

    "I was an orphan but she gave me family. In fact , she is my only family. Of course , I wasn''t as lucky as Lu Wei or Zhi brothers to have her in my life , since the time she was a baby. But she is an angel who brightened up my life the moment she stepped into it ."

    When the employees heard the touching story behind Rong Xinghe and Mo Zixuan''s strong bonding , tears welled up in their eyes. They had never expected the man to have such a horrid and dark past. After everything this man had went through , it was only obvious for Mo Zixuan to dote , respect and value Rong Xinghe. After all , the brother and sister had stood by each other in their toughest times. No wonder the eight siblings shared such understanding.

    Of course , Cheng Tai also realized her mistake. She had indeed not considered the option of listening to his side of story. And now that she knew about his past , she felt terrible.

    But now that she looked at Mo Zixuan , his eyes were empty. It was almost like he was void of any emotion. Talking about his childhood must have had been tough for him. After all , he had almost witnessed death. What more , she had literally forced him to open up about it.

    It was only natural for him to hate her after what she had done. A fear crept into her heart when she realized that her actions today had destroyed many things between her and Mo Zixuan.

    Moreover , she had even judged Rong Xinghe wrongly. There was a reason that the six men doted on her so much. They didn''t just loved her. They respected her and valued her every opinion. Most importantly , she had saved Mo Zixuan when she was merely 8 years old. She even took care of him when he was ina.

    At this time , a voice resonated from the direction of MZX studio entrance.

    "Brother !"

 Chapter 174: "Even if he cant hit women , I can "

    Chapter 174: "Even if he can''t hit women , I can "

    "Brother !"

    At this time , Rong Xinghe entered the office and rushed towards Mo Zixuan followed by Xi Yuan. Concern was clearly visible on her face.

    The moment the office staff saw the legendary Military Chief and Business King Xi Yuan walk through the doors together , they were shocked to their cores. Wh..What was happening ? Were they really watching these two legends from so near ?

    Mo Zixuan was also taken aback when the familiar sweet voice fell upon his ears. The man turned around to look at the girl and then nced at the man behind her.

    One look into Mo Zixuan''s eyes and Rong Xinghe knew that the man was angry. But when a woman like He Chen was present in his workce , what else was expected ?

    She didn''t bothered saying anything to him and simply hugged him. The girl closed her eyes and rubbed her brother''s back gently ,"Its all fine ."

    It was now that Mo Zixuan''s empty eyes showed some traces of warmth , affection and care. The cold aura around him slowly extinguished and a genuine smile appeared on his face. This brat sure knew how to pacify him. The man stretched his hands around the girl''s shoulders and rubbed her head lovingly. He then separated her from himself and kissed her forehead tenderly.

    "Hmm. Its all fine ."

    All the subordinates were rendered speechless by the influence and impact the girl had on their boss. No wonder she never epted his interviews. She knew very well that he would go easy on her.

    The man then turned around and looked straight into his girlfriend''s eyes.

    "Zixuan... I... ", Cheng Tai was suddenly afraid by the man''s gaze.

    Mo Zixuan took a deep breath ," You were right. I had indeed called off my marriage with He Chen because she had also stepped on my bottom line just like you did today. But many things happened before that. s ! You chose to trust a woman like her. Your actions today have forced me to think if we ever had trust between us.

    "So today , Xinghe has said nothing to me. Yet , I have decided to end our rtionship here. I can''t spend my life with a person who can''t distinguish between right and wrong or who doesn''t know how to respect their partner''s privacy. Moreover , you''d rather trust an outsider than me. So this is it. This is the end ."

    Without caring about anyone else , Mo Zixuan turned around to face his princess ,"Let''s go home ."

    The girl rubbed the man''s shoulders ," Are you sure about this ? I mean... breakup ?"

    She obviously knew how important Cheng Tai was for him. He had never been that happy in his life before but after this woman''s arrival , he had been socializing more often. She had noticed that he was genuinely attracted to her.

    "Not everything in this world has a happy ending , kiddo .", the man cupped the girl''s face and smiled but his actions couldn''t hide the pain in his eyes from the girl.

    Meanwhile , every journalist in the office was moved by this beautiful bond of the siblings. It was like this man saved his caring and soft side only for this one individual. The ''Media Ma'' who had destroyed so many politicians , businessmen and celebrities ruthlessly , actually doted on his sister so much !

    Rong Xinghe fixed her gaze on Cheng Tai and then at He Chen before she calmly passed the car key to the man ," Wait for me in the parking. I need to make somethings clear , once and for all ."

    Mo Zixuan naturally understood what his sister meant. After all , she hated He Chen more than anyone else. And now that He Chen had caused misunderstanding between him and Cheng Tai , this girl was not going to go easy on her.

    So he simply nodded his head and walked out. He really wanted to escape this disgusting environment as soon as he could.

    ____________

    Xi Yuan was there to protect his woman and remained silent all along. But he didn''t left her for even a second. After all , the ce where they were standing was the turf of media. MZX News Channel was the most trusted information source currently and every person here was an intellectual. Anybody could be fooled , but not the reporters. Most importantly , as dignified and respectable journalist Mo Zixuan was , not everyone could match up to him. The media was always known to be scary as it had the ability make or break a person. He and his woman were quite famous in country X , so he had to keep his guards up.

    There was no way he was going to allow anyone to harm Rong Xinghe''s reputation. So just after Mo Zixuan left , a team of bodyguards jumped into the office premises and ensured that no one was recording anything.

    He was her silent protector , after all.

    Rong Xinghe didn''t bothered talking to Cheng Tai and decided to confront He Chen first.

    On the other hand , every office staff was terrified by Rong Xinghe''s cold approach. It was now that they realized that this woman was even more dangerous and scary than Mo Zixuan. She was simply staring daggers at He Chen , but even their bodies had started to shiver involuntarily. Coldness , contempt and disdain were radiating through her body and she looked akin to a tigress protecting her family that had been hurt.

    The woman approached He Chen and smiled icily ,"Did I allow you to reappear in his life , Ms. He ?"

    "Lets be professional Ms. Rong. I ampletely focused on business here and wish the best for Mr. Mo and Ms. Cheng .", He Chen quickly put on an innocent exterior as if she was oblivious to what was happening.

    "Of course you wish good for him !", Rong Xinghe rolled her eyes ," I have no time for your games , COO He. All I want you to know is that my brothers are my bottom line. You hurt them and I hunt you to the end. Trust me , I have my ways to handle slu*s like you. We weren''t able to y the game 6 years ago properly but no worries. I will bloody hell finish it this time. Last warning. Stay as far away from my brother as you can. Even if he can''t hit women , I am excellent withbats ."

    The girl''s voice was so cold that no one even dared to utter a single word. The most shocked was obviously , Cheng Tai. Why was Rong Xinghe so resentful towards He Chen ? And what exactly had happened 6 years ago ? Now that she thought about it , Mo Zixuan had broken off his marriage six years ago. What was the reason behind their divorce, though?

    Rong Xinghe slowly closed in on the shivering He Chen and whispered in her ear in a threatening tone ," If my brothers can''t protect themselves , I will protect them. Always remember that , Bi*ch !"

 Chapter 175: "He doesnt hate you"

    Chapter 175: "He doesn''t hate you"

    He Chen clenched her fists and red angrily at Rong Xinghe. How dare this woman appear again in front of her ? After some seconds , He Chen''s lips curled up in mockery ," What can you do without evidence , Military Chief ? Or are you oblivious to who my father is ? "

    "And are you oblivious to who I am ?!", Rong Xinghe roared ," Trust me when I say this. I can destroy you in seconds , Ms. He. Don''t force me and stay away from Bro Mo. I still have all your recordings."

    "You wench ! ", He Chen lost her temper and raised her hand to hit Rong Xinghe.

    But before she could do anything , Xi Yuan grabbed her hand forcefully and twisted it making her scream in pain.

    The man looked like a King and his presence was so intimidating that almost everyone were feeling suffocated by it. After his public dance performance with Rong Xinghe at Zhi Bo''s wedding , entire Country X knew that he was a close acquaintance of hers. The public had even given them a couple name : Xinguan !

    So it wasn''t odd for them to appear together.

    But now that they were witnessing the man''s protectiveness for her , they realized that he was way more frightening than what he really looked like.

    "You do know that attacking the Military Chief of Country X is a severe crime , don''t you Ms. Chen ? Military protocols states that the attacker is to be sentenced to death. Stay low. ", the man said calmly as if he was discussing a business deal.

    "Apologies , Mr. Xi. ", He Chen couldn''t provoke this man , no matter how angry she was. After all , getting on his bad side always had dire consequences.

    Xi Yuan released the woman and stood behind Rong Xinghe again. He was simply there to protect her. Other than that , his woman was free to y this cat and mouse game for the entire night.

    Rong Xinghe looked helplessly at the man ,"I could''ve done that myself ."

    The man shrugged nonchntly and pointed towards his head ,"Brain''s reflex actions."

    Rong Xinghe had already said what she wanted to say to He Chen. So she turned around and gazed at Cheng Tai. The woman was sobbing. She was so broken that even her shoulders were trembling. She was currently feeling like she had lost the most precious person in her life.

    Rong Xinghe grabbed her hand and dragged her towards the exit under the confused gazes of the entire office staff. What did the Military Chief wanted to talk about to Cheng Tai ? Or maybe... she was angry ?

    ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

    As soon as the two women exited the viewers'' line of sight , Rong Xinghe released Cheng Tai''s hand and turned around to re at her ,"Do you know what you have done today ?"

    "I...I am sorry ...", Cheng Tai broke down.

    "Are you sure you are a journalist , Ms. Tai ? As far as I know , being gullible , naive and impulsive is thest thing your profession demands. ", Rong Xinghe ran her hands through her hair.

    "But.. I really didn''t thought... that he shared such a ... bond with you. I am really sorry. Actually , before Zixuan , I was in a rtionship with a university friend. At that time , I had fallen blindly for him. But he was just ying with me. I was so head over heels in love at that time that I refused to listen to anyone talking bad about him. I never allowed exterior factors to hinder my love. But he tried to molest me on convocation day and a professor rescued me. It was a traumatic experience. Ever since that happened , I paid a lot of attention to what others said about my closed ones. I have this fear that my enemies are disguised as my friends and they can hurt me anytime.

    "When He Chen told me that Zixuan can leave anyone for you , I was scared and I... But now I know how wrong I was. I am so so sorry !", Cheng Tai kept on crying.

    "I don''t care what you think about me. I really don''t. All I care about is my brother''s happiness. He genuinely likes you Cheng Tai. How could you trust that bi*ch over him ? Tai , Bro Mo has always cared about mutual trust in rtionships. He has always been quite sensitive about it. But he isn''t wrong. I personally believe thatmunication is the key in a rtionship. Without listening to his story , you chose to trust He Chen and went ahead to use him wrongly. That He Chen yed you. All along , she had wanted to separate you and brother and you were stupid enough to let her have her way. She might be able to fool this entire office , but I know her very well. She has a purpose and you are helping her fulfill it !", Rong Xinghe said.

    "Does this mean she wants to... ", Cheng Tai was suddenly hit with a realization.

    "Yes. She wants to get back with Brother. And thanks to you , she might as well do it now..."

    It was now that Cheng Tai finally understood what was happening. So all along , He Chen had a purpose and that was the reason behind all her sweet talks. No wonder Mo Zixuan had reminded her again and again to not believe a word she said. This pair of brother and sister were more familiar with He Chen and yet , in the end , she had wronged them.

    Rong Xinghe sighed when she looked at the woman in front of her. Earlier , when she had asked Xi Yuan to drive so she could make some calls , it was for this particr reason. She had called Mo Zixuan''s friends to know about Cheng Tai''s character and personality. Actually , Cheng Tai was a very sweet and righteous person. But her father was a martyr who had died serving the nation when she was five years old. From childhood , she was an insecure child and only had a single mother by her side. So it waspletely understandable for her to develop a fear of losing Mo Zixuan when she was so attached to him.

    Rong Xinghe had gotten her four brothers married before this. Just like this , Zhi Xi and Songyan also used to have lots of trust issues. But it were these misunderstandings that strengthened their rtionship further. Every love story had its uniqueness and not everyone were perfect. This was what she understood very well.

    Mo Zixuan was very sensitive about her and Rong Xiao but she couldn''t ignore the reason behind Cheng Tai''s reaction. Her trust had been broken once because she didn''t listened to the people outside her rtionship. This time , she simply didn''t wanted to repeat her mistake.

    She knew that Cheng Tai didn''t mean ill for Mo Zixuan. It was just that her insecurities , jealousy and loneliness had overpowered her trust for him.

    The girl took a deep breath and continued ," Also , being a Military Chief , there are many things that needs to be kept confidential. It is only natural for me to trust him with some information and not everything is done for the sake of benefit of a news channel. Mo Zixuan is a citizen of Country X first , and ''Media Ma'' after that.

    "Rest assured , I am not a ''measly person worse than a wolf'' and I am not involved in anything indecent or improper. And yes , Bro Mo is too brilliant to be someone''s puppet. ", Rong Xinghe smiled.

    Cheng Tai was already feeling guilty for what she had said about Rong Xinghe in front of everyone ," I am really... "

    "I don''t want to hear a fourth sorry now. Its fine. Being from media , your tongue is meant to be sharp. But you have really angered my brother this time , Cheng Tai. It won''t be easy to melt him again. He doesn''t open up his heart that easily .", the girl said as she massaged her left shoulder.

    "You still want to help me ? ", Cheng Tai was shocked.

    "I have noticed how pained he was just now. He doesn''t hate you. He is simply disappointed. Moreover , I can see that you truly love him. Being a cupid for the six men , I know it when the love is in the air .", Rong Xighe closed her eyes tiredly ," Of course , I will help you. "

    Rong Xinghe was a very selective person. She would never allow just anyone to enter her family. But if she did , then it meant that only that person was worthy enough to stand by her brother. She had an eye for people and her judgements were rarely wrong. Zhou Che was the only exception. Back then , she had fought for months with Mo Zixuan when he had decided to marry He Chen. But her opinions about Cheng Tai were different.

    She wasn''t going to allow a single misunderstanding to harm her brother for his entire life. She wasn''t going to let her brother be deprived of the love he deserved.

    On the sidelines , Xi Yuan swiftly stood behind the girl and helped her rest her head on his shoulder before he started massaging her palms. Why was this woman tiring herself out like that ?

    Cheng Tai was rendered speechless by the actions of the man ,"You both are in a rtionship ?"

    "No. But I am trying to make her fall for me.", Xi Yuan smiled. If his Xinghe was allowing Cheng Tai to enter into her brother''s life , then there was a high possibility for them to be rtives soon.

    Cheng Tai smiled when she saw Rong Xinghe roll her eyes ," Hope we both get sessful in our respective missions."

    "Of course ! ", the manughed.

 Chapter 176: Behaving like a married couple

    Chapter 176: Behaving like a married couple

    "You are not angry with me ?", Cheng Tai asked regretfully. By the way Rong Xinghe was thinking rationally in such a situation when her brother was hurt so deeply , she felt that she had wronged Rong Xinghe too much. This woman knew what her brother needed and understood him more than anyone else. Yet , she had went ahead and insulted the person Mo Zixuan cherished the most in his life.

    Rong Xinghe smiled ," I have a big family. 6 brothers and 3 sister-inws. The people standing outside our home can never understand why we share such strong bonds. After all , sess wasn''t served in a silver spoon to any of us. We all had to fight for it. During those struggles , whenever one person stumbled , other family members would help him stand up stronger than ever.

    "All the six of my brothers , Xiao and I have walked through many storms together. Naturally , when you spend time with someone for so long , you tend to understand them more with every passing day. So those times resulted in our current bonding.

    "Now , supporting each other during tough times has be a habit. No matter how stupidly any of us acts or how much hurt any of us is , the other seven are always there backing him or her up.

    "But don''t worry. If you don''t want Bro Mo to stay by our side , then I can definitely convince him. He has never had a family. So all I want is that he gets a woman who loves him. I want him to have children so that he can live his childhood with them. Even if that happiness costs me my rtionship with him , I am willing to do that.

    "He loves you and I know that you are perfect for him. Regarding your words earlier , I don''t expect my sister-inws to respect and love me. I want them to give all of that to my brothers. So don''t worry , you are free to have opinions about me."

    Cheng Tai remained silent after that. She was not able to even utter a single word as tears welled up in her eyes.

    She was wrong !

    So so wrong...

    No one could love and respect the six men more than this girl and Rong Xiao. She was not ungrateful. In fact , she valued them the most. She was even willing to sacrifice her rtionship with her brother if it could bring him happiness. Rong Xinghe was really an ideal sister.

    It was now that she understood why Mo Zixuan was so attached to her. No one could ever match up to her in terms of selflessness. Even though she was the highest authority of the Country , she disregarded her every security protocol and rushed to the office as soon as she heard that her brother needed her. She only had these six men in her life , but she was tough enough to let them go so that they could have a warm and happy family.

    Of course , Xi Yuan was thinking the same. He had seen this amazing woman in a new light today. He felt that he was really lucky to meet her in this lifetime.

    "I don''t want to separate you from him. He can never live without you , Xinghe. Every time he talks about you , his eyes are filled with pride. If I do something like that , I am worse than a monster. ", Cheng Tai looked at Rong Xinghe with determination in her eyes.

    She would rather sacrifice her life for this girl from now onwards.

    A sensible person would be smart enough to not repeat their mistake. And she was sensible.

    "Then you should hang out with my sister-inws more often. They will tell you how they met us. You will get to know us better. And about brother Zixuan... I have my ways. Just do what I say and everything will be fine.", Rong Xinghe winked mischievously.

    She was the littledy devil , after all.

    Su Rogguang would get married soon. Zhi Al was also having a healthy rtionship with Feng Mian. Only thisst brother of hers was left. But unfortunately , he was very stubborn. So she had to make this boat of love sail herself.

    So much hardwork to do !

    _____________

    Soon , Rong Xinghe discussed her n with Cheng Tai and returned back to the parking lot. Mo Zixuan was still waiting for her in the car ," What took you so long ?"

    "I was handling your ex-fiancee. She is such a pain , Mr. Mo !", the girl pouted as Xi Yuan helped her take seat beside her brother.

    "I am leaving for Ennd tomorrow. Better take care of yourself and call me if you face any issues. Okay ? ", the man reminded the girl with a smile.

    Rong Xinghe nodded ,"Take good care of yourself too."

    Mo Zixuan : "....."

    Why were they both behaving like a married couple ?

    As soon as the car touched the road , Rong Xinghe turned around to face the man beside her ," Cheng Tai is not wrong , brother !"

    "I don''t want to talk about it , Xinghe .", the man focused on the road. The day had already been quite exhausting for him.

    "What a childish and obstinate man !", the girl humphed and crossed her arms angrily.

    "What did you just say , kiddo ? ", Mo Zixuan red at the girl. Was she for real ? Who sympathizes with a person who has just went through a breakup like that ?

    "Stop the car!", Rong Xinghe screamed and Mo Zixuan hit the breaks hurriedly.

    "What happened ?!! "

    The girl turned around as her eyes were shining ,"Wait for me. I will be back. "

    "H..Hey ! Where are you going ?! "

    ___________

    After sometime , Rong Xinghe came back and took her seat again. She was having a bottle of Whiskey in her hands.

    "Here !"

    "Why this ?"

    "Drink all your pain brother! Breakup sucks. I know !", Rong Xinghe patted the man ,"Drink it all up. I will drive."

    After some seconds of silence ,

    "HAHAHA .... Kiddo , you are so cute.", the man pinched the girl''s cheeks.

    "Hey! Don''t touch my cheeks ", the girl cupped her face.

    "I am not that weak , brat. I don''t need alcohol to support me.", the man rubbed the girl''s hair lovingly ,"Moreover , I will never drink in front of you."

    Rong Xinghe smiled. She had always seen her brothers as her idols. To her , they were perfect. They knew she didn''t liked it when they consumed alcohol as she had her concerns for their health. Most importantly , they didn''t wanted to tarnish their image in front of her by loosing control. So normally , they avoided drinking in front of her.

    He was hurt by Cheng Tai''s opinions about him and his kiddo , but he was not going to concern the girl over it. After all , everything had already ended.

    Only if he knew that the littledy devil had other ns.

    But before solving the problem with Cheng Tai and Mo Zixuan , this family was going to face the most frightening storm of their life...

 Chapter 177: The matchmaking duo: Rong Twins

    Chapter 177: The matchmaking duo: Rong Twins

    "Then... should I drink for you ? ", the girl looked at the bottle in her hand with excitement.

    Mo Zixuan snatched the bottle away from girl ," Nope ! "

    " Fine ! ", Rong Xinghe rolled her eyes and leaned back on her seat.

    The man remained silent in order to not wake up thedy devil. He could tell that she was tired and that made him feel guilty as he was the one who had made her worry for him.

    He hated it when anyone reminded him of the truth that this girl wasn''t rted to him by blood. After so many years , the eight siblings had gotten used to the way they lived. As a one family.

    Today , Cheng Tai''s words had really impacted him. He was a strong man and didn''t showed his weakness in front of the office staff. But her every word was now resonating in his ears. This was exactly what had happened 6 years ago.

    He was desperate for love and family. So when he met He Chen , he thought that it wouldst long. But he was wrong. It was the most horrible time of his life.

    In this expect , he and Rong Xinghe were quite simr. They both had made wrong decisions in their life. He had selected He Chen and she had fallen for Zhou Che back then.

    He was an idiot to not trust his kiddo at that time. She had warned him to be cautious of that woman. But he didn''t do that... Thankfully , he left her at the right time.

    Soon , the car entered Elite Residences :

    Mo Zixuan realized that the girl was already asleep. He smiled and poked the girl''s cheek so she could wake up.

    "Don''t you dare wake me up or I will kill you !", the girl warned in her sleepy state.

    Mo Zixuan raised his brows ever so slightly when he heard the cute ''threat''. She was indeed tired. So being a sister-doting man , he himself put her to bed and covered her up with a nket.

    "Thanks for being there , kiddo.", the man kissed the girl''s forehead and left the room.

    "Wee...", a smile appeared across the girl''s lips as she closed her eyes again. How could she sleep in rxed manner without ensuring that her brother was alright ?

    ______________

    Next day :

    Mo Zixuan was being ''take care of'' by the five remaining men. Breakup was a big event amongst the eight siblings , so...

    Zhi Al : "Its okay , bro. Although you are not as handsome as me , you are still approachable. Date another girl."

    Su Rogguang : "Here ! Tissues. Cry as much as you can. Don''t bottle up the pain Zixuan."

    Zhi Xi : "Exactly ! You are still 29. One of my colleague got married at the age of 42. Its not toote. "

    Lu Wei : "Yes man. We are with you. Don''t even think about suicide or something. And if you feel depressed , we have Rogguang. He will counsel you. Although not more than our wives , but we still love you. "

    Zhi Bo : "He is right. Do you need something ? Some breakup cards , flowers , or poetry. I can even paint some painful paintings for you so that you can ease your heart."

    Mo Zixuan : "...."

    Ningtao shook her head helplessly as she climbed down the stairs ,"Could you guys just let him be ? Don''t tease my brother-inw like that anymore."

    Rong Xiao quickly helped the eight month old pregnantdy get down safely and Ningtao smiled at her.

    "All you care about is your brother-inw ? Mrs. Lu , that is injustice to me. ", Lu Wei crossed his arms as he red at his wife.

    "Are you jealous Mr. Lu ? ", Ningtao giggled and kissed the man''s cheek lovingly , earning a satisfactory smirk from him.

    "Damn it ! ", Rong Xinghe stumbled over a coffee table and fell down ,"Could you two just get a room ? This romance is blinding my eyes !"

    "I know , right ?", Rong Xiao rolled her eyes ,"How could they be ruthless enough to show their PDA in front of Bro Mo ? "

    "Guys ! I am not that depressed.", Mo Zixuan sighed.

    "Hey ! You should be sad. You have just broken up. ", Zhi Al fumed up at the man.

    "Exactly ! We love to give free advice .", Zhi Bo also joined in.

    The entire family burst outughing. This was how they all were. Good or bad. Always together.

    ___________

    When the family was indulged in teasing Mo Zixuan , sound of heels approaching them resonated throughout the hall.

    The moment Rong Xinghe heard the sound , her lips mysteriously curled upwards as she nced and winked at Rong Xiao. The Rong sisters had already plotted a nst night.

    After all , it wasn''t just Rong Xinghe''s duty to matchmake their brothers. Rong Xiao was as good as Rong Xinghe at this.

    As soon as Mo Zixuan saw who had walked in , he choked on his ss of water and started coughing heavily. What the holy hell ?!

    Cheng Tai wasyered up in a ssy business suit designed by Van Heusen as her hair were tied in a pony tail. Her lips were beautified by cherry red colored lipstick and she radiated a perfectly professional aura.

    She looked so beautiful that Mo Zixuan''s mind went nk for a second as he couldn''t process anything. He even forgot that he had broken up with her at that time.

    But... what was she doing here ?

    Cheng Tai looked at Mo Zixuan''s fatigued face which made her heart ache for him. She had hurt him so badly that he didn''t even slept for the entire night. How could she be so cruel to the person she loved ?

    But as informed by Rong Xinghe , she reverted her gaze back to Rong Xiao and walked towards her ,"Here are the files you asked for , Ms. Xiao."

    "Just Xiao is fine.", Rong Xiao smiled cheekily.

    Cheng Tai then turned around and elegantly greeted every legend present in the room.

    Mo Zixuan looked down after sometime as he calmly asked ,"What are you doing here , Ms. Tai ?"

    Cheng Tian was slightly saddened by the man''s actions. He didn''t even bothered to look at her and even addressed her so formally. Did he hated her so much that he didn''t even wanted to see her face anymore ?

    Rong Xiao noticed the tears welling up in Cheng Tai''s eyes and answered on her behalf ," Bro Mo , you remember that you had transferred 13% shares of MZX Networks to me and Xinghe ? Well... Xinghe said that I should start from there. Only then can I help her in managing Lu , Zhi and if possible Rong Corporations in future.

    "So I have decided that Ms. Tai will be my personal assistant in MZX. Don''t worry. She will be your journalist as well. I won''t borrow her for too long. Do you have any issues with it ?"

    The moment Mo Zixuan heard Rong Xiao''s exnation , he reflexively looked at Rong Xinghe. He knew what they both were upto.

    Rong Xinghe smiled innocently ,"I had no idea that Xiao had selected her. Moreover , be professional , Mr. Mo."

    Professional ? My foot !

    He knew very well why Rong Xiao had developed interest in business overnight... Brats !

 Chapter 178: "Do you love Mr. Xi Yuan ?"

    Chapter 178: "Do you love Mr. Xi Yuan ?"

    Mo Zixuan shook his head helplessly when he saw the determination in the Rong twins''s eyes. He should have seen thising when Rong Xinghe had tried to convince him about Cheng Tai''s innocencest night. Even so , he couldn''t scold them , neither could he question their intentions. But he truly wasn''t prepared for this at all.

    The man picked up his ck zer and walked out without saying anything to anyone.

    The five men had been noticing the familiar gazes of the two girls till now. This was not happening for the first time in the family.

    Back then , Songyan had also wronged Zhi Xi and had realized her mistake after that. Just like this , these twins had jumped into action at that time as well. And that was how Songyan had bonded with her two sister-inws so well.

    Zhi Xi nced at the woman sleeping in his arms lovingly. He was very thankful to the Rong girls for this. He didn''t even wanted to see Songyan back then but they both refused to budge. Luckily , he had these two silly sisters by his side.

    Now , he was married to her and was going to be a father soon. That momentary anger could''ve had snatched this eternal happiness from him.

    "That love is killing me , Bro Zhi !", Rong Xiao acted as if she was stabbed in the heart.

    Zhi Xi looked at Rong Xiao and smiled ,"Its your fault for being single."

    "Ouch !", Rong Xinghe also made a gun with her fingers and pointed it towards heart ,"So ruthless!"

    Cheng Tai smiled as she saw the warm and harmonious interaction between the siblings. These five legends were nowhere near what they looked like in front of media , when they were facing these two girls. Zhi Xi was known to be a cold and unapproachable person to the outsiders but that wasn''t the case currently. Rong Xinghe was right. The people standing outside their home would never understand why they were so close.

    Ruo Cy cleared her throat and red at Rong Xinghe as she asked seriously ,"Are you sure about this ? Do you think he is ready ? "

    "No. He is not. But this is a good way for us to know each other. And I know how to melt him. Don''t worry.", Rong Xinghe reassured.

    Ningtao walked towards Cheng Tai with Lu Wei''s support and looked directly into her eyes ," Did you insulted Xinghe in front of the entire officest night , Ms. Cheng ?"

    Cheng Tai felt uneasy when Ningtao mentioned her actions from thest night. Most importantly , the frightening presence of Lu Wei was quite intimidating already. He was standing in front of her and was so calm that even his silence was scaring her.

    She had just gotten the glimpse of love in the family and knew very well that everyone here doted on Rong sisters the most. When it came to this particr group of people , blood rtions didn''t mattered. Their hearts were connected and that was already enough for them.

    So she looked down and nodded her head guiltily.

    The five men still didn''t reacted in any manner. If Rong Xinghe wanted her in Mo Zixuan''s life , then that meant that she was trustworthy. And they had all seen what type of person He Chen was six years ago. They didn''t actually med Cheng Tai for what happened. Misunderstandings were possible sometimes in rtionships and they understood that.

    Ningtao took a deep breath and patted the woman''s shoulder ," Come with me outside. I want to talk to you about Zixuan. Cy , you alsoe with me. Let Songyan sleep."

    Cheng Tai nced nervously at Rong Xinghe and the girl nodded with a smile ," She won''t kill you. But being my first sister-inw , she is experienced with us more than anyone. So just listen to her advice."

    Cheng Tai then smiled and followed the two women outside the living room in the garden.

    "What do you think they will talk about ? ", the gossipy Zhi Al asked.

    "Just that she needs to understand the importance of these two brats in our life.", Zhi Bo pointed towards Rong Xinghe and Rong Xiao.

    "Who did you called brats ?!", Rong Xinghe pulled up her sleeves and passed a pillow to Rong Xiao.

    "Hey ! Don''t... ", Zhi Bo tried to dodge but the war had already begun.

    Soon enough , the ''silent'' pillow fight came to a start as Songyan was still asleep in Zhi Xi''s embrace.

    ______________

    After sorting out everything with her brothers , Rong Xinghe got back to Military Chief Office.

    "So , what is the next target , Military Chief ?", Shou Wu asked.

    "Hafiz Al-Magdosh !", Rong Xinghe said as she stretched and arched her body backwards.

    "Military Chief. You know that he is quite scary. Fooling that Hassan Imaz was swift for you but this man is not obsessed with women. Moreover , his security is always taken care of , so not everyone can get close to him. And I hope that you won''t go there personally , boss. We were worried sick about youst time.", Shou Wu wiped off the sweat on his forehead with a tissue.

    "Officer , being the youngest Military Authority of the world , many people tends to look down on me. I don''t want my colleagues , my militaryrades to look down on me as well.

    "If I won''t personally involve myself in such dangerous missions along with them , they will think that all I do is order around and have no ground experience. I want them to know that their leader is standing beside them and not above them. I want them to know that I will fight with them and not sacrifice their lives to adorn my shoulder with more badges.

    "You can already see the changes in Army after I killed Hassan Imaz. The military is working more efficiently with each passing day. They feel like they are not looked down upon by anyone. What is wrong in me personally going on these missions then , Assistant Shou ?"

    It was now that Shou Wu understood the reason behind Rong Xinghe''s actions. Her brain was so sharp that no one could catch up to her easily. Everything she did , she did it for a reason and that reason would always be revealed in the end.

    But yes ! There was one person who could see through this mysterious woman without putting in too much efforts. And that person was Xi Yuan. He never had any problem in understanding her. It was like Rong Xinghe was an open book in front of him.

    Xi Yuan had visited Military Chief Office many times regarding Youth Team and NGO. Shou Wu had noticed thatpared to others , Rong Xinghe was more vulnerable and carefree around him. She wouldn''t be too cautious in his presence.

    "Boss , may I ask you something ? ", Shou Wu smiled.

    "Hmm"

    "Do you love Mr. Xi Yuan ? "

    Rong Xinghe almost fell down back while stretching when the old guy mentioned Xi Yuan and love in one sentence out of nowhere.

    She turned around and red at him ," If I say yes , will you call the priest and Civil Affairs Officers to get us married ? If not , please get back to work. "

 Chapter 179: " You should see us when we fight !"

    Chapter 179: " You should see us when we fight !"

    Meanwhile , at MZX Headquarters ;

    Rong Xiao entered the office premises along with Cheng Tai and directly headed into the meeting room. The staff had never seen Rong Xiao because she had been away from the limelight for too long. But for some unknown reason , she had a unique captivating personality. Unlike Rong Xinghe , she didn''t radiated a Queen like intimidating and domineering aura. Instead , she was like a kitten. Cute until not provoked but when angered , she could bite hard.

    Ultimately , just in a single day , Rong Xiao befriended even the peons and cleaners in the office. They became her die hard fans and did everything she told them to do. One junior reporter even spilled coffee on He Chen''s clothes because Rong Xiao expressed her displeasure about He Chen''s behaviour.

    He Chen was quite angry because she knew that Rong Xinghe was behind all of this. She was deliberately doing this and had nted this bomb named ''Rong Xiao'' in the office. What more , the only man who could control her refused to evene out of his office. Mo Zixuan stepped out only when he had to read his news bulletin. Other than that , he mailed the work schedule to the staff from his office itself. He knew what the brat was doing but he had no intention to talk to Cheng Tai afterst night.

    Rong Xiao smirked when she observed her brother''s escapist tendency regarding the situation. Mr. Mo Zixuan ! Hide as much as you like. I am not going to budge from here as well.

    No one could question the girl because she was currently the 13% shareholder there and represented Rong Xinghe as well. She herself had 7% shares and Rong Xinghe held 6% shares in the channel. Rong Xinghe had given all rights to her so that she could stay there for as long as she wanted.

    " Xiao. Your brother hasn''t eaten anything since morning. Go and talk to him. ", Cheng Tai was concerned about her man the most , so she mentioned her worries to Rong Xiao.

    "Ah... sister-inw ! You love him so much. He must be an idiot to not see that.", Rong Xiao smiled dreamily.

    " I am not your sister-inw. We... broke up. In fact , he doesn''t want to see me anymore.", Cheng Tai reminded the girl sadly.

    Rong Xiao shrugged nonchntly ," Its just a matter of time , sis-inw. Xinghe likes you and she is amazing at reading people. She can tell about a person''s character after the first two minutes of meeting.

    "So if she likes you , only you are deserving enough to enter the family. Her instincts are never wrong. Also , we both know how to handle these six men."

    "She is your twin. Are you not angry about how I disrespected her.", Cheng Tai asked confusedly.

    "Exactly ! We are twins. You should see us when we fight. We are worse than cats ! Ready to tear each other apart. Brothers literally lock themselves into their rooms when we both argue. So obviously , I have no issues with someone insulting her.", Rong Xinghe chuckled.

    Cheng Tai : "....."

    "Besides... ", Rong Xinghe looked up from the documents on the table ," If it was so easy to harm the reputation and honour of Xinghe , she would have never had been the highest Military authority of Country X in the first ce."

    Cheng Tai now understood what Rong Xiao meant. Rong Xinghe was so high above everything that it was practically impossible to bully her. She was akin to a tigress , a Queen. That woman was like a mighty warrior : selfless and courageous. The deadlybination of beauty , brains and bravery was what she was.

    With the position she held and with the personality she had , insulting her was like pping own''s face.

    ____________

    Meanwhile , Rong Xinghe was standing by theke outside the forest in the suburbs of City A. Many Special Forces Soldiers were also standing in a straight queue behind her.

    Rong Xinghe turned around to face the officers ," So , for how long can you hold your breath in water ? "

    "5 minutes , Boss !"

    "4 minutes 23 seconds , Ma''am !"

    "6 minutes 12 seconds , Military Chief ! "

    One by one , the soldiers shouted out their record to the woman and Rong Xinghe nodded at everyone ," Do you all know what is my record ?"

    One of the soldiers in histe 20''s raised his hand and spoke up when Rong Xinghe gestured him to speak ," You have the highest in the history of our army , Military Chief ! It is 17 minutes 39 seconds."

    The woman nodded and swept her eyes across the crowd ," Pick up the heaviest rifle Schwerer Gustav of our base and jump into thiske with it. It might be difficult to reach 17 minute mark. But none of you are allowed to go ahead with your training until you stay static and fixed for at least 14 minutes 30 seconds. Am I making myself clear ?"

    The soldiers quickly followed the orders and returned back with the heavy weapon ,"Yes , boss ! "

    "Louder ! ", Rong Xinghe raised her voice.

    "Yes , Boss !!", the officers roared back.

    "Now."

    And the soldiers jumped in. This was Rong Xinghe''s personally trainedbat unit and was known as "Dragon Rage". It contained almost 150 soldiers with extraordinarybat , shooting and defence skills. But as to why she was preparing this mini-force in the military , the reason was still unknown.

    When the soldiers were practicing inside theke , Rong Xinghe''s phone rang up with a video call request. The caller ID belonged to Daniel Wilson. This man was another member of Youth Team and was a close friend of Rong Xinghe.

    He also had a twin sister. Isabe Wilson. She was quite close to Rong Xiao while Daniel clicked well with Rong Xinghe. These two were the only pairs of twins in Youth Team.

    The Wilson twins belonged to an American political family and were family friends with the Rongs. That was how they knew each other.

    Isabe Wilson was a Cardiologist and being two years older than Rong Xiao , she was an inspiration as well as help to her. Simrly , Daniel Wilson had been serving American Armed Forces for sometime now , just like Rong Xinghe. He was now expected to contest the uing elections in America but he wasn''t paying too much attention to it. He wanted to enjoy his freedom.

    "Speak ", Rong Xinghe came straight to the point and the blue-eyed man frowned.

    "Won''t you bow down to your grandpa , Xinghe ?! That is so disrespectful of you.", the blonde-haired Daniel chuckled.

    "Bye "

 Chapter 180: A frightening dilemma for the family !

    Chapter 180: A frightening dilemma for the family !

    "Bye ", Rong Xinghe was about to disconnect the call but Daniel quickly pleaded to her ,"No-no... wait ! This is a life and death situation ! "

    "What is it ?! ", Rong Xinghe yelled.

    Daniel quickly switched his phone camera and a young woman sitting by the bar appeared on Rong Xinghe''s screen ,"I want to hook up with her tonight. Tell me some killer pickup line to impress her !"

    Of course , this was the ''life and death'' situation. Moron !

    "Take the ss of wine she has just ordered to her and say ,''I deliver your wine , you deliver my baby '' Hmm ? ", Rong Xinghe remarked sarcastically.

    "Okay ! Sorry for irritating you earlier. Please be serious.", Daniel sighed. This girl was really short-tempered.

    Rong Xinghe took a deep breath and said ," Go and sit beside her. Make small talk to her first. She will ask you what your pickup line was. That is when you smirk at her , look into her eyes and say ,''You are so beautiful that I forgot my pickup line'' Got it ? "

    "Are you sure about this ?!", Daniel scratched his head confusedly.

    "Go ahead , Daniel."

    Daniel nodded and handed his phone over to his friend before following the girl''s indication. And to his shock , every single thing happened ording to Rong Xinghe''s script. The woman asked him about his pickup line and when he repeated Rong Xinghe''s words , the woman blushed.

    The woman even herself passed the duplicate key of her hotel room to him before exiting the bar shyly.

    "How do you even do it ?!", Daniel asked in amazement to Rong Xinghe.

    "I am Lu Xi , the pervert Lu Xi. My experience speaks. You go and enjoy the night. I have work.", Rong Xinghe finally ended the call .

    Well... That was true. Lu Xi was indeed skilled with wooing women by his charms. Rong Xinghe had also helped Su Rogguang and Lu Wei impress Ching Tong and Ningtao.

    Rong Xinghe was ady of propriety but Lu Xi , her male identity was adykiller and a heartthrob!

    _______________

    In the evening , Rong Xinghe was sitting in her office reading some documents rted to Zhi Corporation when her phone rang up.

    "Military Chief ! Please reach Military Sanatorium as soon as possible.", one of Rong Xinghe''s subordinates said with traces of anxiety in his tone.

    Rong Xinghe pinched the space between her brows ," What''s wrong , Officer Chu ?"

    " Boss , Mr. Lu Wei and Mrs. Ningtao have just met with an ident. I am currently in the ambnce with them. I am afraid that the baby in Mrs. Lu''s womb... ", the soldier hesitated to say any further.

    But as soon as Rong Xinghe heard the word ''ident'' , an unknown fear spread across her heart. Just yesterday , everything was fine. She was even teasing Ningtao and Lu Wei about how tiring it would be for them to handle the baby , but today...

    How did things turned out to be like this suddenly?!

    Rong Xinghe got up from her seat and headed towards her car ,"How is the situation currently ?"

    "Both Mr. Lu and Mrs. Lu are unconscious. The ident was quite destructive and massive. Even Mr. Lu''s security staff were harmed pretty badly.", officer Chu replied.

    "Who the f*ck was behind this ?!", Rong Xinghe clenched her teeth as she drove out her car from the office premises.

    "I don''t know the name of the attacker , Boss. But he had also fainted and it seemed like he was drunk. So we are taking him to the hospital as well. You can deal with him when youe here.", Officer Chu informed.

    Rong Xinghe disconnected the call and quickly got in contact with Su Rogguang ,"I want the best gynecologists in Country X in 15 minutes at Military Sanatorium. Anyone you know ?", Rong Xinghe directly came to the point.

    "Ching Tong is currently the best but she won''t be back from abroad for few more days. I have another friend , though. What''s wrong ?", Su Rogguang was sitting in front of a patient when he received the call.

    "Tell your friend to report to Military Sanatorium as soon as possible. Sis-inw Ningtao and Bro Lu have met with an ident just now.", Rong Xinghe quickly exined.

    Su Rogguang took some seconds to digest the news but as soon as he came back to his senses , he reassured the girl and hung up the phone. He then excused himself from the patient and contacted every influential medical personality in country X he was acquainted with.

    _________

    When Rong Xinghe reached the hospital , she was informed that Ningtao was taken into Operation Theatre and that the ident was so fatal that the baby needed to be delivered as soon as possible. Unfortunately , Ningtao could not give birth normally anymore because she was injured and unconscious and waiting any longer could put both the baby and mother''s life in danger.

    On the other hand , Lu Wei''s torso was hit in the sh and a lot of blood had flowed through his body as well. But he was out of danger and could get back his consciousness at anytime. He was shifted into a private ward and Zhi Xi and Zhi Bo were by his side.

    Soon , Su Rogguang''s close friend , who was a skilled obstetrician , approached Rong Xinghe after diagnosing Ningtao ,"Military Chief. I am afraid that we will have to go for Caesarian operation. The patient is in quite a weak state. Also , this surgery is going to be veryplex. There are chances that we might be able to protect only the mother or child. Since Mr. Lu is unable to take a decision currently , you will have to decide as the closest person to the patient.

    "I will try my best to save both the mother and the child. But if the worse case scenario takes ce , whom should I save ? Mother or the baby ?"

    Rong Xinghe was in a dilemma. She never expected the things to get to this point. She was eagerly waiting for this baby. The entire family was waiting for it. But Ningtao was someone they could never hurt. After all , Ningtao was all that Lu Wei wanted. To him , no one was more important than his wife. Moreover , she loved her sister-inw as well.

    Rong Xighe took a deep breath and finally looked at the elderlydy doctor ,"Go ahead and save the mother if situation gets out of hand. Ningtao is akin to oxygen to my brother. He will die without her."

    The surgeon was taken aback by Rong Xinghe''s decision. In most of the cases , it had always been the baby that the families prioritized. After all , they cared about their descendants more. But the firmness in this woman''s eyes provided an unknown determination and courage to her. She would try herst bit of skill to save both the mother and baby now.

    As soon as the obstetrician entered the O.T. , a tear rolled down Rong Xinghe''s cheek. This was not what Ningtao deserved. Why was this happening to her brother and sister-inw ?

    After sometime , Officer Chu approached Rong Xinghe and she wiped away her tears. After some moments of silence , Rong Xinghe clenched her fists ,"Did you got the name of the attacker ?"

    Officer Chu nodded and passed the driving license papers , retrieved from the car that had shed with Lu Wei''s car , to Rong Xinghe.

    Rong Xinghe''s palm sweated the moment she read the name of the driver ,"Zhou Che" !

 Chapter 181: "Lu familys flesh and blood is in danger because of him !"

    Chapter 181: "Lu family''s flesh and blood is in danger because of him !"

    The moment Rong Xinghe read Zhou Che''s name , her gaze turned a few shades darker as she clenched the papers in her hands tightly. Her eyes were so fierce that the fire inside them alone was enough to burn a hole in those documents.

    The woman''s blood boiled up as rage and a sense of destruction seemed to emerge out from her body. Even the MCST staff standing behind her didn''t dared to look at her as they could feel the coldness from their boss. This kind of blood lust could be seen in Rong Xinghe only when she was about to kill a terrorist or a traitor. They all were Special Forces officers and were skilled with swiftbats , yet , even they were intimidated by Rong Xinghe''s current reaction. Naturally , they were pitying Zhou Che internally , who had brought upon himself his own merciless ruination.

    "Where is he ?", the woman asked coldly.

    Officer Chu wiped the sweat from the corner of his forehead and replied nervously ,"He is currently unconscious and is admitted in general ward. His family has been informed and they are on their way. They are bringing theirwyers along with them as well."

    The temperature of the hospital corridor dropped down further a few more degrees when the Zhou family was mentioned. Her aura was so domineering and overbearing that even the hospital staff around her were feeling suffocated by it.

    Rong Xinghe took a deep breath before she pulled out her phone as she dialed a number while muttering some words under her breath ,"Brave of them to assume that merewyers can save them after this."

    As the call got through, a man''s dangerous voice came through the other end ," Hey Boss ! We thought you have forgotten your ves after five years of Military Chief training. What is it that you need us for ?"

    "Keep tabs on every fricken'' member of Zhou family. Don''t even spare the newborn babies from this particr family n. We are not going to kill them but we will definitely give Zhou Che the fear of his life. Understood ?", the woman said without wasting anytime.

    "On it , Military Chief !"

    Rong Xinghe then made few more calls and ensured proper arrangements to deal with the Zhou family before she stepped into Zhou Che''s hospital ward.

    "Zhou Che , you have forced me into the dead end today. If anything happens to sis-inw Ningtao or the baby , I will tell you what real revenge actually looks like. You made me personally enter this battlefield and when Rong Xinghe counter-attacks , it is not a measly revenge. It is bloody damned war !"

    The girl left the room after saying these words to the unconscious man.

    ____________

    Soon , Zhou Che''s parents arrived at the hospital and entered their son''s room. As soon as Mother Zhou saw Zhou Che lying pale-faced on the cold bed as a bandage was wrapped around his forehead and blood stains were clearly visible on it , her eyes welled up with tears.

    "My son ! Che , please get up ! Don''t leave your mother like Zhichen did. Please my boy , I beg you.", Mother Zhou held onto Zhou Che''s hand and started crying hysterically ,"I have nothing to do with that wench Xinghe. All I want is my son , safe and happy. He can''t leave me."

    "What are you weeping for ?! He ispletely fine. Just an ident.", Father Zhou yelled at Mother Zhou ,"Do you even have any idea of what this idiot has done ? He has put a pregnant woman in danger ! Ningtao can lose her baby and all you care about is him. Open up your eyes and see what he has be. He is blinded by his revenge , Mrs. Zhou !

    "Do you really think that Lu family will go easy on us after what he has done today ? The headdy of the Lu family and their heir or heiress is in danger because of him. Moreover , you have no idea about Lu Wei''s dark schemes. That man dotes on his woman too much. And don''t forget that Rong Xinghe is quite ruthless herself. Don''t support him today. I am afraid that the eight siblings won''t stay silent for too long after what your son has done."

    "All you care about is that Xinghe. Look at our son. He is so much hurt.", Mother Zhou screamed at Father Zhou and turned to facewyers standing by the door ,"Do all you can but I want my son safe. No one should be able to touch him. Not even the police.

    At this time , Zhou Che opened up his eyes and looked around ,"Why am I here ?"

    Mother Zhou was about to talk to the man but Father Zhou stopped her and made him sit forcefully on the bed despite Mother Zhou''s pleas. He was not going to go easy on this fool anymore. He told Zhou Che everything about what was happening and how serious Ningtao''s condition was.

    But the moment Zhou Che heard Father Zhou''s words , he fell into a panic ,"What ?! How could I do this ? I have no grudges against Mrs. Ningtao. Yes , it is true that I wanted to harm her brothers. But I could never stoop so low , dad. I don''t even know how I got drugged. I was simply driving when I noticed Lu Wei''s car and decided to follow it all of a sudden. But I can''t clearly remember anything. All I remember is that I was in a bar drinking whiskey.

    "I never expected Mrs. Lu to be in the car and I never thought that something like this would happen. I.. I don''t know how this..."

    PAK !

    At this time , Father Zhou pped Zhou Che hard on the face and Mother Zhou rushed towards her son to defend him ,"Don''t be too ruthless to your own flesh and blood !"

    "Lu family''s flesh and blood is in danger because of this psycho. I don''t care about his stupid exnations. All I know is that , he indeed decided to follow Lu Wei''s car. You really think I believe his stories ?! I am ashamed of you , Che !", Father Zhou roared.

    The husband and the wife started quarreling while Zhou Che remained silent and clenched his fists. Did he actually do that ? But he had simply consumed one ss of whiskey. He wasn''t drunk enough to act so recklessly. He wanted to avenge Zhou Zhichen but not like this. He didn''t wanted to kill her brothers or her sister-inws. In fact , he was himself not clear about what he had really done.

    But right now , he had more important concerns on his mind...

    "Where is Xinghe ? Is she fine ?", the man spoke up after sometime and looked at his father.

    "She is here but is currently waiting outside Operation Theatre for her sister-inw''s news. I am telling you Che , if anything happens to that baby or Ningtao , I will never acknowledge you as my son again.", Father Zhou scoffed.

    But the moment Zhou Che heard Rong Xinghe''s whereabouts , he disregarded everything and got down the bed. He didn''t knew what got into him , but he separated the IV drip connected to the back of his hand and rushed out of the hospital room while stumbling to exin everything to the girl.

    For some unknown reason , he felt like he needed to apologize for what he did. Even if he was himself confused , this incident involved two lives and that wasn''t a joke. What more , both the lives at risk were Rong Xinghe''s closed ones.

    Mother Zhou and Father Zhou tried to stop the man but their efforts were in vain. The man was too determined to listen to anyone else.

 Chapter 182: "Dont punish daddy like this !"

    Chapter 182: "Don''t punish daddy like this !"

    Meanwhile , it had been seven hours since Ningtao was in Operation Theatre and there was still not a single word from the surgeons. Lu Wei was still unconscious and had no idea about the pain his wife was going through. Lu family elders had also arrived and were chatting with Su Rogguang about the medical procedures. As the grandparents and inws , they had their own worries.

    Simrly , Songyan , Ruo Cy , Feng Mian and Rong Xiao were also present. After sometime , the door to the O.T. opened and Su Rogguang''s close friend walked out.

    Rong Xinghe looked at thedy expectantly ," How is she ?"

    The obstetrician removed her mask before saying ,"The mother is safe. But the baby..."

    "What about the baby ?", Rong Xiao asked.

    "The baby didn''t responded like normal infants when it came out. It didn''t cried and its pulse rate is too low. I am sorry to inform this but the chances of survival of the child are quite slim. We will have to run some tests on the baby before Ie to any conclusions. Till then , the baby needs to be shifted to ICU ward. The nurse is bringing the baby out.", the surgeon exined.

    This news was really devastating for the entire family. Songyan even started crying. She was pregnant and knew what connection a mother had with her unborn child. Just how would Ningtao react when she would be told about this piece of heartbreaking news ?

    "Just tell me if sister-inw has given birth to my niece or nephew , Dr. Wen ?", Rong Xiao asked as her voice shivered.

    Thedy surgeon nodded at Rong Xiao ,"Mrs. Lu has given birth to a beautiful baby girl."

    "My Princess...", a man''s shrill voice rang throughout the silent corridor.

    Everyone turned to look at Lu Wei who was standing weakly as Zhi Xi supported him.

    The man walked closer to everyone and faced his sister ,"Xinghe , my... baby. She will be fine , right ?"

    This was the first time that everyone had seen such uncertainty and helplessness in Lu Wei''s voice. This proud man had always stayed strong akin to a mountain. But when it came to his daughter , he was just a simple father. A father who was afraid to lose his princess.

    Rong Xinghe helped the man sit down on the hospital bench and squeezed his hand ,"She will bepletely fine. She is the mini version of Sis-inw Ningtao. And you know how strong your woman is. My instincts tell me that just like I fought my death ten years ago , my niece will defeat her death this time. Trust me. Her father needs to be confident and strong more than ever now. For her. And for her mother."

    Rong Xinghe''s every word touched Lu Wei''s heart and he returned back to his calm self gradually. He knew that he was Ningtao''s biggest source of support. Moreover , even if it was low , his daughter still had a chance of survival. How could he give up so soon ?

    It was just that he was feeling like he had failed to protect the ones he loved the most. Right now , his emotions were more or less like his emotions when he had seen Rong Xinghe in vegetative state 10 years ago.

    But Rong Xinghe could read through the man ,"Don''t me yourself for this. You had Country X''s best security personnel by your side and still , this happened. It was destiny."

    Lu Wei looked at Rong Xinghe and nodded his head slightly. For some unknown reason , he wanted to believe every word Rong Xinghe was trying to say to him today.

    "Zhou Che did this , didn''t he?", Lu Wei asked after sometime and the girl nodded.

    "I leave him to you. But the revenge should be drastic.", the man''s voice turned cold.

    "I am more ruthless than you.", Rong Xinghe said with an extrayer of meaning.

    At this time , a nurse came out with a baby in her arms. Lu Wei quickly walked over to his princess and observed her features silently. Everyone in the family surrounded the nurse as well as they also looked at the little girl. This daughter of Ningtao was actually a mixture of both of her parents.

    She had Ningtao''s soft lips but Lu Wei''s long nose. Her skin was fair just like Ningtao and her eyebrows were exact imitation of Lu Wei''s brows. Her eyes were big , just like her mother and her hair were brownish like her father. She was a very beautiful baby.

    "Father can hold the baby if he wants...", the nurse smiled.

    Lu Wei looked at Rong Xinghe nervously before he took his princess into his arms. After looking at her for some more time , he kissed her forehead as tears slipped down his eyes ,"Daddy loves you , baby. Please hold on for me. Don''t leave me and mommy. Daddy was careless about your security and he hurt you and mommy. But daddy says sorry ! Please don''t punish me like this."

    Even Rong Xinghe couldn''t bear to see this painful scene anymore as she closed her eyes and clenched her fists in order to not break down in front of her brother. This was the most vulnerable side of this man she had ever witnessed.

    In this world , everyone discussed the serenity of motherhood but no one ever bothered to talk about how pure fatherhood was. Lu Wei was going to be the best dad ever and Rong Xinghe knew this.

    "Sir... could you follow us to the ICU ? ", the nurse didn''t had the heart to separate this man from his daughter and made a simple request. Lu Wei agreed and followed behind the nurse. Now that he had this little bundle of new responsibility in his arms , he no longer needed Zhi Xi or Rong Xinghe''s support to walk.

    _____________

    "Xinghe... I..."

    When Rong Xinghe was discussing Ningtao''s health situation with Su Rogguang and Dr. Wen , Zhou Che''s desperate voice fell upon her ears and the entire family turned around to look at the man.

    Mother Zhou and Father Zhou also caught up to their son few secondster. Rong Xinghe nced at Mother Zhou and retreated her gaze back at the person she was once in love with.

    Zhi Al was about to punch Zhou Che but Mo Zixuan stopped him from doing so ,"Wei wants Xinghe to handle this."

    Before Zhou Che could say anything further , Rong Xinghe walked towards him with an iPad in her hands. She showed the screen of the gadget to the Zhou family and remained silent.

    It was a... CCTV footage !

    This particr video clip showed how Zhou Che''s car had shed with Lu Wei''s car from an adjacent street and how Zhou Che got out of the car as he fainted on the road.

    The entire Zhou family was dumbstruck by this video as they looked at Rong Xinghe with a frightened expression. They had never expected Rong Xinghe to be so efficient. How could she get the evidence against them in such a short time period ?

    "Xinghe... let me just exin."

    Rong Xinghe waved her hand ,"Don''t bother. Six years ago , I had also begged you to listen to my exnation like this. But you refused. I kept crying but you turned a blind eye to it.

    "Today , you are standing where I once stood. By the way , how does it feel when history is repeated other way around ? Because today , I refuse to hear your exnation. Just tell me if the man in this video clip is you or not ?"

    Beneath this calm demeanor of the woman , a strong sense of destruction was boiling up like a volcano.

    Zhou Che could obviously not deny the legal footage even if he had his doubts , so he had no choice but to nod.

    PAK !

    The moment the hard pnded on Zhou Che''s cheek , his weak body stumbled and fell down on the corridor floor.

    "You f*cking psycho ! My niece is in danger because of you. If anything happens to her , will you face that mother who has built the sacred bond along these past eight months ?! Will you face that father who has dreamed to dote on his daughter all his life ?! Huh ? Tell me !", Rong Xinghe roared akin to a tigress.

    And why not ? This tigress''s family had been hurt this time.

    When everyone saw the fire in Rong Xinghe''s eyes , not just Zhou Che''s parents , but even Rong Xinghe''s family felt a chill run down their spines as well !

    This was the first time everyone was witnessing Rong Xinghe''s ''Military Chief'' personality. This was their first interaction with the ferocious , wrathful and destructive Rong Xinghe.

 Chapter 183: The truth behind Zhou Zhichens death !

    Chapter 183: The truth behind Zhou Zhichen''s death !

    Zhou Che really didn''t knew what to say anymore. The fact that he was the reason behind this ident had really hit him hard. Earlier , he hadn''t believed it but now that Rong Xinghe showed him the solid evidence , he had no way of retaliation.

    PAK !

    Another pnded on the man''s face and Rong Xinghe grabbed his cor forcefully as she made him look at her ,"What kind of revenge were you nning ? This is what you call revenge ? Just because I apparently ''killed'' your brother , you have stooped so low to kill someone''s unborn child ?"

    Mother Zhou couldn''t watch her son getting med and used like this anymore , so she quickly tried to separate Rong Xinghe from Zhou Che ,"Don''t hurt him. Please don''t kill another son of mine , Xinghe. Please don''t snatch my only son away from me !"

    Rong Xinghe released Zhou Che''s cor and stood up again as she red coldly at Mother Zhou ,"I am going to say this for thest fu*cking time. I have not killed Zhou Zhichen. If I had done that , then I wouldn''t have had visited Zhichen''s grave on his every death anniversary. I wouldn''t have had donated millions of rmb''s to Drug Rehab Centers every year.

    "I know you all will not believe me and I don''t n to exin anything to you anymore either. All I want to say is that the Zhous better pray for well-being of my niece. Otherwise , even I am afraid of myself when I am angry.

    "And yes , Mr. Zhou Che , I won''t take this evidence to the court. That will be too easy and lenient on you. When ites to contacts , no one canpete to me. I have many underworld buddies by my side. And right now , I know the current location of every Zhou Family member. Don''t you dare act smart or who knows whom you will lose next ? "

    Rong Xinghe turned around and left after saying these words leaving everyone inplete shock. Not even the girl''s brothers knew that she was associated with the shady part of the world as well. But now that they thought about it , she might have had came in contact with those people during her Military Chief training.

    It was now that Zhou Che''s parents realized that she was no more the naive and sweet girl from five years ago. She had grown up to be a merciless and confident woman who couldn''t be offended so easily.

    Zhou Che had already realized the changes in Rong Xinghe and was not too stunned by her reaction. In fact , he thought that it waspletely reasonable.

    He stood up from the floor as he requested Mother Zhou and Father Zhou to leave before him and said that he needed some time alone. The Zhou elders understood what the man meant and left unwillingly.

    _____________

    Zhou Che simply disappeared from the girl''s family''s line of sight and wandered aimlessly in the hospital. He knew that he was responsible for what had happened but he was still not able to understand the reason behind him suddenly speeding up the car and colliding with Lu Wei''s car.

    He had indeed followed the man but he had no idea as to why he would initiate the ident all of a sudden. Howe everything turned out to be like this ?

    He wasn''t afraid of punishment. But it was the undeniable truth that a pregnant woman and her baby were affected adversely because of him. This was a burden he couldn''t carry on his shoulders for all his life.

    "Mr. Zhou Che ? Is that you ?"

    Zhou Che stopped in his tracks when an elderly doctor called him from behind. Zhou Che turned around to face the doctor confusedly ,"Do I know you ?"

    "Oh no. You don''t. But I knew your brother Zhou Zhichen. He often showed me your photos and told me that he considered you as his inspiration. I was his psychiatrist six years ago. My name is Dr. Gu Jinli. I am really sorry for what happened to your brother. My deep condolences are with your family.", the old doctor said sincerely.

    "Psychiatrist ? ...Zhichen''s ?", Zhou Che suddenly felt like something was amiss.

    The old man shrugged ,"Yes gentleman. I was the one who was counseling him for four months constantly regarding his drug addiction. I still remember that he had started to recuperate pretty well.

    "Ms. Xinghe never missed a single appointment. She was a lovelydy and cared a lot about your brother. It is rare to see people like her and that''s why I remember you even after all these years..."

    After hearing Rong Xinghe''s name , Zhou Che could not process anything further. The doctor kept on talking to him but his head was in aplete mess by now.

    After sometime , the man took a deep breath and held onto the doctor''s hand pleadingly ," This is Military Sanatorium , right ? Footage records of minimum ten years are always stored here , right ? Could you please show me the footage clips of your conversation with Xinghe ? I beg you ! This is a question of life and death , doctor. Please ! "

    Dr. Gu Jinli was taken aback by the man''s desperate expression and finally epted his request after some convincing ,"Come with me."

    Soon , Zhou Che stepped into the doctor''s cabin and the old man selected CCTV footage copies from hisptop. After few seconds , theptop screen lit up and it showed the same cabin. Dr. Gu Jinli was sitting on his chair while Rong Xinghe was facing him. This girl was so... fragile and delicate. The woman he had once fallen for was this same girl.

    {{{

    "Thank you , Dr. Gu. Zhichen has been controlling himself a lot these days. I am sure if everything went on like this , he will soon be able to break these shackles of addiction." , Rong Xinghe thanked the doctor sincerely.

    "Don''t mention it , Ms. Rong. This is my duty. By the way , when do you n to tell about this to Zhou Che ?", Dr. Gu asked.

    "It is Che''s mother''s birthday after two days. I will tell about this to him after that. Zhichen has been quite a rebel about this. He doesn''t want to disappoint his idol , his brother. Moreover , I am the only person he is trusting right now. If I break his trust now , I am afraid that he will stop interacting with anyone openly.", the girl exined seriously.

    "You are right , Ms. Xinghe. At this time , Zhichen trusts only you and it is brave of him to try to leave drugs. He is lucky to have you by his side. Most importantly , he considers you as his own family. In fact , he respects you more than he respects Zhou Che. I have noticed that.

    "He has said it many times that he will never forgive the person who hurts you.", the doctor smiled.

    "HAHAHA. Such a dork he is... But I really want him to live a long and happy life doctor. Please help me do that.", Rong Xingheughed.

    }}}

    The moment the video ended , Zhou Che lost all his strength and sat down on the nearby chair. He was suddenly feeling like his soul had been sucked out of his body. He was finding it hard to even breath now. After sometime , drops of tears flowed down his eyes and his throat choked...

    Damn it !

    He hadmitted such a sin !

    A sin , for which , even his Zhichen would never forgive him...

    Oh Xinghe ! I was so wrong about you...

 Chapter 184: A mother could never forgive Zhou Che

    Chapter 184: A mother could never forgive Zhou Che

    Soon , Ningtao got back her consciousness and the first person she saw was her husband. The man was looking at her with concern in his eyes.

    It was now that she remembered what had happened. The ident had taken ce in a sh and she wasn''t able topletely process everything at that time.

    But as a mother , the first reflex action she did was to touch her t stomach. The baby ...

    "Wei... ", Ningtao looked at the man with worry evident in her eyes.

    "You have gifted me the most beautiful girl in this entire world , Tao. Thank you so much.", the man smiled weakly as he caressed his wife''s hair.

    Other than Rong Xinghe , only Ningtao could see through this man ,"Truth !"

    Lu Wei sighed and exined everything to the woman. He told him that they had to go for caesarian and the baby was in a serious condition. He also exined that their daughter had a weak chance of survival. He further revealed to her that Zhou Che was behind the ident and that he had left revenge for Rong Xinghe to handle.

    "You hate me , don''t you ? After all , I wasn''t able to protect you both. Sometimes , I really feel that I am useless. Back then , I wasn''t able to protect kiddo as well. And today... ", Lu Wei started ming himself.

    But Ningtao quickly cupped the man''s face and pecked him on his lips ,"Shut up ! Can you not be such a pessimist ? Learn something from Xinghe. After the incident ten years ago , she wasn''t able to walk on her foot for an entire year , Wei. But did she ever gave up on hope ?

    "For this once , I want to believe Xinghe''s every single word. If my baby''s Aunt believes that she will be fine , then I know that nothing will happen to our daughter.

    "And don''t you dare think that I hate you , Wei. We havee a long way together. My first priority is you , thenes the Rong twins and our child. I love you. Always remember that.

    "Most importantly , we had Country X''s best security team with us when this ident happened. This was inevitable. And about protecting us , that is not your fault. Don''t lose your confidence now , Wei. We are parents now and a little human is depending on us. Although we can''t do too much for her right now , but once she recuperates , we will have to be responsible for her.

    "Also , look at your torso. Its bleeding ! Go and get it checked. I can''t bear to lose you at any cost. After the redressal of the wound , go and stay by our baby''s side. I don''t want my daughter to be alone."

    Lu Wei was taken aback by Ningtao''s calm and strong reaction. Even he wasn''t able to persist for so long like her. Just what was this woman made of ?

    The man nodded and left the hospital ward but as soon as he stepped out , Ningtao''s eyes turned red and she started weeping. Lu Wei was shocked even more now. Was she acting strong just for him ? So that he wouldn''t weaken up...

    She was hiding her pain from him because she knew that his family was his weakness. She didn''t med him because she was a sensible woman and knew how much he doted on her. She knew that he would never willingly hurt her. Moreover , she had seen him hoping to have a daughter for all these eight months. She naturally knew how painful it was for him to see his princess like that.

    But being a mother , no woman could see their child like that. How could her heart not ache ? She would never forgive that Zhou Che for what he had done to her daughter!

    After all , a child was always its mother''s bottom line.

    Lu Wei could do nothing but request Songyan and Mother Lu to pacify Ningtao. A woman could rte more to her at such a time.

    Lu Wei was about to head out to check upon the baby when sound of hurried footsteps were heard throughout the hospital corridor. The man , Zhi Xi and Su Rogguang turned around to look at Zhou Che approaching them.

    Zhou Che''s face was stained with tears and he looked extremely exhausted. But right now , he was thest person they wanted to see.

    Lu Wei was about to ignore him because he wanted to apply all his strength to protect his daughter and had already decided to leave this psycho to Rong Xinghe. He didn''t wanted to plot any revenge currently. He simply wanted his family , safe and sound.

    But before the man could leave , Zhou Che grabbed onto his hand and knelt down on the floor ,"I... I am sorry , Mr. Lu. I know it can''t fix my mistakes but I truly wronged Xinghe back then. She didn''t deserved how we treated her. And you didn''t deserved what happened today. I am really sorry... I..."

    As the three men saw Zhou Che begging for forgiveness , they realized that he had finally known the truth behind his brother''s death and that he knew that Rong Xinghe hadn''t killed Zhou Zhichen. But it was toote now. After all , this incident involved the heiress of the Lu Corporation.

    Lu Wei pinched the space between his brows and patted Zhi Xi''s shoulder ,"Deal with him. Don''t be too harsh. Xinghe will ultimately call the shots."

    After saying these words , Lu Wei just walked away. He was afraid that if he looked at Zhou Che for another second , he would eventually end up killing him there and then.

    Zhou Che understood Lu Wei''s hatred and turned around to beg Zhi Xi ,"Please tell me where Xinghe is , Mr. Zhi ! I need to apologize to her. I need to..."

    But before Zhou Che could say anything further , a punchnded on his chest. Since his body was too weak after the ident , he fell down on the floor.

    Zhi Xi grabbed the man''s cor ,"Since you wanted to y the dirty game , we will naturally y back. But remember this , you have started this war and Xinghe will finish it. When ites to revenge and destruction , even we six can''tpare to her."

    These were thest words Zhou Che heard before he fainted again.

    He deserved this. He deserved Rong Xinghe''s hatred. After all , the humiliation he had given her six years ago and the wound he had given to her brother today were not forgivable. He just wanted to apologize to her. But it seemed like she would not even bother to look at him until her niece was dered to be out of danger.

 Chapter 185: The miracle !

    Chapter 185: The miracle !

    Meanwhile , Rong Xinghe was standing outside the ICU ward where little Ningtao was admitted. She had waited so much for this mini human toe out. But this was not how she wanted it...

    This was the first child in her family. The first bundle of happiness in her brothers'' life. How could her heart not ache for the baby ? Why was this infant getting punished for what happened six years ago ? Why was an innocent child bing a victim of Zhou Che''s hatred for her ?

    He could have just stabbed her instead...

    Soon , the six men also reached outside the hospital room and saw Rong Xinghe clenching her fists. It seemed like she was in a dilemma about whether to go inside or not...

    "You can go in , Xinghe.", Lu Wei said to the girl as he rubbed her head.

    "What if I pass my miserable and terrible destiny to her ?", Rong Xinghe''s voice choked.

    Before Lu Wei could say anything further , Rong Xinghe''s phone rang and she looked at the screen. It was Xi Yuan. The six men also saw the called ID and remained silent.

    The girl picked up the call almost instantly. For an unknown reason , she wanted and needed to hear this man''s voice the most right now.

    "Calm down , Xinghe. Nothing will happen to your niece.", Xi Yuan''s soothing and deep voice fell upon the girl''s ears as her heart subconsciously tranquilized itself. His voice was like a warm nket protecting her from the cold chilly winters.

    "If there is a chair nearby , sit down and take a deep breath.", the man continued.

    Right now , Xi Yuan''s every word was like hypnosis for the girl. Everything he told her to do , she would willingly do that.

    Hence , the girl sat down on the hospital bench and breathed deeply , as suggested by the man.

    "Now , go and see your niece. You are a blessing for your brothers and me. You have no idea about how miraculous your presence and your touch is , Xinghe. I am confident that she will get out of danger as soon as she feels a person like you beside her.", Xi Yuan said gently.

    It was too bad that he was in Ennd and couldn''t be by his woman''s side at such a time. But thankfully , Rong Xiao had already informed him about what was happening there as she was worried about Rong Xinghe. She knew that , the more Rong Xinghe bottled up her feelings within her , the more dangerous it was for her. And in this world , no one understood the girl more than Xi Yuan.

    As expected , Rong Xinghe listened to the man''s every word as if she was possessed and got up from her seat ,"I will see her then..."

    _________

    Rong Xinghe was still holding the phone when she entered the Intensive Care Unit and the six men followed behind her. Xi Yuan didn''t disconnected the call as well. He silently listened to the girl''s every movement.

    The woman stood beside the small bed where her niece was lying. They had even lost the count of total injections she had been injected by till now. An oxygen mask covered the mouth of the infant and an IV drip had been connected to the back of her hand.

    Rong Xinghe was the Military Chief of an entire nation. She had seen many people dying during her missions. She was used to looking at dead bodies without batting an eyelid by now. But today , she was feeling like even thest bit of courage had been drained out of her body when she saw this child in such a state.

    "H...hey brat ! Aunt Xinghe orders you to wake up quickly ! Don''t scare your Mom and Dad like this. Your five uncles are also waiting eagerly to spoil you. Get up..", Rong Xinghe murmured softly but the six men and Xi Yuan heard her every word clearly.

    After some moments of silence , Rong Xinghe clenched her fists and stretched out her right hand to touch the little head of her niece.

    And as soon as the woman''s palm touched the baby''s bald head , a miracle happened !

    The small hands of the baby shook slightly and her eyes flinched. The infant kicked her legs in the air and moved her head upwards slowly. The child then stretched her body as if she had woken up from years of sleep and in the next instant , the little girl started crying uncontrobly !

    Rong Xinge was so scared that she pulled her hand back at once and reflexively took few steps back.

    Even the six men were a little worried and Zhi Bo immediately called the doctors and nurses inside the ward so that they could check on the baby. The doctor studied the changes in the child''s body and then looked at the seven siblings with amusement.

    "Who touched the child just now ?", the doctor tried his best to control his smile.

    Rong Xinghe pointed her index finger towards herself guiltily. Had her actions made the baby ufortable ? The baby wouldn''t suffer more , right ? These were the only thought on her mind currently.

    "Well... Ms. Rong. You are indeed thedy luck for Mr. Lu. Congrattions ! Your niece ispletely out of danger now. Maybe she sensed you presence beside her and couldn''t bear to let your heart ache or whatever. It is actually a marvel , a miracle for the child to fight back its death , though. But sometimes , even Science cannot exin certain urrences.", the child specialist looked at Lu Wei ,"Please share the good news with Mrs. Lu. I still need to run some tests on the baby but rest assured , they are just basic tests.

    "Although the child is out of danger , it is still premature. It will naturally show some symptoms of a premature baby , but will be fine eventually. Excuse me."

    Even after the doctor left , the siblings stood in a daze as they weren''t able to digest what had just happenedpletely.

    After few more minutes of silence , Zhi Al hugged Lu Wei tightly ,"Heavens ! I am an uncle now , Bro Wei !"

    Su Rogguang also brushed away hisplicated thoughts and joined in happily ,"Finally ! A new member in the family."

    The other three men also followed in after they broke out of their trance.

    Only Rong Xinghe was still standing frozen akin to an ice sculpture. What... just happened ? At this time , Lu Wei pulled the girl and hugged her tightly with tears of happiness flowing down his eyes ,"There is no point debating about whom the baby will love the most when she grows up ! It will be her Aunt Xinghe. Only you could save her , kiddo. Thank you so much !"

    Rong Xinghe still didn''t reacted. This was much too surreal. Initially , she stayed strong because she wanted Lu Wei to remain strong. That was the only reason that she acted so optimistic. But deep down , she was really very frightened. She was naturally having a tough time believing this...

    Lu Wei sensed the girl''s silence and pulled away from her. She was really worried this time. He didn''t noticed it earlier but now that both his wife and daughter were fine , he could see it clearly.

    The doctor was right. She was indeed hisdy luck. Just how lucky was he to have her in his life ?

 Chapter 186: His wish to be her deceased brother !

    Chapter 186: His wish to be her ''deceased'' brother !

    Lu Wei smiled and patted the girl''s head lovingly ," I must have done too many good deeds in my past life that the god has sent you and Xiao in my life. Now that both Ningtao and baby are fine , everything is good."

    Rong Xinghe nodded her head subconsciously and the six men exited the hospital room so that they could give the good news to Ningtao and other worried members of the family.

    At this time , Rong Xinghe realized that she hadn''t actually disconnected the phone earlier and that Xi Yuan had probably heard everything.

    The girl rubbed her forehead and brought the phone to her ears ,"This..."

    "Xinghe , its all real. I told you that you yourself have no idea about how amazing you are. Your touch , your smile and even your anger is beautiful. Congrattions on bing an aunt.", Xi Yuan smiled on the other end.

    It was now that Rong Xinghe finally epted the reality as only this man''s voice could make her believe the sudden turn of events.

    "Thank you , Yuan...", the girl sat down on a nearby stool but before she could say anything further , her throat choked and tears slipped down her eyes.

    As the man listened to the soft sobs from the opposite side , his heart ached. He so wanted to be near her at that time. But contrary to that , he was miles away from her.

    This man could understand Rong Xinghe more than anyone. They had this unique and inexpressible connection between them. Although they had known each other for just one year , both of them could see through each other clearly.

    Rong Xinghe was a strongdy. She was a woman who could sacrifice her every breath for her nation. But there were times when she had no control over situations and there were times when she herself felt scared. When it came to weaknesses , she had six of them. She could not bear to see the six men go through any form of pain.

    Xi Yuan naturally understood all of this.

    He knew that this experience had really frightened her. The six men had been by her side when her own family had abandoned her. They had literally brought her up. How could her heart not ache to see Lu Wei and Ningtao in pain ?

    Only when the girl calmed down did she resumed ,"I didn''t had the courage to even enter the ward initially. Zhou Che was my past and I felt like everything was on me. I med myself for this. I thought that I was responsible for my brother''s sufferings. Yuan , if it wasn''t for you , I might not have been able to face the six men again. I..."

    "Stop ! Don''t say such silly things. You are not responsible for Zhou Che''s actions. He is an individual and making such decisions is his choice. Just because you had a past with him doesn''t mean that you should be med for his actions.

    "Xinghe , your brothers don''t just love you. They respect you. They prioritize you more than their own families. They obviously understand that you had nothing to do with it. Can you not scare me like this ? My Xinghe is a strongdy , isn''t she ?", Xi Yuan scolded the girl softly.

    Rong Xinghe smiled when she realized that Xi Yuan couldn''t bear to see her loose her confidence. This man...

    "Yes , Xinghe is strong.", the girlughed amid her tears.

    "Now go and join your family. About Zhou Che , I will being back soon to Country X. Plot whatever revenge you want. Anything you need , I am standing right behind you.", the man was finally relieved.

    The girl talked to Xi Yuan for few more seconds before she reached Ningtao''s ward and then hung up the phone.

    Xi Yuan was far away from her but it was like he was the nearest to her at that moment.

    This was yet another progress in their rtionship.

    _____________

    Meanwhile , Zhou Family Mansion :

    As soon as Zhou Che reached home , he saw his family doctor talking to Father Zhou.

    Zhou Che approached the old man after the doctor left ,"What happened , Dad ?"

    "Your mother fainted two hours ago. She walked into Zhichen''s room as soon as she got home and found this letter under the mattress of his bed.", Father Zhou passed the piece of paper to Zhou Che ,"Xinghe wasn''t wrong , Che. Your Xinghe wasn''t wrong from the start."

    "I know..."

    Father Zhou was taken aback when he heard his son''s words ,"What do you mean ?"

    "I met Zhichen''s psychologist who was treating him six years ago. Rong Xinghe was secretly helping Zhichen quit drugs but...", the man sighed and started reading the letter.

    Father Zhou became silent. The way they had treated the innocent girl back then was truly unjust and cruel. How could they even apologize to her after what they had done ?

    After Zhou Zhichen''s death , no one entered his room because they wanted to keep his memories untouched. The room was cleaned every month but who would have had thought that the man had hidden the letter beneath the mattress of his bed ?

    Zhou Che had lost thest bit of strength in his body by now. So he sat down and looked into the letter silently.

    ||| { Brother Che ,

    Now that you are reading this letter , I am no longer by your side. I am sorry that I left. But I really cannot control this urge anymore. Dr. Gu has told me that even a single dose of drug can kill me. But today , I have consumed three doses impulsively. Till you take me to hospital , I might not be able to make it.

    So I want to tell you everything. Brother Che , you don''t deserve a brother as weak as me. But you definitely deserve a woman as strong as Sis-inw Xinghe by your side. In the past few days , I have realized how amazing she is.

    When she got to know that I was taking drugs , the first thing she wanted to do was to tell you and mom-dad about it. But I was scared that you all will look down on me. I thought that you all will be ashamed of me.

    Only when I begged her did she decided to hide it from you. But she conditioned me to get a proper medical treatment.

    In fact , her brothers , Lu Wei and Zhi Xi , arranged for the best medical facilities for me. None of the seven siblings judged me brother. I can''t exin how considerate andpassionate they all are.

    Brother , I want to take thest bold decision of my life today. I want to break off my rtionship with you. And I wish to be Sis-inw Xinghe''s brother. Her ''deceased'' brother. It is an honour to be her brother.

    Lastly , don''t me Sis-inw Xinghe for what happened. She has already suffered a lot during the time she was with the Rongs. She has been through a lot of pain before she came into our lives. We are indebted to her , brother. She is an angel who convinced us to ept our parents. She taught us to cherish the people around us. We can''t thank her enough for that.

    Brother , don''t ever remind her of her past. Especially , the train incident of Country I. She still gets nightmares because of that. Don''t misunderstand her for my death. I won''t forgive you if you treat my sister badly.

    Love ,

    Zhou Zhichen }

    |||

    At the end of the paper , there were six year old blood stains of Zhou Zhichen.

    Zhou Che hugged the paper tightly as if it was his brother and knelt down on the ground. The man''s shoulders started trembling as tears flowed down his eyes.

    I did exactly what you didn''t wanted me to do Zhichen. I disrespected your sworn sister. I insulted her publicly. I didn''t listened to her cries and requests six years ago. I failed you and I failed my love.

    The Lu Wei , who once provided you with the best medical support was also hurt by me today. That man might lose his baby because of your psycho brother now.

    It was my fault. It was my failure that you trusted your sis-inw more than me. You were morefortable with her than your own family. Who were we to me her for that ?

    I wronged you Zhichen. And I wronged her.

    Just how can I express my guilt now ? With what right , do I face her ?

 Chapter 187: Lu Alix

    Chapter 187: Lu Alix

    Father Zhou watched his son kneeling on the ground weakening up silently.

    For some unknown reason , he wasn''t feeling even an ounce of sympathy for Zhou Che today. Zhou Zhichen''s death day was the only memory floating in front of his eyes. The way Zhou Che had insulted the girl back then and how Mother Zhou had pped her and med her for Zhou Zhichen''s death was not something he could forget.

    It was not that he wasn''t at fault. At that time , his silence was his biggest sin. He didn''t said a single word even when Zhou Che had yelled at the girl and had said that she deserved to die in the train incident in Country I.

    Rong Xinghe had begged them to listen to her just once but they had refused.

    He couldn''t simply believe that his Zhou family had been so ungrateful to the girl who was actually trying to free their son from the shackles of drug addiction. The Zhou family had stooped so low that they had devalued the woman Zhou Zhichen valued the most till hisst breath.

    Zhou Che stood back on his feet and wiped his tears away after sometime. The man then looked at his father ,"I will confess everything to the police now. I was indeed the reason behind her brother''s current situation and I deserve death for that."

    "Sure. Go ahead and surrender.", the old man smiled sarcastically ,"But do you really think that Rong Xinghe will let you off the hook so easily ?"

    Zhou Che looked at his father confusedly. What did he mean ?

    "You have harmed her brother and his family. You have shot her at her weakest point. Law is thest thing she cares about currently. She is the Military Authority of this nation now and her contacts are way more broad and shady than before.

    "Every member of the Zhou family has a sword hanging on his head at this moment. Our every action is being noticed. Her one move and the entire family n wille to an end in seconds. Didn''t you heard what she said in the hospital ?

    "She may not use army for her personal problems but her powers are not limited to just the three mighty forces of Country X. She is not the 16 year old girl you lost the political debate against anymore. She is Military Chief Rong Xinghe now. Now , she is akin to a provoked tigress whose family has been hurt by you.

    "If she decides to not involve thew in this matter , you will never be able to reach judiciary. Che , the moment she saw the ident footage was the moment you were no longer the owner of your own destiny. From this point onwards , she will write the future of the entire Zhou family.

    "Even if webine the powers of every family associated with ours , it is insignificant against thebination of Zhi , Lu and Su family backing her up. Not to mention , her real capabilities are beyond our imagination.

    "Even if you want to die , she will decide that. Keep that in your mind.", Father Zhou reminded the young man.

    Zhou Che remained silent after that and nodded his head. Even if Rong Xinghe wanted to strangle him to death , she had the right to do so. After all , she was being punished for the crime she had not evenmitted till now.

    But he had his doubts regarding this ident. He could not remember the incident clearly. It was all a blur in his head. Although he had almost epted that he was behind it , he was still unable to understand thingspletely.

    But he had no way to get out of this. Evidence was already against him.

    _____________

    Meanwhile , entire Country X was in an uproar the next morning.

    Every news channel of the country was reporting only one news. The destruction of Zhou Business Empire !

    [ Biggest Digital Empire''s downfall ! ]

    [ Lu Corps bought 40 % of Zhou Corporation''s shares while Zhi Corporations attacks the remaining 30 % ]

    [ The Digital Paradise to turn into a basic Cooperative Firm : sources report ]

    [ 70 % of the Zhou Corporation sold ! Who will be the next CEO ? ]

    [ President Lu Wei or CEO Zhi Xi : Whom of the eight siblings will rule over the Zhou Corporations next ? ]

    [ Is this the end of the ''infamous'' Zhou Che ? ]

    [ The Demolition of Zhou Empire : just a smart business or an internal battle? ]

    [ The knock down of the Zhou Family , what is the story behind ? ]

    This... was the trailer of Rong Xinghe''s rage and it was already scary enough. As the Power of Attorney representative for both Zhi and Lu Corps , Rong Xinghe turned the entire Zhou Corporation upside down overnight.

    But even so , the six men knew that the girl was yet to extinguish herplete anger. They knew that she wasn''tpletely satisfied. After all , the baby being safe didn''t changed the fact that it had to still be a C-section surgery. It didn''t changed the reality that Ningtao had suffered so much pain that she couldn''t walk for at least one month.

    The six men didn''t bothered stopping her as well. They had provided her the liberty to plot revenge themselves and had no intention to take their words back. They knew that she was way more ruthless than all of thembined.

    __________

    Rong Xinghe was looking at the beautiful and serene interaction between Ningtao and her daughter silently as she held the documents of share transferral in her hands.

    Ningtao had just breastfed the baby and the little girl was tightly holding her mother''s index finger with the full palm of her hand. The baby was recuperating moderately and the doctors were optimistic about Ningtao''s situation as well. They were sure that she would be able to return back to acting after two-three months.

    Ningtao was still feeling like everything was happening in her dreand. She couldn''t express the feeling of bing a mother. It was such a unique and delightful experience. But for this happiness , she could thank only one person.

    "Thank you , Xinghe.", the woman smiled at her sister-inw sitting beside her on the stool.

    Rong Xinghe smiled back ,"She is my niece as well , Mrs. Lu. I will protect her from now on."

    "I know. By the way , what name have you thought for her ?"

    "M..me ?", Rong Xinghe was shocked ," You are her mother. You and Bro Lu should decide..."

    "And you are her Aunt. If anyone has the first right to im her , it is you. This brat needed to sense her Aunt''s touch to open up her eyes. She should be lucky enough to be named by you. Don''t worry about Wei. I will handle him.", Ningtao smiled.

    "Hmm...", Rong Xinghe silently thought for a name for few minutes before she finally came to a conclusion ,"What about Lu Alix ? "Alix" means dignified , persistent and brave. This girl has bravely fought her death and kept holding onto the persistence to survive."

    "Wee , Lu Alix !", Ningtao whispered softly in her daughter''s ears without any second thought. This name was literally telling the story behind this baby''s first war against death. And it was suggested by her lovely aunt. Could there be any other name more perfect than this one ?

 Chapter 188: Prioritising Xi Fang over Xi Yuan !

    Chapter 188: Prioritising Xi Fang over Xi Yuan !

    Meanwhile , In a Luxury Bungalow in Ennd :

    "Is everything fine over there , brother ?", Xi Fang looked at Xi Yuan worriedly as soon as the man disconnected the call.

    Xi Yuan smiled ,"Yeah. Xinghe said that she has named the baby - ''Lu Alix''. Both Senior Lu and Mrs. Lu wanted her to name the girl. Other than that , she has just attacked Zhou empire. Thankfully , she is back to her confident self now."

    "Was Xiao Xinghe ming herself for this ?", Xi Fang asked.

    The man nodded ,"I was scared when she said that she was using herself for the entire situation. She thought that this incident was her fault indirectly."

    "You know what brother , I sometimes feel that your love is like an antidote for Sis-inw. She tends to forget about her past whenever she hears your voice or looks at you. With this pace , I am sure that you will win her heart pretty soon."

    Xi Yuan raised his brows ever so slightly ,"You think so ?"

    Xi Fang smiled ,"Xiao Xinghe is different from other girls. You need to be patient when ites to loving her."

    "Hmm."

    While the two brothers were chatting , a dark shadow was listening to their conversation from behind the door.

    When he heard that Xi Yuan loved a woman and that woman was Rong Xinghe , Xi Chonglin broke down in a cold sweat.

    Without listening to another word , he turned around and headed to his bedroom. Initially , he wanted to wee his son and nephew to Ennd but the news he received just now was much too important. If Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe were to unite , just how scary would that be...

    _________

    As soon as Xi Chonglin entered his bedroom , he closed the door and locked it from inside. He then approached his wife Luo Youyou.

    "What happened ?", Luo Youyou asked as she noticed her husband''s weird behavior.

    "What is our son Fang doing for family inheritance , Youyou ?! If everything keeps happening like this , Yuan will eventually end up converting dad''s temporary will into a permanent one !", Xi Chonglin sat down on the bed and gulped down a ss of water anxiously.

    "Wh...What happened to you all of a sudden ? What is going on ?", Luo Youyou felt like something was amiss. Xi Chonglin would never behave that way until and unless something serious had happened.

    "I was about to knock on Yuan''s door just now when I heard that he likes a girl. He has fallen for her and even intends to marry her.", the old man rubbed his face with an exhausted expression.

    "What ? Yuan likes a girl ?! Are you sure? I mean he has never been involved in a rtionship earlier... Who is she ?", Luo Youyou felt difficulty in epting this piece of news.

    "Rong Xinghe.", Xi Chonglin looked at his wife seriously.

    "Huh ?!"

    "Military Chief of Country X , Rong Xinghe !", the old man repeated.

    "That''s... How could it... ? Yuan couldn''t possibly love her... She doesn''t have a family. She isn''t a socialite. She is nothing whenpared to him.", Luo Youyou directly deemed Rong Xinghe ineligible to be Xi Yuan''s life partner.

    "Are you seriously looking down on her ?!", Xi Chonglin raised his voice ,"Do you even know how capable that one girl is ? She is not just the highest military authority of Country X , but has a strong backing of Lu , Zhi and Su family. Her contacts range from entertainment industry to underworld and politics. If its aboutparing Yuan and her , then both of them are powerful equally. And that is the biggest concern here."

    When Luo Youyou heard about the frightening powers backing up Rong Xinghe , she felt a chill run down her spine. Was the girl really so mighty ? Last time she saw her was at Xi Yue''s wedding in New York. But at that time , didn''t the girl looked like a simple and delicate individual ?

    "How is her power an issue here ?", Luo Youyou tried to understand Xi Chonglin''s words.

    "Where have you lost your senses today , Youyou ? Currently , no other girl in this age range is as sessful as her. She is so good at multitasking that she is handling Country X''s military as well as Zhi Corporations single handedly. Same is the case with Yuan. He is managing both Xi and Lu Corporations together.

    "No matter which girl Fang likes , she can''t be as noteworthy as Xinghe. What do you think will happen if Yuan and Xinghe gets married ?

    "I wanted Fang to marry before Yuan so that he could have a strong standing among the members of Board of directors in Xi Corporations. That way , he could rightfully fight for the position of Presidency of Xi Empire with the support of his wealthy and mighty inws.

    "But now , even if Fang marries before Yuan , it wouldn''t be of any use. Because once Rong Xinghe enters Xi family and stands by Yuan''s side , his influence and stand will automatically double up. After that , it will be impossible for Fang to be the CEO.", Xi Chonglin exined calmly.

    After some seconds of silence , Luo Youyou finally said ,"Do you really think that Fang would want to fight with his brother over power and wealth ? He respects Yuan a lot. To him , Yuan is above any god. Why do you want to make them lock horns with each other so much? Why do you hate Yuan? What has he done wrong ?"

    "Nothing. Yuan is a good man and I don''t want to hurt him. He is just like his grandfather. Sharp, intellectual and talented. If he wants something , no one can stop him. But the only problem is that he is not our son.

    "Don''t you want Fang to be sessful as well ? Or do you want our son to simply live as a shadow of his brother ? Fang is my heir. He should not be on the receiving end of the stick. Presently , Yuan decides what Fang , Ying and Wei would do in thepany.

    "Why should Yuan write their destiny ? Just because he is in power , right ? That is why I value power so much. Years ago , this was the exact reason that I and brother Chongkun had fought against each other. Weak has to bow down to the strong and I don''t want to see Fang kneeling in front of Yuan. I don''t hate Yuan. Its just that I love my son and I want to secure his future.", Xi Chonglin revealed his intentions.

    Luo Youyou nodded her head in agreement. They were Xi Fang''s parents and not Xi Yuan''s. At the end of the day , they had to take Xi Fang''s future into consideration.

    No matter how much Xi Fang loved and respected his brother and no matter how much the world admired Xi family''s internal harmony and unity , she was only Xi Fang''s mother. She was bound to prioritize Xi Fang , Xi Ying and Xi Wei over Xi Yuan.

    And when it came to power and wealth , arguments were inevitable in a business family. After all , this was not the first time that Xi family was going to get into disagreements over the position of CEO. Years ago , Xi Chonglin and Xi Chongkun had battled each other as well.

    And it was due to this fight of theirs that Xi Yuan had lost the most important people in his life back then. He was a mere eighteen year old youngster when he had to shoulder the heavy responsibilities of the entire Xi Corporations.

    But what could she do ? Just because of that , she couldn''t let her son suffer. No matter what , she had to ensure that Xi Fang would rece Xi Yuan one day.

    "So... what should we do ?"

    Xi Chonglin shrugged his shoulders nonchntly ,"We need to push Fang to find a girl as soon as he can.

    "Also , try to create a negative impression regarding Rong Xinghe in brother Chongkun and sis-inw Li Jungah''s eyes. The fact that she was abandoned by her own family will surely help.

    "Lastly , we need to shift back to Country X. If we will live closer to them , there will be more opportunities for us to break apart Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe."

 Chapter 189: The conspiracy behind the accident...

    Chapter 189: The conspiracy behind the ident...

    Country X :

    Rong Xinghe waspletely unknown to the changes taking ce in Xi family. Herplete focus was on her family of six men and three sister-inws.

    Ningtao was released from the hospital and the family soon returned back to Lu Family Mansion. Since Lu Alix was the new and cutest arrival in their lives , the entire family had already went crazy. Even the child had gotten used to the weird people around her.

    No matter who held her , Lu Alix never cried. She had five uncles, their wives , Aunt Xiao and Aunt Xinghe. Not to mention , Lu family elders were spoiling her to the extent of extremity.

    In fact , Lu Alix was being passed on from one person to another like a pillow. Other than her own parents , she was being apanied by everyone around her. Lu Wei and Ningtao simply looked at the bunch of weirdos around them helplessly.

    "Can we also hold her ?", Lu Wei was excited about his princess as well.

    Just when the man was about to touch his daughter , Rong Xiao pped his hand and snatched away Lu Alix ,"Take your wife to the bedroom."

    "Why?"

    "Aren''t you a man ?", after saying these words , the girl turned around to look at her twin with a smirk.

    "Huh ?"

    "You both have been controlling your desires for the past few months now. Aren''t you both tormented or something ? Even little Alix came out one month earlier for the sake of her parents ! Go and relieve yourselves now. We will take care of Alix. Come on !", Rong Xinghe smiled creepily.

    Lu Wei : "Sure. Come Tao !"

    Ningtao : "Finally after so many months !"

    The family : "...."

    Rong Xiao : "Thank god Bro Lu''s parents aren''t here !"

    Rong Xinghe : "I know , right ?"

    The family : "HAHAHA !"

    ::::::::::::::::::::

    After sometime , Rong Xiao left for Military Sanatorium as she had to pick up Lu Alix''s blood test reports from theboratory.

    Shortly after , a bureaucrat from Military Chief Office knocked against the living room door and entered only after Rong Xinghe approved ,"There is an important information regarding the identst night , boss. Could you..."

    Rong Xinghe nodded and followed behind the man. Only when they disappeared from her family''s line of sight and reached the mansion''s exit did Rong Xinghe spoke ,"What is it ?"

    "Maybe Mr. Che isn''t the real culprit Ma''am."

    Rong Xinghe stopped in her tracks and looked at the man beside her.

    Were her doubts correct ?

    She had known Zhou Che for an entire year. She obviously knew what kind of person he was. During the time span of their rtionship , Zhou Che used to involve himself in all the humanitarian activities along with her. Whether there were campaigns against child abuse , dowry , childbor or alcoholism , Zhou Che would always be the first person she counted in. How could a man like that change so much as to kill an unborn infant ?

    Rong Xinghe couldn''t understand that.

    Rong Xinghe was a person who loved her family but she never allowed anger to blind her up. Although she was plotting revenge against Zhou Che , she had already ordered her trustworthy officers to investigate the matter secretly. As the highest Military authority of Country X , she wasn''t going to torture any innocent , no matter how much he had hurt her years ago.

    Just like Zhou Che , Rong Xinghe loved her brothers as well. But unlike him , she could differentiate between right and wrong. Buying 70% of Zhou Corporations was just a start of her revenge. She had nned to make the life of entire Zhou family a living hell.

    But now , if Zhou Che wasn''t the instigator behind the incident , then she would have to focus her rage on the real culprit. After all , she was a woman who would never punish the faultless.

    "Exin !", the woman looked at the trusted officer of hers.

    The officer named Jim Bei retrieved an iPad from his car and after looking through it for some seconds , he turned the screen around so that Rong Xinghe could also see it.

    But the moment Rong Xinghe saw the CCTV footage of the bar , her eyes widened as she took a few steps back subconsciously !

    How could it...

    |||||

    { In the video , Zhou Che was sitting in a bar as he held a ss of whiskey in his left hand. He was simply looking at the people dancing on the dance floor and wasn''t doing anything unusual.

    But at this time , a person entered the bar and sat down beside Zhou Che. The man was wearing a Green hoodie and his face couldn''t be identified because the head was covered by the hoodie hat and lights were quite dim in the bar.

    The man made a small talk with Zhou Che but he ignored him. By the looks of it , even Zhou Che wasn''t able to identify the person. But just when Zhou Che turned his head around to look at the dancing people again , this anonymous man dropped two tablets into Zhou Che''s whiskey ss.

    After sipping the drink two more times , Zhou Che stopped all his movements and his eyes suddenly turned lifeless. He simply sat still and looked into the empty space. At this time , this Green hoodie man whispered something in Zhou Che''s ears and showed him two photos one after the other.

    The next second , Zhou Che grabbed his car key and dashed out of the mini bar ferociously. }

    |||||

    Now that Rong Xinghe noticed the rtion between the time of this incident and the time when Lu Wei''s ident had happened , she realized that they were quite close...

    That left her with only one conclusion. Zhou Che was hypnotized to do everything !

    But that was not the scary part. Others might not have been able to recognize this green hoodie person , but Rong Xinghe could pinpoint this man even in the crowd of thousands.

    Just the possibility of this man re-entering her life was a little... terrifying for her.

    Beforeing to any presumption , Rong Xinghe dismissed Officer Jim Bei and called Rong Xiao.

    "Dr. Rong speaking...?", Rong Xiao epted the call absent-mindedly as she read the medical reports she was holding in her hands.

    "Xiao ! Its me , Xinghe. Are you still in Military Sanatorium ?", Rong Xinghe asked in a hurry.

    Rong Xinghe reverted her attention back to the phone when she heard Rong Xinghe''s serious tone ,"Yeah. What happened ?"

    "Do you know what drugs were found in Zhou Che''s body ? Did the doctors discussed that with you ?"

    "Uh... I will have to talk to his doctors about that."

    "Text me the name of the drugs quickly !"

    Rong Xiao was dumbfounded by the mini-conversation she just had with her sister. Why was she so panicked ?

    __________

    After sometime Rong Xinghe got the text from Rong Xiao ," Clonazepam and Cocaine."

    Rong Xinghe clenched her teeth when she read the contents of the message.

    Clonazepam was a drug which was used to prevent and treat seizures, panic disorder, and for the movement disorder known as Akathisia. That exined the reason behind Zhou Che''s sudden stillness.

    And... Cocaine was a drug that had the tendency to include loss of contact with reality, an intense feeling of rage , anger and agitation. Maybe that resulted in Zhou Che''s furious departure from the bar.

    From the looks of it , she could tell that it was under the influence of these two drugs that Zhou Che had initiated the ident.

    But that didn''t meant he wasn''t at fault. These drugs could work only on an already angered person. The green hoodie man had simply provoked Zhou Che''s hostility towards Lu Wei further and hence , the ident took ce.

    Even so , Zhou Che would have never hadmitted this crime in his right state of mind.

    After all , he was a man Rong Xinghe had once loved. And this woman had never made wrong decisions when it came to selecting her closed ones.

    But the only question now was...

    Who was this Green hoodie man ? And how did Rong Xinghe knew him ?

 Chapter 190: Promise me that you wont leave me

    Chapter 190: Promise me that you won''t leave me

    Rong Xinghe''s mind was in aplete mess by now. She had looked through the video for multiple times but every single time , she ended up with the same conclusion.

    How dare this son of a bi*che back ? And amusingly , the first thing he did upon his arrival was to hurt her by harming her brother and sister-inw.

    Rong Xinghe took a deep breath as she conference called the six men ,"Lu Corporations'' Headquarters , in half an hour. Urgent."

    The six men were confused by the girl''s short sentence. They knew that Rong Xinghe would never be so short-worded until and unless something crucial or disastrous had taken ce. Eventually , the six men quickly ignored their work and rushed towards Lu Corporations'' main office.

    :::::::::::::

    In half an hour , Rong Xinghe reached Lu Corporations'' main building and entered Lu Wei''s office to find the six men impatiently waiting for her.

    "What happened , Kiddo ?", Zhi Bo looked at the girl.

    Instead of saying anything , Rong Xinghe walked over towards Lu Wei and hugged him tightly as if she was afraid to let him go.

    Lu Wei was stunned when the girl hugged him like that. When he looked down , he realized that she was crying and her shoulders were shivering.

    Lu Wei quickly separated the girl away from him and Zhi Xi covered her with his jacket so that she wouldn''t feel cold. Lu Wei then helped the girl sit down on his chair and Mo Zixuan looked at Su Rogguang ,"Close the windows. She might catch cold."

    Lu Wei calmly patted the girl''s head and allowed her to hug him tightly by his waist as she refused to let go of him. The men remained silent for sometime and Zhi Al made the girl drink some water before she finally stopped sobbing.

    Lu Wei then held the girl''s hand and sat down on his knees as he looked straight into her eyes ,"What happened ? Did someone hurt you ?"

    The remaining five men surrounded the girl as well as they also bent down on their knees and faced her.

    Rong Xinghe shook her head ,"No one hurt me. I just..."

    "What is it , Xinghe ?", Zhi Bo patted the girl''s back.

    Her actions were scaring them now. Just what on earth had happened ?

    Rong Xinghe squeezed Lu Wei''s hands with all her might and looked at him with a fearful and uncertain expression ,"I am going to tell you the reality behind the ident now. Zhou Che was hypnotized into it. He didn''t do it willingly. The real culprit is someone else...

    "Promise me , Bro Lu. You will not leave me after I tell you his name. Please !"

    When he looked at his sister''s expression , Lu Wei suddenly remembered of the time when she had seen them in the hospital aftering out from thea ten years ago.

    The same fear , helplessness and loneliness was what he had seen in her eyes back then as well.

    The man smiled and nodded ,"No matter what , I will never leave you. None of us will."

    The other five men nodded their heads vigorously in agreement. There was nothing in this world that could break them apart.

    Rong Xinghe revealed a relieved smile as she continued in a serious tone ,"The culprit has a chameleon tattoo on his right hand and a ck diamond ring on the index finger of his left hand."

    The moment the six men listened to this description , they froze and took sometime to digest the information.

    After sometime , Zhi Al cleared his throat and mumbled a name absentmindedly ,"Rong...Yufan..."

    "I can''t believe he is back.", Su Rogguang took a deep breath.

    Lu Wei came out of his trance and stood up from his position as he kissed Rong Xinghe''s forehead gently ,"Are you fine ?"

    Rong Xinghe was shocked by Lu Wei''s calm behaviour ,"You are not angry at me ? After all , he hurt sis-inw Ningtao and Alix. Brother , I don''t deserve this..."

    But before Rong Xinghe could continue any further , Lu Wei pulled the girl in a warm hug ,"Its not just Tao and Alix that are my family. I have a sister as well. My Xinghe is my family too. And when something like this happens , you don''t me your family. You stay with them and fight by their side.

    "If Rong Yufan is back , then you must be hurt and pained more than even me. Xinghe , let me make one thing clear. You are not at fault here. Rong Yufan or Zhou Che''s actions are their individual choices. You are not responsible for that. So don''t me and torture yourself over it.

    "And don''t tell me what you deserve because Lu Wei''s sister deserves the world.

    "You are my sister and I trust my kiddo. She can never hurt her brothers or sister-inws. Don''t be too hard on yourself.

    "How could you even think that Rong Yufan''s arrival and his actions can make me hate you ? How could you assume that I will abandon you for a jerk like him ? Xinghe , I don''t remember that we brought you up to be this under-confident."

    When Lu Wei expressed himself clearly to her , Rong Xinghe''s eyes turned red as she broke down ,"You are right. I was so stupid to think like that. I should know that you people will never leave me. But I was scared brother. I couldn''t imagine my life without you all. I hate to say it but I still depend on you all. I can''t... I..."

    "Shhh... Quiet. Its fine. Its not just you who depends on us. Who will n my proposal if you won''t be there ?", Su Rogguang tried to break down the intense atmosphere. He was afraid that too much stress would overexert the girl. It wasn''t too good for a migraine patient , after all.

    Rong Xinghe buried her face in Lu Wei''s chest as she pouted ,"He is teasing me again ! Am I here just for getting you all married ?"

    Zhi Alughed ,"Of course not ! You have the responsibility of destroying all my sports cars on your delicate shoulders , kiddo."

    "And who will bully me for my height ?", Zhi Xi chuckled.

    "And about my midnight coffee when I stay awake to work on my paintings... You are the only servant I have.", Zhi Bo smiled.

    "You still select my clothes for all the important events , Xinghe.", Mo Zixuan smirked.

    Rong Xinghe red at the five men angrily before looking at her eldest brother with her heart-melting puppy eyes ,"Bro Lu ! Look at them..."

    Lu Wei smiled and pinched the girl''s nose before looking at the five men with his icy cold expression ,"You wanna court you death ?"

    The five men gulped hard and raised their hands in surrender.

    Yes. They had a battle to fight further but they were going to fight it together. Rong Xinghe hated the Rong family and it was her right to plot the revenge. The six men were eventually going to allow their princess to do whatever she wanted.

    Even so , facing the disgusting people of Rong family again after so many years was going to be tough for her. But this time , she wouldn''t be alone...

 Chapter 191: The Real King to the Queen !

    Chapter 191: The Real King to the Queen !

    Rong Xinghe then called Ningtao and informed her about Rong Yufan''s involvement in the ident. Ningtao was affected the most in this incident and had almost lost her daughter this time. So she had all the right to know about what was happening.

    But Ningtao was Lu Wei''s wife. She could look through a situation clearly just like her husband. She didn''t med Rong Xinghe for the ident. Instead , she scolded the girl for ming herself over the matter.

    "You know Wei more than anyone , Xinghe. These six men wouldn''t dare to leave you. You are their sister and they are responsible for you. Moreover , they can''t even decide the colour of their tie without discussing it with you and Xiao. They are so dependent on you both.

    "And even if Wei ever decides to leave you , I will also divorce him. Ningtao stays where Xinghe stays. Me, Alix and you. A happy family."

    The phone was on speaker when the woman said these words and the six men clearly heard Ningtao. Lu Wei pinched the space between his brows with a sigh. He always wondered whether Ningtao loved him or if she was in love with his sister !

    "You are going to be punished when Ie back , Mrs.Lu !", the man warned.

    Ningtao smiled ,"I married you because Xinghe is your sister. You can''t change the facts. And about punishment , I am waiting."

    Lu Wei chuckled as Ningtao disconnected the call.

    Mo Zixuan looked at Rong Xinge and asked the question on his mind ,"What do you n to do with Zhou Che then ?"

    "I think you should leave him.", Lu Wei massaged the girl''s tense shoulders.

    "Huh?"

    "Xinghe... he was not in his senses when he did that. Although it was easy to persuade him because he was already hostile towards us , he can''t still be med. Moreover , for Zhou Zhichen''s sake , just let it be this time. Zhou Zhichen loved his brother a lot. If you destroy Zhou Che so ruthlessly , he won''t be at peace in heaven.", the man said calmly.

    It was not that Lu Wei was too merciful. It was just that he knew the softest spot of Zhou Che. He knew what would be the most unbearable pain for that man.

    Rong Xinghe took a deep breath and nodded her head ,"I will return back the shares then."

    "And what have you nned for Rong Yufan ?", Zhi Bo asked the girl.

    "You will know tomorrow.", Rong Xinghe revealed a mysterious smile.

    The six men looked at each other worriedly. They simply wished for the girl to stay strong throughout this battle. Because this fight was against the people she once considered family...

    _____________

    Next morning , Zhou Che woke up to find a team ofwyers from Zhi and Lu business empires standing at his doorsteps.

    The man was confused. ording to father Zhou , Rong Xinghe was going to handle everything from the dark. Then what was the legal team of both the influential business groups doing there ? What was going on ?

    "Mr. Zhou. The power of attorney representative for both the groups believes that you were hypnotized into doing what you did to the Lu family. Traces of stillness inducing drug Clonazepam and anger inducing drug Cocaine were found in your blood. You were hypnotized and hence , Ms. Rong doesn''t me youpletely.

    "Yeah ! But she has warned you that you should give up on the thought of harming her friends and family. She wants you to know that she won''t go easy on you if something like this happens again."

    When he heard Senior Advocate ra''s words , Zhou Che was dumbfounded. Rong Xinghe was so angry on him that she wasn''t willing to hold back even for their past''s sake. The emptiness and bloodlust he had seen in her eyes were quite frightening this time.

    "Did she actually considered to look at the evidence ?", Zhou Che asked anxiously. If Rong Xinghe had expected him to be innocent for even once , it would mean that she still cared about him , right ?

    "Yes.", thewyers nodded.

    "And there is one more thing , Mr. Zhou. Ms. Rong has decided to return back the Zhou Digital Enterprises to you. She has signed the share transfer papers and has given back the 70% of your business back to you. Here are the documents.", Advocate ra passed the papers to the man.

    "Since you had nothing to do with the ident , she doesn''t wish to bother you anymore.", thewyersmented and left.

    "That poor child. She is so righteous.", Father Zhou sighed and headed back to his room to take care of his still unconscious wife.

    ________________

    After some seconds of contemtion , Zhou Che took a deep breath and pulled out his phone as he made a call.

    "Military Chief Rong Xinghe speaking...", the girl''s sweet and gentle yet professional voice came through the opposite end.

    "Xinghe... Its me. Che.", Zhou Che said in a low and nervous voice ,"Don''t disconnect the call please. Just hear me out."

    Rong Xinghe remained silent for sometime before she replied ,"I think there is nothing to talk about , Mr. Zhou. I hope thewyers have made my intentions clear to you. You can continue your life normally now. And I would appreciate it if you would stay away from my family."

    "Xinghe... I... Look there are many things I want to talk to you about. Can we please meet up ?", Zhou Che wanted to apologize to the girl face to face.

    "I am busy and I don''t think that''s a good idea , Mr. Zhou.", Rong Xinghe had no intention of continuing the conversation with the man. She had more important things to do today.

    Zhou Che shook his head guiltily when the girl hung up on him. Why would she want to talk to him ? He had already hurt her so much.

    But no matter what , he had to apologize to her. Otherwise , he wouldn''t be able to face himself in the mirror again. He had yelled so rudely at her back then. He couldn''t believe that he had doubted his Xinghe. He knew her for an entire year , yet he had been so insensitive towards her.

    This was the difference between Rong Xinghe and Zhou Che. There was a time in their life when they both had to decide whether to trust the other person or not.

    When Zhou Zhichen died , he easily believed that Rong Xinghe had killed him.

    But even when she almost lost her brother , sister-inw and niece in that ident , she chose to trust her instincts and avoided to target him. Otherwise , she would not have even bothered looking at the evidences supporting him.

    "I hurt you a lot Xinghe. I wronged you and even disappointed Zhichen. But I will earn your forgiveness first. And after that , I will win back your heart. I know that I need to give you time and that I need to be patient when ites to you. I am willing to do it. I am willing to do anything to gain back your love , my Xinghe.", the man smiled as he looked at his phone''s wallpaper. It was still his girl. His first love, his Xinghe.

    s ! Only if he knew that the real King to this Queen was arriving back soon...

 Chapter 192: "To take back what always belonged to me !"

    Chapter 192: "To take back what always belonged to me !"

    Soon , the sun started to set as the clock struck 7:00 p.m.

    Rong Corporations'' Headquarters :

    The shareholders were indulged in a serious conversation while a fifty something year old man was listening to them. The shareholders seemed to be dissatisfied by the performance of the Rong Group intest market reports.

    "What is the meaning of this , Mr. Rong ? Where is CEO Rong Yufan ? Is this some sort of joke ? He called for the meeting and he himself is not on time."

    "Exactly ! And have you observed the performance of Rong Empire in domestic market ? There is not even a single profit here. Forget about international market. Xi family is already ruling there. But what about this ?!"

    "I feel like the Rong family is insulting the hardwork done by the former president. He left such a huge business group with you and you are destroying it like this. Mr. Rong Yufan hasn''t been able to take a single smart decision here. We are highly disappointed."

    "I know, right ? Firstly, the scandals regarding the Rong family are being released everyday. We are looked down upon by the society as we are associated with you all. And now , there is no profit in the business with you anymore. Why should we even stay here ?"

    "That''s right. If it wasn''t for our respect for the former CEO , we would have had left the Rong Corporations a long time ago."

    As he saw the shareholders considering the option of selling their shares , the old man named Rong Chang impatiently nced at his watch and clenched his teeth. Where the hell was that Rong Yufan ? Didn''t he understood the consequences of standing up the members of Board of Directorate ?

    Rong Chang was Rong Yufan''s father and Rong twins''s uncle. He was a very calctive person. In fact, he had wholly supported Rong Yufan''s actions during the train incident in Country I.

    The old man stood up from his seat and smiled at the shareholders ,"I don''t know what is going on but I assure you that CEO Yufan will arrive soon. Please calm down. "

    ::::::::::::::::::::::::

    "That won''t be necessary Mr. Rong. After all , the CEO of Rong Business Empire is changing today."

    The moment the people in the meeting room heard a woman''s voice , they turned their heads around and fixed their gazes on the entrance of the meeting room. What was happening ? Who would say something like that ?!

    Rong Chang frowned as well. What was going on ?

    A woman soon entered the meeting room as somewyers followed behind her. Thisdy was not someone that could be disrespected or looked down upon. After all , CEO or not , the highest authority of a nation was bound to be treated with propriety and respect.

    This woman was... Rong Xinghe !

    As soon as the shareholders sensed the intimidating presence , they stood up from their seats and bowed down to Rong Xinghe respectfully.

    Rong Xinghe had brought immense respect to Country X by rescuing 118dies from sex very not too long ago. She had even avenged Country X by killing the frightening terrorist named Hassan Imaz. Currently , her status was too high in the state. As businessmen and businesswomen , the shareholders naturally knew how to treat her.

    Rong Xinghe smiled at the shareholders and gestured them to sit down. She was wearing a Dark Blue business suit and her jet ck hair were tied in a long wavy ponytail. The woman had done a light makeup and the pink matte lipstick on her lips made her look even more fascinating and professional.

    The moment Rong Chang realized what was happening , uncertainty started flowing through his body and he pulled out his phone with his trembling hands to make a phone call.

    Rong Xinghe nced at her ''Uncle'' with a smirk and mocked him ,"Well...CEO Yufan is enjoying his time with his girlfriend in Hawaii currently. He might be busy."

    "What are you doing here ?!", Rong Chang yelled at the woman angrily ,"What tricks are you pulling now ? I am telling you..."

    "You better watch your mouth. Defamation of Country X''s Military Chief is a severe offense , Mr. Rong.", Rong Xinghe red coldly at the old man and pointed her chin towards his seat ,"Please be seated. Rong Empire''s destiny is going to change today."

    When faced with this new Rong Xinghe , Rong Chang lost all his confidence. For some unknown reason , he felt like this was not the girl they had abandoned 10 years ago. She had this intimidating and domineering aura radiating through her body. Her gaze was sharp and alert akin to a tigress. Herposed approach was just like a queen. She seemed like a person far beyond their reach even though she was standing just in front of them.

    The old man retaliated his urge to argue back and sat down. He wanted to see what games the girl could y...

    Rong Xinghe didn''t even bothered looking at Rong Chang again and focused her attention on the shareholders instead ,"Ladies and gentlemen , I would love to cut to the chase. I have many things to do and can''t afford to waste a single second of the day.

    "So... I would like to present the original will of your former CEO and my dad , Mr. Rong Anguo."

    Soon , thewyers distributed the copies of a thick stack of documents to every person in the room.

    But as soon as Rong Chang heard the girl''s words , he was shocked to the core. How could she have the real will of his brother Anguo ? Hadn''t he destroyed everything back then ?

    But the moment he read the contents in the will , his hands started to shiver terribly. This was indeed the real document ! The personal note for every shareholder along with the will was clearly in Rong Anguo''s handwriting. Damn it !

    "As you can see , your former President had always been a man with details. He wanted to appreciate your contribution from the bottom of his heart before leaving for his mission. So he personally wrote these letters to each one of you.", Rong Xinghe smiled ,"Please read your respective letters when you reach home. For now , let''s talk business.

    "ording to Mr. Rong''s will , he has clearly mentioned that he has no issues with Mr. Rong Yufan bing his heir. But when we closely see into the conditions , please look at use 147 on page 62. It clearly states that when his daughters , Rong Xinghe and Rong Xiao turns 18 , they will be given a fair chance topete for the position of CEO. We are 23 now , by the way.

    "Unfortunately , Dr. Rong Xiao has mentioned that she wouldn''t join the Rong groups just yet. So I think I am the only one left."

    Rong Chang was about to refute but Rong Xinghe stretched out her hand and pointed her index finger at him gesturing him to stay silent without even looking at him. She hated it when people butted in when she would be speaking.

    "Secondly , take a nce at use 137 of page 51. It exins that in case Mr. Rong Yufan isn''t able to provide thepany with constant benefits for three straight years , Rong Business Empire will fall straight into his daughters'' hands. After that , it will be his daughters'' choice to whether make or break the Rong group. Mr. Yufan hasn''t been able to maintain the profit bar for even a single year , let alone be three consecutive ones.

    "Yes ! He has indeed shown some consistency in results. The consistency towards losses !"

    The moment the shareholders heard the woman''s words , they burst outughing. This girl had her father''s sense of humour. So witty !

    "I am his daughter and I can not see his hardwork being destroyed like this. So today... I would like to take back what always belonged to me. I hope you guide and support me. We will make a perfect team. Thank you."

 Chapter 193: Dont ever consider me as one of the Rongs !

    Chapter 193: Don''t ever consider me as one of the Rongs !

    "You may ask your questions.", the girl said calmly.

    One of the shareholders raised her hands and looked at the girl seriously ,"Ms. Xinghe. You are the Military Chief of Country X. Although you can handle your own business side by side , won''t it be exhausting for you ? What I want to ask is that what will be your priority ? Business or Nation ?"

    Rong Xinghe nodded her head and replied politely,"I would prefer to be honest with everyone here. I will always prioritize Country X over Rong business group. Handling the Naval Force , Air Force and Armed Force altogether is indeed difficult. There might be situations when I will manage Rong Empire from Military Chief Office and there might be times when I will miss on some of the very important meetings because Military is known forst minute pressures and certain attacks happen even at the midnights. I will neverpromise my sincerity and duty towards Country X for Rong Business Empire.

    "Thepany should be clear about the fact that I never wanted to step into this business initially. If it wasn''t for the former CEO''s wish , I would have not even bothered to turn around and look at it. So it is the truth that Rong Business Group will never be my priority. But rest assured , I will bring an even better deal to us if we lose on something. I am a soldier and a soldier''s words are never empty promises. This is what you should all know."

    The shareholder smiled and raised his thumb encouragingly ,"Looking forward to work with you."

    As a shareholder , all of them wanted one thing. Profits. And Rong Xinghe was promising that.

    Another shareholder named Ron Ray asked up ,"What are your ns for Rong Empire in international market ?"

    "International market will be our major priority but we will have to ensure our domestic performance first. Rong Groups have been following the same old methods of business that were used 20 years ago and that is our biggest w. Change is the universal truth. We will have to eventually change the entire course and source of productivity. But I will make sure that Rong Business Group will be the business identity of Country X in international market just like Lu, Su, Zhi and Xi Empires."

    "You have been keeping your eye on Rong Empire for sometime now , Ms Xinghe. Why didn''t you imed the position earlier ?", Ron Ray asked excitedly.

    Rong Xinghe gazed coldly at Rong Chang sitting quietly beside her ,"One of my brothers were dealing with some critical issues. And I had to be by my family''s side."

    The moment Rong Chang felt the dangerous eyes scrutinizing him , his throat dried up and his eyes deflected rapidly. Although he hadn''t made a single movement , his head was covered in sweat by now.

    Rong Xinghe was the sister of globally acknowledged and respected Neurosurgeon and psychologist , Su Rogguang. She had a rough idea about human psychology. So naturally , she was hundred percent sure that this old man knew about Rong Yufan drugging Zhou Che. What else could be expected from these morons ?!

    She deliberately added the word ''family'' when she mentioned the six men as she wanted to mark a clear line between herself and the Rongs.

    "I would appreciate your presence here , Ms. Xinghe !", Ron Ray smiled understandingly.

    "What is your experience with business management ?", a woman in herte 20''s asked.

    "Do you know about the cosmetics brand ''Grace'' ?"

    "Of course ! That is my favorite. I always select my makeup essories for any event from there. Its fabulous. Wait ! You are..."

    Rong Xinghe smiled at the woman''s enthusiasm and nodded ,"I am the anonymous boss."

    "Oh my god ! That''s..."

    "Other than that , I have been handling Lu Corporations and Zhi Corps as their power of attorney representative for the past few months now. I hope that you have seen their recent performance.", she decided to hide Xi Yuan''s name because she didn''t wanted him to be affected by all of this.

    "That''s praiseworthy ! Both the businesses have been showing a positive and sharp hike in profits. I can''t believe that you managed to do that even when you were prioritizing the entire country''s security. Impressive !", an elderly shareholdermented.

    "Um... I think this is a little silly question but what are the perks of working with you ?", a young man scratched his head.

    "Hmm... I have diverse and variety of contacts ranging from entertainment industry and sports world to politics and international stage. I think a broad contact list counts as one of the perks ?

    "And in a funny manner , I allow office romance until and unless , work is efficient and you don''t get caught kissing by me. That''s just gross.", Rong Xinghe smiled.

    "HAHAHAHA !", the atmosphere lightened in the meeting room all of a sudden.

    Anyone with brain could clearly see , where the benefits lied. So every shareholder except Rong Chang took out their pens and signed the NOC in front of them. They wanted to officially approve that the rightfuldy would lead them high above.

    "We are sorry Mr. Rong. But business is all about benefits."

    "You know that former president always wanted his daughters to be given a fair chance."

    "I will give her a chance."

    "No worries , Mr. Chang. You are still holding the shares."

    "Wee to the Rong Empire , Ms. Xinghe."

    By now , Rong Chang''s face was as ck as the bottom of a pot. How did a simple business meeting turned into the biggest nightmare of his life ?! For sometime , he felt like this was all his wild imagination but when the shareholders started leaving the meeting room , reality hit him hard.

    His son was ripped off his position as soon as she returned back ! The heir of the Rong family was face pped even when he wasn''t physically present there. Just what would have had happened if the man was here today ?

    Actually , that wouldn''t have had brought any major change. Rong Xinghe had the real will written by Rong Anguo with her. Her performance in business was far more impressive than Rong Yufan and she had a diverse range of contacts. Most importantly , she was a diplomat. Her speaking skills were bound to be twisted. She proved her point with elegance and won the hearts of every shareholder quite easily.

    But Rongs would never ept that their son , Rong Yufan had lost to a woman ! To them , this was a shame. After all , what was a woman ? And what could they possibly do in business ? Weren''t women suited best in the kitchen ?

    So Rong Chang decided to believe that Rong Xinghe had pulled some strings from behind to achieve this. Even so , he was helpless. Other than him , every other shareholder was standing by her side. Majority of them wanted her to be the new leader and he couldn''t oppose all of them alone.

    Rong Xinghe was about to leave when the old man clenched his fists and shouted at her ,"Why are you bringing disgrace to the Rongs ?! Can''t you just die ?!"

    Rong Xinghe shook her head as she sighed. Those were the first words her so-called ''blood family'' wanted to say to her after so many years... What a touching reconciliation !

    "This much love can kill me , Mr. Rong. You know that , right ?", the girl chuckled coldly and turned around to face the old man.

    She then closed in on the man and whispered in her domineering aura ,"Don''t ever consider me as one of the Rongs ! I would have never kept this surname if it wasn''t for Mom and Dad. But I have my family of six.

    "Also , give a sweet message to your ''heir''. Tell him that "the game begins!"

    "Aren''t you afraid that your brothers will be killed ?", Rong Changughed like a psycho.

    "Huh. I dare you !", the girlughed back and exited the meeting room.

    If she could protect an entire country with a poption of millions , she could definitely protect her six tigers. Lu Wei''s ident was unforeseen... but now , the game was like a visible chessboard and it was her turn to move.

    The first thing she did as soon as her car touched the road was to call her Bro Mo ,"Its time to show the magic of ''Media Ma'' Mo Zixuan !"

 Chapter 194: Militarys blind support !

    Chapter 194: Military''s blind support !

    The six men were sitting in Mo Zixuan''s office and were looking at the live broadcast of the meeting room. They were slightly worried when Rong Chang behaved rudely with their kiddo. But they underestimated her. She was stronger than all of thembined.

    Initially , they were against the idea of her taking over Rong Empire but then they remembered that this revenge was her right. Most importantly , Lu Wei , Ningtao and her niece were hurt this time. She was obviously going to step in.

    Anyhow , Rong Xinghe bing the CEO of Rong Empire was just a formality. The six men were going to help her behind the scenes anyway. Practically , it was impossible for the highest Military authority of a nation to divert her attention too much. Lu Wei and Zhi Xi were both businessmen and their guidance was Rong Xinghe''s true confidence. Everyone knew that everything was just an attempt to show Rongs their real ce. Otherwise , the business was going to be run by all the eight siblings unitedly. After all , for Rong Xinghe , nothing was more important than her amazing nation.

    She had turned them down when they had offered to show up with her there as she believed that they didn''t needed to exhaust themselves for such an insignificant task. But being the sister-doting men they were , they still ended up sending theirwyers with pen cameras.

    Mo Zixuan smiled when the girl called him. It was indeed the time for Country X to know about the big news. So the man picked up his ck zer as he entered the green room and stepped into his ''Media Ma'' shoes !

    ____________

    In just one hour , the entire nation was in an uproar. Rong Xinghe bing the CEO of Rong Business Empire was not a small news, after all.

    "OMG ! My Xinghe is so awesome ! She is jumping into business as well."

    "I know , right ? She is so talented ! First singing , then social service , then military and now business

    !"

    "But isn''t she our Military Chief as well ? Don''t tell me that she is going to put our lives at stake for money !"

    "Take back your words , the above critic ! Don''t forget that she had bravely sacrificed her life for a small child in SGN stadium few months ago. She has also avenged us and saved Berlin by killing Hassan Imaz. She would never hurt us."

    "Exactly ! Her loyalty should not be questioned. As soldiers , all they need is their citizens'' trust and encouragement."

    "Anyway , I am too excited to see what she can do ? Rong Empire has been facing losses to the extent of shutting down. How will she save it at this point ?"

    "Let''s wait and see."

    Everyone in the nation were anticipating Rong Xinghe''s performance in business. But there were many people who were against it as well. Most of them were the politicians Rong Xinghe had personally gone against before. They believed that Rong Xinghe was being too greedy for both power and money. Unfortunately for them , Country X''s military was always supporting their boss.

    All the three army authorities stepped out one by one to point out their opinions on Rong Xinghe''stest decision.

    Air Force Chief expressed his views with these words ,"Military Chief Rong is an extremely capabledy and we have no objections with her joining business. We know that she will never ignore her country for a few millions."

    "Military Chief Rong''s dedication towards her nation can never be questioned. There are times when she merely sleeps for three hours a day in order to aplish a mission. We , the soldiers in Naval Forces , openly ept her new decision.", the Naval Force Chiefmented publicly as well.

    "Politicians should not intrude in the matters of the army if they don''t even know how many bullets are loaded in each machine gun around the world. Military Chief Rong is a woman beyond their reach. All they can do is bark. We blindly support her every decision and trust her leadership.", the Armed Force Chief said as he faced the sea of ck cameras.

    When all the three important Military personalities openly epted Rong Xinghe''s decision , there was nothing left for the politicians to say. Military was not something everyone could mess with and if it blindly supported someone , that individual couldn''t be considered ordinary.

    Actually , unlike most of the countries ,Country X didn''t followed the code of conduct. There was no such rule that stated that the soldiers couldn''t join business. But if they entered that field , they would automatically enter the alert zone. After that , any dereliction of duty or ignorance towards the country''s strength would end up with their termination from their post !

    So Rong Xinghe was officially in the alert zone now. From this point onwards , her every step was going to be noticed sharply by the media and the Union ministry of the country. In fact , Rong Xinghe was the first Military Chief to ever enter the alert zone. But Rong Xinghe knew what she was doing more than anyone and given the oues of her past decisions , she was going to eventually prove herself this time as well.

    Also , this was Rong Xinghe''s way of ensuring her brothers'' safety. Although she was going to enhance their security personnel after the ident , now , the entire country knew that she had given a hard blow to the Rongs by snatching what they once had. Now if anything was to happen to the six men or her family , the first suspects would be the Rongs. Ten years ago , her incident was the headline on every news channel. Almost entire nation had epted that the Rong family hated her. So if her brothers were harmed now , people would simply think that the Rong family wanted revenge.

    The girl was indeed the mixture of beauty , bravery and brains !

    _______________

    Rong Xinghe smiled as she looked at the TV screen in her office and shook her head helplessly ,"Things are going to get tough from here , Mr. Shou."

    Assistant Shou Wu nodded his head and presented a file to thedy ,"Here is the message sent by our informers and stringers. ording to them , Hafiz Al-Magdosh is hiding somewhere near Yemen and is nning something frightening."

    Rong Xinghe turned serious and looked through the documents attentively ,"So he has been working on advancing military submarines for quite sometime now. Maybe he is nning a Naval war ?"

    "What should we do then , boss ?"

    "So the Navy needs to be prepared. Tell Naval Chief to meet me in half an hour."

    _____________

    Meanwhile , Rong Family Mansion :

    As soon as Rong Chang told the family about what happened at the office and how the family had suddenly became a joke in front of the world , the bunch of people fumed up.

    "That girl should have had died back then !", Rong Xinghe''s ''grandmother'' , Rong Chen yelled angrily.

    "How dare that wench snatch away what belongs to my son Yufan ?!", Rong Chang''s wife , Gu Hong clenched her fists as well.

    "Where is Yufan ?", Rong girls'' grandfather , Rong Quiyang looked at Rong Chang.

    "No one knows his whereabouts. That girl said that he was with his girlfriend but he isn''t picking up his phone."

    "We can''t believe that sl*t , Chang. Quickly send our people to search for him. Who knows what he will do when he gets to know about this ? We can''t let him be alone at a time like this. My poor son...", Gu Hong clung onto her her husband''s arm pleadingly.

    This was how the Rong family was like. For them , the only person suffering was their rightful ''heir'' , Rong Yufan. None of them had even an ounce of guilt for what they did to a 13 year old back then or what happened with Lu family this time. Contrary to that , they were regretting the girl''s existence.

    Rong Chang informed his men to search for Rong Yufan and sat down on the couch.

    "I can''t believe that she already had the original will written by Anguo. Why did she waited for so long to bring shame on us ?"

    "Obviously because she wanted to boss us around. After all , she has been living with those six ill-bred boys for years now. She was bound to learn a few things from them. ", Rong Chen said.

    "Only if that Lu Wei''s child had died... That would be so satisfying !", Gu Hongughed manically.

    "Yes but the child is still of no use to the Lus. It is just a girl. I bet they will take few more chances until that Ningtao gives birth to their heir.", Rong Chen remarked.

    Sigh ! Only if everyone had as narrow of a mindset as them...

 Chapter 195: The Rong twins split the responsibilities

    Chapter 195: The Rong twins split the responsibilities

    "Pik-aa-boo !", Rong Xiao was ying with little Alix when Lu Wei entered the living room and sat down beside his wife.

    He smiled warmly at the pair of aunt and niece as he observed his two princessesughing. He then kissed Ningtao''s forehead and took her in his embrace lovingly. Ningtao also rested her head on the man''s chest and inhaled his unique scent.

    "So... how is my other sister-inw ?"

    "Well , your other sister-inw might not be able to spend more time with her niece as she will be busy with the Rong group from now on. I am obviously going to be there for her , though.", the man replied.

    "And what about Zhi Xi and his business ?"

    "I will help him with it. Now , its time for Lu Wei to make aeback. Otherwise , what will my daughter think of me ? An unemployed dad ?"

    Ningtao burst outughing at the man''s words ,"I dare her to think like that."

    After sometime , Ningtao looked at the man seriously ,"Mom called. She wasn''t too happy to know that we have given birth to a daughter. Wei , should we take one more chance ?"

    "Nope.", the man replied without even contemting about the decision.

    "But why ?"

    "My daughter is capable enough.", the man stood up and walked towards the kitchen ,"I will make you a cup of coffee."

    "I want the real reason , Wei. You always change the topic whenever you hide your true feelings. What is it ?", Ningtao tried to get up as well but her body was too weak. So she felt a sharp pain in her knees and it became difficult for her to maintain her bnce.

    Lu Wei quickly rushed back to hold his woman and helped her sit back down ,"Are you crazy ?! Tao , didn''t you listened to what doctors said ? You scared the crap out of me just now."

    When she looked at the anxious expression on the man''s face , Ningtao decided to remain quiet. She understood that looking at her like this must have been tough for him throughout this entire time.

    The man took a deep breath before answering his wife''s question ,"I don''t want another child because this first experience was already painful for you. Tao , I can''t afford to lose you. You have no idea how scared I was when that ident happened and I saw you fainting. Even when I got up , my first concern wasn''t Alix. It was you. You are the only one I need. I don''t want to see you like this again. You have already done too much for me by gifting me Alix. I don''t want another child troubling you.

    "For god''s sake , you are not a baby making machine. You are my better half and you are the Queen of Lu family. You rule over the hearts of millions of fans. Never forget your status and standing. And most importantly , never forget your importance in my life. Understood ?"

    Ningtao was touched when Lu Wei expressed himself clearly to her. He loved her so much that he couldn''t even see her in pain. Her eyes turned red and she hugged the man tightly ,"But won''t your Mom and Dad want a grandson ?"

    Lu Wei separated the woman from him and pinched her nose angrily ,"Both of them love you , Xinghe and Xiao more than me. Sometimes , I feel like they gave birth to me just so that I could bring you three in their lives. I really feel that I was adopted , you know ? They will be thest people wanting a ''heir'' for their family. They are already happy with their heiress !"

    Ningtao smiled and nodded. The Lu family elders indeed supported her every decision. They never expected too much from her and only hoped for her and Lu Wei to be happy. When elders were like that , their presence was the most serene blessing one could get.

    "Ah ! Young love...", Rong Xiao smiled dreamily.

    Both the couples looked at the girl holding Lu Alix in her arms. The baby had already fallen asleep.

    Rong Xiao passed Lu Alix to Lu Wei and patted his shoulder ,"Now daddy time. I got to go. Bye !"

    "Where are you going ?", Ningtao asked curiously.

    "To save your brother-inw Mo Zixuan''s rtionship.", the girl winked and left the couples to enjoy their family time.

    _______________

    Rong Xinghe had to shoulder two big responsibilities all of a sudden. Zhi Corporation was not her concern anymore because Lu Wei was capable enough to handle it along with Zhi Xi.

    But she had to keep an eye on terrorist activities while she also had to ensure the strengthening of the Military on the other end. Developing Rong Business Empire from the scratch was another ordeal in front of her.

    At such a time , she could not focus on her brothers and their rtionships. But thankfully , she had Rong Xiao by her side. Besides her surgery schedules , which were limited to three to four per day , she wasn''t involved in anything else. She simply wanted to have fun and Rong Xinghe had no ns to drag her into Rong Empire as well.

    So the twins decided to split their responsibilities. Rong Xinghe was going to work for the nation and Rong Business Empire while Rong Xiao took the matters with their brothers'' rtionships into her hands.

    The candidates Rong Xiao was responsible for were : Mo Zixuan and Zhi Al. She had to bring back Cheng Tai and Mo Zixuan and at the same time , she had to arrange for more dates for Feng Mian and Zhi Al so that they could understand each other better. Su Rogguang''s proposal was something they all were working on together.

    ______________

    Rong Xiao soon reached MZX Studio. There was still no improvement in Mo Zixuan and Cheng Tai''s situation. They still had this awkwardness surrounding them.

    "Hey guys ! Attention please. A small announcement.", the girl climbed on one of the reporter''s table and sped her hands excitedly.

    "What is it , Ms. Xiao ?", the people stopped their activities and looked at Rong Xiao.

    "Well... Ever since MZX has reported the first hand news about Military Chief bing Rong Empire''s CEO , our channel has acquired the top international ranking in terms of viewers. Congrattions !"

    The staff cheered and hugged each other enthusiastically. They all had to work overtime to organize each debate and interview , after all.

    As they listened to the ruckus outside , both Mo Zixuan and He Chen stepped out of their respective offices followed by other journalists.

    Rong Xiao looked at her brother and winked at him mischievously ,"So... we should celebrate , shouldn''t we ? Not only have my sister achieved another milestone , my lovely channel has been acknowledged with praise overseas as well."

    "Yeah ! A party should definitely be there.", some reporters encouraged the idea.

    "It is final then. The party is on me. Tomorrow evening , 6:00 p.m. Elite Hotel. Look as hot as you can. "

    Rong Xiao then jumped off the table and approached Mo Zixuan ,"Don''t you dare avoid the party ! Because if you do , I will get indescribably drunk. After that , whatever happens with me , you will be responsible for that."

    "You !"

    The girl didn''t bothered arguing with the man beside her and turned around to face He Chen ,"You can consider noting , Ms. He. You are so busy nowadays , after all."

    An ex-fiancee , not allowed !

 Chapter 196: "Cross-dressing is so much fun !"

    Chapter 196: "Cross-dressing is so much fun !"

    But of course , He Chen was a shameless woman. If she had the nerves to show up in her ex-fiance''s life again after so many years , would she have the self-respect to take Rong Xiao''s words to heart ?

    As he looked at the two women staring daggers at each other , Mo Zixuan couldn''t help but sigh helplessly. Rong Xiao was like a time bomb nted by Rong Xinghe in his office. She wasn''t going to stop until he would ept Cheng Tai again and he knew that.

    But whenever he remembered as to how Cheng Tai had pointed out that he wasn''t blood-rted to the Rong twins , he couldn''t bring himself to give their rtionship a second chance.

    He had no idea about what had happened to Cheng Tai during her university days. So he naturally wasn''t prepared for this matchmaking at all.

    Even so , the fact that the Rong twins knew them more than anyone , could never be changed. Rong Xinghe had noticed him locking himself up in his study room for all day long and Rong Xiao had observed this French cuisine specialist mess up the ingredients of his Scouffle. This was not normal. Not at all.

    "Kiddo , I...", Mo Zixuan tried to talk to the girl but the seconddy devil waved her hands in the air haughtily.

    "Don''t argue with me. You better do what is expected from you. Don''t forget that I am the 13% shareholder here !"

    "And I am the 70% shareholder , Xiao.", the man pinched the girl''s nose as heughed out. What was she being so nosy for ? It was just that he was giving these two brats some face.

    "You will note ?", Rong Xiao''s eyes turned red as she looked like she was about to cry.

    Now this was the man''s weakness ,"Ok ! I wille. Don''t scare me like that."

    The staff at MZX awed in admiration as they looked at the harmonious interaction between the brother and the sister. They were so cute. Although Mo Zixuan was still the same frightening Media Ma who could destroy or preserve almost anyone''s reputation , he was apletely different person when facing the Rong twinies. His approach towards them was way more tolerating and caring aspared to others.

    _____________

    Rong Xiao exited the office and made a phone call to Rong Xinghe ,"Hey sister !"

    "Don''t call me that. "

    "What the...", Rong Xiao refuted.

    "Putting up a show in front of brothers and sister-inws about our ''sister goals'' is enough. Don''t forget that you were an extra. The unnned one !", Rong Xinghe teased.

    "Nope. I was the bigger person who allowed you to stay with me for nine months in Mom''s womb. Don''t be so ungrateful. I am the princess here. Brothers obviously love me more.", Rong Xiao said as she drove out her car from the parking.

    "Dream on , girl.", Rong Xinghe humphed.

    After their childish bickering , both thedies burst outughing. This was amom characteristics of the twins. They didn''t always needed a reason for initiating an argument. Sometimes , they did that just for the fun of it.

    "Feels good to fight with you.", Rong Xinghe wiped the tears from her eyes as she spoke amid theughter.

    "That''s our birth right.", Rong Xiao smiled.

    "So... how many patients did you kill today ?", Rong Xinghe mocked.

    "What do you mean ?! I am a respected cardio-surgeon. Brother Rogguang is impressed by my skills as well.", Rong Xiao pouted angrily.

    "He needs some rest then. Something''s wrong with his brain if he is impressed by you."

    "I have something important to talk about. Could you stop insulting me ?", Rong Xiao shook her head helplessly. They both couldn''t appreciate each other on the face. They simply praised each other in front of outsiders. It was... awkward topliment a twin sister , you know ?

    "Speak."

    "Firstly , are you alright ? I mean , you had been to the Rong Headquarters. Did Rong Chang said something to you ?", this was her major concern.

    "Nah... He was just wishing for me to be dead.", Rong Xinghe chuckled. For some unknown reason , she wasn''t feeling hurt about it.

    Rong Xiao was relieved when she heard Rong Xinghe''s heartyugh. Thankfully , she hadn''t taken it too seriously.

    "Um... Are you free tomorrow ?"

    "I will have to see. What is it ?", Rong Xinghe looked at Shou Wu who was nning her schedule for the next few days.

    "I have nned a party for MZX staff. Bro Mo and Cheng Tai will be there too. I can handle it alone but it would be better if...", Rong Xiao hesitated.

    "...it would be better if ? "

    "If the legendary Lu Xi and Su Bo show up there !"

    "Are you seriously nning for both of us to cross-dress as men again , Xiao ? This is happening for the fifth time in this month.", Rong Xinghe mmed her hands on the table in front of her.

    "Come on ! Its so much fun !"

    "Well... I won''t disagree to that.", Rong Xinghe took a deep breath ,"Alright then. But I have a n for Bro Mo."

    "What ?"

    "Daniel and Isabe are visiting Country X tomorrow for few days. They both apparently need some break.", Rong Xinghe said with an extrayer of meaning.

    "Are you thinking what I am thinking ?", Rong Xiao giggled.

    "Let''s do it then."

    The Rong twins hung up the call on that note. After all , they were going to makeplete use of Wilson twins'' arrival.

    ______________

    Meanwhile , In Ennd :

    Xi Fang received the news that his parents had decided to shift back to Country X. But he couldn''t understand the reason behind their sudden decision. His instincts were telling him that it had something to do with him and so , he went to confront them.

    "What do you want to say ? Country X is our home country. Why can''t we settle there ? That way , we will be able to take good care of you , Ying and Wei.", Xi Chonglin nced at the young man in front of him.

    "Brother Yuan also lives there , dad.", Xi Fang pointed out his father''s omission.

    "Same thing."

    "Are Uncle Chongkun and Auntie Li Jungah shifting back as well ?", Xi Fang asked.

    "Of course. We all have some work to handle here in UK and then in Australia. But we will shift back soon after that. We won''t bother you young people. So we are going to live in Xi Family Mansion there.", Luo Youyou patted her son''s shoulder lovingly.

    Xi Fang took a deep breath and looked at his parents with contemtion in his gaze ,"I hope you are not doing something against Brother Yuan. You know his importance in my life."

    "He is just like our son as well , Fang. Could you not talk like that ?", Xi Chonglin raised his voice.

    Xi Fang simply shrugged his shoulders nonchntly and walked out of the room. He was just hoping for the eleven year old incident to not repeat again because he knew that he wouldn''t be able to see Xi Yuan that shattered again...

 Chapter 197: His two crazy sisters !

    Chapter 197: His two crazy sisters !

    Next Day , Elite Hotel :

    The entire second floor of the hotel was booked for the party and by the time clock struck 8:00 p.m. , the ce was packed with an excited crowd.

    MZX was not just a a news channel. It was actually a diverse broadcaster in Country X. The MZX Networks enveloped many other channels , including regional as well as international news channels , in it. This resulted in the party being one of the huge scale ones.

    Soon , Mo Zixuan arrived , inparatively more casual clothes. He was wearing a in ck jeans and a T-shirt covered up by a ck jacket. He had a habit of not showing off his wealth or power in his personal life , so he didn''t bothered with anything extraordinarily expensive.

    But He Chen was just opposite to him. She came in a halterce navy Blue dress. Her neck was adorned by an immensely pricey solitaire diamond ne.

    One look at her and anyone could tell that she was dressed to impress someone. But as to who this ''someone'' was ? It was really not too difficult to tell.

    Mo Zixuan literally choked on his drink when he saw He Chen''s odd and out-of-the-ce dress. He couldn''t help butugh at the woman''s low tricks to amaze and astonish him. Maybeing to this party wasn''t that much of a bad idea , he thought. Obviously , hisugh wasn''t too loud for anyone to hear , or He Chen would have had be the joke of the night.

    But hisck of attention wasn''t helping He Chen as well. When the staff saw Mo Zixuan ignoring her , theyughed at her from behind.

    "Did she really thought that she could seduce Boss like that ?", a male employee dressed in casuals chuckled.

    "Who knows what is wrong with her brain ? Thank god Ms. Xinghe isn''t here. Last time she had actually addressed her as bi*ch and sl*t in front of everyone , remember ?", one of Cheng Tai''s friendsmented.

    "Of course ! That was so savage... Boss''s both the sisters are too cool at showing someone their original ce. Ms. Xiao is quite witty too. ", another junior reporter chirped.

    "What else is expected ? He Chen is too bossy. She thinks that she owns MZX just because her father bought 6% shares in thepany and passed them to her.", another male employee humphed.

    "Boss is lucky that he dumped her at the right time. He has worked so hard to establish MZX to where it is today. It would be a shame if a woman like her would be ourdy boss.", a journalist sighed.

    "I know , right ? I would''ve had actually resigned if that would have been the case."

    When she listened to the staff talking about her like that , He Chen could only clench her teeth in fury. How dare these bunch of people look down on her !?

    Unable to contain her anger , He Chen took a deep breath and approached Mo Zixuan who had contained a stool in the corner of the bar area. Mo Zixuan was sitting like an innocent child and had no intent to talk to anyone but He Chen had to spoil his cozy and happy space...

    "Hey ! What are you doing here ?", He Chen sat down on the stool beside the man.

    "Existing , maybe ?", Mo Zixuan shrugged his shoulders nonchntly.

    The employees started tough pretty badly when Mo Zixuan answered thedy with sarcasm. That was such a cooleback. He was indeed the sharp-tongued ''Media Ma''.

    He Chen smiled awkwardly at the man. He wasn''t that rude before. What had changed him so much ? Whatever , now that he was sessful , he could as well show some attitude.

    He Chen deliberately ced her hand on Mo Zixuan''s shoulder , so that she could make other admirers of the man slightly ufortable. She wanted to give a strong message to everyone around. This man was hers and hers alone !

    Mo Zixuan didn''t wanted to go too overboard by shoving the woman away but this was really irking him now. He hated to see this face already , now she was even daring to make physical contacts with him. Luckily for him , the Rong twins were there for the rescue always.

    ________________

    "Hey Zixuan ! Come here. You yourself invited us and now you are hiding there ! ", Rong Xinghe''s male voice echoed throughout the floor.

    Mo Zixuan was dumbstruck the moment the voice fell upon his ears. He turned around to look in the direction of the voice only to be stunned even further. What the holy hell ?!

    Rong Xinghe and Rong Xiao were disguised in their male alias Lu Xi and Su Bo. Both the girls were looking so handsome that almost every girl on the party floor had fallen in love with them. But that wasn''t the end of it. Two more people were standing beside them and they were none other than the Wilson twins !

    The most renowned personalities of America were standing in front of them as they were also dressed in casuals. Daniel Wilson was looking as handsome as ever. His deep blue eyes were more refreshing than the ones in his photos they ogled in magazines and screens. Simrly , Isabe , who was generally addressed as Be by the Rong twins , was looking quite impressive herself. Howe they were here ?

    Mo Zixuan stood up from his seat and approached the group of pair as he stared daggers at Lu Xi after nodding at the Wilson twins ,"What is going on ? What are you upto ?"

    "Just showing the guests around. I can''t possibly roam around the city as Rong Xinghe , right ? Wait , you don''t want me here ? I will leave then.", Rong Xinghe was about to leave but the man stopped her quickly ,"Make yourselvesfortable."

    They had already shown up like this. What else could he do ? If he was to send them back , thedies present here would kill him for kicking out their eye candies.

    ------------

    After sometime , Daniel passed a ss of wine to Be before facing Mo Zixuan ,"You wouldn''t mind if I hit on any girl here , right ?"

    Mo Zixuan simply shrugged. He wasn''t responsible for every woman there. He simply had to take care of his two crazy sisters.

    But at this time , Daniel ced his ss on the side table and walked towards the dance floor. He stopped before climbing the floor and held out his hand to a woman ,"Will you dance with me ?"

    This woman was... Cheng Tai !

    Cheng Tai was about to refuse the request when her phone suddenly beeped with a text message from Rong Xiao ,"ept the dance. He is a man of character and a part of our n."

    Followed by this message , another message came from Rong Xinghe this time ,"Let''s make Mr. Mo a little jealous , sister-inw !"

 Chapter 198: "Although it was her voice , the words belonged to He Chen"

    Chapter 198: "Although it was her voice , the words belonged to He Chen"

    Cheng Tai was dumbfounded by the two consecutive messages from the Rong twins. When did they made this n ? And as a party involved , didn''t she had the right to know about all of this earlier ?

    But now , she couldn''t do anything other than following the script. So she smiled at Daniel and ced her hand onto his as she nodded gently.

    Both Daniel and Cheng Tai walked to the middle of the stage and the song switched to a romantic one ''co-incidentially''. Everyone cleared the stage , just so they could enjoy the sight of this handsome hunk dancing from up close.

    "Don''t feel ufortable , sister-inw. I mean no harm to you.", Daniel tried to warm up the atmosphere ,"Xinghe always likes to do it this way. I was also told about this when we were in the car and wereing here. Can you believe that ?!"

    "HAHAHA ! You seem to know her pretty well. ", Cheng Taiughed.

    "We are childhood friends. The Rong twins are two years younger than me and Be.", Daniel said.

    "Don''t look at Brother Mo. He should feel like you are enjoying your time with me. That is the purpose of making him jealous. Okay , how about this ? I will tell you about the pranks me and Xinghe have pulled off together.", the man said as he noticed Cheng Tai searching for Mo Zixuan.

    Cheng Tai reverted her gaze back at the man and nodded obediently.

    ________________

    Meanwhile , both the Rong twins and Be were looking creepily at the man beside them.

    As he saw Cheng Taiughing and dancing happily with Daniel , Mo Zixuan''s expression darkened a few shades. The man clenched his fists angrily and kept staring daggers at the two of them. When he heard the viewers awing and admiring the two people on the stage , his feelings were unpredictable. He hadn''t thought that he would feel this way when he would see Cheng Tai with another man but here he was , feeling jealous and ufortable.

    Lu Xi and Su Bo fist bumped each other as they smiled at each other. Mission sessful !

    They finally knew that Mo Zixuan still had feelings for her. This man was too good at hiding his real feelings , so they had to eventually n for all of this just to know what exactly was in his heart.

    Both the girls sat down on either side of the man and started talking in their male voice ," You can''t be expecting her to wait for you all her life , Bro Mo. Why can''t you just..."

    "You really expect me to forgive her for what she did ?", Mo Zixuan looked at Rong Xiao disguised as Su Bo.

    Rong Xinghe shook her head ,"Nope. We simply want you to have a talk with her about that argument. It is indeed true that she didn''t listened to your side of the story. But did you ever wondered as to what had happened with her in her past that she trusted He Chen ?"

    "I don''t care. She dared to insult you."

    "The way you are looking at her are not the symptoms of ''I don''t care'' , Mr. Mo. And although it was her voice , the words belonged to He Chen.", Rong Xinghe smiled.

    "Its fine. She can be with whomever she wants. I am leaving behind my driver. Both of you and Wilson twins are drunk , so don''t drive. I will leave first."

    As the man stood up and left the ce , both the ''men'' burst outughing ,"Ha ! He can''t obviously see her with another man. Why pretending unaffected ?"

    "So now ?", Rong Xiao scratched her head.

    "Now what ? You will have to make them talk. Think of a n."

    "Can''t you just help me with it ?"

    "Can you ever do anything without me ?", Rong Xinghe rolled her eyes.

    "Xinghe !"

    "Fine. Listen up."

    After the sisters were done discussing their future ns , they smiled at each other and enjoyed the rest of the party. They were there to relieve stress and that was what they did. Rong Xinghe joined Daniel on the dance floor and started flirting with women around while Rong Xiao talked to Be about her past rtionships in USA.

    Rong Xiao and Isabe , both were the lone wolves of the youth team. They were those people who were expected to be decent because of their profession , but were the most spoiled ones. No one could ever tell that they both were dignified surgeons in medical world by their appearance in parties like these.

    ______________

    In another corner of the world ,

    "Boss ! There is no problem in attacking Country X''s Navy currently except one.", a short man named Jush reported to the man sitting in the dark.

    The man in the dark sharpened his dagger against a slippery rock as he asked in Arabic ,"What can possibly hinder my n ?"

    "Rong Xinghe !"

    "Hah ! A woman ?! ", the manughed.

    " Don''t underestimate her Boss. She is the one who herself killed Hassan Imaz in Syria. She is even good at tackling bombs. The bomb nted by us at OCD Mall was diffused by her. She is quite smart.", the short man exined.

    "Hmm. So if she is going to cause trouble , then there is only one way to avoid that.", the man in the dark finally stood up and light rays touched his face.

    This man was none other than Hafiz Al-Magdosh , Rong Xinghe''s current target. He had a scary personality akin to a psycho. But then again , when it came to terrorists , weren''t they all mentally disabled ?

    "What is it boss ?", Jush asked.

    "She needs to die before we execute the n. Look for her schedule and note the time when she wouldn''t have MCST by her side. We will kill her then.", Hafiz Al-Magdosh smiled coldly.

    "Alright. How many assassins should we send ? "

    "Six-seven at most. Send the best ones. She is just a woman , after all."

    The short man nodded and exited the ce.

    Only if they knew Rong Xinghe...

    She was a smart woman and could always foresee danger. Even if she didn''t predicted that , she had sharp senses and was trained to deal withst-minute crisis.

    But the only problem was that Rong Xinghe wouldn''t have ever thought that a person close to her would be harmed seriously in order to save her life...

 Chapter 199: Their messed up childhoods...

    Chapter 199: Their messed up childhoods...

    Next morning , Rong Xinghe woke up to find a text message on her phone screen. It was from Xi Yuan.

    { "I aming tomorrow. Brunch ? Country Cafe. 11:00 a.m." }

    For some unknown reason , Rong Xinghe was delighted that he was actuallying back the next day. She herself hadn''t realized that she had missed him too much for these past few days. Especially , when Lu Alix''s life was in danger. At that time , she really wanted to be hugged by him. His presence itself was enough to fill confidence and certainty in her heart. But it was good that he wasing back after solving all his problems in Ennd...

    As she was in a good mood , she walked into the living room with a blissful smile across her lips. And that was a shock for the Zhi brothers , who were discussing a business project with each other.

    Didn''t she always woke up like an oldzy turtle with a groan and sad face ? What was it with all the liveliness and excitement today ?

    "What is it kiddo ?", Zhi Xi asked suspiciously.

    "Oh ! That Yuan--"

    "Yuan ?! What about him ?", Zhi Al crossed his arms and red at the girl. What did he do to make her smile the first thing in the morning ? What was going on between them ?

    Rong Xinghe gulped back the words she was about to say when she saw the change in her brother''s expression. How could she forget that they already knew about his feelings for her ? Moreover , what would they think if she was to tell them that she was happy just because Xi Yuan wasing back the next day ?

    "I.. um... was saying that Yuan had sent some funny videos to mest night. I was justughing at them. ", the girl rubbed her neck nervously.

    "Hmm. Is he treating you well ? I mean , does he make you ufortable or says something offensive every now and then ? You don''t have to keep him around if he is bullying you. We all six are there to kick him out of the Youth Team , you know ?", Zhi Bo looked seriously into the girl''s eyes and the other two men nodded their heads in agreement.

    What the hell ? By the looks of it , it seemed as if they wished for him to be separated from her life. But why ?! Was it just their protectiveness for her or... something else was on their mind ?

    "Bro Zhis ! He has never mistreated me. In fact , he is always tolerant towards my childish actions and has never said anything offensive to me. Instead , he tries to understand my problems and helps me solve them. What''s wrong ?", the girl rubbed her forehead and sat down on the couch.

    Zhi Bo rushed into the kitchen to make her a cup of tea as Zhi Xi sat down beside her.

    "Xinghe , before he became my and Wei''s student , he has had seen many hardships in his life. He was just 15 when he lost his grandparents and his age was simply 18 when he took over the Xi corporations. He was never allowed to write his own destiny because he had already been destined to Xi Business Empire by his grandfather. He has faced many traumatic experiences in his past and his childhood was a mess.", the man exined to the girl.

    "A messed up childhood... just like me ?", the girl clenched her fists.

    Zhi Xi''s heart ached when he was reminded of what this brat had gone through during her childhood. With a heavy voice , he managed to reply with a "Hmm."

    "Who was responsible for it ?'', the girl asked in a daze.

    "His parents , his Uncle Xi Chonglin and Aunt Luo Youyou.", the man said ,"We have no issues with Xi Yuan , kiddo. He is a good man. His family , on the other hand , is the matter of major and prior concern. We don''t actually trust them. But I won''t tell you any further. We should respect his privacy , right ? He will tell about it whenever he feels like doing so."

    The girl took a deep breath and nodded ,"I understand."

    She was simply hoping that he hadn''t gone through any frightening trauma like that of hers. Now that she thought about it , the man merely talked about his past. Just what had happened ?

    ________________

    After taking a bath , the girl stepped out to find Songyan trying piano as she struggled with the keys. Rong Xinghe sighed and sat down beside her sister-inw as she helped herplete the song.

    "Now get up and have your fruits. You are almost three months pregnant now. Could you not put on such exertion on yourself. And where is that careless husband of yours ?", the girl dragged the woman towards dining room.

    "The careless husband is here !", Zhi Xi entered the room and ced a rose bouquet in front of Songyan ,"She wanted these , so..."

    "...so you ignored her diet schedule ?! How should I kill you ? With a knife or with a gun ?", Rong Xinghe pulled out a sharp knife from the fork case.

    "I apologize !"

    "Don''t apologize. Just feed your woman. I am a busydy.", the girl stuffed a bread in her mouth and sat down on one of the chairs.

    "Bro Bo , leaving tomorrow ? Must be excited , no ?", the girl smiled at Zhi Bo and Ruo Cy.

    "To where ?"

    "Honeymoon... Its Switzend , Paris and Greece , by the way.", the girl passed two flight tickets to the man ,"Hotels have been booked. I don''t think guide will be needed as the both of you will be busy kissing and doing PDA rather than seeing the sights. I have still sent you the best locations reviewed by the locals. It is a 45 days trip but you can extend it. Thank meter."

    Both Zhi Bo and Ruo Cy stared wide-eyed at the girl munching sandwich in front of them. When did this happen ? And why weren''t they told earlier ?

    "What ? Its already six-seven months that you are married. Who will live the honeymoon period ? Me?"

    "But work...", Ruo Cy picked up her phone to talk to her assistant.

    "Oh please ! I have already cleared both of your schedules. Go and enjoy. I can''t survive this ''exchange of love through the eyes'' anymore. Just go and do whatever you want to do.", Rong Xinghe made an extremely cute disgusted expression making both the Zhi Brothers and the two sister-inwsugh out.

    "Its okay , Bo. You both should definitely go. You need the break.", Zhi Xi nodded at his younger brother.

    Ruo Cy blushed slightly when Zhi Bo looked at her with a smirk ,"Should we ?"

    "Look what I was saying !", Rong Xinghe sighed earning another round ofughter ,"Since you two are going , I have an important thing to tell you , sis-inw Cy."

    "What ?", Ruo Cy looked at the girl attentively.

    "Try your best to bring the news of my third niece or nephew''s future arrival !", the girl said seriously as if she was assigning a military mission to her sister-inw.

 Chapter 200: One more day and her admirer would be back

    Chapter 200: One more day and her admirer would be back

    Rong Xinghe arrived at Rong Empire''s headquarters to attend a meeting with the shareholders.

    "So how do you n to hike up the profit rate of the business , Ma''am ?", a youngdy asked.

    "We are quite curious to know your opinions , Ms. Xinghe.", Ron Ray smiled encouragingly at the girl.

    "So currently , Rong Business Group primarily focuses on trade marketing , gold jewelry , and poultry. All the three of them are a lose-lose. Gold jewelry is not into trend around the globe. This particr business is only sessful in culturally diverse countries like India. After that , trade marketing isn''t always at loss. But we don''t have efficient staff and required technology for that. Andstly , Poultry isn''t actually too huge of a scale work.

    "You all have been running thispany the way former CEO left it. At that time , all these things were prosperous. But today , everything ispletely outdated. Too bad , Mr. Yufan didn''t even thought about all this.", the girl said as she closed the files in front of her.

    "So what do you propose , Ma''am ?", a middle-aged shareholder asked. It wasn''t that they hadn''t though of all this. But Rong Yufan was too proud to listen to anyone. He was simply sitting around and destroying Rong Xinghe''s father''s hard earned money.

    "Well... give an extension period of six months to all the employees of all these threepanies. They should be able to find a new job in that much time. We will close down all the three businesses after that.", the girl looked at everyone seriously.

    The entire room broke out into confused murmurs after few seconds of silence.

    After sometime , Ron Ray asked the girl ,"What will we invest in after that ? You seem to be prepared about it."

    Rong Xinghe smiled and nodded her head ,"Technology and Software development. The only business where profit is inevitable."

    The shareholders looked at each other with shocked expressions. From trade marketing to technology. What a huge transformation ! Many of them had doubts about it but they had no right to question this woman. They had themselves approved her earlier. Only when the business would face a loss could they me her.

    Rong Xinghe , of course , knew this. Businessmen had only one priority : profits. But she was eventually going to satisfy them.

    Another reason for choosing this particr business idea was her brothers. Lu Wei was an ''Estate Lion'' as most of the Lu Corporations focused on property management. While Zhi Xi aced the field of ''Corporate Business''. She didn''t intended topete the two men in their game. After all , they were the ones who had taught her business in the first ce. And if she was to think of coborating with them , then she was afraid that she wouldn''t be able to maintain the individuality of the Rong group. She didn''t wanted to disappoint her father , so she selected this option. Both the men were supporting her with any of her decisions anyway.

    "Will we involve military in our new n as well , Ma''am ?", one of the shareholders asked excitedly.

    But to his fright , Rong Xinghe''s expression turned icy cold as she red at him angrily ,"Firstly , when I am here , I am just a businesswoman and not a Military Chief. So don''t mix up my identities. Secondly , no one is capable enough to involve the military into their money-making. It is the army who decides whom they want to honour by epting them. And thirdly , a mere software development n can never provide the military with the advanced technology it requires. They need skilled personnel by their side. Am I clear ?!"

    When faced with Rong Xinghe''s cold robotic manner of speech , chills ran down the spines of every shareholder in the meeting room. Clearly , military was a sensitive topic for this woman. If they wanted to survive in Rong Empire , they''d better watch their tongues while mentioning the three mighty forces of Country X !

    ______________

    After the meeting ended , Rong Xinghe headed to the Military Chief Office.

    This was how her life was going to be like from now on. Revolving around Rong Corporations and Military Chief duties. But she forgot about one person. Xi Yuan. This wife-doting individual would never allow his woman to suffer that much. Although he couldn''t do anything about the military , he was a renowned businessman. She simply had to wait for one more day and her admirer would be back.

    "Xinghe ! There was a message delivered to us via Network socket from South Yemen. I am not able to decode that. Almost every bureaucrat in the Military Chief Team has tried it as well but every attempt went in vain.", Feng Mian breathed a sigh of relief the moment she saw Rong Xinghe enter her office cabin.

    "Hmm. What is the message ?", the girl asked as she removed her jacket and covered it over her chair.

    "Um... okay its... ", Feng Mian nodded and looked down at the piece of paper in her hand ,

    " Spy , Spy , Spy ! The guard needs to die !

    It must be dagger or it can be the barud from the hole ,

    When the guard bleeds the blood ,

    The sky will bow and the ocean will blow."

    "And then there is something written in Arabic.", Feng Mian sighed ,"I was about to search it on the inte when you came."

    Rong Xinghe''s brows furrowed slightly when she listened to the secret message from Feng Mian ,"Don''t bother. Give the sheet to me. I know Arabic."

    Feng Mian was stunned speechless when the girl said the words casually but she still passed on the paper in her hand to her.

    "Hmm.  X . This means ''Country X Target''. So the attack is going to be on country X. Now if we connect the dots , ''guard needs to die'' can be anyone. It can be the Air Force Chief , Armed Force Chief , Naval Force Chief or me. They seem to be tapping our activities. ''Barud'' in Arabic means gunpowder. So barud from the hole must mean bullet from the gun. They might send their trained assassins for the mission.

    "Andstly , after their target or ''guard'' of Country X as they say , dies , they will perform their original n. ''Sky will bow'' is just a method to convey that Air Force won''t be able to do anything. And ''ocean will blow'' must mean that the attack will be against Country X''s Navy. Great !", Rong Xinghe chuckled with a darkened gaze ,"Could the message be any more childish ?!"

    Childish ? It took them the entire morning to figure out what it meant and she was saying that it was childish. Just because she was abnormally smart , did it mean that she couldugh at them like that ?

    "Tell all the three chiefs to be alert all the time foring few days and inform the Naval Chief to meet me. Country X will obviously respond to them in an equally brutal manner. We need to execute our n when the timees. Increase security of all the military higher ups and no need to warn MCST. They are already following me everywhere I go in civil clothes.", the girl said as she sat down on the chair. Of course , the orders were directed towards Shou Wu. She had something important to discuss with Feng Mian.

    "Xinghe... can I ask you how mannguages you exactly know ?", Feng Mian asked the girl.

    Rong Xinghe smiled as she replied honestly ,"Eleven."

    Feng Mian : "....."

 Chapter 201: "I missed you too..."

    Chapter 201: "I missed you too..."

    Next day , Rong Xinghe reached Country Cafe to meet Xi Yuan. They had nned to have brunch there. And to her surprise , the man was already waiting for her.

    Xi Yuan was ordering Rong Xinghe''s coffee when she approached him from behind. She couldn''t express how relieved she was that he had returned back safe and sound. Sometimes , even she couldn''t understand herself. A woman as fierce as her had suddenly started to feel blissful by every little thing about the man.

    Xi Yuan turned around with the coffee cups in both his hands. But as soon as he turned , the littledy devil of the six men startled him with the ages old prank ,"Bow !"

    The man was really taken aback by the girl''s actions. Couldn''t she simply greet him in a gentle manner ? Then again , how could one distinguish between the legendary prankster Rong Xinghe and an ordinary person if she wouldn''t pull off such tricks every now and then ?

    As she looked at the frozen man afterughing her heads off , Rong Xinghe cheekily smiled and ced her hands on the man''s shoulder ," Are you alive , Mr. RichXi ?"

    It was now that Xi Yuan came out of his trance and looked at the girl from top to bottom. He needed to ensure that she hadn''t caused any trouble when he was away. Thankfully , she was in one piece.

    The man quickly ced the two coffee cups on the counter and pulled the girl into his embrace tightly ,"I missed you , Xinghe !"

    Rong Xinghe was slightly stunned by the man''s swift actions but after sometime , she started feeling his warmth as well. She patted the man''s back delicately as she whispered in a soft voice ,"I missed you too..."

    "Huh ?!", Xi Yuan looked at the girl with a shocked expression.

    Rong Xinghe bit her tongue as she realized what she had mumbled subconsciously. The girl thought that he didn''t heard her clearly , so she smiled ,"I said let''s have coffee or it will cool down."

    The girl quickly picked up the two coffees and and rushed towards an empty table hurriedly.

    As the man saw the woman''s flustered expression , his lips curled up in amusement. She was so cute when she tried to hide something as deep as that.

    She missed him too ! That was his biggest achievement so far...

    The man simply pretended that he didn''t listened to what she had said earlier. She was eventually going to say that out loud one day. Why to rush then ?

    ___________

    "...So Rong Family was the real culprit behind the ident and you have stripped them off theirst bit of luxury by taking over the Rong empire. You know that this decision of yours was intensely cruel , right ? ", Xi Yuanughed when he heard what havoc she had caused in the past few days in the nation. She had literally flipped the entire Rong Empire upside down !

    "When are my decisions not cruel ?", Rong Xinghe smiled.

    "Actually , they deserved that , so it wasn''t really too barbaric. You handled the situation the same way I would''ve had done if I''d been in your position. But won''t this be tiring for you ?", the man asked worriedly.

    "Maybe."

    "I will help you with it."

    "Hmm ?"

    "I have established many differentpanies from the root. Rong Empire is no different. You want to introduce the most developed software to the world and that will definitely be challenging. I will simply help you from the sidelines and provide you with the ideas. Is it fine ?", Xi Yuan proposed.

    "Yuan... I would like to decline. Rong Empire was set up by my dad. You know I would have epted this help if it was about Zhi or Lu corporations. But this is the legacy passed onto me by my parents. I want to prove to them that they didn''t trusted the wrong person with their hardwork. I will take this business to the pinnacle myself. Its just...", the girl refused to the man''s help.

    Xi Yuan smiled as he looked at the woman in front of him. She hadn''t seen her parents since she was two and she still cared about them so much. How could there be a person as pure as her ?

    "Alright then. I won''t get involved. But you will at least listen to the ideas , right ? Now that is just a basic trait of a businesswoman.", the manughed again.

    "Do I look like an idiot who would turn down the opinions of Business King Xi Yuan ?!", the girl chuckled. It was good that he wasn''t offended over it.

    "So... do I have the permission to see the Military Chief Rong Xinghe''s little niece ?", the man stood up after their brunch.

    Rong Xinghe smiled and nodded her head vigorously ,"Alix is the cutest baby ever , Yuan !"

    "Of course she is ! She has Senior Lu and your sister-inw Ningtao''s genes inside her , after all."

    __________

    In MZX News Studio :

    "Where are the files I ced here on my table yesterday ?! ", Mo Zixuan fumed up at the cleaners in his office ," Do you know how important they were ? Find it ! "

    One of the cleaners raised up his trembling hands and replied ," Sir , I think Old man Shei cleaned your office yesterday. He isn''t here today but I saw him take some files to the store room. I will go and search for them there now."

    Mo Zixuan waved his hands in disagreement ," You won''t be able to identify them. I will go and check myself."

    As soon as Mo Zixuan stepped into the dusty store room , he realized that someone else was there as well. The person was organising a book shelf there and it seemed like thedy was searching for something too. The moment thedy sensed the man''s presence , she turned around to look at who it was.

    When Mo Zixuan realized that it was Cheng Tai , the first thing he did was to check the door he had entered through.

    And as expected , it was locked !

    How could he forget the existence of seconddy devil in his office ? Rong Xiao , that brat !

    ....

    Meanwhile , Rong Xiao smiled as she hid the key to the storeroom in her pocket.

    She then took out a 1000 rmb note from her pocket and passed it to the cleaner who had misguided Mo Zixuan about the files being in the storeroom.

    Ha ! Rong Xinghe''s ns never failed.

    Mo Zixuan''s news bulletin was at 8 p.m. that night and it was just 1 p.m. currently. She had no ns to open this room for these seven hours.

    She would love to see for exactly how long he was going to avoid this conversation with Cheng Tai.

    Mo Zixuan had the habit of avoiding problems and he hated to face the things he was confused about. But rtionships like these needed patience and strength to listen to the other person.

    The Rong twins had no issues with their breakup. They simply didn''t wanted their brother to live in regret for all his life. Even if Mo Zixuan and Cheng Tai were destined to separate , it was better for them to be clear about each other''s standpoint , past and feelings before that happened.

    They understood that Cheng Tai and Mo Zixuan were mature adults but sometimes , some rtionships simply needed that one push and given Mo Zixuan''sck of initiation , he was never going to talk with Cheng Tai himself. After this conversation , the Rong sisters weren''t going to push their brother into making any decision anyway.

 Chapter 202: The biggest favour he was doing to her

    Chapter 202: The biggest favour he was doing to her

    For a split second , Mo Zixuan actually thought that Cheng Tai already knew about Rong Xiao''s n but when he noticed the equally shocked expression on the woman''s face , he stopped himself from acting impulsively.

    Cheng Tai could read the man''s perplexed expression and quickly exined ,"I had no idea about this. Actually , Rong Xiao sent me here to search for a file. I didn''t knew she had nned for all this... I will call her right now."

    But when Cheng Tai stretched her hand to pull out her phone from her pocket , she realized that she had forgotten to bring her phone along with her ,"Crap ! I... um... left my phone in my cubicle. Could you..."

    Mo Zixuan took a deep breath and nodded. And as soon as the call got through , he clenched his fists angrily ,"Is this your way to sort things out , Xiao ? Unlock the door right away !"

    Cheng Tai could tell that the man was trying his best to contain his anger. He showed an amazing amount of self-control and tolerance when it came to the people he loved and respected.

    She was truly hoping that these siblings wouldn''t harm their rtionship just because of her. After all , who was she ? A woman who couldn''t even distinguish between right and wrong. She truly didn''t deserved a man like him...

    Rong Xiao smiled as she enjoyed the live video footage of the storeroom from her office cabin. She didn''t wanted to intrude their privacy initially , but just in case , what if they got into any heated argument ? Someone had to go for the rescue , right ?

    The girl obviously knew that the man was being too gentle to her and a volcano was erupting inside his mind. When she thought about how he could literally rip her apart if she was in front of him , she felt a chill run down her spine. But for the sake of her to be sister-inw and her brother''s future kids, she was left with no option but to take the risk ! Just for you , bro.

    "I will release you two from this detention after seven hours. You can scold me after that. Your files are with me and I will sort them out before you are out of there. So don''t worry.

    "Lastly , please take note of the fact that there is ady in this storeroom with you. Be gentle and don''t be too aggressive towards her. You know , its not too bad to have a normal conversation brother. Even if it is with your ex-girlfriend... Bye !", Rong Xiao disconnected the call hurriedly.

    "Hello ? Kiddo !", the man almost threw the phone away when the brat cut his call.

    "We are stuck here for seven long hours...", the man sighed and loosened his tie with a fatigued expression. He grabbed two chairs from the corner of the storeroom and sat down on one of them ,"Make yourselffortable."

    Even if Rong Xiao had locked him up with her , he could always chose to remain silent. He would simply not talk to Cheng Tai.

    The man adjusted his position and rested the back of his head on the edge of the chair and closed his eyes. His head was aching pretty badly already and now these Rong sisters were pulling off tricks like these. How tiresome !

    After sometime , the man felt someone massaging his head skillfully. For sometime , he simply remained unmoved and allowed the woman to continue because her massage was genuinely helping him. She was quite good at this. If only they hadn''t broken up...

    With this thought , the man woke up with a jolt and stared at the woman who was taken aback as well ,"Its fine. Don''t stress."

    Cheng Tai nodded her head in a daze ,"Sorry. I just thought..."

    For some unknown reason , Mo Zixuan didn''t expected the woman to be so ufortable and cautious around him. This was not how he had known her. Cheng Tai was a very adorable and talkative person but it was for the first time that he had seen her being so guarded about every little thing she did. It was now that he realized how much they both had changed after splitting apart.

    Next second , the man sighed and reflexively looked into Cheng Tai''s eyes ,"Since Xiao and Xinghe wants us to talk and we have five more hours left here , do you want to... I mean I don''t mind knowing the reason behind your reaction that day."

    Cheng Tai was stunned for few good seconds when the man mentioned that he was willing to listen to her. This was the biggest favour he was doing to her. As long as he would calmly give her his attention for some minutes , she didn''t hoped for too much , especially forgiveness , from him.

    Cheng Tai''s eyes turned red and she sat down beside the man as her hands trembled ,"Before our rtionship started , I had already told you that I was in a rtionship with one of my college friends , right ?"

    Mo Zixuan nodded and listened everything patiently. Cheng Tai exined how she had fallen for him blindly and how her ex-boyfriend had tried to molest her sexually. She told him how that man had drugged her and how he had ripped apart almost all of her clothes back then.

    "Zixuan , he touched me here , here and here.", the girl pointed towards her different body parts as she sobbed ,"You know I felt so horrible when he did that. At that time , I regretted not listening to the people who had warned me about him. That rtionship was such a trauma for me that I couldn''t even sleep for three months without waking up in the middle of the night frightened by the nightmare of someone assaulting me. It was too horrifying.

    "Mom had went through a bone marrow transnt during this time , so I couldn''t worry her out. I didn''t had Dad by my side as he was enjoying the glory of a martyred soldier in heaven. I was alone and I was shattered. I had no one to talk to. No one was there and that was even more scary. I...

    "After that , I always listened to what people said about my closed ones. Many times , they were right and my closed ones were actually proved to be the real backstabbers. Eventually , listening to outsiders became a habit.

    "But I was wrong. I... wronged you and I wronged Xinghe... You both are amazing. I don''t know what had gotten into me at that time. I deserve the hostility and ignorance you give me. Xinghe is a wonderful. She loves and respects you a lot too. You are lucky to have her in your life.

    "Zixuan... it truly doesn''t matter whether you forgive me or not ever again. Because even if you do , I will never forgive myself for what I did and what I said. I am a journalist and I know how painful words can be. I insulted your kiddo in front of everyone and I deserve this hatred.

    "Regardless of what your answer will be , I just want to say one thing to you from the bottom of my heart - I am really sorry.", the woman broke down after saying these words and buried her face into her palms.

    Mo Zixuan felt his heart ache for Cheng Tai when he noticed her shivering shoulders. He covered up the girl by his warm jacket and sighed. Somewhere there , it was his fault as well. Back then , she wanted to honestly tell him about why she broken up with her boyfriend but he had refused , in order to not allow their past into their present. If he had heard her painful story earlier , maybe he would have had tried to understand her even more.

    She was just a university student when all of this had happened to her. He couldn''t entirely me her for trusting He Chen''s crocodile tears.

    Now that they were opening up to each other , it was his responsibility to do that as well.

    "Do you want to know why I broke up with He Chen ?"

 Chapter 203: The homewrecker He Chen !

    Chapter 203: The homewrecker He Chen !

    Cheng Tai agreed to the man''s question by the words ,"Only if you arefortable with that. Don''t push yourself too hard."

    Mo Zixuan shook his head gesturing that he was willingly doing it and smiled bitterly at the woman. She still cared about him the same way she did in the past.

    The man took a deep breath before speaking up ,"He Chen and I met eight years ago when Rong twins were simply 15 years old. Rong Xiao was preparing for her education abroad and Xinghe was working for humanitarian betterment in Country X. She had founded Youth Team at that time and was focusing on her own educational development. The five men were also busy with their careers and dreams. And so was I.

    "I was done with journalism at that time and was nning the formation of MZX. We eight siblings enjoy struggles and don''t let that fall us apart. Zhi Xi and Lu Wei helped me with the n but I refused to get their financial help because I wanted to make the Rong twins and myself proud of me. And the two men naturally understood that. After all , making the two brats proud of us was something we all wanted.

    "So I started to work for a newspaper brand called ''Nation Bites''. The sry wasn''t too good but it gave a good experience to me."

    Cheng Tai''s eyes widened when she heard the man''s words ,"You have worked for ''Nation Bites'' ? But that is such a smallpany. And wasn''t your firstpany the renowned ''Country Web'' newspaper ?"

    Mo Zixuan shook his head ,"That was my third job. Before that , I worked in two small newspaperpanies. I have also worked as a Junior Reporter for one year. Actually , in Journalism , that is important. You need to know the ground reality of your nation and public before you do the big talk. My initial years as a struggling reporter were the most enlightening and informative years of my career. I can never forget those days.

    "Just like Xinghe , I have also started my journey from the bottom. I have lost the count of days when I worked endlessly to print that one article on the front page of the newspaper. I don''t remember how many sleepless nights I had during that time. Xinghe was always there for me , you know ? She used to stay awake all night with me. Whenever I yawned , that girl would make me a cup of coffee. Her support was the biggest form of motivation for me at that time."

    Cheng Tai smiled when she heard how beautifully they all savoured their trying times. No matter how much the destiny tested these eight people , they never bowed down to it. Especially , the way Rong Xinghe had been there for him no matter what , it could melt anyone''s heart.

    "So I had met He Chen during an interview. Her father is a jade jewelry businessman and we had seen each other when I was about to write an article on Mr. He. She already knew my background. She knew that I was acquainted with wealthy people like Zhi brothers , Lu Wei and Su Rogguang. It was because of this that she started talking to me.

    "After we were one year into our rtionship , I had already bought my first MZX office. But during this time , arguments between me and her increased drastically. She expected me to get help regarding money matters from Lu and Zhi families and that was totally against my principals. So I always turned her down whenever she brought this topic up. But our fights always ended with her crying and me pacifying her. I thought she wished well for me and hoped for me to be sessful.

    "After few months , I took her to meet Rong Xinghe. But after He Chen left , that brat red at me and simply told me to break up with her. Apparently , her instincts told her that He Chen was a bad news. Xinghe had no particr hostility towards her and her rejection was simply based on her instincts. This has always been the case with that girl. When ites to judging people , Rong Xinghe always follows her instincts. For her , one chat with a person and she decides whether to keep them in her life or not.

    "Since it was all in her subconscious , I refused to take Xinghe''s suggestions to heart. I respected her opinions but this was too baseless. Fifteen dayster , I exchanged rings with He Chen in He family home. You know what was the worst part ? None of the Rong twins showed up in the engagement. They presented their disapproval for this rtionship so strongly.

    "As time passed , He Chen started tough at me for the differences between her and mine financial and social statuses secretly. She even judged me for my sess behind my back in her friend circle. I got to know about all of that but I was too focused on establishing my MZX empire.

    "And whenever I discussed about it to her , she would deny it and would always im that I was using her wrongly. Since she was my fiancee , the seven siblings never hindered her from contacting them but that caused even more trouble. One day , Ningtao called me and informed me that she had caught He Chen mixing sleeping tablets in Lu Wei''s beer ss. Ningtao and Lu Wei were already married and they had always been madly in love. Obviously , a wife couldn''t allow something as disgusting as that happening to her husband.

    "When I reached the ce , He Chen was begging Ningtao and Rong Xinghe to let her go but the two women refused mercilessly. I was shocked to see her admitting her mistake.

    "Xinghe doesn''t have just one brother. Just because she loves me doesn''t mean that she doesn''t admire the other five. She was willing to hunt He Chen down to the end that day. The girl literally wanted to hand her over to the judiciary along with the morphine drug samples found in her purse.

    "When a woman tries to drug a man , you know what it means. He Chen wanted to sleep with Lu Wei ! Could she be any more shameless ? He was already a married man , damn it ! For the sake of money and power , she was even prepared to be a homewrecker.

    "Rong Xinghe didn''t even bothered to talk about it to me. She didn''t showed even an ounce of sympathy till the police arrived and arrested her. But He Chen''s father was able to bail her out by using his influence. The incident with Lu Wei was akin to an eye opener for me so I decided to confront her about it.

    "It was her father''s birthday party at her home that day when I reached the ce. But when I asked her to have a private chat , she refused and started talking loudly in front of everyone. She said many things about me and that really wasn''t an issue. But things went south when she started insulting my two sisters.

    "Since Xinghe wasn''t aiming for Military Chief position and Rong Xiao was abroad , she thought that they both were useless. Sheughed at Xinghe and said that she was stupid to leave singing industry. Now even if she was to sing on the streets , no one would bother to give her a penny. She even used Rong Xinghe as a girl of loose character and said that my sister would jump onto any man for money. She crossed the limit by saying that the Rong twins deserved to be abandoned by the Rong family as they both were jinxing them.

    "Now after hearing all of that , how did she expected me to react ? It took me a lot of strength and control to not p her tightly across her face. I didn''t stooped myself low enough to insult her back as well. I simply broke up my engagement and rtionship with her before leaving that ce. I knew that the best revenge was going to be my sess.

    "Thankfully , I had my family to go back to. When they got to know about what had happened , none of them judged me. Especially , Xinghe. She helped me recuperate through it patiently. The girl never onceined about how I took her advice for granted , and neither did she pushed me to do anything. Same was the case with Ningtao and Lu Wei. They knew that I wasn''t actually paying attention to anything other than the development of MZX Networks when all of this happened , so they didn''t med me either. This family of mine is my biggest support , Tai.

    "Naturally, I cannot tolerate anyone insulting Xinghe and Xiao. So I had indeed broken up with He Chen because of the Rong kiddos. But there was hell of a drama before that.", the man said.

 Chapter 204: A tough nut to crack !

    Chapter 204: A tough nut to crack !

    When Mo Zixuan told everything about his past with He Chen to her , Cheng Tai couldn''t help but feel disgusted. How could He Chen say such things about Rong Xinghe ? And she actually had the nerves to climb into Lu Wei''s bed when he was already married !

    She couldn''t believe that she fallen into such a woman''s trap and had wronged both Mo Zixuan and Rong Xinghe. How could she be so naive ?

    The couple remained silent for sometime as they processed each other''s past experiences. After almost half an hour , Cheng Tai looked at the man ,"Zixuan..."

    But before she could continue any further , the man stood up and shook his head ,"Tai , this is a decision concerning entire life. I need some more time to understand what I truly want. I forgive you. After the experience you had in your past , it waspletely understandable for you to take note of outsiders'' opinions. So don''t worry. I will not hold any grudges or hatred against you.

    "But about love , I am notpletely sure. No matter what , Rong Xinghe is my sister and she had been there for me when I was shattered , depressed and alone. As a brother , it is tough for me to see her being disrespected. After all , I know the real Rong Xinghe. I know the woman who has written her own destiny and who has fought death innumerable times.

    "After being through thick and thin with her , it is difficult for me get back into this rtionship. I am not rejecting the idea , but I can''t ept it as well. I... um... need some time. I need to think this through. You are understanding , right ?"

    Cheng Tai smiled as tears slipped down her eyes ,"You have forgiven me. This is already the most beautiful thing that has ever happened to me. Zixuan... I can''t exin how happy I am that you don''t hate me anymore. Even if you don''t love me , you don''t hate me too. How can I thank you for your forgiveness ? I just don''t know...

    "Take your time. Even if it takes years , I am willing to wait. If you ever decide to ept me again , I will be always there waiting for you. Never forget that. And even if you decide to move on , I won''tin. I just have onest request. No other demands."

    "What is it ?", Mo Zixuan looked at Cheng Tai.

    "Can I hug you ? I want savour that feeling of warmth and safety in your arms. I promise I won''t ask for anything else more than that after this.", the woman requested hesitantly.

    After some seconds of contemtion , the man finally nodded with a smile ,"Sure. Come here."

    If not for their present and future , he could at least do this for the sake of their past.

    Cheng Tai''s lips curled up in relief and her eyes turned red when the man said those three words to her. Without any second thought , the couple hugged each other tightly and none of them dared to separate for even a second.

    ______________

    As she looked at the man and the woman hugging each other , Rong Xiao jumped up on her office table and started dancing like a maniac.

    YAY ! Finally , some progress !

    So what if they hadn''t patched up. At least , they had a decent conversation. Now they both knew about each other''s past and would take that into consideration beforeing to any decision. The girl quickly took a screenshot of the couple and sent it to Rong Xinghe.

    When she got the message , Rong Xinghe was on her way to Lu family home with Xi Yuan.

    Rong Xiao was still dancing on the table when Rong Xinghe replied back ,"Mission aplished ! Now don''t be too intrusive. They are mature adults and can take their own decisions. If we disregard their privacy anymore , Bro Mo will definitely kill us. All we had to do was to make them talk to each other. Our role ends here. Quickly unlock the storeroom and get vanished from there. It''d be better if Mr. Mo won''t see you for at least two days."

    Rong Xiao understood all of this as well. So she naturally followed Rong Xinghe''s advice. As soon as she unlocked the storeroom door , she didn''t even bothered informing the couple about it and fled away with the speed of light. She had to go underground for some days , after all !

    ___________

    Soon , Xi Yuan visited Lu family home with Rong Xinghe to congratte the Lu family for the new arrival.

    Lu Wei''s parents were quite impressed by the young man''s mannerisms and etiquettes , so Mother Lu naturally tried to ship him with her sworn daughter ,"So... Yuan er. Do you have a girlfriend ?"

    Lu Wei and Father Lu were taken aback by Mother Lu''s words. Could she be any less obvious ? Father Lu cleared his throat ,"Don''t be too nosy !"

    "I am just curious...", Mother Lu humphed.

    Xi Yuan let out augh and kissed the back of the olddy''s hand ,"I wouldn''t dare to have thoughts about any other woman when a beauty like yourself is standing in front of me , Mrs. Lu."

    This one sentence was enough for Mother Lu''s cheeks to turn red ,"Youngsters nowadays surely have an eye for looks."

    Lu Wei : "...."

    Rong Xinghe : "...."

    Father Lu : "...."

    When Rong Xinghe thought about how easily this man was able to wrap the mighty Mother Lu around his little finger with his sweet tongue , she realized that impressing thedies of her family wasn''t going to be too much of a challenge for him. However , impressing the six tigers....

    Now that was a tough nut to crack !

    After sometime , Rong Xinghe came out of her daze and patted Father Lu''s shoulder ,"With this pace , you are going to be alone for rest of your life , uncle."

    Father Lu humphed as he pulled Xi Yuan towards him and smiled evilly at him ,"Do you wish to survive this visit , young boy ?"

    "Don''t scare him like that.", Mother Lu warned.

    ::::::::::::::::::::

    "Waaaa ! Waaaa !"

    "Look Alix ! Who hase to meet you !"

    As soon as everyone heard the baby''s cries and Ningtao''s worried tone , they turned around to look at the mother-daughter pair. Ningtao was sitting on her wheelchair and was trying her best to coax Lu Alix , who was crying continuously.

    Lu Wei and Xi Yuan rushed towards the duo worriedly. Xi Yuan didn''t wasted anytime and requested the couple ,"May I ?"

    He quickly took over the child and started rocking her in his arms gently while Lu Wei helped Ningtao sitfortably on the couch and helped her with her medications.

    Ningtao wasn''t actually the concern , but Lu Alix was. It was literally impossible to make this child sleep whenever she cried.

    However , when Lu Wei turned around to take Lu Alix from Xi Yuan after attending to his woman , he was rendered speechless by the scene. Even Rong Xinghe covered her wide open mouth in surprise.

    Just in a rough time span of 30-40 seconds , Little Alix was sleeping soundly in her uncle Yuan''s embrace !

 Chapter 205: "A brother always has his concerns"

    Chapter 205: "A brother always has his concerns"

    None of the family members made a single sound as they simply looked at the world renowned business tycoon Xi Yuan handling a mini human so skillfully in a daze.

    Although Lu Wei was as cold as Xi Yuan to the outside world , they had seen his gentle and warm side many times before.

    But the fact that Xi Yuan had seen Lu Alix for the first time and she was alreadyfortable with his presence was too shocking. Babies generally have a sense of selection. They tend to select the people they want around them. So Lu Alix adjusting to Xi Yuan''s sudden and new visit was quite sweet yet unexpected.

    Judging by the way Xi Yuan was carrying the child around the house while rocking her in his arms every now and then , it was much too heartwarming ! Most importantly , the man was evidently knowledgeable when it came to handling babies...

    For some unknown reason , when Rong Xinghe looked at the man being gentle and caring towards every little requirement of Lu Alix , her heart started beating crazily. He... was so amazing !

    After sometime , Xi Yuan returned back the baby to Ningtao ,"Umm... Mrs. Lu. Could you please take off those bangles from your hands ? Their cold surface was making the baby ufortable."

    Ningtao quickly took out the jewelry before taking back her daughter and looked at her husband apologetically ,"Actually , Songyan had visited earlier and she had gifted me these bangles in order to congratte me for Alix. I just forgot to take them out and didn''t thought that Alix would get hurt. I am sorry."

    Lu Wei shook his head ,"You don''t need to apologize for something so small Tao. By the way , thanks for coaxing Alix , Yuan."

    Xi Yuan simply nodded his head.

    Ningtaoughed as she kissed Lu Alix''s nose ,"So I have got two babysitters for Alix now. Perfect !"

    Xi Yuan looked confusedly at the family and Mother Lu pulled his cheeks with a smirk ,"She is referring to you and Xinghe. Other than you , only Xinghe has been able to coax her this smoothly. Next time , if we have to go anywhere along with Wei and Ningtao , we will leave our granddaughter with you two , understood ?"

    Xi Yuan was stupefied as he nced at the woman poking Lu Alix''s chin yfully. Could she be any more perfect than this ? Just how lucky was he to have met her ? When he saw the genuine smile on Rong Xinghe''s lips , warmth spread across his heart and his lips curled up with amusement as well.

    Lu Wei was obviously noticing how this damned man''s eyes were glued to his kiddo and that was irking him pretty badly. Was he nning to die or something ?

    After tolerating it for some more seconds , Lu Wei took a deep breath and pulled Xi Yuan''s cor as he drew the ''lover''s'' attention towards him , when no one was noticing them ,"You seem to have forgotten that you are standing in front of your crush''s brother , Mr. Xi. Or are you mistaken that I am no longer the same ruthless Lu Wei after bing a father ? Stop ogling her like that !"

    Xi Yuan was taken aback by the rage in Lu Wei''s eyes as he gulped hard and nodded obediently. Was he really trying to challenge this man''s protectiveness towards his sisters ? He must be an idiot if he was doing so. The six tigers were always the six tigers , no matter what !

    After sometime , he nced at his mentor''s daughter ,"She is an angel , Senior Lu. Congrattions from the entire Xi family. I have brought some gifts along if you don''t mind."

    .....

    After giving gifts , having dinner together and discussing about Rong Xinghe''s future business ns in Lu Wei''s study room , both Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe headed towards Elite residences.

    "They both look so perfect together , don''t they ?", Mother Lu sighed as she watched the man and the woman exiting the family mansion together.

    "They really do. Xi Yuan doesn''t have a girlfriend too. How about we encourage Xinghe to pursue him ?", Father Lu smiled.

    "That''s a very good idea !", Ningtao chirped.

    "That''s a very bad idea !", Lu Wei retorted almost instantly ,"My sister is not going to chase any man ever. Instead , men will throw themselves at her. Am I making myself clear ? No one is going to push her for another rtionship. You all know what happened with Zhou Che !"

    All the three family members turned around and fixed their gazes on the mature man acting immaturely.

    Lu Wei smiled awkwardly and walked away without saying another word. That Xi Yuan was going to drive him crazy one day !

    Ningtao sighed as she saw the man locking himself into his study ,"A brother always has his concerns."

    Mother Lu nodded ,"Xinghe and Xiao are two pieces of his heart. He can''t let them break down again."

    "But Xinghe will have to eventually open up her heart to someone someday , right ? Same is the case with that Yuan. Both the children have suffered a lot.", Father Lu sighed as he reminisced the past.

    ____________

    Meanwhile , Rong Xinghe was driving Xi Yuan''s ck Porsche as the man checked his mails on his phone.

    "Can I ask you something ?", the girl looked at the man.

    "Ask but keep your eyes on the road.", the man said while still looking through the mails.

    Rong Xinghe raised her brows ever so slightly. How did he knew that she was looking at him ? Smart !

    The girl turned her head around and looked back at the road ,"How do you know about taking care of the babies ?"

    Xi Yuan smiled at the girl and patted her head gently ,"Could you pull over at the side of the road please ?"

    Maybe it was time for him to open up about that chapter of his life to her... After all , she deserved to know everything about him.

    Rong Xinghe was initially confused but when she noticed certain traces of sadness and contemtion in his gaze , she pulled over at the left side of the road ,"Yuan... Its fine if you don''t want to talk about it. Really !"

    Xi Yuan didn''t said anything. He was trying to gather up some courage to talk to her but it was difficult to disclose a part of his past. So after few seconds of silence , he pulled the girl towards him and held her cold hands into his warm ones tightly.

    Rong Xinghe realized that something was wrong with the man''s behavior today. So she gently cupped his face with the palms of her hands and asked softly ,"What happened Yuan ?"

 Chapter 206: The relationship of two souls

    Chapter 206: The rtionship of two souls

    The man was surprised when he realized how well the girl had started to understand him.

    So he smiled and answered her question ,"Xinghe... I had a younger sister when I was twelve. She wan''t Ying. She was my sworn sister. Actually , she was one of my school friend''s biological kin. Since I was living alone without Ying , Fang and Wei , I had developed a liking towards her when I had once visited my friend''s house.

    "I used to visit her everyday. She was just 2 months old. That is how I know how to handle babies. My friend or his family didn''t knew that I was the heir of Xi family back then. Maybe if they knew , it wouldn''t have happened.", the man clenched his fists regretfully.

    "What wouldn''t have happened , Yuan ?", Rong Xinghe asked , slightly worried.

    Xi Yuan held the girl''s hands tightly and replied ,"One day , when I visited my friend''s house , I was informed that his sister was no more. Apparently , she was burned down and couldn''t be saved. I had my suspicions about his family , so I quickly went to the cemetery where the child was to be buried.

    "I requested to be allowed to see my sworn sister for thest time before she was buried. After appealing for roughly half an hour , the family allowed me to see the child. And as soon as I saw the cut marks on the tiny body , I called the police officers standing outside the cemetery. How could there be fresh cuts on a dead body if the person had died due to being caught in fire ?

    "The police took the body away for postmortem and after waiting for around 15 days , I was informed that the baby was deliberately killed by her parents because they didn''t wanted to keep a useless daughter around. Can you believe that ? A life was lost just like that because of some people with narrow-mindset !

    "Xinghe... I... ", the man''s voice choked as he remembered the past.

    Unable to see the man in so much pain , Rong Xinghe kissed his forehead before hugging him gently as tears rolled down her cheeks,"Shhhh. Its all okay. I am here. Calm down. I am sorry for asking you about that."

    Xi Yuan simply shook his head and wiped the girl''s tears ,"Don''t be sorry. I am d I was able to talk about it. No one in my family knows about it. Not even Ying or Fang. Even my grandfather had no idea that I once had a sworn sister. I was alone and this two month old baby was a purepany for me. When I lost her , I was adversely impacted by the incident.

    "My psychologists had also requested me to not bottle up my feelings inside me. But I wasn''t truly able to talk about it to any of my closed ones. You are the only exception."

    Rong Xinghe looked confusedly at the man. How and why was she an exception ?

    Xi Yuan pinched the girl''s nose as he let out a gentleugh ,"For some unknown reason , whenever you ask me anything , I don''t feel like hiding it from you. I want to tell you everything about the real Xi Yuan. I want my Xinghe to know about the man who is head over heels in love with her. Ma''jolie , you are the only person who can liberate me from my pain and sufferings. Always remember that."

    After saying these words , Xi Yuan took a deep breath and buried his face into the girl''s shoulder as he inhaled her unique scent.

    Rong Xinghe was so touched by his words and confession that she felt her heart race rapidly. She just smiled and ran her hands through his hair as she allowed him to calm down the way he wanted to.

    Most importantly , she hadn''t expected Xi Yuan to have experienced something as awful as this when he was just twelve. Indeed , the business king Xi Yuan had been through a lot to reach where he was today. This made her heart ache for him.

    Most importantly , her brothers had told her , not too long ago , that he had suffered a lot because of his family too. From the looks of it , he respected and admired his grandparents a lot and had lost them when he was 15 years old. So was it possible that his parents and his uncle and aunt had caused him to go through these sufferings ? But how ?

    Whatever it was , she wasn''t going to ask him about that right away. She would give him his space and would wait patiently until he was ready for that. After all , he had also never pushed her to open up about Country I''s train incident...

    But moments like these were what brought them even more closer. The fact that the both of them were trying their best to talk about their pain , fears and sufferings to each other was the most beautiful part of their rtionship. They respected each other''s boundaries and they allowed each other to enter their inner shell as well.

    The way they interacted with each other couldn''t be exined by mere words as their rtionship had never been about two bodies. It had always been about the intertwining of two souls.

    _________________

    Meanwhile , In Zhou Family Mansion :

    Mother Zhou finally got her consciousness back after being unconscious for so many days. And the first thing she said after looking at Father Lu was ,"Mr. Zhou ! Please take me to meet that girl. I need to apologize to Xinghe. I... I will beg her for her forgiveness. I wronged her Mr. Zhou.

    "Please take me... to her. I havemitted a sin. I sl... pped an angel like her. I.. I am worse than an animal. I... "

    As he saw his mother trying to exit the room , Zhou Che quickly rushed to help her sit down ,"Mother ! Control yourself. Take your health into consideration please."

    When she looked at Zhou Che''s tensed expression , Mother Zhou couldn''t help but break down in his arms ,"Che , we were wrong. We... disappointed Zhichen. He... he said that he wouldn''t forgive anyone who h... hurt his to be sister-inw. Che , let''s apologize to her together."

    Mother Zhou then caressed her son''s face and sighed ,"Che , my child , my actions broke you two kids apart. She loved you. You loved her. And I.... I failed you two. I couldn''t be a good mom. I destroyed my child''s life with my own two hands.

    "That day , she kept begging and requesting us to listen to her once. She kept screaming and crying that she didn''t hurt Zhichen. And what did we do ? We kept ming her. We never thought that why our Zhichen trusted her more than us. We never thought that why we couldn''t be as close to our own Zhichen as she could. All we did was to use her for something she never did!

    "She had favored us. Only when she came , did you acknowledged both of us as your parents. How could we judge her so wrongly ?! How could we be so ungrateful ?

    "Lets go. If I kneel down to her , she will ept you back , right ? She will still love you , won''t she ? After all , she loved you so much back then. She won''t be my daughter-inw if shees back to us. She will be more than my daughter to me. I will never hurt her again. Let''s go and get back our Xinghe."

    Only if Zhou family knew how much pain Rong Xinghe had suffered...

    Her pain over those years was way more than the pain of regret and guilt they were feeling now.

 Chapter 207: A Crickety proposal !

    Chapter 207: A ''Cricket''y proposal !

    Zhou Che smiled helplessly as he looked at his mother fidgeting anxiously ,"Mom , you should have some rest. I am trying to contact Xinghe but she has been busy with Rong Business Group and Military Chief duties."

    "Rong Business group ?", Mother Zhou was confused.

    "Yeah. Xinghe investigated and found out that I was hypnotized into initiating the ident by the Rong family. So she has spared us and is focusing her revenge on the Rongs."

    Mother Zhou sighed when she heard her son ,"Unlike us , when her family was hurt , she didn''t went on ming everyone. She was courageous enough to think rationally about the situation. How do we even apologize to her for what we did ? Let alone expecting her to ept us back in her life."

    "I know.", the man covered her mother with nket ,"You should rest. We will talk about thister."

    After the man helped his mother sleep , he exited the room with his father. He then looked at the sunset as his brows furrowed worriedly.

    Xinghe , will you never forgive me ? Will you never ept my love again ? These were the only questions he had on his mind for the past few days. Not even for a second had Rong Xinghe vanished from his mind. For him , achieving back her love had be his supreme priority.

    He waspletely oblivious to the reality that Rong Xinghe had started losing her heart to someone much more deserving of her love than him.

    _________

    Next day , 10:00 p.m.

    Both Rong Xinghe and Rong Xiao got up early and started dressing up for the big event. After all , Su Rogguang was going to propose to Ching Tong for marriage today. Ching Tong was already taken to the Royalty Stadium by Zhi Al and Mo Zixuan straight from airport after her flightnded. Of course , she was blindfolded before that.

    The Royalty Stadium was the biggest cricket stadium in Country X. This location was selected because Ching Tong was a crazy Cricket fan and this was where Su Rogguang had confessed his feelings to her for the first time. The entire Royalty Stadium was decorated by night lights and all the 20 big screens of the stadium showed the romantic moments the couple had shared during their rtionship.

    Although the stadium was empty , thementary box wasn''t. Rong Xiao was wearing a beautiful Red mermaid gown as she held the mic in her hands. The moment Ching Tao was allowed to untie the blindfold , the seconddy devil started talking akin to a professionalmentator ,"And as we can see , the renowned gynecologist , Dr. Ching Tong has entered the field of love with that beautiful smile on her face. The history has proved it again and again that this yer of love has always been able to defeat the mighty bowler Su Rogguang with that killer smile of hers..."

    Ching Tong covered her wide open mouth quickly after she saw the level of preparations that had been done and how Rong Xiao wasmentating her love story as if she and Su Rogguang were ying a cricket match. The way Rong Xiao was talking about their rtionship was literally making it look like she was a batsman and Su Rogguang was the bowler. This made herugh out loud. What were they all upto exactly ?

    Next second , Su Rogguang entered the stadium through one of the doors with a ball in his hands.

    Rong Xiao continued ,"And now , the ever undefeated bowler Su Rogguang is finally here to show off his skills to the batsman Ching Tong but we all know who will rule the game eventually."

    Su Rogguang rushed towards the woman and stopped to catch up his breath before kneeling down on one knee in front of her. He then held onto the ball and bounced it thrice before finally smiling at Ching Tong.

    Amid the funnymentary of Rong Xiao , the man split the ball into two parts to reveal a beautiful and ssy diamond ring ,"Will you marry me , Dr. Tong ? I promise you all the tickets to future Cricket matches. I promise you my existence and my presence. I promise you my support and my time. Will you ?"

    Ching Tong was so shocked that she froze on the spot and didn''t even dared to move. He did all of this just to say these words to her ?

    Rong Xiaoughed from thementary box ,"Batsman Tong seems to use the most scary trick of the game. Killing the man by silence. Good one , Dr. Tong ! But we have our ways to bbergast you all even more. Xinghe !"

    At this time , a chopper flew over the stadium and stopped in mid air exactly above the couple.

    Su Rogguang : "...."

    Ching Tong : "....."

    Even the six men hadn''t expected that Rong Xinghe was going to do something like this. This was a surprise for them as well.

    After few seconds , the aircraft''s base opened up and thousands of flowers started showering down on the couple as they looked at the night sky wide-eyed. Woah ! Flower showering from the skies. That was so romantic !

    Now , this was definitely the ''Rong Xinghe'' thing , they thought. It was now that Ching Tong found her voice as she looked at the man in front of her. Could this family be anymore warm and loving ?

    Chin Tong''s eyes turned red as she stretched out her left hand and nodded ,"Quick ! I am dying to be Rong twins'' sister-inw !"

    Su Rogguang sighed andughed at the same time as he helped the woman wear the ring ,''After all of this is over , I am going to disown those two brats. Always being my love rivals !"

    "And finally , Batsman Tong has hit the ball with her sharp response of eptance making bowler Rogguang taste the victory of love. Now that is what we call an addictive match of love. No one lost , no one won.", Rong Xiao stood up from her position excitedly.

    And as soon as the couple hugged each other tightly , Rong Xiao jumped up in thementary box itself ,"And a Sixer !! What a game ! What a game !"

    Both Su Rogguang and Ching Tong couldn''t help butugh at the actions of the girl. Even Rong Xinghe smiled as she looked down at one more brother of hers starting a new life. Now , only Zhi Al and Mo Zixuan were left.

 Chapter 208: The way her brothers met her sister-in-laws

    Chapter 208: The way her brothers met her sister-inws

    As soon as Ching Tong entered Military Chief Mansion , she found the entire family waiting for her. Ningtao , Songyan and Feng Mian hugged the woman happily as they congratted her. Ruo Cy was on honeymoon with Zhi Bo and wished her through a video call.

    The family enjoyed afortable dinner with each other as they discussed the marriage date. Ching Tong wanted Ningtao to bepletely fine in her wedding and requested for the wedding to take ce only after one month when Ningtao would be off the wheelchair.

    As soon as the clock struck 12 , all the six men , three sister-inws and Rong twins uploaded the proposal video on their socialworking sites with a caption : "New entry in the family !" together.

    This family had a huge fan base in different professional arenas. Some of their admirers were from entertainment industry while others belonged to the business world. Some were from political world while others were the media reporters.

    So as soon as the family came online at the same time , almost the entire world went crazy ! The proposal video started circting across every major and minor social media website , no matter if it was Facebook , Google , Instagram , or Youtube. Almost everyone admired this unique family in Country X because of their strong bonding.

    So by the next day , the proposal video eventuallynded on news channels from the social media. The most mesmerizing part about this proposal was Rong Xinghe''s savage entry in the luxurious chopper. The way she showered flowers onto the couple from the dark sky was so eye-catching that nothing could bepared to that.

    The entire Country X finally knew that Military Chief Rong Xinghe also had a soft corner reserved in her heart for her six brothers and this made the public admire her even more.

    ___________

    Two days after the proposal ;

    Rong Xinghe''s sister-inws were sitting in the Elite Diamond Penthouse''s garden as they chatted with each other.

    The five men were cooking food in the kitchen while both Xinguan were discussing Rong Empire''s next n in the study room. If one was to observe these peaceful creatures , they wouldn''t be able to point out that this family was the reason behind a romantic havoc in Country X two days ago.

    The girl''s two sister-inws , Ching Tong , Feng Mian and Cheng Tai were talking about how they had met their love interests for the first time.

    When Feng Mian asked about how she met Lu Wei , Ningtaoughed and rocked little baby Alix in her arms ,"Well... It was my birthday that day. My mom didn''t allowed me to visit church as I wished and ordered me to attend her high ss socialite party. I was naturally in a pretty bad mood.

    "As soon as I got into my car to rush back to my mom''s ce , this gentleman jumped in my car as well without asking for my permission. He didn''t even allowed me to talk and emotionally ckmailed me to follow a taxi as it had his bag which contained his precious valuables.

    "He was in so much rush that I reflexively followed the cab , but suddenly , he asked me to stop the car. He then quickly got off the car as he ran towards an ice-cream parlor and brought me a Chocte cone.

    "He smiled at me and said that since it was my birthday , I should taste something sweet and shouldn''t let anything spoil my mood. He was the first person to make me smile that day. After that , we crossed paths many times. He followed Xinghe''s flirting tips and here we are !"

    "OMG ! Was he really so approachable ? I mean he looks a little scary...", Feng Mian whispered.

    "He is indeed scary. But to the people who harm his family. To us , he is quite gentle and thoughtful. Now you tell about your first meetup with Zhi Xi Songyan.", Ningtao smiled.

    Songyan shrugged her shoulders helplessly ,"When I first met him , we had fought pretty badly."

    "Really ?", Ching Tong was intrigued.

    "Um... yeah. Actually , he had visited a temple on insistence of his grandma that day. I was there to offer my praying as well. So his phone fell down on the ground while he was rushing towards a priest. I hadn''t seen his face and had only noticed his back. I picked up the phone and tried to follow him to give it back to him but there was a lot of crowd. So I lost him amid so many people.

    "I decided to submit the phone to police station. But before I could do that , I shed with him and he demanded for the phone when he saw it in my hands. Now since I hadn''t seen his face , I assumed that he was a thief.

    "I naturally refused to return back the phone. Then he also used me of theft and that was when the war began. You won''t believe that I had quarreled with him for two long hours !", Songyan scratched the back of her head awkwardly.

    "HAHAHAHA !", the four women burst outughing.

    "So... how did you guys solved it ?", Cheng Tai asked curiously.

    "Well Xiao called in the middle of the argument. I epted the call and turned on the speaker. Then I challenged him to talk to her. That man smirked so haughtily at me before conversing with Xiao that I was tempted to punch him for that at that time. I was so embarrassed because our bickering had attracted the attention of a huge crowd by then. Everyone wereughing at me.", Songyan sighed.

    As they looked at their womenughing from the window kitchen , the men looked at each other confusedly. What had gotten into them ? Were they high or something ?

    _________

    Meanwhile , Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan were chatting about the girl''s future business ns in her study room.

    "Xinghe , I think you should form a proper team of trustworthy employees. Under Rong Yufan''s leadership , the entire Rong group has gotten used to using underhanded and lowly schemes. These shareholders are too unreliable. You are the Military Chief of Country X. If you have to ever disregard the business for the sake of nation , there should be people standing behind you.", the man looked at the woman as he ced down the personality profile reports of Rong Empire''s shareholders.

    "I know. I have been doing it for quite sometime now. But I just don''t feel like trusting the employees there. They are too double faced individuals.", the girl sighed as she mmed her hands against the table exhaustedly.

    Xi Yuan smiled at the girl''s reaction and approached her from behind. He gently ced his warm hands on her waist and turned her around so that she could face him. He thenughed and kissed the woman''s forehead ,"How about Xi Empire sending some of its employees to the Rong Corporations for few days ? You won''t have trouble trusting them , I promise."

    Rong Xinghe was taken aback by the man''s sudden actions but her eyes sparked up when she heard his offer ,"That is possible !"

    "Really ?", didn''t she wanted to keep him away from intruding in the matters with Rong group ? However , he was obviously more than delighted and eager to help his girl.

    "First release me.", the girl couldn''t help but blush when she realized their intimate position ,"My brothers are downstairs."

    Wait ! Why was she feeling like a teenager trying to hide her crush from her brothers ?

    "Damn Xinghe !", Xi Yuan looked at the girl with a surprised expression.

    "What ?", the girl furrowed her brows.

    "You look so adorable when you blush !", the man chuckled and brushed his lips against hers lovingly.

    How could he control himself after witnessing that charming expression stered on his woman''s face ?

 Chapter 209: Assassinating the Military Chief

    Chapter 209: Assassinating the Military Chief

    "Xinghe ! Come down. ", Zhi Al called the girl for breakfast when Xinguan were ''discussing'' business.

    Rong Xinghe was so startled that she literally flew back down with the speed of light. Xi Yuan couldn''t even catch upto her. The man sighed as he followed behind her. It seemed like the biggest hindrance in his love story were going to be none other than the six sister-doting tigers.

    As soon as the man and the woman reached the dining room , Su Rogguang frowned and looked seriously at the girl ,"Why do you look so flustered , kiddo ?"

    Zhi Xi nodded at the man and red straight at Xi Yuan ,"Did anyone said anything to you ?"

    Xi Yuan couldn''t help but smile awkwardly at his mentor. Now how was he to exin to the five men that he had just kissed their sister upstairs ? Moreover , even if he was to lie , Zhi Xi and Lu Wei were thest people he could fool.

    Rong Xinghe had exactly the same feelings. Hiding anything from her brothers was literally impossible for her. If it was about military , she could easily keep them in the dark. But when it was about things like these , they could see through her clearly.

    "Bro... I..."

    "Hey Xinghe ! Did you tried the new steamer I brought from Russia for you ? You are always tired by the work nowadays. It will help you rx. You should use it more often.", Ching Tong entered the dining room and patted the girl''s shoulder ,"Oh ! You have already used it ? No wonder your face seems to have reddened. Did you like it ?"

    Rong Xinghe was confused initially but she decided to y along ,"Um... yeah. It was quite relieving. Thank you sis-inw Tong !"

    "Ah ! Don''t mention it.", the woman smiled and looked at her soon-to-be husband ,"Is the meal ready , Rogguang ?"

    Su Rogguang returned his gaze back at the dishes and nodded ,"Almost. Call the otherdies in as well."

    As soon as Su Rogguang and Zhi Xi entered into the kitchen again , Ching Tong turned around and winked at Xi Yuan ,"You are safe !"

    Xi Yuan smiled back at thedy and patted Rong Xinghe''s head ,"I have my allies here."

    Rong Xinghe : "....."

    Your allies ? My sister-inws ?

    That was much too cunning of this man ! After all , the six tigers werepletely helpless against these tigresses. She could literally bow down to Xi Yuan''s brilliance currently. How smart !

    But this alliance wasn''t going to be a secret from the six men for too long and the scenario then was going to be much more funnier than this.

    Ching Tong turned around to face Rong Xinghe ,"Go and bring your other sister-inws in. I need to have a word with Yuan."

    The girl nced suspiciously at the man in front of her and exited the dining room to drag back her sister-inws inside. Why were they all being so chatty today ?

    "What is it Dr. Tong ?", Xi Yuan asked the woman as soon as Rong Xinghe left.

    "Keep it up , Yuan. Rong Xinghe''s mental health is improving gradually everyday , ever since you have entered her life. I and Rogguang were discussing her reports yesterday and we realized that she might move on from her past. She is opening up to you and that is a positive sign. There is just one problem , though.", Ching Tong sighed.

    "And that is ?"

    "The responsibilities on her shoulders. She is a woman of firm determination and if she has made up her mind to handle both Rong Empire and Country X''s security herself , no one can stop her. But she will eventually take her health for granted. This can threaten her life as she is a migraine patient and too much stress can be fatal for her.", Ching Tong exined.

    Xi Yuan furrowed his brows worriedly. If something was to happen to his Xinghe , how would he be able to continue with his life. Without her , he couldn''t survive in this world. For him , Rong Xinghe was the reason behind his existence. So there was no way that he would let anything happen to her.

    "Don''t worry , Dr. Tong. I will not allow her to over-exhaust herself. We both are living besides each other in the Elite residences currently. Thanks for giving me the heads up. I will take more care of her from now on.", the man promised.

    "I trust you."

    _________________

    Meanwhile , Rong Xinghe had hauled Ningao and Songyan along with little baby Alix inside the house by this time. She then turned around to bring back Cheng Tai and Feng Mian.

    "Guys ! Go inside.", Rong Xinghe rolled her eyes at the twodies discussing gymnastics with peak interest.

    "Wait Xinghe. So Tai , about that technique , we...", Feng Mian continued.

    But at this time , Rong Xinghe heard the sounds of the leaves rustling even though there was no wind. As a trained special forcesmando , her hand reflexivelynded on her jacket where she was used to hide her revolver.

    "Mian , Tai ! I said go back in.", Rong Xinghe said once again seriously.

    Cheng Tai didn''t understood the change in the woman''s tone but Feng Mian had been working under Rong Xinghe''s leadership for more than a year now. As a result , she also subconsciously tightened her grip on the gun in the handbag she had brought along with her. She also closed her eyes and tried to listen to the slightest bit of movement around her. And to her surprise , she also felt as if they were being spied upon.

    Hafiz Al-Magdosh ! Couldn''t he chose any other time ? And this was quite fast. At least , they could have had enjoyed the breakfast with the family. Sigh !

    "Tai , quickly go in and inform everyone to stay low. No one shoulde out. Go !", Feng Mian looked straight into Cheng Tai''s eyes in amanding manner.

    BANG !

    The moment Feng Mian said this to the woman , Rong Xinghe shot down a well-built masculine man wearing ck clothes head-to-toe ,"Tai , run back in. Mian , shoot !" As soon as the words left Rong Xinghe''s mouth , all the remaining nine assassins started shooting at thedies maniacally.

    Cheng Tai nodded and turned around to head back inside while both Rong Xinghe and Feng Mian took cover behind the garden wall and started shooting back at the assassins. They both were Special Forces soldiers and were obviously the sharpshooters of the army , so it was just a matter of time that they would take down all of those bastards.

    But there was only one problem , they didn''t had a proper cover. The garden wall was too small to hide behind , so it was affecting their speed.

    At this time one of the assassins climbed inside the penthouse and stood behind the trunk of a tree. His position was such that he could easily point at Rong Xinghe''s right shoulder and that was his real mission : to assassinate the Military Chief of Country X.

    So without wasting anytime , the assassin adjusted his position and targeted Rong Xinghe. Boss would hire him to a higher position , he thought as an evil grin appeared across his lips and he pulled the trigger.

    BANG !

    "Aaahhh !", a cry resounded throughout the garden.

    Rong Xinghe turned around to look at what had happened as Feng Mian continued to shoot at the front. When Rong Xinghe saw the person struggling with her life , she felt all the energy drain out of her body as the revolver almost slid down her fingers.

    Next second , the girl finally found back her voice ,"Ch... Cheng Tai !"

    Even Feng Mian was taken aback by Rong Xinghe''s scream. Her eyes widened when she saw blood flowing through Cheng Tai''s chest as she lied on the ground breathing heavily. What would they say to Mo Zixuan ?!

    Before anyone could say anything further , Rong Xinghe fired in the air and the bullet directly prated through the assassin''s head who was hiding behind the tree.

    Rong Xinghe then quickly cut out a piece of her long skirt as she tightly wrapped Cheng Tai''s shoulder in it ,"You will have to live ! For me. And for him."

    Cheng Tai grabbed Rong Xinghe''s hand as tears of pain flowed down her eyes ,"Xi...Xinghe ! Tell Zixuan that I...I loved him and I am s..sorry for sa..saying all that."

    The moment Cheng Tai said this , her eyes closed down and her grip on Rong Xinghe''s hand loosened.

 Chapter 210: "The mighty Rong Xinghe owes her life to your woman."

    Chapter 210: "The mighty Rong Xinghe owes her life to your woman."

    Rong Xinghe quickly checked Cheng Tai''s pulse and realized that she was still alive , even though the pulse rate was slowing down swiftly. Yes ! She was not allowed to leave them , damn it !

    She turned around and nodded at Feng Mian ,"Let''s fricken'' finish this."

    In a mere time span of forty seconds , all the assassins were lying lifelessly on the ground as blood flowed down their heads. Both Feng Mian and Rong Xinghe breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the unconscious Cheng Tai.

    "Tai !"

    The moment they realized that the firing hade to halt , the five men rushed out of the penthouse to check on their kiddo and Feng Mian , followed by the girl''s sister-inws. But to their horror , the person harmed was neither Rong Xinghe nor Feng Mian. It was Cheng Tai !

    Of course , Mo Zixuan was scared the most. No matter what and howplicated their rtionship was , it hadn''te to a point where he could afford to lose her.

    The man reflexively strode towards the woman and held her in his arms ,"Tai ! Get up. Are you listening to me ? Please get up!"

    "Zixuan , calm down.", Feng Mian patted the man''s shoulder.

    "How do you expect me to calm down ? She... she is my Tai. She is my girl. I am not upset with her to the extent where I can just let her go like that. I had asked her for time. So how could she leave me like this ?", Mo Zixuan finally realized his feelings for the woman. But was it toote ?

    Rong Xinghe sighed and nodded at Rong Xiao as she gestured her to bring one of their cars. She then knelt down and cupped her brother''s face ,"Before fainting , she told me to deliver a message to you."

    "Message ?", Mo Zixuan looked at his kiddo nkly.

    "She said she loves you and that she is sorry. Bro Mo , she took the shot for me. The assassin was targeting me but she saved me by risking her life like that. For all the insulting words she used against me that day , isn''t this sacrifice a frightening payback ? Just forget what happened back then and ept her. Go and save your woman. Tell her that you also love her and don''t hold a grudge against her for me. After all , the mighty Rong Xinghe owes her life to your woman.", the girl said seriously.

    By this time , Rong Xiao had already reached at the entrance with the car ,"Bring sis-inw , bro. We need to get to the hospital. You hop in as well , Bro Rogguang and sis-inw Tong. We will need someone for medical procedures there."

    "Go brother.", Rong Xinghe smiled at the man.

    "You are noting ? Without you...", Mo Zixuan was afraid to not have the girl by his side at a time like this.

    Rong Xinghe shook her head ,"Duty calls. Country X has a war to fight currently. The nation needs its Military Chief. I and Mian will have to rush back to Military Chief Office as soon as possible. The Naval Forces are at risk , so I am sorry."

    This was something all the six men understood. Rong Xinghe would never leave her brothers'' side , until and unless it was about the country. Whenever it was about prioritizing her identities , Military Chief Rong Xinghe would always stand up above the kiddo sister. So none of the family members tried to talk the girl out of this. Mo Zixuan nodded his head and carried Cheng Tai in his arms towards the car.

    The moment Rong Xiao drove away , MCST soldiers entered the Elite premises with heavily loaded weapons and bullet proof vehicles. But it was then that they noticed the dead bodies of all the assassins on the ground. Did their boss and Feng Mian actually handled the highly skilled gunmen trained by Hafiz Al-Magdosh alone ? That was way too impressive !

    "Sorry for the dy , Military Chief."

    Rong Xinghe waved her hands in dismissal ,"It was inevitable. Journalist named Cheng Tai has been shot in order to protect me. Inform the victim''s family and provide her with proper Military aid as well as surveince. Am I making myself clear ?"

    This Rong Xinghe was too different from the girl the family and Xi Yuan had seen not too long ago.

    A moment ago , she was just a sister-inw worried for Cheng Tai. She was a sister who was pacifying her brother. But now , she was the fierce Military Chief. A woman , for whom , Cheng Tai was nothing but a civilian , who needed to be cured. She had converted herself into the protector of the nation the minute she conversated with her militaryrades and was no more a person the family could identify easily.

    "As per your orders , Boss !"

    "And we will be leaving for Military Chief Office soon.", Rong Xinghe continued.

    "Proper arrangements will be done , Ma''am."

    Rong Xinghe then turned around to look at her family ,"You all should also go and stay by Bro Mo''s side. He won''t be able to handle that alone. Yuan , could you bring my extra revolver from my bedroom drawer ? This one is empty."

    Xi Yuan nodded his head and came back with the weapon soon enough. Rong Xinge took the revolver from the man and turned around to leave but before she could go any further , Xi Yuan stretched out his hand and pulled the girl into his warm embrace.

    Now , this was something he did in front of all the remaining three brothers of the girl. But he was too worried about his woman to think about anyone else other than her.

    "Yuan...", the girl tried to separate herself from the man.

    "Just take care of yourself. For me ?", the man held onto the girl tightly.

    When he had seen Cheng Tai lying unconsciously in Mo Zixuan''s arms few minutes ago , he didn''t even dared to imagine what would have happened if it had been his Xinghe lying there like that.

    He couldn''t even imagine what he would have had done if the assassins had actually shot the woman he loved. He was scared , very scared by just the mere thought.

    Rong Xinghe naturally understood this as she gently separated the man from her and smiled at him softly.

    "I will take care. For you."

 Chapter 211: A battle each for the Rong twins to fight !

    Chapter 211: A battle each for the Rong twins to fight !

    Xi Yuan smiled and kissed Rong Xinghe''s forehead ,"I will be by your family''s side. Don''t worry. Ms. Cheng will be alright."

    Rong Xinghe smiled back at the man ,"If you are by their side , I am sure that everything will be fine. Thanks Yuan."

    Xi Yuan nodded his head as he finally released the girl from his arms and the girl and Feng Mian drove out of the Elite premises in the bulletproof vehicles along with the MCST soldiers.

    Meanwhile , the three men simply stared at Xi Yuan with a shocked expression. Were they seeing things now ?

    He hugged her and asked her to take care of herself as if he was her husband ! She even retaliated with delicate gentleness... He then kissed her forehead and she didn''t retreated from that as well !

    Just how close had they both gotten to each other ? Judging by their actions , Xi Yuan was winning her heart with an impressive pace. They just didn''t knew how to react to this. After all , for the first time in all these years , Rong Xinghe was genuinely epting an outsider''s presence in her life. But then his family...

    Whatever. Mo Zixuan and Cheng Tai were their major concerns currently. They would deal with all of thister.

    __________

    The family and Xi Yuan reached Military sanatorium to check on Cheng Tai''s condition. Cheng Tai was still in surgery and Rong Xiao was operating upon her along with other junior cardiac surgeons. The military sanatorium''s senior surgeons were already into another operation and couldn''t attend to Cheng Tai at the moment. So being the only experienced cardiac surgeon left , Rong Xiao had no other choice but to pick up the scalpel herself.

    Of course , it wasn''t too difficult for her to open up Cheng Tai. After all , when it came to professionalism , she was still the legendary Rong Xinghe''s sister. Inside the Operation Theatre , she was simply a surgeon responsible for saving a patient''s life.

    Actually , Cheng Tai was shot below her left shoulder , that is , much more near to the heart and only a cardiac surgeon could operate on her. Moreover , the damage couldn''t be estimated until the size of the bullet was determined and the target body location was known. To put it simply , this surgery was quiteplicated.

    Outside the Operation Theatre , Mo Zixuan couldn''t help but think about Rong Xinghe''s words. Cheng Tai wanted him to know that she loved him before she fainted. She apologized to him for hurting him that day before she lost her consciousness. How ? Just how was he to me her for all of that now ? How was he to not ept her back after she proved her concern for Rong Xinghe by putting her own life at stake ? And why was she being punished for simply choosing a wrong person to trust ?

    He wanted her to survive this. No matter what , he wanted her to open up her eyes and look at him with the same love they used to have. He wanted her to hear him confess his love to her again. She couldn''t just leave him like that !

    The four men sat down beside the man but they didn''t knew what to say to him. After all , they had no idea about how much pain he was going through. They had women they loved in their lives as well. What could they possibly advice him if they themselves weren''t courageous enough to see their women go through something like that ?

    Xi Yuan couldn''t also do much into a situation like this. So he simply held onto little baby Alix as he rocked her in his arms , to prevent her from waking up. He just hoped that Rong Xiao would seed in this surgery and Rong Xinghe would seed in her mission.

    Both the Rong sisters had huge responsibilities on their shoulders today , after all.

    ____________

    Meanwhile , Rong Xinghe was fighting her own battles in Military Chief Office.

    All the higher ups of Country X''s Naval Force had gathered in Rong Xinghe''s cabin. They were unknown as to why Rong Xinghe had called them for the meeting all of a sudden.

    "What ?! Why would you want our submarines to approach Yemen''s port all of a sudden , Military Chief ?",mander Ling was stunned when Rong Xinghe disclosed her intentions.

    Surprisingly , Rong Xinghe''s predictions weren''t entirely wrong. Other than her , the Air Force chief , the Army chief and the Naval chief were attacked altogether as well. This was literally the deration of war on their nation. Country X was bound to make Hafiz-Al Magdosh pay back for that. But the military hadn''t expected Rong Xinghe to take actions so quickly !

    "Well...I don''t think you have the right to question my decisions Commander. I am not ountable to any of you. Just follow the military protocols.", Rong Xinghe red at the soldier as she lifted up her head from the digital ocean map of Country X on her table.

    "Alright , Military Chief."

    "And yes. Our oldestmercial ship , XNF Neon. Send it towards Yemen as well.", the girl said with a hidden meaning.

    "But Hafiz Al-Magdosh...."

    "Follow themands , officer.", Rong Xinghe looked back at the map without bothering to exin anything. The girl had that much confidence only because she had already discussed all of this with her trustworthy team of soldiers and bureaucrats.

    As soon as the Naval soldiers exited the office , Rong Xinghe turned around to look at Feng Mian ,"Are the underwater drones installed beneath the sea ? And how is the connection between my system and the submarines ?"

    "Its all taken care of. Don''t worry , Xinghe. We will show that Hafiz Al-Magdosh his real ce this time. The war down the water is about to begin.", Feng Mian smiled confidently ,"But we might have to work continuously foring few days. You might not be able to get sleep or go back home to even have food."

    "That is not the problem. I have that much control. Moreover , this is about Country X. By the way , any updates on Cheng Tai ?", the woman asked as she marked some points on the interactive digital map.

    "She is still under the knife. Rong Xiao is operating on her.", Feng Mian said as she checked Zhi Al''sst text message.

    "There is nothing to worry about then. No matter how much I tease Xiao , I know that she is a talented and skillful surgeon. Tai will get through this. I just hope that Bro Mo isn''t ming all of this on himself.", the girl sighed ,"Being in military is scary sometimes , isn''t it ? I mean your family suffers a lot too. You don''t know what is going on with them when you are standing on the nation''s border protecting the people you don''t even know. You have this fear of not being able to see them ever again. And when something like this happens , you can''t even be by their side for the sake of your duty."

    Feng Mian nodded her head. There were times during the missions she would be assigned to , when she got afraid that she wouldn''t be able to see Zhi Al ever again. This was how a soldier always lived. To protect the millions they hadn''t ever met , they would just jump into the fire. If one was to understand the true meaning of selflessness , a soldier was the best example to look upto.

 Chapter 212: "I dont like smart women."

    Chapter 212: "I don''t like smart women."

    Military Sanatorium ,

    It had been almost four hours since Cheng Tai''s surgery had started and Rong Xiao was still not out with any news. Every single minute felt like years of suffering to Mo Zixuan. Was Cheng Tai''s condition so serious ? She would eventually be fine , wouldn''t she ? Questions like these were constantly running through his mind but he maintained his calm demeanor on his exterior.

    Only when one more hour passed by , did Rong Xiao finally stepped out of the Operation Theatre. The girl removed her mask and gloves and threw them in the bin beside her as the family surrounded her.

    When Rong Xiao looked at the nervous expression on Mo Zixuan''s face , she burst outughing and hugged her brother tightly ,"Congrattions Bro Mo ! Your woman ispletely out of danger. Actually , the bullet was .357 mm caliber and was probably shot from a weapon like rifle. Sis-inw''s condition is quite weak as surgery was indeedplicated. That''s why , it took me so much time.

    "The bullet had dodged the left atrium of the heart by a chance distance , so its only natural for her to have a weak immunity for a few days. But recuperation isn''t too difficult.

    "You know you should thank Xinghe for wrapping up sis-inws left shoulder. The blood didn''t flowed out too much. That was a smart move. Rest assured , you can start finding a priest for your wedding. She will live a long life."

    The moment Rong Xiao delivered the good news , Mo Zixuan hugged back the girl and kissed her forehead lovingly ,"Now I know , why doctors are considered to be the second god. Thank you. Thank you so much , kiddo."

    Rong Xiao pushed the man away ,"Don''t be too emotional. We are still siblings and we look good only when we fight. I can''t survive this love. Anyway , she is still unconscious. After she is shifted to private ward , you can see her , kiss her , make love to her or whatever. Leave me now. I need to take these scrubs off."

    The girl rushed towards the washroom as the familyughed at her helplessly. This brat could never be serious for too long !

    Xi Yuan smiled as he looked at the five men hugging each other and pulled out his phone to text about the good news to his girl. He knew that she was worried about Cheng Tai there and couldn''t put in herplete concentration unless she was reassured about the well-being of her family.

    _____________

    { "Your sister is an excellent surgeon. Ms. Tai is out of danger now." }

    A gentle smile crept across Rong Xinghe''s lips when she read Xi Yuan''s text message. He knew about her concerns so well. But it wasn''t just the man who knew her. She was a smartdy herself too.

    { "Little Alix is in your arms right now , isn''t she ? Thanks for preventing her from causing chaos there." }

    Xi Yuan couldn''t help but raise up his brows in astonishment. Lu Alix was indeed nibbling onto his index finger as he roamed outside Cheng Tai''s operation theatre. For a split second , he had almost doubted that the girl was somewhere there nearby.

    { "When will you be back ? Hope the mission isn''t too risky."}

    { "Actually , I will have to simply exhaust my brain. I can''t possibly jump into submarines right now , you know. So in case I fail this mission , there won''t be much of a risk other than me resigning from my position."}

    { "I know you won''t fail it. My Xinghe is quite smart. Take care." }

    { "Yeah. And please scold Cheng Tai for me once she wakes up. Military Chief of this nation doesn''t need civilians for her protection. That was idiotic ! I am still angry about that."}

    Xi Yuan could almost sense Rong Xinghe pouting from the other end. Could she not be so cute even when she was handling the security of the nation there ? What could he possibly do of this woman ? He had no idea.

    _______________

    Meanwhile , Rong Xinghe finally breathed a sigh of relief as she switched off her phone. Now that Cheng Tai was fine , it was time for her to pull up her sleeves and jump into this battlefield of brainpower.

    Whenever it was about any of the Naval underwater operations , more than the advanced technologies , the intellect and presence of mind counted. People had this misconception about military forces that they were all about strength but very few knew that this strength was mental strength.

    Rong Xinghe was going to lead the entire mission from the centre of Country X today , miles away from the key locations of the supposed attack. Yet , the world would know how important role she had in all of this. Although she wasn''t physically beside the soldiers inside the two submarines at work , this mission was iplete without her leadership.

    Soon enough , Country X''s firstmercial ship , XNF Neon rushed towards one of South Yemen''s ports. As soon as Hafiz Al-Magdosh''s men noticed this , they quickly reported about it to Jush , the right hand man of Hafiz Al-Magdosh.

    "What should we do now boss ?", Jush passed on the information to Hafiz Al-Magdosh.

    "She is still alive ?", the man caressed his beard as he looked at himself into the mirror.

    "I told you that she is a smart woman.", Jush clenched his fists ,"Ten assassins weren''t enough for her."

    "Hmm. But I want to kill her myself now. I don''t like smart women. They are annoying , just like bees. Contact the government and ask them if they have signed some import or export deal with Country X.", Hafiz Al-Magdoshughed. This Rong Xinghe seemed to be quite a bold woman , he thought. How cunning to have escaped such a death trap !

    "I have already checked. They haven''t signed any agreement. But the point is that why would they send amercial ship if they wanted to attack ? Wouldn''t they send abat ship ? What is so great about XNF Neon ?", Jush scratched his head.

    "What did you say ?! XNF what ?"

    "XNF Neon."

    "HAHAHA ! That''s too good. It turned out that this Rong Xinghe isn''t as brainy as we thought. After all , XNF Neon is Country X''s first advanced Naval project. It is so huge that it can carry almost 120 tons of goods on average. To be precise , this oldestmercial ship is the legacy of Country X''s Commercial Naval Forces.

    "No matter what her intention behind all of this is , but if we bombard this particr ship , it will be quite a blow to the entire nation. Don''t waste any time and quickly release our Ballistic missile submarine AM25-JEM under water. We need to destroy this XNF Neon into pieces today.", Hafiz Al-Magdosh''s eyes sparked up. He hadn''t actually expected the highest military authority of Country X to be so stupid.

    But he was wrong. For Rong Xinghe , XNF Neon was just a bait to lure out Hafiz Al-Mohammad''s mighty invention , his submarine AM25-JEM.

    And destruction ? Well... only time would tell as to which party would suffer the blow in this war.

 Chapter 213: Walked straight into Rong Xinghes trap

    Chapter 213: Walked straight into Rong Xinghe''s trap

    Meanwhile , Country X , City A , Military Chief Office :

    Rong Xinghe had been patiently waiting for some action from the enemy''s end. She had already been connected to all the soldiers inside the two submarines and to those on the XNF Neonmercial ship. This war was going to be a long one and they knew that. An entire night had passed but there was no movement observed from Hafiz Al-Magdosh''s side.

    The Naval Force''s higher ups were also sitting in the grand meeting room but unlike Rong Xinghe , they had started to get impatient by now. For them , Rong Xinghe was initiating the war when it wasn''t even necessarily required.

    "Military Chief , I still think that you are overreacting for a small assassination mission initiated by them."

    "Yes Ma''am. The entire nation will think that you care about your own security. They will judge you. Moreover , you have literally put the honorable legacy of our Navy , XNF Neon on stake. The Naval soldiers'' sentiments are connected to it."

    "We should just call them back , Boss. Hafiz Al-Magdosh is quite sharp. I am afraid that he has already seen through our n by now."

    Rong Xinghe didn''t wanted to argue with these people anymore but there was no way that she would call back the ship and the two submarines.

    At this time , Feng Mian rushed inside the Rong Xinghe''s office cabin ,"The shark took the bait. AM25-JEM has been released under water. Our informers have just sent the digital signal."

    Rong Xinghe''s lips curled upwards coldly ,"It seems like this Hafiz Al-Magdosh isn''t as sharp as you all mentioned , officers."

    The soldiers were taken aback by Feng Mian''s words as well. What did she mean by bait ? Had Rong Xinghe actually used their first mighty XNF Neon ship as a piece of cheese to lure out AM25-JEM ? Now that they thought of it , her actions weren''t actually unreasonable. AM25-JEM was the only most advanced submarine Hafiz Al-Magdosh''s team had ever developed. This particr submarine had the capacity to contain total of 38 ballistic missiles in it , which in a way , was disastrous for not just peace between the nations but also for the aquatic lives.

    To lure out something as enhanced as that , Country X had no choice but to send their XNF Neon. This 72 years oldmercial ship wasn''t the only wonder they had but it had helped them a lot during war times. Hafiz Al-Magdosh obviously knew how much Country X valued it. So only when this old beast was at stake , did he released his frightening snake named AM25-JEM.

    They indeed couldn''t beat to a woman with the IQ of 210. What more , she had also went through the gut-wrenching training for constant five years to grab this authority and position. After today , they would have to basically think twice before questioning her decision.

    But they still felt that this entire situation wasn''t even required in the first ce. Obviously , they wouldn''t know about the real reason until the war was truly over.

    As soon as AM25-JEM entered the sea , Rong Xinghe quickly switched on the underwater drones installed in that oceanic area and started ordering the captains of the two submarines through her earpiece ,"Officer Lin , you take your SNH-321 towards the Yemen port as well. Officer Dong , you shouldn''t head too inside. Just keep our SNH-322 in shadow. Am I making myself clear ?"

    "Yes , Boss !", both the captains shouted through the other ends and followed the woman''s lead.

    "Soldiers ! Make sure that AM25-JEM shouldn''t be able to detect the presence of any of our submarines through its SONAR signals. But keep giving them the hints of our presence as well. Basically , we will y the cat and mouse game underwater today.", the girl smirked as she saw the enemy''s underwater craft steadily head towards XNF Neon through the drone cameras.

    "Noted , Military Chief !", Officer Lin from SNH-321 reported.

    ___________

    Soon , the staff inside AM25-JEM realized that something was wrong. They couldn''t clearly tell if they were hallucinating or not , but they felt that something was floating above them. But if it was true , then why wasn''t their submarine''s SONAR not responding.

    Actually , submarines were the type of underwater crafts that were usually too deep down the ocean surface. So it wasn''t unusual for two submarines to be unknowingly close to each other. But if they contained ballistic missiles inside them , it was a threat as well.

    The captain of AM25-JEM couldn''t risk this wonder of theirs and reported the situation to Jush sitting in front of Hafiz Al-Magdosh himself.

    But the moment Hafiz Al-Magdosh heard the captain''s uncertain information , his expression turned darker and the next second , he flipped the table in front of him upside down !

    "That bi*ch ! She yed us. It is a submarine hailing from Country X , damn it ! Quickly order them toe back."

    "Y...yes boss."

    But it was toote by now. The moment their submarine had entered the depths of the waters was the moment they had walked straight into Rong Xinghe''s trap.

    No matter what happened , Rong Xinghe didn''t allowed AM25-JEM to get to the surface. She was simply using the first submarine to run the enemy''s craft out of energy. The real attack was going to beunched from the second submarine , which was still hiding in the shadow.

    Hafiz Al-Magdosh knew what was happening as well but he didn''t dared to send more crafts for the rescue. Who knew how many more teams that woman had sent ?

    This was how Rong Xinghe had yed with his brain ! She had made him so much cautious that even though there were only three crafts from Country X''s side , he didn''t dared to imagine what more she had nned.

    SNH-321 was continuously blocking AM25-JEM''s every single movement such that this submarine couldn''t attack it even after having 38 ballistic missiles installed inside it. What a shame for the most advanced water craft to be so helpless !

    _________

    Two days had passed since Rong Xinghe had started this silent water war , about which , both the nations , Country X and Yemen had no idea.

    For these two long days , none of the parties blinked their eyshes for even a second.

    Exactly , Rong Xinghe had not slept for the past 48 hours straight ! Now , this was actually worrying her brothers and Xi Yuan. The girl had forced Feng Mian to havefortable naps but avoided sleep herself , no matter what.

    She had switched off her phone and wasn''t allowing herself to get distracted by anyone. So the family had to rely on Feng Mian to know about her health.

    "She refused to drink the tea I had mixed sleeping pills in. She is too sharp for that , Al.", Feng Mian sighed.

    "Can wee there ?", Xi Yuan asked worriedly.

    But then he realized that the five tigers were ring at him with their frightening expressions. So the man rubbed the back of his neck and smiled awkwardly.

    s ! This wasn''t just a battle for Rong Xinghe...

 Chapter 214: One more battle won

    Chapter 214: One more battle won

    "Aren''t you being too courageous ?", Zhi Al squinted his eyes at the young man.

    Feng Mian couldn''t help but sympathize internally with Xi Yuan for being alone with those five men. Poor boy in love !

    "Um... Even if you guyse here , she will refuse to meet with you. She doesn''t like to get distracted when she is working. Last night , she had actually rejected Finance Minister , even though he had himself shown up. Can you believe that ?", Feng Mian exined.

    "So what should we do now ?", Zhi Xi reverted his attention back at his real concern.

    "Well...I think that the mission wille to an end today. I have noticed her massaging her head , maybe due to her migraine. So when she is done with this , I suppose that you all will have to take care of her for some days. There is no other way.", Feng Mian smiled.

    "That won''t be a problem. But over-exertion isn''t good for her at all. I will send one of my men with her medications. Make sure that she consumes them on time.", Su Rogguang sighed and pulled out his phone.

    "Alright then."

    ______________

    Meanwhile , the battle beneath the water was finallying to its end.

    AM25-JEM had finally run out of its basic propulsion fuel and couldn''t move around anymore. Now this was what Rong Xinghe had been waiting for all along...

    As soon as Hafiz Al-Magdosh received the information about their submarine going in a static phase , he shook his head andughed out maniacally.

    Confused by the man''s reaction , Jush was taken aback ,"What''s wrong , boss ?"

    "If our submarine is out of fuel , their won''t be any different. Country X can''t do anything as well. They shouldn''t be left with enough energy tounch their missile as well. HAHAHA !"

    At this time , one of Jush''s men stumbled inside their room as he looked quite scared ,"Boss ! Another missile from Country X , SNH-322 has been detected by the SONAR signals of our EM25-JEM. It had been hiding for the past two days and has only been activated now. I am afraid we won''t win... ugghhh."

    Before the man could say another word , his throat had been cut swiftly by Hafiz Al-Magdosh ! His eyes widened and his tongue dried up as he fell down on the ground miserably.

    "Rong Xinghe !", Hafiz Al-Magdosh yelled the woman''s name at the top of his lungs as rage surged through his body.

    This woman was not going to live afortable life after this ! He would personally make sure that she would regret her existence every day after what happened this time !

    Only if he knew who Rong Xinghe was...

    A woman who wasn''t afraid of death couldn''t possibly fear walking on sharp thorns for all her life.

    Anyhow , Hafiz Al-Magdosh''s defeat was inevitable today. Just for the record , this was the first time he had failed his mission. And that too , against a woman !

    _______________

    Both the opposite parties looked at their drone camera footage on the big screens in front of them.

    They saw how SNH-322 vertically faced the horizontally standing mighty AM25-JEM. They both witnessed how SNH-322 released a single ballistic missile with a raging speed and how it attacked the motionless AM25-JEM.

    The moment the missile mercilessly prated through Hafiz Al-Magdosh''s underwater craft , it broke down into two pieces. The ocean water surged inside the rtively warm scientific wonder with a terrifying swiftness !

    Majority of the men trained by this particr terrorist organisation lead by Jush died there and then as they couldn''t fight the barbarity of the mighty ocean.

    Finally , the two split pieces exploded into the sea as well. After all , electricity never negotiated well with the waters.

    This was indeed a blow. And a cruel one at that.

    ______________

    Of course , after all of this , Rong Xinghe made sure that all the water crafts that truly belonged to Country X would return back , safe and sound.

    She had also kept the safety of aquatic life forms into consideration and had already ensured that not even a single fish would be there when the attack would take ce. For Rong Xinghe , a life was always precious , even if it belonged to those who couldn''t speak.

    But when ruthlessness was the requirement , she would never hold back.

    As they looked at Country X winning one more battle under Rong Xinghe''s leadership , the Naval Force''s higher ups couldn''t help but apologize to the woman for their pessimistic and hostile behavior earlier. To that , Rong Xinghe simply waved her hands in disagreement ,"We all love our nation. You had your reasons to not support me. But I had no choice.

    "Here ! Read this.", Rong Xinghe passed some internal inquiry reports ced on her table to the officers.

    When the soldiers looked through the document , their eyes widened in shock. ording to these reports , Hafiz Al-Magdosh was going to send almost three terrorists in Country X in AM25-JEM after two days. Apparently , he had nned an attack to kill and injure almost tenkh citizens in Country X''s different cities !

    But now , Rong Xinghe had simply destroyed the root of the problem. Since there was no AM25-JEM left , Hafiz Al-Magdosh couldn''t do anything anymore.

    They couldn''t believe that Rong Xinghe had sorted out all of this on her own !

    "Military Chief ! Why didn''t you informed about this to us earlier ?"

    "Yes Ma''am. We spoke so rudely to you."

    Rong Xinghe simply shrugged her shoulders ,"Well... if we would have had failed this mission , only I would have been med for it as it was entirely my decision. But now that the mission was sessful , the entire Naval force will get the credit. I couldn''t let you people get harmed or defamed , right ? What kind of leader I would have been then ?"

    This increased the woman''s respect in their hearts even more. She''d rather suffer herself than letting the entire army go through it. She was indeed an ideal leader.

    The soldiers couldn''t help but salute the woman in order to show their respect.

    Rong Xinghe nodded her head in eptance and ordered the military higher ups to handle the paperwork regarding the mission.

    ::::::::::::::::::::::::

    But as soon as she was left alone in the meeting room , her head started aching pretty badly. The pain was so sharp that the girl closed her eyes and held onto her head tightly.

    Next second , everything in front of her turned dark as the strength in her body was drained outpletely.

    Just when the girl''s head was about to hit against the sharp edge of the meeting room table , a firm palm grabbed onto the small of her back and another hand swiftly walled up between her head and the table with a lightening speed !

    Rong Xinghe was already unconscious by now and had no idea that a dark figure was looking at her worriedly.

    When he saw his girl''s pale little face buried in his arms , Xi Yuan''s heart ached so badly that he didn''t even realized how much blood was flowing through his own hand after hitting against the sharp ss edge.

    "Xinghe ! How could you be so cruel to yourself ?", the man whispered under his breath as he lifted up the woman in his arms.

 Chapter 215: "A fan who is able to hug and kiss her ?"

    Chapter 215: "A fan who is able to hug and kiss her ?"

    Shou Wu and Feng Mian were stunned when they entered the meeting room to witness Xi Yuan lifting up Rong Xinghe in his arms. The man''s hand was bleeding pretty badly but that was thest concern on his mind at that time.

    Xi Yuan swiftly strode towards the private lift and left without saying anything to anyone.

    Feng Mian : "....."

    Shou Wu couldn''t help but feel delighted internally. After all , he was also one of the ''Xinguan'' fans.

    "Military Chief and Mr. Xi looks so perfect together , don''t they ?", the old man smiled.

    "Yeah but your Military Chief''s brothers are not going to like this ''perfection'' !", Feng Mian sighed. Zhi Al alwaysined about Xi Yuan to her , so she obviously knew how difficult it was going to be for the man.

    She quickly pulled out her phone to give Zhi Al and the four men heads up about Rong Xinghe''s situation.

    _______________

    Xi Yuan reached Military Sanatorium along with Rong Xinghe in roughly half an hour.

    The doctors there obviously knew who she was , hence , they quickly rushed towards the man with a stretcher ,"Pleasey her down , sir."

    Xi Yuan nodded and helped the girl lie downfortably. Soon after that , the five men entered the hospital corridor and Su Rogguang started checking the girl''s pulse.

    "Take her in and run blood test on her. Quick !", the man ordered.

    Su Rogguang was a skilled Neurosurgeon and he was globally named as the ''Miracle Man'' of medical world , so the hospital staff had no choice but to follow his orders.

    Su Rogguang turned around to face the four other brothers and simply shook his head ,"She hadn''t slept for more than past two days. What else do you all expect ? She was too exhausted to keep her eyes open for another second and that resulted in her fainting. Also , she has migraines. Of course , she will feel pain in her brain foring few days but she brought that on herself. We are not letting this brat get off the bed for the next seven days at all !"

    "It isn''t too risky , right ?", Xi Yuan looked at the man worriedly.

    Su Rogguang simply patted the man''s shoulder ,"Nope. I guess we got to thank you for that. Thanks for being there on time. If she was to stay awake for another hour , she would have definitely suffered through a migraine stroke. Anyway , you should go and stop that bleeding first."

    Xi Yuan smiled weakly as he looked at his hand. The blood was literally all over his clothes by now. But all of this was worth it if the girl was safe.

    Only he knew how he had bribed Su Rogguang''s assistant to give him the girl''s medicines in order to see her as soon as he could. Coincidentally , he had walked in into the meeting room at the right time.

    And regarding the wound , he didn''t wanted to leave her but then he remembered how she had scolded him earlier when he had ignored the blood flowing down his shoulder after they both had met with an ident few months ago. He didn''t wanted to be called an ''idiot'' again. So he nodded his head and left the five men to chat.

    ----------------------------------

    Zhi Xi squinted his eyes at Su Rogguang after Xi Yuan left ,"Are you changing sides Rogguang ?"

    "Exactly ! What the hell was that thank you for ?", Mo Zixuan had the same reaction.

    Su Rogguang couldn''t help butugh at the way the four men were looking at him ,"Guys ! I just thanked him. It doesn''t mean that I support him. But he is indeed a gentleman when ites to her."

    "Have you seen his family ?", Lu Wei looked at the man.

    "Nope."

    "Then its toote to im anything. Especially , when ites to his uncle Xi Chonglin. Xi family has many skeletons hidden in their closets. Yuan knows quite a lot about her past but kiddo has no idea about what he has gone through. She doesn''t know anything about Xi family''s internal scandals.", Zhi Xi sighed.

    "We can only wait then.", Su Rogguang nodded his head in understanding ,"Guys , I am a doctor. For me , Xinghe''s health is the first priority. And I appreciate him for taking care of that. Of course , it isn''t a green signal for him to hurt her."

    "We understand.", Mo Zixuan squeezed the man''s shoulder.

    _____________

    Meanwhile , the girl''s current and to-be sister-inws were discussing ''things'' with Xi Yuan secretly. Of course , Cheng Tai wasn''t there as she was still unconscious and was physically weak. Ruo Cy was on honeymoon wit Zhi Bo. So she had joined the ''alliance meeting'' via video call. After all , bringing Xinguan together was their ultimate goal !

    Xi Yuan justughed at how sweet the girl''s five sister-inws were. They all were literally rebelling against their own respective love interests for his and the girl''s sake. No wonder Rong Xinghe loved them so much.

    "You are being too obvious , boy ! How could you hug her in front of her brothers ?", Ningtao sighed as she adjusted her wheel chair.

    "And you even kissed her forehead ! You know I could feel Zhi Xi clenching his teeth. Why are you so excited to walk the path of hell ?!", Songyan said.

    "Just because they know how you feel about her doesn''t mean that you wouldn''t restrain yourself. Bo isn''t too fond of you already.", Ruo Cy red at the young man straight through her iPad.

    "I know , right ? Just go official with her first. Rogguang told me that they have decided to not trouble you until she epts your love. ording to the six men , since you aren''t her boyfriend till now , you are just one of her crazy fans in their eyes.", Ching Tong sighed as she bandaged the man''s right hand after applying antiseptic over the deep wound.

    Xi Yuan chuckled when he heard the dissatisfieddies ,"But I am indeed her fan. They aren''t wrong."

    "A fan who is able to hug and kiss her ?", Ching Tong raised her brows ever so slightly ,"I am a woman. I don''t need to know why Xinghe was so flustered and why her lips were swollen that day."

    Xi Yuan : "....."

    "Oh crap !", Ruo Cy suddenly panicked and covered her forehead with a towel beside her.

    "What happened ?", Feng Mian asked the woman.

    "Do you think it is easy to fool Zhi Bo ? I have been hiding like a sewer rat to join this meeting. Damn ! He is justing here. Where should I hide ?!", Ruo Cy pped her forehead anxiously.

    Xi Yuan : "...."

    The fourdies : "...."

    The man simply smiled helplessly. The sister-inws were really putting in a lot of efforts for him and his girl. At least , for their sake , he would have to try even more harder. After all , impressing the six tigers was going to be way more difficult than anything. Even more difficult than impressing the six men''s littledy devil.

 Chapter 216: Couldnt bring themselves to reprimand her

    Chapter 216: Couldn''t bring themselves to reprimand her

    Next day , the media globally reported a majormotion initiated by Country X in their own exaggerated ways.

    [Country X''s Naval Forces faceps the sinister terrorist Hafiz Al-Magdosh ! ]

    [Breaking News ! Country X destroyed the infamous yet precarious creation of terrorism , AM25-JEM submarinest evening ! ]

    [The dicey AM25-JEM failed against a simple SNH-322 from Country X ! ]

    [Country X is developing powerfully in the sector of defense , here are the underwater video proofs ]

    [The Naval Chief came forward to exin the attack , said "It was the act of self-defense. An effort to avoid a destructive st in the nation."]

    [Navy of Country X provided UNESCO with the evidence against Hafiz Al-Magdosh , the United Nations approves and appreciates the act. ]

    ["Military Chief was the brain behind the sess.":mented the Navy Men after returning back from the mission ]

    ["Security not a concern anymore , thanks to the Military Chief Xinghe" , citizens satisfied with end to terrorist attacks in Country X. ]

    [ "During the mission , Military Chief never slept for 72 continuous hours ! An ideal leader to look up to.", Naval higher ups stated.]

    These were some of the few headlines on every news channel across the globe. As the world admired Country X''s might , the entire nation was feeling proud to have a person like Rong Xinghe guarding and securing them.

    Not too long ago , many politicians had used Rong Xinghe to be greedy for power and money when she had taken over the Rong Business group.

    Eventually , the woman didn''t even lifted up her single finger to p them back across their faces. After all , if someone would avoid their rest for three consecutive days in order to perform their duties , the public could also naturally distinguish between right and wrong.

    In merely one night , all the politicians became aughingstock in the country and Rong Xinghe was no less than the nation''s pride.

    In fact , it wasn''t just Country X. The entire world had set their eyes upon this one uniquedy. Every country started to report about the changes Country X had went through after the girl had taken over the throne. And apparently , Country X''s progress was shocking ! Its defense was way more advanced in just one year under the woman''s leadership , than any other country.

    Eventually , this mission attracted a lot of fame and respect for Country X overnight and Rong Xinghe''s number of fans increased monstrously.

    ______________

    Next day , Rong Xinghe opened her eyes to see the five men sitting beside her. They all were stuffing their mouths with the patient''s fruits while they bored their eyes into the TV screen. They were actually watching a football match !

    How insensitive !

    But whatever , she wasn''t any different. Although she had no idea about why she was suddenly admitted to the hospital , she still decided to enjoy the football match first. So the girl adjusted her nket and concentrated on the game.

    The game was at an exciting point at that time. It was a tournament against Barcelona and Sevi. Lionel Messi , the star football yer was in charge of the ball and was heading towards the goal with quite the swiftness. The team Sevi was being difficult at it as well.

    Rong Xinghe was a crazy Barcelona fan. Hence , she hid her face in the nket in anticipation as she peeked through it akin to a kitten.

    And as soon as Messi''s kick stroke football against the goal and the ball passed speedily over the goalkeeper''s head touching the , Rong Xinghe literally jumped up ,"Goal !"

    Crap !

    The girl quickly bit her tongue and lied back down on the bed but it was already toote. Lu Wei shook his head helplessly and switched off the TV as the five men turned around to re at the girl.

    "No need to cover yourself in the nket kiddo. You will be suffocated.", Su Rogguang sighed as he looked at thedy devil hiding herself.

    The girl didn''t still made any movement.

    Lu Wei sat down on the bed and patted the nket covering the girls head ,"We won''t scold you. Promise !"

    This was the warm assurance she was waiting for. So the girl quickly threw away the nket and hugged her eldest brother happily ,"The mission was sessful Bro Lu !"

    "Hmm. Well done.", the man smiled as he hugged the girl back.

    This was Rong Xinghe''s childhood habit. She hadn''t seen her father since she was a two year old child. For her , Lu Wei and Zhi Xi were her father figure as they were the most mature ones among the six. So whenever she achieved any form of victory , she hoped these two men to appreciate her.

    After the satisfaction of getting acknowledged by her Bro Lu , the girl red at the remaining four men. The four brothers couldn''t help but burst outughing when the saw the words ''congratte me'' written all over their sister''s face. Who would demand appreciation like that ?

    But whatever. She had indeed achieved quite a triumph this time. How could they not be proud of her ? So they also joined in into the happiness and started praising the girl.

    ....

    "Aaahhh !", suddenly the girl held onto her head and cried out in pain ,"Bro Su ! This.. its so painful !"

    Su Rogguang quickly pulled up his sleeves and prepared an injection for the girl. Rong Xinghe was still groaning in pain as she held onto Mo Zixuan''s hands tightly. The other four men couldn''t even see her like that. Her condition really seemed to be too serious.

    Su Rogguang finally injected the pointed tip of the injection''s needle into the girl''s wrist. After few more seconds , Rong Xinghe stopped sobbing and loosened her grip on Mo Zixuan''s hand as she rested her head against his shoulder tiredly.

    Mo Zixuan sighed as he patted the girl''s back helplessly. After few seconds of silence , the girl weakly grabbed Su Rogguang''s hand ,"Why ?"

    "Its migraine , Kiddo. What else do you expect after avoiding sleep for three continuous days ? You had really given me a scare this time. Xinghe , your health is not a joke. Don''t you get it ? How could you...", Su Rogguang tried his best to contain his anger. But ... she wasn''t just a careless patient for him.

    Before the man could say anything further , the girl separated herself from Mo Zixuan and hugged Su Rogguang ,"I am sorry."

    The girl''s voice was very weak and her strength wasn''t too much as well. She wasn''t even able to lift up her head properly. How could Su Rogguang scold her in such a state ?

    This girl was their biggest weakness. No matter what she did , they couldn''t bring themselves to reprimand her. When it came to her , all the six men and Xi Yuan had their hands tied down.

    "Its fine. Just have some sleep.", Su Rogguang helped the girl lie down on the bed again.

    "Bro Al...", the girl looked at Zhi Al.

    "Hmm ?"

    "Who brought me here ? I mean... I was in the meeting room when..."

    "Xi Yuan brought you here. His hand was injured while protecting you from the table edge there. He is dressing up his wound now.", Zhi Al replied.

    The four remaining men reflexively red angrily at the bbermouth in their gang. Did he actually had to tell everything in detail to the girl ? They knew that she wouldn''t be sleeping anytime soon after this.

    "W...What ?! Yuan was hurt ? Where is he ? Is he fine ? I want to see him right now. I can''t just sleep when he is going through so much because of me. Let me just... ", Rong Xinghe was rmed when she heard about Xi Yuan''s injury. The girl was already so weak , yet she was struggling to get down the bed and ensure the man''s well being.

    As expected , the four men thought. They could literally kill Zhi Al right now !

 Chapter 217: "Because of me..."

    Chapter 217: "Because of me..."

    The five men tried their best to pacify the girl but it was impossible for them to fight against Rong Xinghe''s willpower.

    Rong Xinghe was struggling continuously when the door to the room slowly opened and Xi Yuan entered the hospital ward. The man''s heart ached when he saw the girl putting in all her strength just to see him. He didn''t knew if her actions were warming up his heart or if they were shattering it into thousands of tiny pieces.

    The man strode towards the girl and cupped her face with both his hands as he made her look at him ,"I am here. Just lie down."

    Rong Xinghe calmed down when she felt the familiar warmth beside her and stopped moving around almost instantly. She looked at Xi Yuan in a daze as if she was dreaming. The girl then reflexively took the man''s wounded hand into her weak ones and looked at it silently.

    After sometime , tears slipped down her cheeks as she uttered few words softly ,"Because of me..."

    Xi Yuan took a deep breath and helped the girl lie down on the bed. He then adjusted the air conditioner''s temperature before covering the girl with a nket.

    After that , the man sat down on the edge of the girl''s bed and caressed her hair softly ,"Silly ! It wasn''t your fault. And I am a man. I am not that weak. Can you not trouble your brothers by crying like that ? Xinghe , I am fine. Really !"

    Rong Xinghe wiped her tears frailly and looked at Lu Wei ,"I am sorry. I don''t know why I..."

    "Shh. Just have some rest kiddo.", Lu Wei smiled at the girl.

    The five men rushed out of the room so that the girl could sleep peacefully while Xi Yuan remained inside. After all , the girl was still holding onto his wounded hand.

    __________

    "Didn''t you guys noticed that she has gotten too attached to him ?", Mo Zixuan looked at the four men.

    Zhi Xi nodded his head in agreement ,"I know , right ? She was struggling so hard just now. Is it possible that..."

    "...that she has started to develop feelings for him ?", Lu Wei pinched the space between his brows.

    "That''s possible. Only he was able to pacify her. But there is a tug of war going on between her heart and mind. She is facing difficulty in deciding whether to give this rtionship a chance or not. She is unsure if she is really in love or not.", Su Rogguang sighed.

    "After Lu Che''s ident , isn''t it only obvious ? Don''t you guys remember how he was able to help her gain back her confidence and walk into little Alix''s ward ?", Zhi Al sat down on the bench beside him.

    "Anyway , it won''t take too long for her to ept Xi Yuan. I know that man. He has his own charms.", Zhi Xi said.

    "This is going to bring hell of troubles then.", Lu Wei sighed.

    ...

    At this time , Xi Yuan also came out of the hospital ward ,"Xinghe is asleep."

    Zhi Xi squinted his eyes at the man ,"You do have the guts , don''t you ? Why did you go to Military Chief Office instead of Rogguang''s assistant ? Can you not stay away from her ?"

    Xi Yuan shook his head ,"I might not be able to survive without her , Mr. Zhi. You can ask for my life if you want but until and unless my heart is beating , it will beat only for your sister."

    Zhi Xi : "....."

    "I heard that the Xi family elders areing back soon. Is that true ?", Lu Wei fixed his gaze on the young man.

    "Yes. But they will be living in Xi family mansion. Apparently , they wanted toe back to their home country."

    Zhi Xi closed in on the man and smiled meaningfully at him ,"If that is the case , you better disclose about your past to Xinghe before she gets to know about it from others. I don''t want her to stay in the dark for too long.

    "I know that it will be challenging for you but opening up about Zhou and Rong family to you wasn''t easy for her either. Muster up your courage and tell everything about how your grandparents died to her.

    "And yes , now that your family ising back , we will be watching all of you closely. We might trust you but you know your family more than anyone. As her brothers , there is no way in hell that we will let her suffer anymore. Do you get it ?"

    Xi Yuan clenched his fists and closed his eyes when Zhi Xi mentioned his grandparents'' death. How was he to tell her about all of that ? The entire world currently believed that the Xi family elders had met with a frightening ident and that resulted into their death. But the truth was way more horrifying and different than that !

    This was a secret their family had been hiding for years now. It was a mystery , about which , only Xi , Lu and Zhi families knew.

    But he couldn''t hide anything from Rong Xinghe as well. Since he intended to bring her into his life , he was bound to reveal his past to her before that. She had the right to know everything about him.

    So the man nodded his head after some thought ,"Give me some time , senior."

    Zhi Xi and Lu Wei understood Xi Yuan''s difficulty and approved his request without contemting about it too much.

    _________

    Next morning ;

    Xi Fang and Xi Ying arrived back in Country X from Ennd. Earlier , they had some paperwork to deal with and hence , weren''t able toe back with Xi Yuan. But now that they were done with most of the business there , they rushed to the Military Sanatorium as soon as they stepped into City A.

    Only when Xi Yuan reassured them about his and Rong Xinghe''s safety did the Xi twins breathed out a sigh of relief.

    Xi Yuan also told them that he wanted to reveal everything about their grandparents'' death to the girl.

    "Brother , are you sure ? I mean... wouldn''t sister-inw look down on us once she gets to know about how our family was like years ago ? What will she think of us ?", Xi Ying asked worriedly.

    "My Xinghe is quite righteous , Ying. She will definitely try to understand everything. But I really can''t keep her in the dark.", Xi Yuan smiled dully.

    "When do you n to tell her ?"

    "Next week. On grandfather and grandmother''s death anniversary."

    "Bro , you haven''t talked about it ever before. Not even to us. Whenever our grandparents'' death is mentioned , you never say anything. Are you really prepared to open up that painful old wound of yours ?", Xi Fang squeezed the man''s shoulder.

    Xi Yuan simply nodded at that. It was indeed going to be difficult for him. He was just 15 when he had lost his inspiration , his grandfather.

    In fact , he was the first person to see their grandparents'' dead bodies. After that , he never uttered a single word regarding that incident to anyone. It had been 11 years since that episode had taken ce but the pain was still as unbearable as years ago.

    Maybe talking about it to his angel could help him...

 Chapter 218: The sixth sister-in-law !

    Chapter 218: The sixth sister-inw !

    Next morning , Cheng Tai finally got her consciousness back. When she tried to sit up on the bed , she felt a sharp sensation in her left shoulder and she cried out in pain.

    Mo Zixuan was sleeping on the couch beside her and he woke up with a jolt when he heard the woman groaning. He quickly rushed towards Cheng Tai and forced her to lie back down ,"Don''t you dare to move around !"

    This was the first time Cheng Tai had seen Mo Zixuan so angry , so she obediently followed the man''s arrangements and didn''t said a single word. Only when the nurse reassured the man of the woman''s stability did Mo Zixuan sat down beside her silently.

    Now, only Mo Zixuan and Cheng Tai were left alone in the hospital ward.

    After some seconds of silence , Cheng Tai finally initiated the conversation in her weak tone ,"Zixuan , I am fine now. Look , I don''t expect you to ept me just because I saved Xinghe. I want to honestly confess that I judged her wrongly earlier. I really love and admire her now.

    "After I became Xiao''s secretary , I had a lot of conversations with Sister Ningtao , Sister Songyan and Ruo Cy. They told me about what happened ten years ago and how the Rong twins had been treated in the Rong family since they were just two years old. I can''t exin how much I admire the two girls after how they both survived that. I mean they both were so courageous to fight back their destiny.

    "You six are really lucky to have them in your life. I understand your hostility towards me after what I said about them. But don''t misunderstand me as an opportunity seeker. I took the shot for her reflexively. This was not a hidden stunt to win you back.

    "You don''t have to force yourself into this rtionship again. I believe you don''t deserve a person like me in your..."

    But before the woman could say anything further , Mo Zixuan had already closed in on her. The man''s actions were so swift that Cheng Tai gulped back all her words and quietened down. What was he upto ?!

    The man then put his arms around her waist and ced his lips onto her delicate ones without giving her any chance of retaliation. Cheng Tai froze on the spot and didn''t dared to even breathe. She never expected this to happen all of a sudden !

    After few seconds , Cheng Tai closed her eyes and savored the man''s every touch on her body. This was such a beautiful dream , she thought.

    But contrary to her thoughts , this wasn''t a dream. It was a reality. She only realized it when the kiss became even more intense and she felt warm drops of tears against her cheeks. Was the legendary Mo Zixuan really crying ?

    Cheng Tai subconsciously separated the man away from her and cupped his cheeks after wiping his tears ,"Zixuan , you..."

    Mo Zixuan calmed down before he confessed his feelings in slightly hoarse and raspy voice ,"I was scared , Tai. You really scared me this time. I was afraid that I would lose you when I saw you lying in your own pool of blood.

    "What the hell were you thinking when you took the shot for Xinghe ? Do you even know how capable my sister is ? Here senses are way more sharper than any of us. When ites tobats , there is a reason that she is the youngest Military authority in the entire world.

    "You are never going to scare me like that again. Do you hear me ? Never !"

    Cheng Tai was taken aback by the man''s words. When she realized that he was afraid to lose her , her eyes couldn''t help but turn red. The woman nodded her head ,"Promise."

    Mo Zixuan sighed and hugged Cheng Tai tightly ,"I love you. I so damn love you ,Tai !"

    "I love you too , Zixuan.", the woman cried happily.

    :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

    "Oh ! My young single heart !", Rong Xiaoughed as she saw the couple kissing each other intensely.

    Mo Zixuan and Cheng Tai separated and red at the girl disturbing them. But to their shock , almost the entire family was present in the room.

    "Couldn''t you guys knock ?", Mo Zixuan stood up from the bed.

    Zhi Al : "We knocked 13 times !"

    Su Rogguang : "With this much strength , you can always consider joining the po*n industry. Well done!"

    Zhi Xi : "I wouldn''t disagree to that."

    Lu Wei : "Me too !"

    Ruo Cy : "Guys ! At least show some mercy to the baby in sister Songyan''s womb."

    Songyan : "No worries. I had already plugged in the earphones in my ears when I saw them kissing. Years have passed since I got married in this family. I obviously know them."

    Ningtao : "Smart move , Songyan !"

    Rong Xiao : "I am proud of you , sis-inw !"

    Mo Zixuan : "..."

    Ruo Cy : "..."

    Rong Xiao smiled as she tapped the bluetooth piece connected to her ear ,"Congrats Xinghe ! We finally got the sixth sister-inw !"

    "Ha ! Finally ! Now we need to focus on getting Bro Al , Bro Zixuan and Bro Rogguang married. We will pressurize them for babyter. Hopefully , sis-inw Ruo Cyes back with the good news from their honeymoon.", thedy devilughed as she stuffed her mouth with the apple slices in her own hospital ward.

    "Hmm. Now you take care of my brother-inw. Don''t forget that he was hurt because of you. Poor him.", Rong Xiao teased the girl.

    Rong Xinghe choked on the juice she was about to drink when the seconddy devil mentioned Xi Yuan because the man was literally sitting in front of her and the speaker of the phone was turned on. Xi Yuan raised his brows ever so slightly as a smirk appeared across his lips ,"I wouldn''t want to disappoint my woman''s sister. Come here."

    Rong Xinghe quickly dodged the man''s hug and pushed him away ,"I will kill that brat today !"

    What a troublemaker that twin of hers was !

    This man in front of her was akin to a tiger. She knew that it wouldn''t take him too long to jump from a simple hug to a passionate , sensational and fierce kiss. And she had no strength to respond to something that ardent and vehement !

    ___________________

    Meanwhile , In Rong Family Mansion :

    CRASH !

    Rong Yufan had finally returned back from his trip to Hawaii and as soon as he got to know about how Rong Xinghe had stripped him off his position , he exploded with anger and started throwing everything against the walls of the living room.

    "How dare that bi*tch im something that belonged to me ?!", Rong Yufan yelled at the top of his lungs.

    "Calm down , son. She manipted the shareholders deliberately. What else can we expect from a girl like her ?", Rong Yufan''s mother , Gu Hong tried to pacify him.

    "Mom , I will kill her ! Couldn''t she be satisfied by the position of the Military Chief ? ", Rong Yufan clenched his fists as he sat down on the couch behind him ,"She was so damned lucky to survive even after I pushed her down the train back then !"

    "She wouldn''t have meddled if you wouldn''t have had hypnotized Zhou Che into initiating that ident. Almost everyday , she insults me in thepany meetings now. No matter what my opinions are , she turns a blind eye to them. It is so humiliating for an old man like me. You could''ve been more cautious , Yufan.", Rong Chang loosened his tie tiredly as he nced at his son.

    "What was his fault ? He was just fooling around. Moreover , no one in that Lu family is dead. That sl*t has overreacted. The entire society isughing at us currently because of her.", Rong Yufan''s grandfather , Rong Quiyang red at his son ,"But he is not wrong , Yufan er. You should not act recklessly now. The entire media is crazy for her. If anything happens to anyone among the eight siblings , everyone will suspect us first. So control you anger and don''t be too impulsive. Let''s y it smart."

    This was how the Rong family was. For them , nothing in this world was more precious than their heir Rong Yufan. Even the fact that Lu Wei , Ningtao and Lu Alix almost lost their lives due to the ident , wasn''t a matter of concern for them. The barbarity and brutality radiating from these people was way more frightening than any wild animal.

    It was impossible to imagine as to how much pain the Rong twins had gone through during their time in this family.

 Chapter 219: The return of Xi Family Elders...

    Chapter 219: The return of Xi Family Elders...

    Rong Yufan nodded his head in agreement. He couldn''t deny the reality that Rong Xinghe was in quite a sessful state now. She had literally reached the pinnacle of Country X. She was considered to be one of the most wittiest diplomats across the globe. The Prime Minister and President of Country X didn''t even dared to question any of her decisions regarding the nation''s defense. The entire military respected and trusted her , no matter what. In fact , the public was crazy for her to the extent that they could even sacrifice their lives for her. The rate at which she had progressed in the past 10 years was simply monstrous.

    Naturally , he understood all of this. Actually , Rong Yufan was quite an intellectual himself. If Rong Xinghe''s IQ was 210 , then his was 200. When it came to intellect , Rong family was indeed a group of skilled individuals. Rong Yufan was one of the most talented Hypnotherapists in United Kingdom but he had never disclosed his real identity there. He had always used a stage name "ck Lang" meaning "ck Wolf" there. Ever since he was a child , he was obsessed with learning hypnosis. He was a maniac who enjoyed ying with people''s brain.

    Of course , when he grew up , he was forced to study business management so that he could take over Rong business empire one day. But even when he got the position of CEO , he never exhausted himself for thepany''s development too much. He simply took the dignified legacy as his new toy. All these years , he shamelessly drained money from thepany and poured it on his girlfriends and parties.

    Rong family doted on this man to the limit of extremity as he was the only ''son'' they were gifted with. So they never objected hisziness.

    But now , Rong Xinghe had suddenly appeared out of the blue and had snatched away the position of the CEO. Rong Anguo had worked for years to develop thepany and there was a time when it was worth Billions ! But ever since Rong Yufan took over the business and Rong Xinghe left the Rong Family, thepany was not even left to the worth of few millions. As a daughter , she couldn''t obviously see her father''s hardwork being extinguished like that.

    All these years , she was in a state of contemtion about whether to face this bunch of psychos again or not. But Lu Wei''s ident was the only push her heart and mind was waiting for. If she intended to safeguard her current family , she was bound to take over the reins of power from the Rongs.

    She wasn''t going to convert thepany''s worth into Billions. She was going to take it to the Trillions ! High above near the worth of Xi Business Empire ! But of course , that was going to need a lot of patience and dedication.

    _____________________

    Two dayster , Elite Saphhire Penthouse :

    "Is this how you people have been living all this time ?", Luo Youyou picked up the beer bottles hidden beneath the living room''s couch and red at Xi Fang and Xi Yuan angrily.

    Both the men raised their hands in surrender gesturing that they had no idea about why amd how they were hidden there.

    "We simply go to lougue and bars , Auntie.", Xi Yuan sighed helplessly and pointed his index finger towards Xi Wei , who was munching candies in the corner of the dining room.

    "What !? I don''t hide the bottles beneath couch. Only behind the curtains.", Xi Wei retaliated almost quickly not realizing that he had exposed himself instead.

    Li Jungah strode towards the floor-to-ceiling window and lifted up the curtains to reveal three bottles of whiskey.

    "That''s disgusting !", Li Jungah yelled at the three young men and twisted Xi Wei''s ears angrily ,"When were you nning to hire a maid ?"

    "Ouch ! Sorry Aunt ! The maid must being in fifteen minutes.", Xi Wei cried out in pain and nced at his watch ,"Actually , I and my two other friends gulped down these bottlesst night only. The maides everyday."

    Luo Youyou was stunned speechless by the words ,"Wait. Just three boys consumed five whole bottles of alcohol in one night ? This is the level of alcohol consumption you are at , Wei ?"

    "Ye...yeah. Aunt Jungah , just release my ears !", Xi Wei groaned.

    Li Jungah took a deep breath and finally showed some mercy to the the young man but that didn''t meant that his mother was going to go easy on him.

    Luo Youyou picked up the hockey stick ced on the table and rushed towards Xi Wei ,"I am going to handle all your ''booze love'' today , boy !"

    "No , no , no !", Xi Wei ran out of the ce with a terrified expression.

    Li Jungah smiled helplessly at the pair of mother and son before she turned around and approached her son and nephew ,"How have you both been Yuan , Fang ?"

    "We are alright , auntie.", Xi Fang bent down and kissed the back of thedy''s left hand ,"Thanks foring to spend more time with us."

    Li Jungah''s smile widened as she caressed Xi Fang''s hair ,"Such a handsome gentleman you have be. When are you going to introduce your girlfriend to us ?"

    "Soon after she gets the final approval from an important person.", Xi Fang revealed a mysterious smile.

    "You and your secrets !", Li Jungah rolled her eyes.

    After Xi Fang exited the ce to attend a call , Li Jungah cupped Xi Yuan''s face gently ,"Yuan , why didn''t you said anything earlier ? Are you fine ?"

    The man shrugged his shoulders nonchntly ,"I am fine , Mom."

    "Why are you so cold and aloof to us ? Your dad also feels a lot distant from you. You can talk about anything to us , Yuan. You know that , right ?", the woman was helpless against this son of hers.

    "Yeah. I understand.", Xi Yuan still refused to speakfortably to his own mother.

    Li Jungah''s eyes turned slightly red as she noticed the man bing ufortable around her. This was one of the reasons that she had decided to shift back to Country X. She and Xi Chongkun wanted to win back their son. Earlier , they had themselves distanced themselves from him but now , they were gradually realizing how wrong they were back then.

    Li Jungah cleared her throat and changed the topic ,"Okay , tell me. Have you found any girl for yourself ? Anyone you like ? I will help you impress her. Promise !"

    Before Xi Yuan could say anything , an unexpected figure made her entrance at his doorsteps.

    "Yuan ! I got these Chocte cookies for Wei. Where is he ? And could you please see through these documents for once ?", Rong Xinghe''s voice resounded throughout the living room.

    "Oops ! Auntie Jungah , when did you arrive ? I am sorry that I disturbed you and Yuan. I wille backter. Sorry !", the girl hastily turned around and tried to escape but it was toote for that now. After all , Li Jungah was already quite fond of her.

 Chapter 220: "The girl you like is Xinghe , right ?"

    Chapter 220: "The girl you like is Xinghe , right ?"

    Li Jungah quickly stopped the girl from leaving the ce and requested her to sit and chat with her for some while. Rong Xinghe couldn''t let the sweetdy down and agreed helplessly.

    "So how have you been ? I heard a lot about you out there. Especially , about that something Magdosh !", Li Jungah tried her best to remember the name.

    Rong Xingheughed as she shook her head ,"Its Hafiz Al-Magdosh , Auntie. He is a terrorist."

    "You are so brave. Just like your mother.", Li Jungah smiled.

    Rong Xinghe was about to say something when she started coughing heavily. Li Jungah was slightly worried for the girl''s health but Xi Yuan calmly strode inside his bedroom and came back with some tablets and a ss of water.

    He then knelt down in front of the girl and helped her consume the medicines as he patted her back. Shortly after , the girl''s situation stabilized and she smiled at the man.

    "I am sorry , auntie. I skipped my breakfast. Maybe due to that..."

    "You should take care of your health , Xinghe. You have huge responsibilities on your shoulders now. Go and have proper breakfast kept in the dining room. It is still hot. After that , have some rest in Yuan''s bedroom. He won''t be going there for a while and the bed is morefortable. Moreover , the guest rooms are packed with my and Youyou''s bags.", Li Jungah scolded the girl softly akin to a mother.

    "Auntie , I have some..."

    "No work excuse. I don''t think that you would want me to call your brothers. Quick ! Do what I say.", Li Jungah acted more harsh this time.

    Rong Xinghe looked at Xi Yuan as she ced all her hope on him but the man seemed to support his mother''s decision. Traitor , she thought !

    "Fine ! But please wake me up after an hour.", the girl headed straight towards the dining room. She couldn''t possibly disrespect Xi Yuan''s mother. Also , for some unknown reasons , she always felt traces of motherly warmth from Li Jungah. Even if it was just her imagination , she wanted to live every second of it to her fullest.

    _______________

    Rong Xinghe was sleeping in Xi Yuan''s bedroom when Xi Wei rushed inside to grab some documents. He smiled as he saw his to be sister-inw sleeping soundly. Xi Wei covered thedy with a nket before he turned around to see his mother looking at the girl.

    "She...What is she doing here ?", Luo Youyou asked the man.

    "Umm...maybe she wasn''t feeling well. Auntie allowed her to rest here.", Xi Wei smiled ,"Xiao Xinghe usually is quite busy. She is merely able to get some rest. Its better for her to sleep here because her penthouse is being whitewashed currently."

    "Xiao Xinghe...You guys are that much close to her ?", Luo Youyou nced at her son.

    "Yep. She is awesome. She is sweet , intelligent , smart , righteous and much more. If I was to define her in one word , it would be ''perfection''. You will love her even more when you get to know her. Trust me !", Xi Wei promoted his goddess excitedly.

    "Hmm. But isn''t it too ambiguous for her to sleep here ? This is , after all , Xi Yuan''s room. Who does she think she is ? There is a limit to everything.", Luo Youyou''s tone changed slightly. From the looks of it , the Xi siblings were already possessed by her.

    Xi Wei couldn''t help but burst outughing internally. Mother ! She is going to be the same legendary Xi Yuan''s wife one day ! When that timees , she will practically rule the entire Xi family , let alone be her husband''s bedroom. But of course, he couldn''t say that out loud just yet.

    "Mom. I don''t think that you are unaware of who she really is. You can''t question the standing and authority of Country X''s Military Chief and Rong Empire''s CEO. Moreover , brother isn''t here. What in the world is going on in your mind ? Chill !", Xi Wei knocked against his mother''s forehead yfully and left the room.

    Only if he knew that his parents weren''t unknown to Xi Yuan''s feelings for the girl...

    ________________

    Xi Yuan was working on hisptop when Li Jungah sat down beside him and passed him a cup of coffee with a grin.

    Xi Yuan furrowed his brows as he epted the cup ,"What is it ?"

    Li Jungah giggled and fixed her gaze on the young man ,"So it is Rong Xinghe !"

    "Huh ?"

    "The girl you like. It is Xinghe , right ?", the woman looked at her son excitedly.

    Xi Yuan choked on the coffee and stared at Li Jungah with a shocked expression ,"I never said that."

    "You don''t need to say anything. The way you look at her and the fact that you knew exactly what medicines she would need exins it all. You also seem to be quite gentle and warm towards her. Don''t forget that I and your dad had a love marriage too. As a woman , I can see what is going on here. Don''t worry. I like the girl. She is lovely andpassionate. I support your decision blindly.", Li Jungah raised her thumb as a sign of encouragement.

    Xi Yuan was rendered speechless by his mother''s analysis. Were women always that observant ?

    When he thought of the girl napping in his room , a smile crept across his perfectly shaped lips and he nodded. The Xi family was eventually going to know about their rtionship , anyway.

    "Just keep it a secret for now mom. I don''t want her to be troubled over it."

    Li Jungah was stunned when her son shared his feelings for someone with her. This was the first time that the mother and son had interacted with each other so harmoniously. Li Jungah realized that maybe Rong Xinghe was the only person who could bring her more closer to her son. Just the mention of that child could bring a smile to this young man. He was so in love with her.

    Personally , Li Jungah and Xi Chongkun liked Rong Xinghe a lot. They both knew what Rong Xinghe had gone through years ago. She really admired the Rong sisters for what they had achieved after all of that.

    She couldn''t express her happiness when Xi Yuan confessed his love for the girl to her. It would really be the Xi family''s honor to have a daughter-inw like her. Most importantly , Rong Xinghe was neither inferior nor superior than Xi Yuan. Both , the man and the woman were equals ! In this rtionship , only trust , understanding and love could exist. With their level of maturity , it would be rare for them to argue or disagree with each other. Such rtionships were really unique in this world.

    She was proud of her son''s choice. He was indeed the mirror image of his grandfather when it came to selecting his life partner.

    Till the end of their existence , both Xi family elders were together. And even when they died , they both were holding each other''s hands ! Their love story was simply refreshing and evesting...

    No matter what , she was going to help Xi Yuan win his Xinghe !

 Chapter 221: "I want to tell you something very important"

    Chapter 221: "I want to tell you something very important"

    Soon , Xi Yuan''s grandparents'' death anniversary arrived. Xi Yuan had nned to disclose the truth behind his grandparents'' death to Rong Xinghe today.

    In the early morning , Xi Yuan entered Elite Diamond Penthouse and directly stepped into the girl''s bedroom. He silently sat down on the edge of the Queen-sized bed and caressed his angel''s jet ck hair. He didn''t knew if , after knowing the truth , Rong Xinghe would want to be associated with his family and whether she would ever consider her future with him. So he simply wanted to satisfy his heart by touching her perfect and poised face before telling her the truth.

    The man was rubbing the girl''s thin petal like lips with his thumb when the girl suddenly opened her eyes. When she realized that Xi Yuan was beside her , she subconsciously lowered her guard andzily nced at the watch. Until and unless this man was around her, cautiousness and vignce were thest things she would care about. She knew that he would never harm her.

    "Yuan... Its just 7:00 a.m. Is something wrong ?", the girl rubbed her eyes sleepily.

    Xi Yuan was stunned by the amount of trust this girl had in him. She wasn''t even afraid that a man had walked into her room when she was alone in the house.

    The man smiled and kissed the girl''s forehead before replying gently ,"Today is my grandparents'' death anniversary."

    Rong Xinghe''s eyes flew wide open when she heard the man''s words. It was now that her brain''s functioning activated. She sat up on the bed and looked at the man worriedly. Her brothers had once told her that Xi Yuan was quite attached to his grandfather since he was a child and that their death was a trauma for him.

    She didn''t knew what got into her , but the girl subconsciously stretched both her hands and put her arms around the man''s waist as she hugged him tenderly.

    "They both are watching you from heaven. Stay strong."

    Xi Yuan froze on the spot as the girl kept on consoling him. He had heard these words offort many times from many different people. Almost every member of the Xi family had tried to relieve him from his pain by these words years ago as well.

    But it was only when this girl hugged him like this did he felt like his soul was treated to some sce and peace. He was nowpletely sure that sharing his pain with his Xinghe was the right thing to do.

    The man closed his eyes and responded to the girl''s words by wrapping his arms around her shoulders tightly. He buried his head in her shoulders and breathed her unique scent without uttering a single word.

    Rong Xinghe remained unmoved until the man himself initiated their brief separation. Xi Yuan held the girl''s hands into his as he looked at her earnestly ,"I want to tell you something very important. Can you please meet me at 8:00 p.m. sharp in the Civil Memorial Garden ? Please ?"

    Rong Xinghe nodded her head with a warm smile on her face ,"If you want."

    _____________________

    Evening , 8:00p.m.

    Civil Memorial Garden , City A :

    Rong Xinghe reached the ce at the exact time and entered the government arena. This garden had 103 statues of Country X''s citizens who had worked all their lives for the development of the nation. This garden was constructed by the government in order to appreciate the role of civilians in betterment of Country X. It was one of the famous tourist destinations in City A.

    The entire garden was under the visual scrutiny of the Xi trio as they had their eyes glued on therge screen showing live audio and video surveince footage in Elite Saphhire''s living room. They didn''t wanted to spy on their sister-inw and brother''s privacy but this was extremely important for them as well.

    Ever since they were kids , they were sent abroad and had no idea about what Xi Yuan had gone through in his childhood and how their grandparents had witnessed their death. Xi family had always kept them in the dark. Xi Yuan also never opened up about his sufferings. This was their only chance to know what had actually happened years ago !

    Xi Yuan had asked the girl toe to the center of the garden , so Rong Xinghe naturally followed his arrangements. When she arrived there , she saw two statues standing tall. First statue was of an elderly man and the other one belonged to an olddy. In front of the man''s statue , there was a name te with two words ''Xi Mengyao'' written over it. While that olddy''s name was ''Lin Meixiu''.

    Both the statues were holding each other''s hands and although they were no more alive , this couple still radiated a dignified impression about them.

    Rong Xinghe turned around to search for Xi Yuan and finally spotted him sitting on one of the benches. The girl took a deep breath and sat down beside the man as she rubbed his back lightly.

    After roughly fifteen minutes of silence , Xi Yuan finally spoke up ,"I was born after five years of mourning in the Xi family. Before me , I had an elder sister who died in order to save my mother during the delivery itself. After that , the Xi family begged for a single descendant to the almighty but neither mom nor aunt Youyou were able to conceive. Every medical technology was proved useless against the destiny.

    "Naturally , when I was born , my grandparents couldn''t express their happiness. Four yearster , auntie Youyou gave birth to the twins , Fang and Ying ; and one year after that , Wei was born. For my grandfather , I was the lucky charm of the family. ording to him , every prosperity in the family n was followed by my birth. As I was their first grandchild , both my grandparents were quite close to me.

    "But when I turned 3 , I was diagnosed with childhood Autism. I couldn''t speak. Or you can say that I didn''t wished to speak. This was worrisome for the two old people. It has been a ritual in our family to send the children to boarding schools abroad for studies but since I was different , my grandmother refused to keep me away from the family warmth.

    "But warmth ? That was thest thing I ever received. Xinghe , as harmonious and peaceful Xi family looks today , it wasn''t like that years ago. Although I couldn''t speak , I could understand what others said. Both my parents were so focused on business that they never spent time with me. Same was the case with uncle and aunt. For them , every dor was more of a priority than their own son. You can assume that I just never got parental love and care.

    "I only had the two old people. Grandfather taught me many things at home and sent me to the city''s best school. He trained me for self-defense and he imnted the importance of reading in my mind. To be honest , he was my first teacher.

    "Every evening , he used to take me among the public in in clothes without any security , just so that I could understand what the ground reality of Country X was. He wanted me to know what the nation needed. Xinghe , I couldn''t thank him more for that.

    "My grandmother , on the other hand , was just like the olddies in story books. Her only mission would be to feed me with thest bite of food in the house. She aimed to make me the chubbiest child in the entire world.

    "When I turned 11 , Fang , Ying and Wei were sent abroad. I was still here because even though I had started to speak , I used to feel a sharp pain in my head at regr intervals. Psychologists rmended that it''d be better for me to stay in Country X which was never a problem for grandfather. But it was now that my grandfather became strict with me and decided to test my business management skills."

 Chapter 222: The frightening end of his grandparents

    Chapter 222: The frightening end of his grandparents

    Xi Yuan held the girl''s hand into his and looked at her seriously. Things were going to be serious after this. Rong Xinghe allowed the man to hold her hands and listened to his every word attentively.

    "He started ying many business games with me initially and realized that I was natural at all of them. He then told me about some of the business strategies and exined how to stake money during making deals. Those numbers were igniting my interest steadily and soon enough , I started sharing my opinions on Xi Empire''s smallpanies. It was then that the possibility struck him that I had an unknown talent hidden in me. So he took me to get my IQ tested."

    Rong Xinghe looked at the man when he became silent ,"What was your score ?"

    The man smiled and kissed the girl''s cheek before replying ,"210"

    Rong Xinghe''s eyes widened in surprise as she had the same score !

    Actually , IQ above 160 was already considered to be that of the genius''. But above 200 ? Such people were simply rare.

    Even the six men were beyond shocked when they had received her IQ results. That was the reason that they had decided to use her mental strength for the development of the nation. Hence , they always encouraged her actions for the betterment of humanity.

    The man continued further ,"My grandparents and the entire family were shocked more than you , Xinghe. Maybe , at that time , grandfather had decided to train me with business. He started working on my education. He nned my entire path to sess very carefully. He pushed me to participate in every debate and olympiad. He did everything he could for me.

    "But it was during this time that the Xi family underwent many drastic changes. The entire business world started discussing the future of Xi Corporations. Until now , my grandfather was the CEO of the business group but now , the world wanted to know about the future President of Xi Corps. Elder son Xi Chongkun or younger one Xi Chonglin ? There were two choices and the throne could belong to only one.

    "Initially when this discussion started , Xi family didn''t bothered to react too much. They simply turned a blind eye to the provocative media. But some monthster , a huge misunderstanding took birth between my dad and my uncle. It was due to one of our business rivals. He sowed the seed of suspicion in my uncle''s mind that my dad was brown-nosing grandfather to get the position of CEO. Simrly, he made my father believe that my uncle was trying to secretly lure thepany''s shareholders to his side so that they would support him when grandfather would ask for their opinions.

    "After that , both the brothers started to notice even the slightest bit of each other''s actions. And one day , they finally broke the bridge of trust between them. In front of the entire office , they fought pretty badly. My grandfather was furious when he got to know about it through the staff. Soon enough , the news about the feud spread like the fire in the forest.

    "Arguments and fights started happeningmonly in our home almost everyday. Even my mom and aunt started taunting each other over small matters. I would wake up to the sound of heated arguments every third day. It was already bad enough that they didn''t spent even an hour of their day with me. But now , none of them cared about the fact that a child was witnessing the brutal reality of this harsh world at such a tender age in his own home. Xinghe , their fights and ignorance were very disturbing for me. Many times , I used to get scared in the middle of the night but I had no one to talk to.

    "In the beginning , they used to consider my grandfather''s presence but after sometime , they disregarded everything. Leaving the house and separating the Xi family business were topics of daily dissensions between my father and uncle.

    "The entire nation wasughing on the Xi family as the disagreement wasn''t hidden from the ck sea of sharp cameras. The way my parents ignored my uncle and aunt and vice-versa , at important events were the headlines back then.

    "Xinghe , the entire family sh affected my grandparents the most. They had never expected their children to bring shame to the family like that. Especially , my grandfather. The Xi family was splitting half into two pieces in front of him. How could he bear to see that ? Gradually , his and grandmother''s health started deteriorating.

    "Shareholders requested him to write his will before his situation would get any worse. My grandfather agreed and called for thewyers. But I think that was the only wrong decision he took in his life.

    "In his will , he clearly stated that he wanted hispany to shift directly to his grandchildren. He announced that he believed his eldest grandson , Xi Yuan''s business skills. ording to him , with one more year of training under the legendary Zhi Xi and Lu Wei , I should be given the position of CEO. His other grandchildren were to be given the right topete against me after they crossed the age range of 20. Unless then , only I could rule over the Xi Business Empire.

    "I was 15 when he read the will in the meeting room. That night , my grandfather faced the anger of his two sons. Especially, my uncle. Uncle Chonglin expressed his displeasure by saying that grandfather couldn''t just pass a business group to a child without discussing anything with anyone beforehand. And my father was no less.

    "My grandfather and grandmother had never been talked to like that before in their entire lives. They were so hurt that they decided to go away from the house for awhile. I couldn''t see them like that , so I followed behind them. Today , when I look back , I so wish that they hadn''t walked out like that."

    At this point of time , tears were already flowing down Xi Yuan''s cheeks as his grip on Rong Xinghe''s hands tightened.

    Rong Xinghe was so worried for the man that she didn''t even felt the pain he was giving her. Since the man was holding both her hands , Rong Xinghe had no choice but to touch his forehead with hers.

    "Just say it. Tell everything that''s buried deep down , Yuan. You need to do it."

    Rong Xinghe''s voice helped the man calm down as he closed his eyes without separating their heads. It was giving him a lot of peace and courage.

    "Both my dad and uncle didn''t bothered to give the honorable business tycoon Xi Mengyao , the security he deserved. Only me , grandmother and grandfather were roaming on the silent streets of City A aimlessly. My grandparents were telling me that I had the responsibility of never letting any misunderstanding slip in betweeb my rtionship with my siblings. Grandfather warned me by saying that if it ever happened , the history of our family would repeat again.

    "We were simply talking when some men covered in ck clothes jumped in front of us. They had the mark of half moon on their necks and had firearms in their hands. I was standing in the shadow and my grandfather was a smart old man. He subconsciously pushed me further away from him and gestured me to note out. Everything that happened after that is not something I can ever forget.

    "Seven times , Xinghe. My old man was shot seven times in front of my eyes ! And six bullets prated the old body of my grandmother consecutively !", Xi Yuan finally broke down the moment those words left his mouth.

 Chapter 223: The words said , and the words unsaid

    Chapter 223: The words said , and the words unsaid

    Rong Xinghe was shocked when she heard the man''s words. As she saw this strong man pouring out all his pain in form of tears , her heart couldn''t help but ache for him. She had never expected Xi Yuan to have gone through something that terrifying. She couldn''t even describe the torment his heart was in. All she could do was to listen to him and try to free him from this endless soreness.

    The girl pulled the man towards her and hugged him tightly. She hoped that his pain could just transfer into her at that time. Subconsciously , Rong Xinghe''s eyes turned red too and warm drops of tears flowed down her cheeks. She didn''t knew why , but she was feeling the man''s pain today.

    Xi Yuan hugged the girl back and just like the 15 year old boy he was back then , he cried silently as he rested his head on her shoulders.

    "Why ? Why did they have to leave me like that Xinghe ? Both grandfather and grandmother were lying in front of me in their own pool of blood. I can''t forget their pain ever. I can''t forget anything about that day ever , damn it !

    "By the time I could jump out from the shadows to fight them , the attackers had already left. I rushed back towards my grandparents hurriedly and held their hands with a scared expression. My grandfather smiled at me gently and separated his hand from mine before he grabbed my grandmother''s hand. Grandfather looked at me and whispered ''I am proud of you'' weakly. They both looked at each other as tears slipped down the old couple''s eyes. Grandmother''s grip on grandfather''s hand strengthened when she said ''Time to leave , dear'' with all the remaining strength in her body.

    "After that , they said nothing. I kept begging to them but they didn''t uttered a single word. Xinghe , they left me ! They both left me all alone in that street and in this world.

    "Initially , I thought they had just fainted. It wasn''t that I didn''t knew what had happened but I was too scared to ept the reality. I had no phone with me because we had left the house in a hurry. So I requested for a passerby to lend me one. I quickly called the ambnce and informed my parents. Oh ! Did I told you that when I called my dad , my parents and my uncle and aunt were arguing in Xi Office''s meeting room in front of the shareholders ?

    "When I reached hospital along with grandfather and grandmother , doctors looked at me with sympathy and told me that they had left the world an hour ago already. Xinghe , I just couldn''t ept it. How could I ? They both had practically brought me up. They were my inspiration , my friends , my everything. My soul left my body that day , Xinghe.

    "By the time my parents and uncle-aunt arrived at the hospital , all my tears had already dried down. My mom rushed towards me and hugged me tightly but I just couldn''t feel any pain anymore. No fear , no uncertainty was left inside me. I separated my parents from me and called the butler of our family. Can you believe that a 15 year old boy was directing him for the funeral rituals ? All I cared about , at that time , was my grandparents'' cremation. My parents and uncle-aunt couldn''t stop themselves from breaking down when they saw me like that.

    "You know I even saw my uncle and father hugging each other. Funny , right ? My grandparents had to die for this to happen !

    "The fact that Xi family elders'' death was due tock of security could plummet Xi empire''s stocks. So the family decided to hide the truth from the world and made the incident look like an ident. I also didn''t cared about what the world knew about my grandparents. After all , I was going to plot the revenge myself eventually.

    "Fang , Ying and Wei also returned back soon. Without all the grandchildren , the funeral couldn''t take ce. So after the cremation , I ced all my focus on the business. The first thing I did was to ask your brothers to train mepletely with business management. Senior Lu and Senior Zhi helped me with everything. I have no words to express my gratitude to them for that. So here I am today and this was my story."

    Rong Xinghe hugged the man more tightly after he finished speaking. The more she listened to him , the more pain she felt. It turned out that the man she liked had once went through a lot of pain as well.

    Xi Yuan realized that the girl was shivering in his arms and he quickly separated her from him before he covered her with his jacket. He then sighed as he saw the silly girl helplessly before he patted her back.

    Rong Xinghe smiled at the man and wiped the tear drops away from the corner of his eyes ,"How do you feel now ?"

    Xi Yuan smiled as he noticed the girl''s struggles to pacify him ,"I''ve never felt this relieved before. Haven''t I said this earlier that even your touch is miraculous ? Thank you for listening me , Ma''jolie. Actually , I..."

    Before the man could say anything else to her , the girl leaned onto him without any second thought and brushed her lips against his. She didn''t even gave him enough time to catch his breath. The couple kept kissing each other for few good seconds till they both were out of breath.

    When they both separated , Rong Xinghe grabbed the man''s cor and yelled at him ,"This is the punishment for bottling up that much poisonous pain inside yourself for all these years , Mr. Xi !"

    Xi Yuan tucked the girl''s hair strands behind her ear as he replied to her softly ,"I wasn''t able to open up to anyone else other than you. I tried to tell Fang earlier but I just couldn''t. I am sorry."

    Rong Xinghe sighed and rested her head on Xi Yuan''s shoulder ,"Why did you suddenly decided to tell me ?"

    "Because I didn''t wanted my girl to be left in the dark. I n to marry you Xinghe. I want to live every second of my life with you. That''s why , I wanted you to know how my family was once like. Even now , it will be your choice whether to be cautious of them or not. Rest assured , I will protect you all my life. Xinghe , I just want to know whether you will consider our rtionship after knowing about my family. Or will you leave me after everything I told you today ?"

    Rong Xinghe looked at the man seriously and after thinking for sometime , the girl ced a kiss on man''s cheek tenderly.

    "I will never leave you , Mr. Xi Yuan.", were the words she said to the man.

    "Because I might have already fallen in love with you !", were the words her heart told her that night.

 Chapter 224: In love with Xi Yuan !

    Chapter 224: In love with Xi Yuan !

    Xi Yuan didn''t knew that the girl''s heart had finally melted for him tonight. He was simply relieved by the assurance that she would never leave him. What more could he ask for ?

    Rong Xinghe stood up from her seat and walked towards the two big statues. She stopped just in front of them and bowed down respectfully to the Xi family elders.

    "Thank you. Thank you for making him the person he is today. Everyone might think that your departure was too sudden but I believe that even though it was sudden , it was still a beautiful one. It was too painful for your grandson but it was a relief for the both of you. Could there be anything more satisfactory than dying with the person you lived all your life with ? I don''t think so.

    "Grandpa and Grandma , I know you are looking at all your grandchildren from heaven. And I know that you are proud of them. I am proud of them as well.

    "I am sorry that I addressed you as my grandparents but I would like to do that from now on. The grandparents I had wanted me dead. They hated me and they hit me almost everyday. I have broken all my rtionship with them now. So I don''t have any grandparents anymore. Can I be bold enough to request that rtionship from you both ? May your souls rest in peace."

    At this time , Xi Yuan pulled the girl in his warm embrace. How could he see her like that ? How could he forget that the rtionship he had with his grandparents was once her biggest dream ? At least , he received that love for fifteen years of his life. But his Xinghe just never felt such love ! Yet she was trying to pacify him so calmly tonight. Could she be any more brave ?

    Rong Xinghe also gave him an optimistic perspective for his past today. Although his grandparents left him quite early , they had a smile stered across their lips when their souls left their bodies. They were satisfied by their death and they had no regrets at that time. This made him feel morefortable. Rong Xinghe was indeed an angel in his life.

    The girl separated the man from herself and dragged him towards the exit ,"No more tears now ! Grandpa would hate to see you like that."

    "Where are we going ?", the man smiled.

    "On Rong Xinghe''s infamous speed drive ! Then we will gulp down a giant ice-cream tub. By the way , you are paying for that , Mr. RichXi !"

    ___________________

    After Rong Xinghe lightened the man''s mood to normal , she dropped him to the Elite Saphhire before driving back to Military Chief Office. She had an emergency to attend there. Moreover , she understood that the man would feel much better if he would spend some time alone.

    As soon as Xi Yuan entered the penthouse , Xi Fang pulled him in a tight hug followed by Xi Ying and Xi Wei. When he realized that the Xi trio were crying endlessly , Xi Yuan was stunned to his core. His eyes subconsciouslynded on the projector screen disying the footage of Memorial Garden and he sighed helplessly. He had never revealed anything to them about that incident before because he didn''t wanted them to develop any negative impression about their parents.

    But in the end , he couldn''t suppress their curiosity anyway.

    "Okay. Calm down guys. Ying , you know I can''t see you like that.", the man wiped away his sister''s tears with the pad of his thumb.

    After the Xi trio finally calmed down , Xi Fang looked at his brother angrily ,"How could you bottle up so much pain inside you ? Brother , didn''t you trusted us ?"

    "Of course I did. Fang , don''t misunderstand me. I was afraid that I will weaken up if I disclose my feelings and at that time , I had to stay strong in order to take over the Xi business empire. All the three of you were suddenly my responsibility. You and Ying were just 11 and Wei was 10 at that time. How was I to tell you something like that ?"

    "We will never forgive mom , dad , uncle and auntie for how they snatched away your childhood from you ! We will never forget that you were just 18 when you had to take over the burden of the family business on your shoulders , brother.", Xi Ying clenched her fists resentfully.

    "Ying , let bygones be bygones. At that time , money had blinded them. But ever since you three came back , did they ever mistreated you ? They are our parents. I still remember how hurt grandfather and grandmother were when our parents had talked insultingly to them. Old people''s hearts are always vulnerable and sensitive. We better not repeat that sin in our family again.", the man passed a ss of water to Xi Ying calmly.

    Xi Wei squeezed his brother''s tensed shoulders as he asked ,"Is that why you rarely talk to them ? Because you are afraid that you might say something too harsh ?"

    Xi Yuan nodded his head silently. Greed was a person''s own mistake and somewhere there deep down in his heart , that 15 year old boy med his parents for how his grandparents left him. But he had seen how guilty Xi Chongkun and Xi Chonglin felt for what had happened. And that guilt was their biggest punishment. So he always avoided to mention that night in front of them.

    Xi Fang stared at Xi Yuan seriously as he looked straight into his eyes ,"I understand what you are trying to say. None of us will ever initiate an argument with them. But if any of them hurts you again , don''t expect me to go easy on anyone."

    Xi Yuan knew that Xi Fang wasn''t joking. Ever since he was a child , Xi Fang had always considered Xi Yuan as his mentor , which in a way , was true. Xi Yuan had personally trained the trio in the field of business management , after all.

    Xi Fang''s personality wasn''t that outrageous but if any problem concerned Xi Yuan , he wouldn''t take any rtionship into consideration before speaking up.

    Clearly , the third generation of Xi family was way more harmonious than the second generation.

    ______________

    Zhi Family Mansion , 3:00 a.m. :

    Rong Xinghe entered the ce in the midnight and dragged Zhi Al out of his room to the mansion''s exit. Zhi Al was still wearing his pajama and T-shirt when he was hauled out of his own house like that.

    The man was already used to the girl''s odd actions by now. In fact , Rong Xinghe would disturb only him and Su Rogguang at 3:00 a.m. in the night time. Su Rogguang must''ve been busy in some surgery , he thought.

    "What is it , brat ?!", Zhi Al yawned when the girl finally stopped in the parking arena.

    "Bro... I want to tell you something."

    "What ?"

    Rong Xinghe rested her right hand on her heart as she took a deep breath ,"Maybe... I am in love."

    Zhi Al was so shocked that his sleepy eyes flew wide open and he stared at the girl for few good minutes before he asked her cautiously ,"With ?" Please don''t let it be him !

    "Xi Yuan !"

    Zhi Al : "....."

 Chapter 225: Why do you think he is the right one ?

    Chapter 225: Why do you think he is the right one ?

    Zhi Al kept staring at the girl for sometime as he tried to digest her wordspletely. Firstly , she said that she was in love. Then she also confessed that the person she loved was Xi Yuan ! He thought that he was hearing things now and that all of this was not even real.

    "Could you repeat that , kiddo ?", the man cleared his throat before he asked the girl.

    Rong Xinghe sighed and hugged her brother before repeating her words ,"I love Yuan , Bro Al."

    Zhi Al became silent after he heard the girl''s words again. By the tone of her voice , she wasn''t joking about this. But just what had happened for her to realize her feelings for that man all of a sudden ?!

    Rong Xinghe separated from the frozen man and looked at him earnestly. For her , Zhi Al wasn''t just her brother. He was her friend as well. Naturally , she was morefortable with him when it came to things like this. But his reaction was unexpected. For a man as talkative as him , silence was definitely not expected.

    "Brother ? At least , say something..."

    Zhi Al was still in a daze as he just didn''t knew what to say to the girl. He had actually thought that it would happen at least one more yearter. He hadn''t seen thising so soon. It was only after Rong Xinghe held onto his hand tightly did the man broke out of his trance.

    Zhi Al pinched the space between his brows ,"When did you realize ? And why do you think he is the right one ?"

    Rong Xinghe smiled dreamily and quickly climbed onto the hood of her car ,"He is really a sweet man , brother. I don''t know when I started to develop feelings for him but I told him about that on his birthday few weeks ago. He always respects my opinions , he has never pushed me to ept him and he doesn''t expect anything from me in return. Yuan is nothing like Zhou Che. I can sense that he trusts me blindly. I know that he understands me very well.

    "Till now , I was still contemting between giving this rtionship a chance or not. But today , he opened up about his past to me. He told me how he had lost his grandparents when he was merely fifteen and how he never received parental love. He told me about his struggles and about his pain.

    "Bro Al , I know how difficult it is to reveal your most vulnerable side to someone. I know it more than anyone because I had disclosed my past to him earlier. It requires a lot of courage to do that. When I was telling him about the train incident in Country I , I was reliving that frightening night once again. I could see myself falling from that train and I could see myself crying and screaming on the cold railway tracks for the entire night. That was very painful.

    "He did the same today. I knew how tough it was for him to relive his past. He had seen his grandparents getting shot to death. He had seen his parents fighting over money and power. I could tell that those memories were floating in front of his eyes the entire time he was telling me about the incident.

    "And that is the transparency I expect in my rtionship ! Although it was painful for him , I am d he didn''t kept me in the dark. I am thankful that he trusted me with the darkest truth about his family. If he would''ve had hided it from me , I might''ve never forgiven him. The rtionships that stand on the ground of lies and secrets are bound to fall down hard. He knew that I could leave him and that I would want to stay away from his family''s narrow mindset , but he still came clean in front of me.

    "This made me realize that I was in love with him. I want to take this chance brother. I simply want to feel this love."

    Zhi Al was taken aback when Rong Xinghe said that Xi Yuan had actually gone ahead and exposed the biggest secret of his life to the girl. No wonder Rong Xinghe was so touched by him ! After all , she wasn''t any different from him. She also had the habit of bottling up her pain just like the man. So she naturally appreciated his honesty.

    But this wasn''t the concern for the six men. All along , they had no aversion for the man. Their real worry had always been the Xi family elders. Even if they all appeared to be warm and harmonious from the outside , who knew what was going on in the inside ? Especially , since this matter involved Rong Xinghe , they were going to be extremely cautious and observant regarding the Xi family n.

    "Brother , what is it ? You don''t like him ? You will not support me in front of other brothers ?", Rong Xinghe looked at the man worriedly. His silence was killing her now !

    Zhi Al took a deep breath and ran his hands through his hair as he smiled at the girl hesitantly ,"Of course , I don''t dislike him and I will be there for you always. What kind of support do you want ?"

    Rong Xinghe''s eyes shone when she received her brother''s eptance and jumped down the hood of the car excitedly ,"I love you , Bro Al ! I just want you to tell the other five men about this. Bro Zhi Bo and sis-inw Ruo Cy areing back from their honeymoon tomorrow as well. I have to leave for a confidential mission right now. So I won''t be back until tomorrow night. Just help me convince the rest of the family about it. Will you please do it for me ?"

    Zhi Al kissed the girl''s forehead gently as he looked at his angel with warmth in his eyes ,"I will tell them. You focus on your mission and don''t worry about all of this. Just be safe."

    Rong Xinghe smiled and jumped inside her car.

    "One more thing , Bro Al ! Don''t tell Yuan about all of this."

    "Why ?"

    "I want to give him a worthy and grand confession !"

    "....."

    This damneddy devil in love !

 Chapter 226: "Do you want to become a widow even before getting married ?!"

    Chapter 226: "Do you want to be a widow even before getting married ?!"

    Next morning , Lu family mansion :

    "What the hell ? She really said it out aloud ?", Mo Zixuan looked at Zhi Al with disbelief.

    "This better not be a prank , Al !", Zhi Xi red at his brother.

    "Did she really told you that Xi Yuan revealed everything about his grandparents'' death to her ?", Lu Wei''s reaction wasn''t any normal either.

    "I can''t believe this !", Zhi Bo sighed.

    On the sidelines , the sixdies couldn''t express their internal happiness as well. Finally ! The girl took a big step in her life. All their attempts of bringing them together weren''t in vain. But handling the six men wasn''t going to be easy for them. And that was the only major challenge here.

    "Could you all just calm down ? It is her independence to select the man she likes. Even if she likes Xi Yuan , you should at least trust her judgement.", Ningtao looked at the six men.

    Lu Wei nced at his wife and replied ,"No one is questioning her independence here , Tao. We just never saw thising. We know that kiddo is quite selective about her circle of friends and loved ones. Actually , we have no issues with that Yuan. But this was too unexpected."

    "So you all aren''t going to support her ?", Songyan asked to the group of six.

    "Of course we will be there for her , no matter what she decides. But that doesn''t mean that we will allow her to let her guards down. We don''t trust the Xi family elders. They were quite insensitive towards Yuan''s grandparents years ago. And we won''t be able to see Rong Xinghe going through something like what Xi Yuan had gone through.", Zhi Xi sighed.

    "I honestly think that they wouldn''t hurt her.", Ruo Cy said.

    "They wouldn''t dare to. After all , she has all the six of us backing her up. Rather than physically , they can only hurt her emotionally. Any mention of her past can affect her mentally. And almost everyone in the Xi family knows about what had happened with her 10 years ago. It would be even worse if they get involved with the Rongs.", Su Rogguang said.

    "So what should we do now ?", Cheng Tai asked as Mo Zixuan helped her with her medications.

    "We still don''t know if the entire Xi family knows about Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan''s feelings for each other. So we shouldn''t be too impulsive regarding the matter. But we will start interacting with them from now onwards more often. It will help us keep an eye on each and every single action of theirs.", Lu Wei said after thinking for sometime.

    "Exactly ! This matter involves Xinghe. We will have to be cautious about everything. With their maturity , Xi Yuan and kiddo would eventually handle most of the things. But just because she and Xiao aren''t associated with their blood family , we can''t allow the Xis to look down on our sister. The world needs to know that Rong Xinghe and Rong Xiao have their own personal six shields.", Mo Zixuan said proudly.

    "Why do I suddenly feel like this is more of a battle and not a rtionship ?", Ching Tong sighed.

    _______________________

    That night , Rong Xinghe returned back to Elite Diamond Penthouse after she was done with her mission. Zhi Al had already texted her that the other five men ad her sister-inws were supporting her decision and choice. So she didn''t stressed herself out too much over it. Actually , she already knew that her brothers were going to be there for her , no matter what.

    As soon as the girl entered the kitchen to cook something for herself after she was done showering , she saw a dark figure holding a knife in his left hand. The lights to the kitchen were off , so Rong Xinghe wasn''t able to identify the person. Subconsciously , the girl pulled out her revolver and pointed it towards the intruder''s forehead ,"Don''t move !"

    The dark figure stopped his actions instantly and turned around as he raised his hands in surrender. Suddenly , the kitchen lit up as Xi Wei switched on the light and covered his wide open mouth with a shocked expression.

    His goddess was literally pointing her gun at his dearly brother !

    "Sister-inw ! Do you want to be a widow even before getting married ?!", Xi Wei asked anxiously.

    Rong Xinghe was stunned more than anyone when she saw the person on the other end of her revolver. Was he crazy ? She could''ve actually pulled the trigger anytime if Xi Wei hadn''t switched on the lights !

    "Aaaahhh !", Xi Wei groaned in pain next second as his goddess had stomped her foot over his angrily ,"Who is your sister-inw ?!"

    "Kill me if you want ! But the legendary Xi Wei''s eldest sister-inw can be no one but you !", Xi Wei leaned against the kitchen wall and rubbed the ''injured'' thumb of his left foot.

    "You deserve it !", the girl red at Xi Wei and tucked the revolver behind her back.

    Rong Xinghe then rushed towards the man in front of her and looked at him worriedly ,"Are you fine ? And what are you doing here ?"

    Xi Yuan smiled innocently and replied ,"I saw you entering your penthouse just now. I thought that you must be tired , so I decided to cook something for you. But it was my fault to not inform you beforehand. Sorry."

    Warmth spread across the girl''s heart when she listened about the man''s considerate efforts. How thoughtful of the man she loved !

    She wanted to make him feel special when she would confess to him , so she had naturally decided to keep her feelings hidden from him for the time being. In fact , she was secretly nning her confession for him. But until then , the man wasn''t going to have any idea about her feelings for him.

    The girl rubbed her forehead and smiled ,"Its fine. I will make some noodles. Don''t tire yourself out."

    "And who allowed you to eat junk food ?", Xi Yuan red at the girl ,"Don''t tell me you do this everytime you are hungry and there is no one to cook for you."

    Rong Xinghe : "....."

    How was she to admit this habit of hers to him ?

    But of course , Xi Yuan could read thisdy devil''s silence more than anyone. The man squinted his eyes at her and pointed towards the dining room ,"Go and sit there !"

    Rong Xinghe knew that a volcano was erupting inside the man and she was in no ce to anger him any further. So she nodded her head like an innocent 3-year old and headed straight towards the dining room obediently. In this entire world , love was the only thing that could hinder Rong Xinghe''s rebellion nature.

    Xi Yuan''s eyes followed the girl until she sat down on one of the dining room chairs and Xi Fang joined her there for a conversation. As soon as Xi Yuan diverted his attention and started chopping vegetables , Rong Xinghe let out a sigh of relief.

    "You are afraid of my brother ?", Xi Fangughed.

    "He is indeed intimidating sometimes.", the girlughed back nervously.

    "Um... Xiao Xinghe , could you please meet me tomorrow in Starserve Cafe ?", Xi Fang asked hesitantly.

    "Why ?"

    "Well... Jiang Yue ising tomorrow. She will be here for few days. I already told you about her during brother''s birthday.", the man said.

    "Your girlfriend , right ?", Rong Xinghe asked after thinking for sometime.

    Xi Fang nodded.

    "Wait a second. Let me check my schedule. ", the girl pulled out her phone and shook her head ,"There are many business meetings at Rong headquarters tomorrow. How about this ? You bring your girl at 11:00 a.m. in the Rong office canteen. I will meet her then."

    "Sure. I will text her right away.", Xi Fang smiled.

 Chapter 227: Even the Xi family didnt dared to provoke him !

    Chapter 227: Even the Xi family didn''t dared to provoke him !

    Xi Yuan was serving the girl food when the doorbell of the penthouse rang. Rong Xinghe opened the door and saw Luo Youyou and Li Jungah standing outside.

    "Do you have any idea where Xi Yuan and his threeckeys are ?", Li Jungah asked sweetly to the girl.

    "All of them are here. They intruded like robbers , by the way.", Rong Xinghe replied with a wink.

    "Brats ! May wee in ?", Li Jungah shook her head helplessly.

    "Oh sorry ! Pleasee in. ", the girl quickly invited the twodies inside.

    "Why are you here Mom?", Xi Yuan nced at his mother and continued serving the food.

    "You cooked all of this ?", Li Jungah smiled as she looked at the food being served on the table.

    The man nodded ,"Hmm. For Xinghe. She was nning to have noodles , so..."

    Li Jungah turned around and red at the girl behind her ,"You are really too careless about your health. Only a healthy body can work more efficiently. Haven''t you heard this ? You are handling an entire business group along with the country''s security all alone. How can you do this to yourself ? Where are your brothers ? Let me scold them properly about how they are taking care of you."

    When faced with Li Jungah''s caring gesture , Rong Xinghe didn''t dared to refute for once. She simply looked down at the floor and allowed thedy to lecture her.

    After she was done scolding the girl , Li Jungah sighed ,"Why are you so much like Yuan ? He is also habitual of skipping his meals during work. You both are grown ups now. Could you stop acting like old monks please ? Come now , I will feed you. You too , young men and Ying."

    Xi Yuan , Xi twins and Xi Wei nodded and grabbed one chair each for themselves. A warm smile crept across Rong Xinghe''s lips when she saw the entire family sitting together and enjoying food.

    Meanwhile , as she saw Li Jungah''s motherly approach towards Rong Xinghe , Luo Youyou''s eyes turned cold. If things were to continue like this , it would be difficult for her to separate Rong Xinghe from the Xi familyter. And for the sake of her son , she had to do something as soon as possible.

    "You must be something to make the globally acknowledged business tycoon Xi Yuan cook for you Ms. Xinghe. It is impressive of you to wrap the CEO of Xi corporations around your little finger , I must say.", Luo Youyou remarked sarcastically as she sat down beside the girl.

    An awkward silence spread through the dining room as Rong Xinghe started coughing heavily. Why was she making it sound like she was forcing Xi Yuan to cook for her ? Her words were enough to make the girl ufortable.

    Li Jungah frowned and patted Rong Xinghe''s back worriedly ,"Its okay. Just calm down."

    Xi Yuan took a deep breath to calm himself down as he stood up from his chair. He then picked up his ss of water and strode swiftly towards his silly girl. He smiled at the girl and helped her drink water patiently. When it came to Xi Yuan , Rong Xinghe was also very obedient. So as the man caressed her hair , the girl''s tensed shoulders rxed subconsciously and she breathed a sigh of relief. After all , she couldn''t be too reckless or disrespectful towards his family. It was only right for him to handle this.

    After Rong Xinghe stopped coughing , Xi Yuan turned around and looked at his aunt ,"Isn''t it an honor to serve the Military Chief of Country X , Aunt ?"

    Luo Youyou had noeback against the man''s words. After all , she could sense the coldness radiating through his body. It was best if she was to remain silent at such a time.

    Rong Xinghe was stupefied by the man''s cold approach as well. But then again , after everything he had gone through , his tolerance towards his family was alreadymendable. She couldn''t help but sigh when she noticed Luo Youyou not uttering a single word against Xi Yuan. Clearly , even the Xi family didn''t dared to provoke this man !

    ____________

    After the family was done with dinner , Li Jungah and Luo Youyou left the penthouse and headed towards Xi family home.

    "Why did you said those things , Youyou ? What was the point of making the kids ufortable ?", Li Jungah asked to the woman beside her.

    Luo Youyou smiled as she replied ,"I don''t know why I did that but I don''t think I was wrong. Didn''t you noticed how our children were obeying her every word ? It somehow felt like she had possessed their minds and hearts. And ording to me , Xi family is not something anyone can just toy with. Our family has the ability to shake the entire finance ministry of Country X overnight , after all. Then how can our kids be someone''s pushovers ?"

    After some seconds of silence , Li Jungah let out a gentleugh ,"Country X''s finance ministry can face disasters even if Lu family or Zhi family trades their shares abroad. Then what is so mighty about us ? Rong Xinghe''s every brother has the capability to turn the nation upside down in the blink of an eye. Moreover , Rong Xinghe is a sweet girl. With her personality , even if our children are possessed by her , she would push them towards sesses , and not failures."

    Luo Youyou was stunned when she heard Li Jungah''s words. She had never expected her to be so caring towards Rong Xinghe. But it was now that she realized how wrong she was about her analysis. Li Jungah was obviously deeply impressed by Rong Xinghe.

    "Then what about her family ?", Luo Youyou changed the path of discussion.

    "What about it ? The Rongs are not even worth mentioning. Let us not even talk about those disgusting people. Although our children receivedck of parental love during their childhood , we didn''t at least tried to kill our own flesh and blood. But the Rongs were just a bunch of psychos.", Li Jungah clenched her fists angrily when she thought about the news headlines from years ago.

    "We shouldn''te to conclusions so soon, sister Jungah. After all , it takes two hands to initiate a p. There must have been a reason as to why the Rong family had hurt their own kin. And if discrimination was the case , why weren''t Rong Xiao and other girls of their family hurt as well ?", Luo Youyou sowed the seed doubt in Li Jungah''s mind.

    Evidently , her efforts weren''t worthless. Li Jungah didn''t said anything after that. It was actually worth putting some thought into. Compared to Rong Xinghe , other girls in the Rong family had never been ustomed to that much of sufferings. This actually made Li Jungah think if there was a second side to the story.

    But she was obviously going to be cautious of her actions. She had already hurt her son during his childhood. By doing anything reckless this time , she wasn''t going to rip herself and Xi Yuan apart any further. Most importantly , she liked Rong Xinghe very much. The girl was the perfect match for her son. For a man as dignified as Xi Yuan , Rong Xinghe''s elegant aura was a pure and idealpletion.

 Chapter 228: Not a woman who strives to impress

    Chapter 228: Not a woman who strives to impress

    Meanwhile , Elite Diamond Penthouse :

    "Sorry , Xiao Xinghe. She didn''t mean to...", Xi Fang quickly tried to exin on behalf of his mother as soon as the twodies left the ce.

    Rong Xinghe waved her hands in the air indifferently and smiled at the young man ,"Its alright. I didn''t take it to heart."

    "Thanks , sister-inw.", Xi Fang smiled at the lovelydy in front of him.

    "Mr. RichXi , can you buy me a scoop of ice cream right now ? I want to have a private chat with you.", Rong Xinghe smiled at Xi Yuan.

    Xi Yuan nodded and stood up from his seat. As the couple left the penthouse , Xi Ying looked at her two remaining brothers worriedly.

    "Is sis-inw upset about what happened ?"

    "Hopefully ! I love it when she scolds brother. I mean how many people in this world can lecture that scary devil ?", Xi Wei chuckled as he stuffed his mouth with the brownie prepared by Xi Yuan.

    Xi Ying red at the man beside her and punched him on his left arm ,"He is our brother !"

    "And she is my goddess ! She can do whatever she wants."

    Xi Fang : "....."

    ____________________

    11:00 p.m. , Softy Harbor :

    Xi Yuan passed the girl her favorite vani ice-cream.

    "Thanks."

    "You are angry about what my aunt said ?", the man kneeled down in front of the woman and started to tie down her open shoeces.

    Rong Xinghe shook her head and replied ,"Not angry , just slightly unsure. Why do I feel like your aunt doesn''t like me ?"

    "To be precise , I am myself unable to understand as to why she said those words. She doesn''t speak like that normally. It was odd today."

    "Can I ask you something ?", the girl asked hesitantly.

    "You have every right , Ma''jolie.", the man smiled and stood up from the ground after tying theces.

    "After everything that happened with your grandparents , you still respect your parents and uncle-aunt ?"

    Xi Yuan''s smile disappeared from his lips the moment his grandparents were mentioned. The man took in a deep breath and covered the girl with his jacket in order to protect her from cold winds. He then sat down beside her and looked into her eyes.

    "I had seen my grandparents'' pain when my parents used to be rude to them. Old people are usually fragile by heart , Xinghe. Honestly , I have been avoiding that incident until now. I wanted to escape that endless me-game. As long as my family isn''t rude to my siblings and you , I will never confront them about what happened in the past. But of course , you are allowed to do whatever you want. After all , the man in love with you is none other than Xi Yuan.", the man caressed the girl''s hair lovingly.

    Rong Xinghe''s cheeks reddened when the man shoved her hair strands behind her ear and smiled at her. Even his smallest of actions could affect her to the extent of blushing. The Rong Xinghe in love was indeed apletely different person....

    But on a serious note , he was trying to convey to her that the Xi twins , Xi Wei and she were his bottom line. If someone was to harm any of them , he wasn''t going to go easy on them , no matter what. This was actually a very sweet gesture of his !

    After she was done with her ice cream , Rong Xinghe jumped into Xi Yuan''s car and drove back towards the Elite premises along with the man.

    "I want to make two things clear to you , Yuan. Just don''t take it personally."

    "Go ahead.", the man smiled.

    "I don''t care what your family thinks about me. And I am not a woman who strives to impress anyone. They will have to ept me the way I am. They will have to acknowledge the wild , careless and rebel Rong Xinghe.", the girl said seriously. This was the real reason that she had asked him for a private chat ,"Ever since I was in Rong family , I had worked very hard to impress those people. Funnily enough , I wanted my ''family'' to be proud of me. Even the participation in ''Voice of the World'' was because of the hope that they would feel pride in calling me their kin. But in the end , what happened ?

    "So after that experience , I had stopped licking other''s boots or brown-nosing others."

    Xi Yuan''s heart ached when he thought about the efforts his woman must''ve had put in order to impress that psycho family. He squeezed the girl''s hand tightly and said ,"Got it."

    Rong Xinghe smiled at the man and continued ,"And secondly , although I don''t care about my reputation , my brothers are my weakness as well as my strength. I hope that my rtionship with your family wouldn''t result in my brothers being implicated.

    "I can cut throats for the six men , Yuan. So don''t expect me to go easy on anyone if something like that happens. They have families of their own. Even if one wants to stab me thousand times , I wouldn''t scream for once. But if my brothers are attacked for just once , I have the capability to make or break the nations , let alone be a small group of people."

    Compared to her earlier tone , Rong Xinghe''s tone now was way more cold and distant. Just because she was their younger sister , it didn''t meant that she couldn''t protect them. She hated it the most when her brothers were hurt due to her personal matters.

    And this was the reason that she was so adamant to take revenge against Rong family for Lu Wei''s ident. If the Rongs had their personal grudges , the could''ve had attacked her. But they shot her at her soft spot.

    Xi Yuan obviously understood the six men''s importance in Rong Xinghe''s life more than anyone. The eight siblings were the perfect example of an ideal siblinghood , despite not being blood rted to each other.

    "Xinghe , I will never stop you if your brothers are hurt. You might not believe this but I respect your brothers more than even you do.", the man smiled at the girl.

    "Why ?"

    Xi Yuan waited for the car toe to a halt at the traffic signal before he leaned in on the woman beside him. The man then brushed his lips against hers passionately ,"Because the woman I am madly in love with , was made and shaped by those legends !"

 Chapter 229: Killing everyone with their perfection

    Chapter 229: Killing everyone with their perfection

    Next day ,

    Rong Xinghe reached Rong office''s cafe in order to meet with Xi Fang''s girlfriend Jiang Yue. The man had requested her for this meeting so many times that she wasn''t left with any excuse to escape this. Moreover , ever since she had realized her feelings for Xi Yuan , she had started to feel responsible for the man''s threeckeys. After all , other than her , Xi Yuan''s only priority were these three siblings of his.

    Xi Fang and Jiang Yue were already waiting for her in the cafe when she arrived. As soon as they saw her , they both stood up from their seats and Xi Fang pulled out a chair for her ,"Make yourselffortable , Xiao Xinghe !"

    "Where is Yuan ?"

    "He is on his way. Don''t worry. I will order something for you."

    Rong Xinghe couldn''t help but chuckle at the man''s propriety and formal behavior. A person was bound to behave differently in front of their lover. How cute !

    One look at Jiang Yue and Rong Xinghe could tell that the girl was evidently excited to meet her. So Rong Xinghe smiled and pointed her chin towards the girl''s chair ,"Sit."

    Jiang Yue nodded her head like a rattle-drum and grabbed her seat.

    Before Xi Fang could introduce them to each other , Jiang Yue spoke up eagerly ,"I am a huge fan of yours , Ms. Xinghe ! Ever since you were a participant in ''Voice of the World''petition , I have been following you crazily. I even applied to get into Youth Team , but I was rejected. I really wanted to work with you back then. But anyway , I was delighted when you decided to join the Military. You have always face pped the people who look down on you. Oh my god ! I can''t believe I am finally sitting in front of you !"

    Rong Xinghe : "..."

    Xi Fang : "..."

    Jiang Yue kept on counting Rong Xinghe''s achievements on her fingers and the woman simply smiled at the couple in front of her. For a man as mature and calm as Xi Fang , Jiang Yue was like the source of joy in his in life. She hadn''t honestly expected for Xi Fang to be attracted to such a chatty person.

    Only when Jiang Yue was out of breath did she stopped talking. Xi Fang was embarrassed by his womanpletely ''fangirling'' his to be sister-inw. So his cheeks and ears were slightly reddish by now. Actually , Jiang Muye had no idea about Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe''s rtionship currently. Or only god knew what her reaction could''ve been !

    Rong Xingheughed and pinched Jiang Muye''s nose yfully ,"Thank you for the praise , Ms. Jiang ! I am ttered. Regarding your rejection in Youth Team , it must have had happened because you couldn''t volunteer your time for the NGO. Actually , the organisation demands not only money , but attention of the members towards the orphan kids. Now that you are here , you can fill up the form any time."

    "Really ?!", the girl''s eyes sparked up.

    Rong Xinghe nodded ,"Really. Now tell me , when did you both started dating ?"

    Jiang Yue blushed at the question as she looked at her coffee cup ,"Since we were in ninth grade."

    "Wow ! Childhood love. So dreamy...", Rong Xinghe raised her brows in amusement as she shot an inquisitive look at Xi Fang. Did he learned that from his brother or was he his brother''s ''love guru'' ?

    Xi Fang let out a sigh of relief when he saw the twodies getting along with each otherfortably. By the looks of it , there couldn''t be too many arguments between the two women in the future. Hence , the Xi family''s history wouldn''t repeat !

    _______________

    After Jiang Yue and Rong Xinghe were done with their 45 minute long conversation , Jiang Yue left the office building as she had to meet her university friends , who were waiting for her.

    "So... did you like her , Xiao Xinghe ?", the man looked at Rong Xinghe expectantly.

    Rong Xinghe smiled and replied ,"Yeah. She has a pleasant , charming and elegant personality. You both match pretty well."

    "Thanks !", the man smiled.

    "But there is one problem...", Rong Xinghe looked at the man seriously.

    "What ?", Xi Fang asked attentively.

    "Since she is so direct with her approach , she has no sense of mystery , which isn''t always a good thing. What I am trying to say is that almost anyone can guess exactly what she thinks. Most importantly , such people get affected by their surroundings pretty easily.

    "She has the tendency to trust her closed ones. So you need to make sure that she maintains a goodpany. Otherwise , she will be implicated even when she wouldn''t be involved in something intentionally.", Rong Xinghe exined her analysis.

    Xi Fang stared wide-eyed at the woman in front of him and nodded his head subconsciously. In just few minutes , Rong Xinghe had actually exined Jiang Yue''s personality urately and to the point ! Jiang Yue was actually naive when it came to selecting the people around her. Even in the past , she had been in a lot of trouble because of trusting the wrong people.

    No wonder Rong Xinghe had never been tricked by the people around her ! She could literally see through a person in a meeting of few minutes.

    Same was the case with Xi Yuan when it came to judging people. And it was due to this , that he had never taken a single frail decision ever since he had taken over the Xi business empire.

    Was this couple trying to kill everyone with their perfection ?!

    "I never expected to meet Mr. Fang inside the premises of Rong Empire !", a man''s voice resounded throughout the canteen.

    As soon as the familiar and cold voice fell upon her ears , Rong Xinghe''s back stiffened and she froze on the spot. It had been ten years since she had heard this frightening voice , after all. Thest words this man had said to her were ''You are dead to the Rong family from today. Go die !''

    In the entire Rong family , Rong Xinghe required courage to face only this one individual in the eye !

    After all , he was the one who had pushed her down the train in Country I... Rong Yufan !

 Chapter 230: His womans uncured wound

    Chapter 230: His woman''s uncured wound

    For Rong Xinghe , facing Rong Yufan waspletely different from facing the entire Rong family. Ever since she was a child , she had developed a positive impression about him. There was a time when she used to believe that anyone could hurt her in this world , except her ''brother Yufan'' !

    Unfortunately , all her misconceptions were shattered like a ssware when he had deliberately pushed her down the train. He had left her to die on those cold railway tracks. Throughout the entire night , no one was there to hear her screams and cries. That night was not something Rong Xinghe could ever forget. This man was not someone she could ever forget !

    Xi Fang frowned when he saw Rong Xinghe''s pale expression. He had never thought that his sister-inw could be weak as well. But then again , after everything she had gone through , it was only understandable for her to require support at this time , yet neither her brothers nor Xi Yuan was there to stand beside her.

    Rong Yufan approached the pair and stretched out his hand to shake hands with Xi Fang ,"Is my sister doing business with the legendary Xi family now ? That is impressive !"

    Xi Fang took a deep breath and shook hands with the man. After they separated their hands , Xi Fang picked up one of the napkins ced on the coffee table and threw it into the bin after wiping his hand , that had came in contact with Rong Yufan.

    Rong Yufan obviously noticed Xi Fang''s actions as an amused smile appeared across his lips ,"Seems like Mr. Xi has some sort of misunderstanding towards me. May I know if someone has been misguiding you ?"

    Xi Fang knew that this question was pointing straight towards his to be sis-inw. And since Xi Yuan wasn''t there , it was his duty to ensure his brother''s woman''sfort.

    Naturally , Xi Fangughed and shook his head ,"We , the people from Xi Corporations , do not interact with insignificant people. Especially , with those that are poor with business management. After all , there is a status and ss we have to uphold."

    As soon as Rong Yufan heard Xi Fang''s sharp words , his face turned as ck as the bottom of the pot. Xi family''s influence in business had always been undefeated over the years. So their opinions , acknowledgement and even insults mattered in the country. In fact , after the legend Xi Yuan , only Xi Fang was the best support for the Xi business group. So his every word was like a tight p to Rong Yufan.

    But obviously , Rong Yufan was shameless enough to smile after being looked down upon ,"Well... Is the Xi group merging with Rong group ? I request you to not keep me in the dark !"

    Xi Fang shook his head ," No. To be honest , the Xi empire hasn''t developed enough to be able to work beside Ms. Xinghe. The Xi family will have to work even more hard in order to raise our standard , so that we can merge with her. She has just rejected my proposal for one of the contracts."

    Rong Yufan was shocked when he listened to Xi Fang and the next second , his eyesnded coldly on the girl behind man. Was she an idiot ? Rejecting Xi Fang could never be a smart business move ! And how could Xi family look down on themselves whenpared to this useless woman ? Just because she was a tricky and measly Military Chief ?

    Rong Yufan turned around and left the ce without saying anything to anyone after that. He was going to bring a lot of trouble to her in the next shareholder''s meeting seven dayster for this stupidity of hers. Rong Xinghe''s every wrong move was a benefit for him , after all.

    Xi Fang also looked at the silentdy worriedly ,"I might''ve brought you trouble , sister-inw. But I just couldn''t control myself."

    Rong Xinghe waved her hands in the air indifferently ,"Its... fine."

    But suddenly , the girl felt a sharp piercing pain in her head and she involuntarily stopped every action of hers. The girl grabbed her head and tried to massage it as her brows furrowed. Xi Fang didn''t understood what was happening but he knew that the girl was in pain. So he quickly rushed towards her ,"Xiao Xinghe ! What is it ?"

    The pain was so much that Rong Xinghe wasn''t able to utter a single word. She was feeling like someone was endlessly hammering her head. The sensation was so excruciating that her knees had started to feel weak and darkness started to spread in front of her eyes.

    At this time , a dark figure appeared in front of her and looked at her worriedly ,"Xinghe , are you fine ?"

    "Yuan...", the girl lost all the strength in her body as soon as she realized that her love had arrived and that there was nothing for her to worry about. She instinctively knew that her Yuan was going to fix everything.

    The girl leaned against Xi Yuan''s shoulders as she tightly clutched the man''s jacket to suppress her pain. Finally , the girl submitted herself to the man after whispering weakly in his ears ,"I need you..."

    Xi Yuan was shocked as well as scared when he heard Rong Xinghe''s desperate and disheartening tone. It seemed like he was toote this time. He looked at the unconscious girl in his arms and lifted her up swiftly without wasting another second ,"Get the car ! Inform her brothers. Quick !"

    Xi Fang hadn''t expected Xi Yuan to arrive at such a time. So only when the man rushed out of the office canteen with the girl did he came out of his daze and pulled out his phone.

    ________________

    City hospital :

    "Bad news , guys. It wasplex migraine stroke. This is going to be painful for her.", Su Rogguang diagnosed the girl''s reports to the entire family.

    "What ?! How could it be ? Didn''t you said she was fine ? Then this...", Zhi Al asked worriedly to the man.

    "Possibly she was reminded of her traumatic past.", Su Rogguang fixed his gaze on the two young men from the Xi family.

    Xi Yuan didn''t had the will to say anything after the moment he heard that his girl''s condition was worsening with every passing second. He was in his own train of thoughts at the time. So Xi Fang spoke up ,"Actually , Rong Yufan had visited the office today. Before she fainted , they both had already met."

    The six men looked at each other the moment Rong Yufan was mentioned. No wonder she was impacted so adversely ! No matter how much time had passed , some wounds could only remain uncured. The train incident in Country I was such a wound in Rong Xinghe''s life.

    "I will kill him !", Zhi Xi clenched his fists angrily.

    "Don''t do anything Xinghe hasn''t approved you of. Since she wants to y with the Rongs , we will naturally let her do it. For now , let us just focus on her health.", Lu Wei said calmly.

    As the six men indulged into their discussion , Xi Yuan disregarded everything and strode inside the girl''s private ward. Nothing in this world was more important than Rong Xinghe for the man. He needed her to be in his line of sight to make his restless heart calm down and properly n the Rong family''s pitiful destruction !

 Chapter 231: The six men could never forgive those psychos !

    Chapter 231: The six men could never forgive those psychos !

    Xi Yuan entered the cold hospital room and sat down on the edge of the girl''s bed. He gently pushed the girl''s hair strands behind her right ear and caressed her pale colorless cheeks silently.

    Last time she had a minor migraine stroke at Lu Wei''s house , he was there as well. At that time also , her pain was triggered by the memories from her childhood in the Rong family. And the same had happened today. No matter how tough she acted , she also had her weaknesses.

    Despite being known for her perfection , she was imperfect. Almost everyone believed that Rong Xinghe was capable of almost everything. Everyone said that she was unreal and that a person like her could only exist in movies. But that wasn''t true.

    Compared to others , she was indeed unique. But it didn''t mean that she was not a human or that she could do everything.

    Only Xi Yuan and her brothers knew that her inability to forget her past and pain was her biggest weakness. She was having a tough time moving on from that dark part of her life. Ten years had already passed but she wasn''t able to get through her fear of confronting the man responsible for her pain.

    She wasn''t any different from a normal human being. She also felt the same uneasiness , pain , fear and uncertainty. She also tried to avoid the reality. It was just that she was better at hiding her feelings.

    Xi Yuan kept looking at his sleeping woman for who knows how long. It seemed like he had to step in into this battle himself. After all , he wasn''t going to just see Rong Xinghe going through another migraine stroke because of those morons !

    ________________

    Soon enough , the six men entered the girl''s ward as well. As they looked at Xi Yuan''s shameless disy of affection , they exchanged nces with each other and sat down on the empty couches opposite Rong Xinghe''s bed silently.

    They couldn''t say anything to the man currently. After all , Rong Xinghe had already confessed to them that she liked him. In fact , she had clearly stated that she loved him. They could no more be too hostile , rude or unweing towards the man as their slightest of actions could disappoint and hurt their sister.

    Moreover , Xi Yuan had never given them a single reason to not allow him into their sister''s life. The six men had eyes of their own too. They had noticed how his presence made her feelfortable and carefree. They had observed how much concern , passion , importance and priority he gave to her. Most importantly , they knew Xi Yuan ever since he was struggling with business. This man literally had no w in him.

    Right now , the six men were actually contemting about what to do. They didn''t hated Xi Yuan but they required assurance from the Xi family as well.

    Also , they wanted to know about Xi Yuan''s decision if his family was to oppose his rtionship with Rong Xinghe. Could the man be courageous enough to leave his family for her ?

    At this time , Xi Yuan ced an extra pillow beneath the girl''s head and turned around to look at Lu Wei ,"Do I have the permission to help her deal with the Rong family , Senior Lu ?"

    Lu Wei sighed and loosened his tie. He knew that something was brewing up in that crazy brain of his !

    "Are you nning to murder the Rongs ?! Brothers , I am not going to let Xinghe live with a murderer. I am already making this clear !", Zhi Al red at Xi Yuan. Zhi Al had always been a person with the wildest of imaginations in the family.

    "Live ?", Xi Yuan was stunned. Why would he say something like that ?

    "You don''t know ?", Mo Zixuan frowned.

    "About what?", Xi Yuan shook his head gesturing that he bad no idea about what was happening.

    The six men digested the man''s reaction for sometime. Did it mean that Rong Xinghe hadn''t yet confessed her feelings to him ? She hadn''t told him that she was in love with him ? It was now that they realized what was happening !

    Rong Xinghe was nning something unique and touching for Xi Yuan ! She wanted to make him feel special...

    And why not ? The person in love was none other than their kiddo. Even her confession was bound to be memorable...

    "Nothing. Since your family is back and your father''s birthday ising soon , I suggest that you organize a grand birthday banquet for him. Lu family and Zhi family would be there too. Its been a long time since we had a chat with them.", Zhi Xi changed the subject.

    They had to interact with the Xis in order to avoid any sort of misunderstanding regarding their opinions for Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe''s rtionship as soon as possible.

    Xi Yuan could sense that the six men were being secretive deliberately and that there was something going on in their minds. But he eventually decided to not demand any exnation from them. He simply took a deep breath and nodded.

    "You guys don''t mind me helping her , do you ?"

    Zhi Bo shrugged his shoulders nonchntly ,"As long as she doesn''t feel like you are underestimating her capabilities. Its not like her six brothers can''t help her. We just know her too well."

    "I will take that in consideration.", the man smiled.

    ____________

    At this time , the sleeping girl''s eyes flinched as her eyebrows furrowed and she held onto Xi Yuan''s hand tightly.

    The six men and Xi Yuan were taken aback for a second before they ced their attention onto the restless girl.

    Rong Xinghe shook her head vigorously in her sleep as tears flowed down her eyes ," No... No... Sir ! I will not call you grandpa in front of other guests again. Please ! Please don''t ! Sir , please don''t close me in this room. It is scary here. I feel suffocated here sir ! Sir please open the door sir. I will serve to the guests properly like ady. I will..."

    The six men stood up from their seats and surrounded the girl''s bed quickly. They knew that this was one of the memories the girl had with the Rong family during her childhood. As they saw the girl struggling and crying in her sleep , the six sister-doting tigers couldn''t help but clench their fists angrily.

    Even if the almighty god was to forgive those psychos , the six men could never do it. Right now , all of them were feeling like their hearts were being pricked by thousands of needles.

    ::::::::::::::

    Meanwhile , Xi Yuan had seen the girl in such a state for the first time ever since he had met her. From his perspective , she was the strongest woman out there in the world. But he had never expected her to have gone through so much.

    Unfortunately , he only knew about the train incident in Country I. He had no idea about her entire scary childhood !

    The man looked anxiously at the six men but clearly , they were just as helpless as him in a situation like this.

    Suddenly , a thought crossed the man''s mind. Next moment , he looked down reflexively and leaned in on the girl. A sweet kiss was soon ced against the girl''s forehead.

    Xi Yuan then gently whispered in the girl''s ear ,"I am here , Xinghe. Don''t worry."

    These simple words and the simple actions were surprisingly able to calm the girl down. As soon as Xi Yuan''s voice fell onto her ears , Rong Xinghe''s furrowed brows rxed and she stopped shaking slowly.

    The girl kept on holding onto the man''s hand as she mumbled softly ,"Yuan...Just stay with me a little longer..."

    A relieved smile appeared across the man''s lips as he kissed his angel''s tip of nose lovingly , "As you wish , my dear !"

 Chapter 232: Rong Yufans new enemy !

    Chapter 232: Rong Yufan''s ''new'' enemy !

    The six men silently looked at the evidently harmonious and perfect couple in front of them. There was no doubt that Xi Yuan and Rong Xingheplimented each other too well. Most importantly , as her brothers , they all were pleased by the attention and importance Xi Yuan gave to their kiddo. Surprisingly , they all were getting used to Xi Yuan''s public disy of affection with their sister !

    By now , Xi Yuan had already coaxed the girl to sleep in his arms. His presence was , after all , no less than any medicine for her.

    The man kept on holding the girl in his arms while he swiftly pulled the nket over Rong Xinghe''s cold shoulders. Only after the girl went into a deep sleep did the man rxed a little and looked at Zhi Xi.

    "She has been having such nightmares since..."

    "Since the train incident in Country I. The dreams aren''t always about the particr incident though. They can be concerning any of her childhood traumas.", Zhi Xi sighed.

    "Just how painful was her childhood ?", the man furrowed his brows.

    "Painful beyond your imagination.", Zhi Bo said as he helped Xi Yuan cover the girl''s legs ,"By the way , what revenge have you nned ?"

    "I would rather discuss that somewhere else. Xinghe needs rest now.", Xi Yuan replied meaningfully ," But before that , I need to know about the entire Rong family. Each and everyone of them !"

    The six men : "..."

    Why were they feeling like another war was soon to begin ?

    ________________

    Meanwhile , Rong Yufan had no idea about this new ''enemy'' of his. He didn''t knew that the almighty business king Xi Yuan was up against him for the sake of his woman.

    He simply returned back to Rong family home andined about Rong Xinghe''s stupidity to the family elders. As Rong Yufan''s grandmother and mother fumed up , his father and grandfather were practical and cautious about the entire matter.

    "Why would Mr. Fang say that the prestigious Xi family isn''t worthy enough to work with that wicked brat ?", Rong Chang frowned.

    The Xi family was at the pinnacle of every socialite circle across the globe. Every generation of theirs had had been geniuses. Working with them was something that almost everyone wished for.

    Hence , for the second master of the Xi family to say something like that was actually too shocking ! And the man had literally ced Rong Xinghe high above his own family ? What was all of that supposed to mean ?!

    "I have looked into it already , sir.", Rong Chang''s assistant replied quickly ," Actually , it isn''t just about Mr. Fang. Miss Rong is associated with the Mr. Yuan as well. In fact , Mr. Yuan is one of the members of the Youth Team. As far as I have heard , Miss Rong and Mr. Yuan are quite close to each other."

    Rong Yufan burst outughing when he heard the assistant''s words ,"You are getting old , assistant. Xi Yuan wouldn''t even bother to look at her. After all , she is good for nothing. Other than talking big and seducing the shareholders to get into the Rong group , what else can she do ? Xi Yuan is the type of man who hates such people the most."

    Rong Quiyang nodded his head after thinking for sometime ,"Even so , we need to investigate into the connection between Xi family and Rong Xinghe. Who knows what more she has up her sleeves ? "

    "I will be going to the office for the next few days then. That way , I''ll be able to keep an eye on her. Even the smallest of her scandals can make her lose her authority and power overnight. That will be much too satisfying.", Rong Yufan added.

    Only if they knew about the person they had offended...

    But even if they knew , they might''ve not been able to stop him. After all , he was way more capable and swift for them to predict his next move.

    __________________

    At the same time , Xi family elders arrived at the Military sanatorium as soon as they received the news about Rong Xinghe. Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah were the most worried , of course.

    After all , the person hurt was someone Xi Yuan loved dearly. They had seen their son''s pain when his grandparents had left the world. They had witnessed their own child going through the horrifying trauma years ago already...

    But after all those years , he had finally started to smile and talk again. And that had happened only after he met Rong Xinghe. Clearly , their son loved this woman more than his own life. They didn''t dared to imagine what would happen if something was to happen to Rong Xinghe. As his parents , they couldn''t obviously see Xi Yuan go through that pain again.

    When they entered the girl''s hospital ward , they saw Xi Yuan gently adjusting the unconscious girl''s pillows while the six men discussed something among themselves. The sight of Xi Yuan being warm to someone was already too odd and unexpected for them. But more than that , they were shocked by the six men''s indifference regarding the situation ! Were they really the same protective sister-doting tigers they were known to be throughout the world ?!

    "How is she ?", Li Jungah walked over to her son and smiled at him sweetly.

    The six men lifted up their heads and looked at the group of four that had just disturbed their discussion. The Xi family elders'' sudden entry was unforeseen for them as well. But they were bound to be formal with them anyway.

    "A migraine stroke. She is stable now , Mrs. Xi.", Su Rooguang smiled at the middle ageddy.

    "Thanks for your concern , Auntie ! ", Lu Wei strode towards Li Jungah and kissed the back of her right hand ,"Never expected to meet you in a situation like this."

    Zhi Xi and the other four men followed behind Lu Wei as they greeted everyone in the family with their utmost propriety and decency. After they were done discussing Rong Xinghe''s health , the family walked out of the ward along with Rong Xinghe''s brothers.

    Xi Yuan ced a soft kiss against Rong Xinghe lips before he also stood up and left the room as he left behind his personal bodyguards to protect his woman.

 Chapter 233: Pacifying his girls anger

    Chapter 233: Pacifying his girl''s anger

    Xi Yuan exited the hospital ward and gestured Xi Fang and his assistant toe over ,"Get all the information you can about Rong family''s current situation. Especially , focus on Rong Yufan''s weaknesses."

    "We will follow your arrangements soon , brother.", Xi Fang nodded at Xi Yuan obediently. He could already guess that the Rong family had sessfully stepped over his brother''s bottom line this time.

    At this time , Luo Youyou approached the two young men from behind as she patted Xi Fang''s shoulder ,"You were at the Rong headquarters when Miss Xinghe fainted , right ? But what were you doing there ?"

    The six men also turned around to look at Luo Youyou as her voice was slightly higher inparison to others.

    "Yes. Actually , I wanted to introduce my girlfriend to Xiao Xinghe. I hadn''t expected Rong Yufan to show up there as well. Thankfully , brother arrived at the right time.", Xi Fang replied honestly.

    "You introduced your girlfriend to her before your own family ? What is going on , Fang ? There should be a limit to every rtionship. Especially , friendship. Xi family had the first right to know about their daughter-inw. Can you exin your ambiguous actions ? Because they are clearly telling about your priorities here.", Luo Youyou was displeased by Xi Fang''s words. As his mother , she felt like she had every right to know about her son''s woman before anyone else. Then how could he go ahead and give that right to Rong Xinghe ?

    Of course , Luo Youyou''s tone was evidently hostile rowards Rong Xinghe as well. Most importantly , her impulsive words were unmistakably heard by the six sister-doting tigers. The six brothers exchanged nces among themselves but decided to remain silent. Although they had already developedplex feelings about the Xi family , they were mature enough to maintain their tolerance.

    But Xi Yuan could sense the six tigers'' intimidating aura just by looking at them. They were obviously suppressing their urge to question Luo Youyou right away !

    And why not ? Luo Youyou was talking about their lovely sister , after all. He needed to find a way to cool down the stiff atmosphere as soon as possible.

    So the man cleared his throat before speaking up ,"Well...I was going to meet Xinghe there for something rted to Youth Team anyway and Fang also wanted to introduce his girlfriend to me. So I suggested him toe to Rong Corporations'' headquarters directly."

    At this time , Luo Youyou realized that the six men had their gazes fixed on her as she gulped back the words she was about to say next.

    Next second , she turned around and smiled at the six men awkwardly ,"My apologies , young men. The day was too exhausting for me already. I was stressed. I hope you wouldn''t take my words to heart."

    Mo Zixuan simply shook his head ,"It is fine , Mrs. Youyou."

    Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah breathed a sigh of relief when the six men took Luo Youyou''s words for granted. Because such arguments couldn''t be any good for Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe''s rtionship !

    _______________________

    One week passed since the incident with Rong Yufan took ce. Rong Xinghe was recuperating at a steady pace while her entire family helped her take care of her business. Although she had to handle the military from the hospital itself , it was not a big deal because the military forces were understanding and supportive regarding such situations. They understood that Rong Xinghe had a personal life too and that she needed rest as well. On the other hand , Su Rogguang had literally tied her down to the hospital bed , so that she couldn''t escape the hospital and tire herself out for any other insignificant things.

    Meanwhile , Xi Yuan was done with his research on Rong family. After getting the information he needed , the man had finally started to n his revenge. But the most noteworthy thing was that even the six men were oblivious to their kiddo''s ck-bellied ''lover''s'' schemes...

    On the other hand , Rong Xinghe was angry with Xi Yuan. Since she was nning a proper confession for her man , his ignorance was getting on her nerves with every passing second.

    From the past one year , she had gotten used to Xi Yuan''s attention. The man had never disregarded Rong Xinghe for seven days straight. Even when they had to be apart , Xi Yuan would definitely take his time out for his angel and at least make a phone call , if nothing else. But this time was an exception. So the littledy devil was upset with her Mr. RichXi.

    But Xi Ying was an observantdy. Since she was visiting Rong Xinghe almost everyday in the hospital , she had noticed that her sister-inw was getting annoyed by her brother. So the girl sneakily texted her brother about the disaster at hand. And obviously , Xi Yuan also realized his mistake as soon as he received the message. So the man didn''t wasted a single second and quickly rushed back to the military sanatorium.

    But the moment Xi Yuan entered the room , Rong Xinghe turned her face around and humphed angrily. The girl then picked up her phone and intentionally pretended to be busy.

    Xi Yuan chuckled as he looked at the girl putting on an act in front of him. The man walked over to the girl and sat down beside her on her bed. The man gently took the girl''s hands into his as he smiled at her sweetly ,"How are you feeling now , Xinghe ?"

    Rong Xinghe : "...."

    Xi Yuanughed helplessly when he realized that the girl was giving him the cold shoulder. It seemed like she was truly angered this time. Just what could he do to pacify thedy devil now ?

    At this time , Xi Yuan felt that someone was looking at him through the hospital window. The man was stunned speechless when he saw Rong Xiao smiling at him through the small window. The seconddy devil was writing something on a piece of paper withplete concentration. After she was done writing , the girl quickly threw the paper towards the man with a smirk across her lips.

    Xi Yuan picked up the crumpled piece of paper as he read the contents in it.

    { Brother-inw ! ording to Xinghe''s personality , she would appreciate an unexpected kiss. Try it." }

    Xi Yuan raised his brows ever so slightly and looked at Rong Xiao suspiciously. Was she nning to get him killed ? But he eventually decided to follow the girl''s arrangements because he couldn''t think of any other idea on his own.

    Few secondster , the man leaned in on the woman with a pout in front of him as he ced a soft kiss against her lips. Rong Xinghe was definitely taken aback by the man''s actions this time.

    But unlike before , she wasn''t confused about him now. Internally , she knew that she was crazily in love with this man and that she had no reason to push him away from herself.

    Naturally , the man''s touch could send electric sensation through her entire body. As the man''s fingers grazed over every curve of her body , the girl rxed her shoulders and finally responded to the intense kiss with the same amount of passion. As their lips and hearts intertwined with each other smoothly , they felt like their souls were also connecting tohether and with a greater intensity than before.

    Nevertheless , it was now that she realized that she couldn''t be angry with this man for too long...

    After all , how could Xinguan bepleted without the sweet and adorable chemistry between Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan ?

 Chapter 234: Only Rong Xinghe could punish him !

    Chapter 234: Only Rong Xinghe could punish him !

    As she looked at the man and the woman kissing each other , Rong Xiao sighed helplessly outside the window. All her six brothers were inmitted rtionships now. Even Rong Xinghe had found a man for herself. Among the eight siblings , only she was left single.

    She kept staring at the harmonious couple for who knows how long. But after sometime , sounds of a dog barking reached the girl''s ears. Rong Xiao''s back stiffened as she peeked down thedder she had climbed.

    "Aaaahhh !"

    Almost the entire hospital staff rushed out of the hospital as soon as they heard Rong Xiao''s scream. Actually , Rong Xiao had Cynophobia. She feared dogs more than anything else in the world. And coincidentally , a German shepherd was roaming around the girl''sdder !

    But first of all , what was the renowned cardiac surgeon Dr. Rong Xiao doing up above thedder ?

    The hospital staff were too shocked to help the girl while tears flowed down her eyes. She was once bitten by a dog during her childhood and since then , she avoided toe in contact with dogs , no matter what their breed was.

    By now , Rong Xinghe had already fallen asleep in Xi Yuan''s arms. She had no idea about her sister''s struggles. But of course , Xi Yuan heard Rong Xiao''s cries clearly. He gently adjusted Rong Xinghe''s position before he rushed towards Rong Xiao hurriedly.

    "Hold my hand , Xiao.", Xi Yuan opened the window and stretched out his hand to the girl.

    After some efforts , Rong Xiao finally jumped inside her sister''s hospital ward ,"Thank you , brother-inw."

    The girl then clenched her fists angrily as she nced at the German shepherd down the building ,"It is clearly a pet dog. Who the f*ck is the owner ?!"

    Xi Yuan let out augh as he looked at the dog who had troubled hisdy''s sister ,"This beast belongs to Xi Wei , my younger brother."

    "What ?! Why would he bring a dog to the hospital ? And how could he leave it like that ? I am going to kill him !", Rong Xiao fumed up and roared without paying any heed to her words.

    "I won''t stop you.", Xi Yuan smiled at the girl before he turned around and walked towards his woman.

    "I released my dog deliberately because you were intruding my brother and sister-inw''s privacy.", Xi Wei entered the hospital room at this time ,"And about killing me , I dare you toy even a single finger of yours on me !"

    Next second , a kicknded on Xi Wei''s chest as the man screamed in pain. Xi Wei clutched his chest and groaned loudly.

    "What the hell ?! How can you be so strong ?", Xi Wei red angrily at Rong Xiao.

    The woman shrugged her shoulders nonchntly ,"What do you expect from Military Chief Rong Xinghe''s sister ? I am a ck belt in Taekwondo. So don''t irritate me again. And yeah , keep your dog to yourself."

    As he listened to Rong Xiao challenging him , Xi Wei was urged to yell loudly at her ,"Who the hell do you think you are ?!"

    ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

    "Uhh..."

    At this time , Rong Xinghe furrowed her brows and held onto her head tiredly ,"Yuan...Its paining..."

    Xi Yuan frowned and pulled the ufortable girl into his embrace as he patiently coaxed her back to sleep. The wife-doting man then turned his head around and fixed his gaze angrily at Xi Wei and Rong Xiao.

    Of course , Xi Wei and Rong Xiao were frightened to their cores when they realized that they were under the death-like scrutiny of the devil himself. How could they disregard this man''s woman for the sake of their insignificant argument ? After an awkward silence of roughly ten seconds , both Xi Wei and Rong Xiao gulped hard and ran out of the hospital ward with the speed of light !

    Xi Yuan kissed the forehead of the girl in his arms as a smile crept across his lips. It seemed like the Xi family was destined for both the Rong sisters...

    _______________________

    Another one month passed by and Rong Xinghe was finally discharged from the hospital. Since Songyan''s delivery date wasing soon , the entire family was busy preparing for the new arrival.

    On the other hand , while the superfamily of eight siblings was upied with their life , Rong Yufan received an invite from a newly formed businesspany. The most weird thing about thispany was that they were willing to provide Rong Yufan with however amount of money he needed. When the entire world was looking down upon him , thispany had turned up to help him out of the blue. Most importantly , no one knew anything about the identity of the founder of thispany. All they knew was that thispany was giving Rong Yufanplete independence to invest their money in whatever he wanted.

    Rong family were initially cautious when they got to know about this smallpany called ''Liberation''. But after thepany kept on providing them with endless benefits , they started to feel at ease about the matter. They actually thought that people still trusted Rong Yufan''s business skills.

    Rong Xinghe knew about everything that was happening all along. After all , she was smart enough to keep tabs on the Rong family''s actions. But even after when she received the news that Rong Yufan had signed the contract with this anonymouspany , she didn''t bothered to make a move.

    Instead , she turned up at the Xi corporations'' headquarters next day and stormed directly into Xi Yuan''s office. Xi Yuan had already informed hispany staff to directly let the girl in , so Rong Xinghe didn''t had to face a single obstacle to meet the man.

    Xi Yuan was sipping his coffee when the girl walked into his office angrily. The man gently smiled at the woman and nodded at his subordinates , gesturing them to leave him and hisdy alone.

    Rong Xinghe waited for the staff to exit before she banged her hands against the man''s table ,"You are funding ''Liberation'' , aren''t you ?!"

    Xi Yuan took a deep breath and tried to deny the girl''s theory ,"Why would I do that ?"

    Rong Xinghe looked directly into the man''s eyes as her tone was much more colder than before ,"Mr. Xi , I know you."

    Xi Yuan smiled helplessly at the woman. He knew he had already been caught , so there was no point hiding it from her. The man stood up from his seat and walked over to the girl''s side as he caressed her jet ck hair ,"I am sorry if my actions hurt you !"

    Rong Xinghe''s eyes turned red when she heard the man''s deep yet apologetic tone. So she cupped the man''s face with her palms ,"Yuan , you know I hate Rong Yufan. Then why did you..."

    "Because I couldn''t see you in pain. I love you , Xinghe ! I feel like my heart is being pricked by thousands of needles when I see those tears in your eyes. It might look like I am helping him , but that isn''t the truth. This is a part of our revenge n. You need to believe me , Xinghe. I can never..."

    "You can never hurt me ?", Rong Xinghe stopped the man mid-sentence ,"I trust you. I have started to trust you more than anyone, damn it ! I know you wouldn''t harm me.

    "But I was scared for you. Rong Yufan is worse than any animal , Yuan. And I cannot see you or your siblings in pain. So your actions have been troubling me for the past few days ! That was what I was worried about. I have never wanted you to be associated with that family. And here you are , diverting their attention towards yourself so that I can remain safe. I just don''t know what to do of you , Mr. Xi !"

    After the silence of roughly five seconds , Rong Xinghe tilted her head slightly and bit hard on the man''s neck in order to subside her anger !

    Xi Yuan obviously didn''t dared to make a move as he patiently allowed his woman to punish him. For him , if biting him like that could calm her down , then all his pain was worth it. It was better for her to calm herself down like that. Nevertheless , in this entire world , only Rong Xinghe could punish him !

 Chapter 235: "We are even now , CEO Xi !"

    Chapter 235: "We are even now , CEO Xi !"

    Rong Xinghe kept on biting the man''s neck until she was satisfied. And as soon as she let go of the man , she hugged him tightly ,"Please don''t get yourself involved with my problems. I can''t bear to see you in any form of pain , Yuan."

    Xi Yuan simply kissed the girl''s forehead softly before he wiped her tears away. An amused smile appeared across his lips ,"I didn''t knew that you were so worried about me. In fact , I thought you were upset with me for keeping this matter a secret from you."

    Next second , the man''s mesmerizing smile changed into a mischievous and wild smirk as he started minimizing the distance between him and Rong Xinghe ,"Has the Military Chief developed some corrupt feelings for me ? If that''s the case , I can serve you in whichever way you want."

    Rong Xinghe was taken aback by Xi Yuan''s sudden change in tone as she forgot everything about Rong Yufan''s matter and took few steps back subconsciously ,"Umm... What do you mean ? What feelings ? I don''t like people intruding in my life. Don''t think too much !"

    But the man obviously had no intentions to listen to the woman. He kept on prowling towards the woman and only when she lost her bnce and nervously sat down on his chair did he smiled as the usual warmth started radiating through him again. He loosened his tie and pinched the girl''s nose lovingly ,"I want to tell you something."

    "What ?", Rong Xinghe frowned. His actions were too intimidating and uncertain for her to understand.

    "I believe that you are worthy of Xi empire''s highest position just like me. You can easily rece me in the Xi corporations if I am not present here someday. It seems like the saying is true...", the man maintained some distance between himself and Rong Xinghe as he looked at thedyplimenting his throne with her presence.

    "Which saying ?", the woman looked at the man with a muddled expression.

    "When a King is weak and injured , only the Queen has the capability to safeguard his empire.", Xi Yuanmented seriously.

    "Can I ask you for something today , Xinghe ?", Xi Yuan took the woman''s hands into his warm ones as he looked at her earnestly.

    Rong Xinghe didn''t knew why their conversation was bing so intense and serious suddenly but she still nodded her head subconsciously. Her instincts told her that this discussion was very important for the both of them.

    "If something happens to me someday and I am unable to take care of Xi corporations , will you take over from me ? Will you be the CEO of Xi corporations then ?", Xi Yuan said.

    Rong Xinghe''s eyes widened as panic flooded through her heart ,"Is something going to happen to you ? Are you alright ? Yuan , should we get a checkup done at the hospital ? We can also..."

    At this time , Xi Yuan pulled the woman into his embrace to calm her down ,"Nothing is wrong with my health , Xinghe. But life is always filled with uncertainty. I just don''t want you to weaken up if such a timees in our life. I have many enemies , Xinghe. Rong Yufan is literally nothing in front of them.

    "If something happens to me , the person most affected will be Fang. He is more emotionally connected to me than Ying and Wei. Nevertheless , the entire Xi family n believes that only Fang can handle Xi business empire in my absence. He has been pressurized to take over from me ever since he was a child. That''s why , he has started to avoid this topic now.

    "I am afraid that he won''t be in the right state of mind if something happens to me now. In that case , I can trust only you. Wei isn''t prepared to shoulder such a huge responsibility and Ying isn''t too analytical. I haveplete faith in Fang but when ites to me , his mental strength is quite weak.

    "Fang , Ying and Wei respects you a lot , Xinghe. For them , you are no less than any Goddess. So if I am unable to take care of them someday , they will naturally look up to you. At that time , can you please look after them and help Fang gain the confidence to take over the business group ? More than anyone , I trust you , Xinghe."

    Rong Xinghe remained silent for sometime before she spoke up ,"Do you have any idea what you are talking about ? This is a legacy which has been passed onto you by your grandfather. How can you trust someone else like me with it ?"

    Xi Yuan chuckled as he again helped the woman sit on his chair ,"I am not trusting just anyone. I am trusting my Xinghe. I am trusting the woman I love."

    The man then bent down and pulled out a stack of documents from his table drawer. He then passed the papers to the woman and pointed his index finger towards his signatures at the bottom of the sheet ,"I own 89% of the shares in Xi corporations. These are the emergency share transfer papers. I have already signed it and your name has also been registered in it. They state that only you can take over thepany rightfully if the working president , that is me , is unable to handle the business. You can take your time and then decide to sign it. After all , you are not bound to shoulder my problems. Most importantly , your health has always been my first priority. So don''t be too hard on yourself."

    Rong Xinghe was rendered speechless by the trust Xi Yuan had put into her. Although she knew that faith existed into their rtionship already , this gesture of his convinced her about it even further. There were many people in this world who handled their businesses but Xi Yuan loved his work. For him , Xi business empire was like a family , a matter of dignity and pride. So just the fact that he trusted her with something so important to him showed the amount of trust he had in her.

    The girl smiled and snatched the document away from the man. She directly signed the papers without bothering to read anything into it. The girl then passed the papers back to the shocked Xi Yuan with a confident smile ,"We are even now , CEO Xi ! If you can shoulder the burden of my revenge by forming ''Liberation'' , then I can also shoulder your responsibilities towards your three siblings."

    Xi Yuan smiled as he brushed his lips against the woman''s soft ones. After they had their little intimate moment , the manughed at the flustered girl in front of him ,"Hmm. We are even now."

    So just like that , Rong Xinghe had turned into Xi Corporations'' rightful Queen in a mere time span of few seconds...

    And of course , Xi Yuan had always been the worthy King !

 Chapter 236: Zhi Taio: the new troublemaker !

    Chapter 236: Zhi Taio: the new troublemaker !

    Just when Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan were indulged in their discussion , the door to Xi Yuan''s office opened and a person walked in.

    "What is happening over here ? Why are you sitting on the Xi empire''s CEO''s chair , Ms. Xinghe ?", Xi Chonglin scowled inaudibly.

    Rong Xinghe quickly stood up from Xi Yuan''s chair as she cleared her throat before exining herself ,"I am extremely apologetic , uncle. I just lost my bnce and..."

    "I hope you understand the importance of this position , Ms. Rong. This position isn''t a joke for the Xi family and thepany''s employees. You should focus on handling your Military Chief Office. Please don''t treat the Xi family as one of your pass-times. This could be considered as an insult to our Xi family.", Xi Chonglin expressed his displeasure straight away.

    Rong Xinghe furrowed her brows and looked at Xi Yuan who was also looking at her worriedly. She felt like the uncle and nephew needed to chat with each other properly in private. So the girl simply left the ce after she nodded at Xi Chonglin respectfully ,"I understand."

    ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

    As soon as Rong Xinghe left his office , Xi Yuan adjusted his chair and gestured Xi Chonglin to have a seat as well.

    "What was that , uncle ?"

    "You know it Yuan. She is just your friend and you were allowing her to sit on the Xi business group''s throne. I understand that she is the Military Chief of Country X and that there are her six brothers backing her up continuously. But that doesn''t mean that she can forget who we Xis are. We can affect the entire nation''s economy overnight."

    "The economy of the nation can be shaken overnight by the Zhis and Lus as well , uncle. We still have a long way to go , so there''s no point in talking big. We can''t be too hostile with the eight siblings , especially Xinghe. We can merely cause havoc in the economy but she is capable enough to destroy the entire country''s democracy. She can easily demand the resignations from both the Prime Minister and President of the country. So let''s just take it easy.", although Xi Yuan''s tone was indifferent and robotic , Xi Chonglin could sense coldness radiating through the man. And why not ? How could a man allow just anyone to disrespect hisdy ?

    "Is the CEO of Xi Corporations brown nosing someone ?", Xi Chonglinmented sarcastically.

    This time, Xi Yuan looked straight into Xi Chonglin''s eyes without saying another word to the man. Naturally , Xi Chonglin couldn''t handle Xi Yuan''s intimidating re and diverted his gaze elsewhere before gulping down the ss of water ced on the table in front of him.

    "Speak.", Xi Yuan said after sometime.

    Xi Chonglin was confused as he looked at the young man with a muddled expression.

    "What did you wanted to talk to me about ? You weren''t obviously here to insult Xinghe. So pleasee to the point.", Xi Yuan opened the file in front of him restlessly.

    Xi Chonglin was initially taken aback by Xi Yuan''s urate guess. But then he realized that Xi Yuan was just the mirror image of his grandfather. It wasn''t surprising for him to be good with judgements.

    So Xi Chonglin took a deep breath and revealed his intentions clearly to the man ,"Don''t get me wrong Yuan. You know that I don''t differentiate between you , Fang and Wei. But I feel like Xi Fang should jump into thepetition."

    "Competition ?"

    "Competition for the position of CEO of Xi Corporations !"

    ____________________

    Same day , 9:30 p.m.

    Rong Xinghe rushed inside the City Hospital''s busy corridor hurriedly ,"How is she ?!"

    The entire hospital staff along with other patients'' rtives looked at the girl confusedly. What was happening ? Who was this girl running around crazily ? And had she hit her head somewhere ?

    "She is our package ! Please let me go and pick her up , sir !", at this time , Zhi Al struggled to get through the crowd. He reached the girl and hauled her to the corner of the corridor angrily ,"Why are you still so stupid ?! So noisy. This is a hospital for hell''s sake."

    "Sorry. I was excited. Is the baby out ? How is sis-inw Songyan ? Is she fine ? And..."

    Zhi Al covered the chatty girl''s mouth quickly ,"Don''t ask me so many questions ! The baby is yet to be born. Doctors have started the procedures and sis-inw is in a lot of pain. Brother Zhi Xi is at the verge of getting fainted , by the way."

    "Don''t worry. I will handle it from here.", the girl walked towards her brothers.

    Zhi Xi was biting his nails nervously when Rong Xinghe and Zhi Al arrived in front of Songyan''s delivery ward. The four remaining men were trying to calm down Zhi Xi but their were efforts were in vain. It was only when Rong Xinghe squeezed the man''s shoulders did he bothered to look at his sister.

    "She will be fine. Rx , Mr. Zhi."

    "But she is in pain , kiddo. Had I known this would happen , I would''ve never had allowed this child to be born. It is already troubling its mother.", the man hugged the girl as he sighed helplessly ,"How can women be so strong ?"

    "I know , Zhi Xi. But we women aren''t born with this strength. Their partner''s love , trust and support provides them with this strength to survive that pain. Trust me. When she will hold her child in her arms after she gets her consciousness back , all the pain will be worth it for her.", Ningtao smiled as she passed little baby Alix to Lu Wei.

    Ningtao was finally off the wheelchair now and had recuperated pretty well. The doctors had given her the green signal to continue acting and live a normal life and this was a relief for the family. As usual , since this was a special moment for them , everyone had gathered in order to wee the new arrival.

    But of course , giving birth wasn''t an easy task. Songyan had to go through thebour pain of roughly 11 hours before the troublemaker finally took entry into the world.

    Songyan had given birth to a healthy little boy ! This young boy had acquired his facial features from his father. He was literally the baby Zhi Xi. But his expression were just like his mother. Especially , when he smiled sleepily , he perfectly imitated Songyan. And the sight was remarkably cute !

    Regarding the prince''s name , Rong Xiao was given the right this time. So after researching for one entire day , the little Zhi Xi was named Zhi Taio , meaning a great , distinguished , interesting and unique person.

 Chapter 237: "My Xinghe..."

    Chapter 237: "My Xinghe..."

    While Rong Xinghe''s family was celebrating the new arrival in their family happily , a storm had taken ce in the Xi family home. Almost every family member was present at the family mansion except Xi Yuan. Xi Yuan was busy handling the shareholders'' meeting in thepany and had no idea that Xi Fang had already received the news about his meeting with Xi Chonglin.

    "What did you said to brother today in the office , dad ?!", Xi Fang crossed his arms as he questioned Xi Chonglin.

    Luo Youyou frowned ,"Show some respect , Fang. He is your father. He will always think better for you."

    "But that doesn''t mean that dad can just walk into brother''s office to im the position of CEO for Fang , Mom ! Brother has been serving thepany for past eight years now. He must have had felt so bad when dad talked to him like that. It literally looked like brother was just a substitute for dad.", Xi Ying clenched her fists angrily as she red at her mother.

    "Ladies should watch theirnguage , Ying. We haven''t forced Yuan to do anything yet. We simply expect this to be a fair and justpetition. Fang deserves to show his capabilities as well.", Xi Chonglin red at his daughter.

    "And exactly why do you think I want to take over Xi corporations , Dad ? My opinions matter a lot to him and he hasn''t ever looked down on me. I don''t expect anything more than that. You don''t need to assume all these things on your own. Remember one thing. I , Xi Fang , will never be the CEO of Xi Corporations because I am not worthy of it more than my brother !", Xi Fang rified his standpoint to everyone before he turned around and left the Xi family home.

    Xi Chonglin and Luo Youyou were helpless against Xi Fang''s stubborn behaviour. They knew that nothing was important for Xi Fang more than Xi Yuan. So they had no choice but to put all their hopes on their soon to be daughter-inw ! Only this new sense of responsibility could push Xi Fang to aim for something high above his current authority.

    As a result , they had already contacted Jiang Yue''s family and a meeting was soon arranged between the Xi and the Jiang family. Jiang family was also one of the most reputed socialite families in Country X and was mostly involved with jewelry production. In fact , 60% of Country X''s solitaire diamonds were produced by Jiang family. So the Xi family had no reason to turn down Xi Fang and Jiang Yue''s rtionship.

    But was it really that easy to drift apart the two Xi brothers ?

    _________________________

    Three dayster , Rong Xinghe returned back to her penthouse in Elite residences after taking care of Songyan and her nephew in the Zhi family home. Since both little baby Alix and troublemaker Taio were cute and cheeky , almost everyone in the family were staying by their side most of the time. And as Rong Xinghe''s health was slightly weaker after the migraine stroke , the six men had deliberately forced her to have some rest.

    After taking a shower , Rong Xinghe subconsciously headed towards Elite Saphhire penthouse to spend some time with her man. Ever since she had realized her love for him , Rong Xinghe had started to enjoy every second she spent with Xi Yuan , so this time was no exception.

    But when she stepped into the man''s living room , she realized that he had already fallen asleep on the couch. He was surrounded by many official documents and papers. One look at him and almost anyone could tell that he was tired and hadn''t had any sleep for the past few days.

    Initially , Rong Xinghe thought that he was working on some important projects. So she gently caressed his hair and kissed his forehead lovingly as a burning blush crept across her cheeks. After she pacified her rapidly beating heart , Rong Xinghe brought a warm nket for the man.

    After she covered him with the nket , the girl turned around to readjust his documents.

    At this time , Xi Yuan sleepily grabbed the girl''s wrist and pulled her towards him. Rong Xinghe was taken aback by the man''s sudden actions and quickly covered her mouth to not scream and wake him up. The couple were in such an intimate position that the girl was lying exactly beside the man on the broad couch , but the man seemed to have no inconvenience with it. In fact , he pulled the girl against his chest and hugged her tightly as a smile spread across his lips ,"My Xinghe..."

    Rong Xinge froze in the man''s arms as she breathed his unique scent silently. She couldn''t express her happiness when Xi Yuan mumbled her name in his alluring and deep yet raspy voice. Most importantly , she was touched by the fact that he was so possessive about her even during his sleep. At the end , the woman didn''t dared to move as she was afraid to wake up the tired and fatigued man. Only after the man had fallen into a deep sleep did Rong Xinghe decided to free herself from his embrace.

    The girl got up from the couch and ced a sweet kiss upon Xi Yuan''s lips as she smiled with relief ,"Yes Yuan , your Xinghe..."

    The girl then picked up the documents on the floor and shuffled them in an organized manner. At this time , her eyesnded on one of the pages and the girl stopped all her actions. Xi Yuan was reading the will written by his grandfather before he fell asleep. Beside the will were two more documents. They were about the formalities to appoint Xi Fang as the president of Xi Corporations.

    Was Xi Yuan really nning to pass on his position to Xi Fang ?

    Although she knew that he trusted Xi Fang with the business , she also knew that Xi Fang wasn''t prepared for this responsibility currently. And Xi Yuan wasn''t one of those brothers who forced their younger siblings to shoulder their burdens. Instead , Xi Yuan would rather go through every pain personally than allowing his threeckeys to get hurt. Just what had happened with him during the past few days when they were apart ?!

    The girl pulled out her phone and made a phone call ,"Fang , can youe with Ying and Wei to your brother''s ce ? I would like to discuss something with you three."

 Chapter 238: Rong Xinghe will never leave your brother...

    Chapter 238: Rong Xinghe will never leave your brother...

    Soon , Xi Fang reached Xi Yuan''s penthouse along with Xi Ying and Xi Wei. The moment Rong Xinghe showed him the documents Xi Yuan was reading , Xi Fang frowned as he read through them silently.

    "What has been brother thinking all this while , Xiao Xinghe ? And why didn''t he discussed all of this with me ?", the man sighed. He really had no idea about all of this.

    "Let''s talk somewhere else.", Rong Xinghe said as she nced at Xi Yuan , who was getting ufortable by all the noise.

    The Xi trio nodded and exited the living room while Rong Xinghe followed behind them after she adjusted Xi Yuan''s nket and air conditioner''s temperature.

    :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

    Soon , Xi Ying exined everything that was going on in the Xi family for the past few days to Rong Xinghe. She told her how Xi Chonglin and Luo Youyou had been forcing Xi Fang topete with Xi Yuan for the position of Xi corporations'' president. She also revealed that her parents were expecting Xi Fang to get married to Jiang Yue as soon as possible for the same purpose.

    Rong Xinghe held her chin as she thought about the matter ,"Hmm. So your parents are expecting you to be Xi corporations'' CEO..."

    Xi Fang nodded as he looked at his to be sister-inw earnestly ,"But you need to trust me , Xiao Xinghe. I do not aim to be what the world expects from me. That is what my brother has taught me ever since I was a kid. Xi Fang can never be the second Xi Yuan. Just because I am slightly like him doesn''t mean that I can imitate himpletely. I am not as forgiving and kind-hearted as him. If I had been the one who had gone through so much during his childhood , I would''ve had med my parents for all my life. But he has been respectful towards them even after that. Xiao Xinghe , I can never be sinful enough to snatch away something that has always belonged to him."

    Rong Xinghe smiled tiredly at the man as she patted his shoulders proudly ,"You are an ideal brother , Fang. But what if I say that both I and Yuan believe that your parents aren''t wrong ?"

    "What do you mean , sis-inw ?", Xi Wei asked the girl confusedly.

    "Well...we both think that Fang has a lot of potential to handle the Xi corporations. He is simply suppressing it in order to not hurt Yuan. Just think it over , Fang. Don''t treat your parents as some outsiders. They think well for you. And since your brother is your inspiration , then there is nothing wrong in learning a few things from him. He has always treated the family elder with respect and dignity. Don''t be too rude to your own family. Otherwise , Xi family''s history will repeat yet again.", the girl sighed as she remembered how Xi Yuan had broken down 8n front of her when he had narrated his past to her.

    "I understand , Xiao Xinghe. But brother has always been my bottom line. You have no idea about what he has done for me when I was thirteen. Since then , he is no less than God for me. So until and unless my parents do not hurt him , I will not act rashly. But if his feelings are hurt , not even you will be able to stop me sis-inw.", Xi Fang expressed himself clearly before he turned around and left the Elite Saphire penthouse.

    Rong Xinghe had never seen Xi Fang in such a fierce state ever since she had met the Xi siblings , so she was slightly stunned by his sore approach. Hadn''t he always been the calm and harmless one ? One could never guess this man to be so protective towards Xi Yuan.

    "He can be stubborn at times , Xinghe.", at this time , Xi Yuan''s deep yet raspy voice resounded throughout the penthouse garden.

    The man swiftly strode towards his woman and helped her sit down on the wooden bench beside her as he covered a warm shawl around her cold shoulders. He then gently pulled the girl into his embrace as he smiled at her ,"When did youe ?"

    Rong Xinghe knew that Xi Yuan was a light sleeper and that even the fall of a petal could wake him up. Naturally , she wasn''t too shocked by his sudden arrival. Instead , she smiled at him tiredly ,"I woke you up , didn''t I ?"

    "You have every right to do so , mydy.", the man smiled ,"It seems like you know everything about my family drama by now , right ?"

    Rong Xinghe nodded and rested her head against the man''s shoulderszily ,"Fang isn''t prepared Yuan. I can convince him , though. But the point here is if you really want this happening ? You have been managing thepany since the time when you were eighteen , after all."

    The man simplyughed bitterly ,"The situation isn''t asplicated as it seems like. I was just preparing myself for the mere possibility. But yes , I will be more than happy to pass on this legacy to Fang. He is capable."

    "He indeed is...", Rong Xinghe sighed.

    Suddenly , a wild imagination took birth in Xi Wei''s mind as he knelt down in front of his brother and goddess. He then looked at Rong Xinghe meaningfully ,"Xiao Xinghe , my brother will be unemployed if bro Fang bes the CEO. Will you still consider a jobless man as your love suitor ?"

    Xi Yuan red coldly at the young man in front of him. Was this man trying to separate him and his beloved ? So annoying !

    Anyhow , he also wanted to hear Rong Xinghe''s response and hence , decided to remain silent. He simply nced at the woman leaning onto him.

    Rong Xingheughed for sometime before she pinched Xi Wei''s ears as she pretended to be angry with him ,"Of course ! You have no idea how capable your brother is. He was merely eighteen when he took over the Xi corporations. Since then , no one has been able to look down on this particr business empire. Moreover , he was trained by my brothers before he stepped into the world of business management. There should be a reason that both bro Lu and bro Zhi acknowledges his skills.

    "Lastly , his capabilities aren''t simply limited to business. He is an amazing person and business can''t simply define him. So little Panda , don''t worry. Businessman or not , billionaire or not , Rong Xinghe will never leave your brother for such petty and insignificant things."

    As soon as Xi Yuan heard Rong Xinghe''s words , he was rendered speechless by her analysis. He had never expected Rong Xinghe to be noticing everything about him in detail. But that was a good thing. It meant that she was actually considering their rtionship seriously. Only if he knew that she had already fallen for him...

    Meanwhile , Rong Xinghe was in her own train of thoughts. Other than the nation''s security and her brothers , she had one more person to worry about. Xi Yuan was someone she loved. So obviously , his problems were a matter of concern for her too.

    Since she loved Xi Yuan , every individual important to him were important for her too. If things were to go south , she was bound to stand beside the Xi trio , no matter what.

    But who would have thought that the burden on her shoulders were going to increase ten folds pretty soon.

    And this time , Xi Yuan wasn''t going to be standing beside her....

    This time , she was going to be all alone...

 Chapter 239: An end to Hafiz-Al Magdoshs Chapter

    Chapter 239: An end to Hafiz-Al Magdosh''s Chapter

    Xi Yuan soon carried the sleeping Rong Xinghe to his bed. Sometimes , he couldn''t understand this woman at all. If she was so tired , then why had she forced herself to visit him ? Couldn''t she just get some rest ? Most importantly , he had noticed that Rong Xinghe had been taking the initiative to meet him more often from the past few days. What the hell was going on into that crazy brain of hers now ?

    The man covered the woman with nket and turned around to leave his bedroom after kissing her forehead softly.

    But at this time , Rong Xinghe''s phone rang and the girl picked it up sleepily ,"Hello ?"

    The moment she listened to the person on the other end , Rong Xinghe''s eyes opened wide and she sat up on the bed ,"Send me the location right away ! I will personally go there."

    The girl then disconnected the call and jumped down the bed hurriedly. It was now that Rong Xinghe realized that Xi Yuan was looking at her worriedly. The girl smiled at him helplessly ,"I will get my sleepter. But for now , I need to end one chapter , once and for all."

    "Which chapter ?", the man grabbed his jacket and car keys as he held the girl''s hand into his ,"I will take you there."

    "You sure you want to go ? It is the infamous terrorist Hafiz-Al Magdosh. The one defeated by me few months ago. He is here for revenge.", Rong Xinghe followed behind Xi Yuan worriedly.

    "I don''t care about that but I am not leaving you alone , Xinghe.", the man looked straight into the woman''s eyes.

    "Fine.", Rong Xinghe quickly ran into Xi Yuan''s kitchen and came back with her limited edition revolver she had hidden there out of habit ,"Let''s leave."

    ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

    "You look worried. Is there something you are not telling me ?", Xi Yuan reverted his gaze back at the GPS tracker screen after he nced at Rong Xinghe''s shaking hands ,"Are you afraid of Hafiz-Al Magdosh ?"

    The woman shook her head with a smile ,"I don''t fear terrorists. But currently , Hafiz-Al Magdosh is following behind my brothers. Today is bro Rogguang''s bachelor party. The six men had booked a luxury resort for the celebration and their friends are there with them as well. I can''t let any of them to get hurt , Yuan."

    Xi Yuan was shocked when the girl exined everything about the situation without any traces of fear. Was she actually talking about her brothers just now ?

    "Are you not worried about your brothers ?"

    "Of course I am. But I can''t let my love overpower my hatred. Right now , my only mission is to kill Hafiz-Al Magdosh. I knew that he would stoop low enough to harm my family , so all the officers were already on alert. But he is a maniac with extraordinarybat skills. I can''t risk my brothers'' and those soldiers'' lives just like that. I can''t let a sister overpower the most needed Military Chief at this time. I just hope that they don''t get harmed today.", the girl sighed helplessly.

    Xi Yuan smiled as he caressed the woman''s hair lovingly ,"You are a strongdy. I am really proud of you."

    ____________

    Meanwhile , Su Rogguang and the remaining five men were enjoying their time cheerfully with their friends. They had no idea about the storm approaching them. Since they all were mostly busy , it was rare for them tough and drink without any stress on their minds.

    "So what do you want us to gift you for the wedding , Rogguang ?", Zhi Xi asked with a smirk across his lips.

    "One million dor each !", Su Rogguangughed.

    Zhi Al : "Such a beggar."

    Lu Wei : "I know , right ?"

    BAM !

    The six men were just enjoying their bantering when an ear-piercing sound of gun firing resounded throughout the luxurious resort. Zhi Xi , Mo Zixuan and Lu Wei subconsciously stood up from their seats and covered the other three men in order to protect them. This was their reflex action as Zhi Bo , Zhi Al and Su Rogguang were younger than them in age. As elder brothers , they were obviously more protective and defensive in nature.

    "Where is the security ?!", Zhi Bo yelled at the office staff while the other five men looked around cautiously.

    Before the staff could exin anything to the six men , a team of highly skilled sharpshooters surrounded the ce without providing anyone with any time to escape. Shortly after , a masculine man stepped out from the shadows andughed akin to a psycho at the vignt six men.

    "So these are the mighty powers standing behind Military Chief Rong Xinghe ? How intimidating !"

    The six men nced at the middle aged man and sighed helplessly. So their kiddo was behind all of this...

    Sigh ! What could they do of this girl ?!

    "Who are you ?", Zhi Al chuckled as he picked up his whiskey ss and sipped it carelessly as if nothing out of the blue was happening.

    The five men turned around and red at Zhi Al angrily. Couldn''t this idiot judge theplexity of the situation ?! Almost everyone of them had a sword hanging over their heads currently and this guy was enjoying his drinks. Was this really the ce to show his coolness ?

    Hafiz-Al Magdosh rubbed the mark above his brows as he humphed coldly at Zhi Al ,"Hafiz-Al Magdosh !"

    Zhi Al raised his rows ever so slightly ,"Hafiz-Al Magdosh , age 57 , Princeton University graduate , Electrical engineer and a mastermind at disposing bombs. Killed his own parents at the age of fourteen and sexually harassed his own sister at the age of twenty two under the influence of alcohol. Not married but owns nine mistresses. Looks down on women and has a right-hand man , Jush , right ? Formed a terrorist organization ''Ajmal-aftaab'' before turning twenty four.

    "As far as I remember , my sister has wiped out 80% of your terrorist organization by now , correct ? She is amazing , I know ! But you are not brainy enough , Mr. Magdosh. Harming her brothers is thest way you should avenge yourself. I suggest you leave this ce as soon as possible. Else , if shees here , even the devil will sympathize your death. Thank meter."

    The five men : "...."

 Chapter 240: "Aye aye , Chief !"

    Chapter 240: "Aye aye , Chief !"

    Hafiz-Al Magdosh''s mouth was wide open when he heard Zhi Al describing every detail of his life withplete uracy. Who was this man ?

    "Aaaaahhh !"

    Just when Hafiz-Al Magdosh was in his own thoughts , Zhi Al strode towards one of the men pointing firearms at him swiftly and punched against his chest forcefully causing him to fall unconscious straight away ,"That was a self defense , by the way !"

    He then turned around to look at the five men ring at him ,"Sorry ! But they are going to kill us even if we don''t fight back. Better respond then , right ?"

    "Such a troublemaker !", Zhi Xi sighed helplessly.

    "But I think he is right.", Su Rogguang chuckled ,"Can''t believe a surgeon like myself will have to break the bones tonight."

    "Al has left us with no choice guys.", Mo Zixuanmented and the six men jumped into the battle together.

    And soon enough , the six men disarmed most of the men hired by Hafiz-Al Magdosh. Actually , Rong Xinghe''s every brother was trained with martial arts ever since they were young. Although they had specialty in different self-defense techniques , they were all capable withbat skills. In fact , out of the five techniques Rong Xinghe knew , three were perfected by her brothers themselves. So the security provided to them by the government were just a formality for them.

    But fighting equally and justly were not the principles terrorists ever adopted. For them , winning a battle was important. They never cared about the methods they used.

    So as they realized their powerlessness against the six men , two of the terrorists nodded at each other and one of them rushed towards Zhi Xi to fight. While the second terrorist approached him from behind and pointed his gun at him.

    At this time , Zhi Bo forced one of the terrorists to kneel down and subconsciously looked at the second terrorist pointing his gun at Zhi Xi. The man reflexively released the terrorist under his control and ran hurriedly towards his elder brother.

    BAM !

    "Bo !", Zhi Xi was shocked when he tackled the terrorist in front of him and turned around to see blood flowing down his brother''s right arm. The remaining four men also turned around to look at the injured Zhi Bo and rushed towards him hastily.

    BAM ! BAM ! BAM !

    As the five men surrounded Zhi Bo worriedly , sounds of bullet firing resounded across the resort and three of Hafiz-Al Magdosh''s men were shot in the head. The six men and the other guests along with Hafiz-Al Magdosh turned and looked at a dark figure approaching them with terrifying swiftness. An extremely cold and frightening aura was radiating through Rong Xinghe as Xi Yuan followed behind her fearlessly.

    The woman''s gazended on Zhi Bo''s wound before she red at Hafiz-Al Magdosh ruthlessly ,"Wrong move !"

    Hafiz-Al Magdosh had been in the underworld for many years but this was the first time he had been intimidated by merely two words. He couldn''t believe that his hands were shaking and his grip over his revolver had started to loosen all of a sudden. As he looked at the woman in front of him , he couldn''t help but break into cold sweat and take few steps back subconsciously.

    By this time , almost every men brought by Hafiz-Al Magdosh were shot dead by the girl. It was now that Rong Xinghe pointed her revolver at the dumbfounded Hafiz-Al Magdosh. And just when everyone thought that she was going to pull the trigger , the girl threw the revolver away.

    "Since you harmed my brother , how can your death be so merciful ?", the girl smiled coldly and pulled out a sharp knife from the fruit basket beside her.

    The girl then strode towards Hafiz-Al Magdosh and stabbed the man straight into his right arm as he screamed in pain. The girl then squeezed the knife mercilessly and pulled it out as she stabbed it again in the man''s torso , repeating her previous actions. Soon enough , Rong Xinghe kept on attacking Hafiz-Al Magdosh without showing any mercy.

    Meanwhile , the six men and Xi Yuan looked at the woman in front of them withpletely shocked expressions. They had never seen Rong Xinghe like this. Although they had seen her kill many terrorists and militants , she had never been this cold and emotionless with her actions. But right now , it was like that they had never known her. It was like her soul had left her body at the moment and that she was simply someone else.

    At this time , Feng Mian arrived at the resort along with other military soldiers. She then looked at Zhi Bo''s injured arm and sighed helplessly. Couldn''t Hafiz-Al Magdosh ask for an easy andfortable death ?!

    She then rushed towards Rong Xinghe and blocked her next attack instantly ,"Xinghe ! He is dead !"

    It was now that Rong Xinghe stopped her actions and let go of the knife in her hands. The girl turned around and fixed her gaze at the safe crowd before her eyesnded on Zhi Bo as warmth and love reced her previous hatred and ruthlessness. For her , the six men were no less than some source of support , care and confidence. If even one of them was to be harmed , she couldn''t predict her own reactions herself , just like now.

    Naturally , Xi Yuan understood the woman more than anyone. He knew that the Xi family could step over her all they wanted and the girl wouldn''t make a noise. But if the six men were troubled in any way , the girl would fight back with twice the amount of strength and cruelty.

    The six men also didn''t took the girl''s actions too seriously. They knew that , as the nation''s military chief , Rong Xinghe had to show ruthlessness most of the time. She couldn''t allow the military to look down on her. Most importantly , Hafiz-Al Magdosh was a terrorist , murderer and rapist. He literally deserved the end he received. So although they were shocked from the outside , they were proud of their kiddo from the inside.

    Rong Xinghe gestured the soldiers to dispose the dead bodies before she ran towards the six men and looked at Zhi Bo''s wound with teary eyes. Xi Yuan had already tied down Zhi Bo''s right arm with a napkin so that the blood could cease flowing , so Zhi Bo was still conscious.

    "Xinghe...", Zhi Bo sighed as he saw the girl weakening up ,"You were so strong just now. Why are you crying like this then ?"

    Rong Xinghe wiped her tears and hugged Lu Wei tightly ,"I am sorry. This is all my fault. I couldn''t protect you all. I am so sorry !"

    The six menughed when they heard the girl as Zhi Al knocked onto Rong Xinghe''s forehead with his index finger ,"We have been protecting you since you were born ,dy devil. Howe the tables are turned around now ?!"

    "I am the Military Chief , brother !", the girl pouted as Lu Wei wiped her tears away.

    The five men except Zhi Bo smiled as they raised their right hands altogether and saluted the girl akin to some soldiers ,"Aye aye , Chief !"

    Rong Xinghe : "...."

    Anyway , this craziness was the proof that they were her brothers , her six sister-doting tigers !

 Chapter 241: "Xinguan will always be incomplete without Yuan"

    Chapter 241: "Xinguan will always be iplete without Yuan"

    Soon , Zhi Bo visited hospital along with the five men , Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe. After a minor surgery of two hours , the .25 caliber rifle bullet was separated from the man''s right shoulder. The doctors advised the man to not move his right hand for the next two weeks. Ruo Cy also arrived along with the other five sister-inws of the girl at the hospital worriedly.

    Only after the situation at the hospital had calmed down did Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe left the ce together. They both had been busy for the whole past day and couldn''t even get a proper sleep throughout the entire night. And although they still had a lot on their tes , they couldn''t just ignore their health. A human body obviously needed to regenerate itself before exerting itself again.

    Nevertheless , this rest was a must for both Xinguan as a storm was to soon disrupt their happiness and togetherness...

    __________________

    One more month passed by and the matters at Xi Corporations elerated even further. Xi Fang recing Xi Yuan as the president of the business group was not something the employees had ever expected. Most importantly , they had been trusting Xi Yuan since the time he was just eighteen. So for them , this sudden change waspletely unnecessary and impractical. It wasn''t that they didn''t trusted Xi Fang. It was just that they respected Xi Yuan more.

    And why not ? Xi Yuan had burdened the weight of Xi empire when it was at the verge of bankruptcy. He had been beside everypany employee when they were at their lowest. So now that they had achieved such high milestones under his leadership , how could they be ungrateful enough to let him go just like that ?

    Naturally , news like this couldn''t be kept hidden from the media for too long. Soon enough , this silent battle turned into a national and international debate. Although the Xi siblings tried their best to suppress the matter , they couldn''t do anything after the journalists and public got involved with it.

    "Aren''t the Xi brothers inseparable ? Then what is this ?"

    "Xi Fang has already made clear that he isn''t interested in bing Xi Corporations'' CEO. Then is this just a rumor ?"

    "Rumor or not , Xi Yuan is irreceable. He is so smart and talented. This entire argument ispletely baseless."

    "Exactly ! Its not like CEO Xi has ever taken any impulsive decision since he joined the business. Company has never faced even a single loss under his leadership."

    "I know , right ? Mr. Yuan can easily form a new Xi Corporations with his skills. He is the brand himself. But the question here is , if Mr. Fang actually wants to step over his elder brother ?"

    "Who knows ? This isn''t happening for the first time in the Xi family. Years ago , Xi Chongkun and Xi Chonglin had also fought over the position of presidency. Maybe all the brotherhood was just for a show all along..."

    Obviously , Mo Zixuan was following this matter more closely than anyone. After all , he was the only Media Ma Country X had. As the six men knew about Rong Xinghe''s feelings for Xi Yuan , they were already keeping tabs on the Xi family. So this incident was bound to attract their attention.

    That night , Mo Zixuan visited Elite Diamond penthouse to have a chat with his sister. And to his surprise , five men were already there. Su Rogguang was bandaging Rong Xiao''s left hand''s index finger as Rong Xinghe discussed some business documents with Zhi Xi.

    "What happened to your finger ?", Mo Zixuan looked at the seconddy devil worriedly.

    Rong Xiaoughed nervously as Su Rogguang red at her coldly ,"I lost a bet."

    "What bet ?"

    "Xi Wei challenged me topete with him for chopping vegetables speedily. But he was too good. I got distracted and lost the bet. Now I will have to treat him to his favorite restaurants three times. He is such a foodie !"

    Mo Zixuan : "...."

    From when on did Rong Xiao and Xi Wei got so close ? Then again , both were chatty , mischievous and famous in their group of friends. So it wasn''t odd for them to interact with each other. They both matched with each other pretty perfectly !

    But Xi Wei and Rong Xiao still had a long way to go. For now , Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan''s rtionship was more important. The six men needed to first know about Rong Xinghe''s opinions regarding the internal battle Xi family was going through currently in order to take some actions.

    "What is happening with Xi Yuan and Xi Fang kiddo ?", Mo Zixuan sat down beside the girl after she was done reading the business contracts.

    Rong Xinghe sighed and rested her head against her bro Mo''s shoulder tiredly ,"It is really difficult for both Yuan and Fang , brother. Yuan has no problem with Fang taking over from him but Fang is inplete denial for the offer.

    "Yuan thinks that it isn''t wrong for them to have a fairpetition. He believes that Fang is worthy for the position and that he can always guide him from the dark. Just like how bro Lu and bro Zhi Xi is helping me with the Rong empire. But Fang is against Yuan about this.

    "Fang isn''t wrong too , though. If he is to be the CEO , the world will judge him for being an insensitive and ungrateful brother. And if he doesn''t ept the position , then his parents will pressurize him even more. I just don''t understand why they have to force him like this."

    Zhi Bo smiled and covered the girl with a nket in order to protect her from catching cold ,"Because greed can blind people , kiddo. Okay tell me one thing. What will you do if Yuan is no more Xi Corporations'' CEO ? Will you leave him ? After all , you should look for stability when you select your partner."

    The girlughed and shook her head ,"You guys really want me to give up on him , right ?"

    Lu Wei chuckled as he came out of the kitchen with Rong Xinghe''s coffee and passed the cup to the girl ,"What is so good about him ? If you want support , you have six of us backing you up. If you want money , you have your brothers for that too. Hugs ? You just have to ask us. Then what do you need a boyfriend for ?"

    Rong Xinghe thought for sometime before she finally replied ,"Because he respects me. He trusts me with his family and work. He understands my pain and sufferings. He loves me for who I am from inside.

    "For him , I am neither a businesswoman nor the mighty Military Chief. I am just the real Rong Xinghe. The ''not so perfect'' Rong Xinghe. Xi Yuan has fallen for a fearless , confident and ruthless Rong Xinghe. I don''t have to hide my true self in front of him. I don''t have to act tough when he is around. I can cry in his arms and I can easily express myself clearly to him.

    "You six can never be reced from my life. But same is the case for him. A man who has loved me despite my family background , past rtionship and risky profession , can never be reced. Most importantly , I love that Mr. RichXi too.

    "And brothers , Xinguan will always be iplete without Yuan."

 Chapter 242: The jealous and possessive Xi Yuan !

    Chapter 242: The jealous and possessive Xi Yuan !

    The six men listened to Rong Xinghe''s every word silently before a smile appeared across their lips subconsciously. The girl was right. Xi Yuan was definitely an ideal man for her. No matter what his family was like , he had always proved himself to be worthy enough for Rong Xinghe. Their sister had always been his first priority. He respected and valued her presence in his life. He cherished her every smile and tear. He apanied her even when she wanted to be alone. Whenever she looked down on herself , he was the only person who would lift her head up and force her to keep her confidence intact. This was the type of man she deserved. A person who believed in her more than even she ever could.

    But they had only one concern. Xi Yuan''s family. A rtionship existed between two people but a marriage was something that involved two families. The Xi family was bound toe across the six men if Xinguan were to settle down one day in the future.

    And the six men were preparing themselves for that time. After all , they couldn''t let their sister to get bullied by her future inws...

    ____________________

    Few more days passed by and Xi Fang''s engagement with Jiang Yue was announced officially. The engagement was to take ce one week after Su Rogguang''s wedding ceremony. Rong Xinghe''s Superfamily''s fourth wedding was already a grand and most awaited piece of news. And now that Xi family had released such a cheerful news amid the rumors spreading about them , the media was all geared up.

    Although both Xi Fang and Jiang Yue were overjoyed for the new start to their life , they were constantly feeling like their wedding was slightly forced. The way Luo Youyou and Xi Chonglin were interacting with Jiang family more often was way too suspicious.

    Also , Luo Youyou took Jiang Yue for shopping on every third day. This made her feel slightly ufortable but since Luo Youyou was Xi Fang''s mother , Jiang Yue couldn''t be too straightforward.

    On the other hand , Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan struggled through their busy schedules to spend few minutes together every day. They both had a lot of responsibilities on their shoulders along with the two uing important events. So they rarely got time to talk with each other. In fact , they both were so busy that they had to skip their meals most of the time , let alone having a heart felt conversation with their beloved.

    __________________

    Soon , Su Rogguang and Ching Tong''s wedding date arrived. As usual , the wedding was organized by Songyan and the guests hailed from every different field the Superfamily belonged to. Naturally , the wedding was magnificent and majestically beautiful.

    As the Su family was involved with business , they had connections with almost every business family in Country X. Hence , both Xi and Jiang family were going to surely make an appearance at the event. No matter what Xi family was struggling with , their influence could never be looked down upon. As a result , every guest present was anticipating the arrival of the Xi siblings.

    At this time , Rong Xinghe and Rong Xiao entered the banquet hall together followed by their security staff. Rong Xinghe was dressed in an Appliquece ck dress while Rong Xiao was adorned by an off-shoulder Split Front Light Blue Satin dress. Both the Rong twins looked mesmerizing and alluring at the same time as they walked with a maizing smile stered upon their lips.

    Both thedies joined their brothers before they turned around to chat with the guests. Rong Xinghe was familiar with many politicians and Rong Xiao was famous among most of the medical veterans. Also , the Rong twins had turned 23 not too long ago , so many guests had an extra reason to attend the wedding. They wanted their sons to grab the attention of these two elegant and ssydies !

    "Ms. Xinghe , meet my son , Jiang Yunze. He owns a famous entertainment agency and is closely associated with Mr. Xi Wei too.", one of Jiang Yue''s distant rtives intentionally introduced his son to Rong Xinghe.

    The girl smiled warmly at the young man in front of her before her eyes subconsciously searched for her brothers. She needed a proper rescue from this awkwardness !

    At this time , the sounds of cameras'' shuttering increased dramatically. The guests and the six men turned around to look at the entrance of the banquet hall as the Xi and Jiang family made their noble entrance. After the Xi and Jiang family elders stepped inside , the new and charming couple , Xi Fang and Jiang Yue walked in hand in hand followed by Xi Wei and Xi Ying. Only after few seconds passed by did Xi Yuan strode in causing everyone to go fanatical and zealous.

    The man was wearing a ck designer tuxedo which made him look even more attractive and handsome. Xi Yuan was busy on a phone call , so he simply nodded and smiled at the crowd , providing them with his attention and acknowledgement. And as the stunning and impressive man smiled at them , thedies couldn''t help but screech excitedly as their hearts almost jumped out of their hearts.

    It was now that the mischievous Xi Wei forcefully disconnected Xi Yuan''s call. The man red angrily at the young man in front of him as Xi Weiughed nervously ,"Thousands of men want to stand beside my sister-inw desperately, brother. Then how can you disregard your love rivals at such an event ?!"

    Xi Yuan furrowed his brows and scanned the crowd akin to an eagle. Finally , the man''s eyesnded upon his silly and slightly agitated woman. Rong Xinghe was trying her best to avoid the man talking to her but her efforts were all in vain. After sometime , the man held the girl''s hand and brushed his lips against its back as heplimented her dress.

    Xi Yuan clenched his fists as the temperature in the banquet hall went down a few degrees. How dare that idiot touch his woman ?! Obviously , the six men and Xi siblings could sense the jealousy and coldness radiating through the man. And as they looked at the grown up man squinting his eyes like a four year old , they just didn''t knew whether tough or cry at the scene in front of them.

    Just when Jiang Yunze was about to invite the girl for the dance , Xi Yuan rushed towards them hurriedly and deliberately stood between the man and his woman. Since there were many guests and media looking at them , the man had no choice but to resist his urge to kiss and im the girl to be his.

    But still , the man was shameless enough to pull the girl in his embrace and breathe her unique scent ,pletely ignoring the gazes fixed at them. The man then gently separated thedy from him and smiled at her lovingly ,"May I have the dance , Ma''jolie ?"

    Rong Xinghe : "...."

    That''s my love !

 Chapter 243: "I wanted to become my brothers pride"

    Chapter 243: "I wanted to be my brothers'' pride"

    Finally , the wedding came to an end with the bride-groom kissing each other and the priest dering them husband and wife. And of course , as their usual family ritual , both Rong Xinghe and Rong Xiao disappeared exactly before the bouquet throwing ceremony. This method of evading problems was pretty adorable making the guests burst outughing. The Rong twinies were indeed lovable with their actions !

    Later , Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan strolled together as they discussed about Rong empire''s progress in the past one month. As weddings mostly had a homely andfortable atmosphere , both the man and the woman were rtively more rxed than their normal routine.

    "So you are confident with your n ? Xinghe , you want to turn Rong Corporations into a digital paradise. It ispletely a new identity for them. Public might have difficulty in epting it.", the manughed after he listened to the girl''s ns.

    The girl nodded her head confidently before she looked at the man beside her meaningfully ,"Rong Xinghe was a singer once. Wasn''t bing the first woman Military Chief of Country X a new identity as well , Mr. RichXi ?"

    Xi Yuan fixed his gaze at the woman seriously ,"Don''t you miss singing ? Was it all worth sacrificing your passion ?"

    The girl shrugged her shoulders nonchntly ,"I don''t know. I loved it once. But when I saw the true colors of the society I had been living in , I felt like I was too self-centered. I felt like I needed to bring some change."

    "How did this poor society angered my Xinghe ?", Xi Yuan chuckled as he caressed the girl''s long jet ck hair.

    "Discrimination. Treatingdies worse than animals. Judging the people for imperfections. Laughing at a person going through obesity or malnutrition as if they had any control over it. Killing girls even before they are born. Not educating women and thinking that they belong only in the kitchen.

    "Earlier , when I was in the Rong family , I thought that I was the only one going through that trauma. But when my brothers separated me from those psychos and helped me open up the NGO , I got to know that there were many like me. After a long research , I concluded that this society has only induced fear and limitations into the humans'' hearts and minds.

    "The society has tied us down and has pushed us all in a cage of expectations. Ladies should be soft spoken and men should not weaken up. If you have a darkplexion , you should apply every god damned fairness cream in this world. If you are obese , you should run and jump and follow diets at all costs. If you are bad at Maths , throw away that only painting brush who has been giving you a unique lease at life.

    "The society has given us nothing , but these shoulds and restrains. This resistance kills us even before we die. We keep on pushing a fish to climb a tree. We expect a cricketer to ace the world of books. Isn''t this cruelty ? Isn''t the society brutal ?", the girl exined her standpoint to the man.

    "I couldn''t agree more , Xinghe. You aren''t just an excellent observer. You are good at expressing yourself too.", the man looked at the woman seriously ,"So how do you n to change the society ?"

    The girl replied firmly ,"Prove them wrong. That is the only way. There is no point doing the big talk. They said physically disabled can''t take care of themselves. I started Youth Team NGO at the age of 14 and took care of other kids , when I was on the wheelchair for an entire year after that train incident. They said women can not think beyond jewelries and clothes. I walked out and became a motivational speaker at the age of 15 with millions of followers.

    "They said women can''t fight. I got trained by my brothers and became a ck belt at three martial arts techniques altogether. They said women aren''t bold enough to enter the military. So here I am. The Military Chief of my nation."

    Xi Yuan smiled helplessly at the girl ,"Don''t you feel like you have struggled a lot to prove them wrong ? I loved your perspective and I would''ve thought the same way if I were you. But you have went through so much pain even when you had six brothers , who were prepared to look after you for your entire life. You could have lived afortable life , Xinghe , but you selected the path covered with thorns. Why ?"

    "Because I never wanted to be my brothers'' responsibility. I wanted to be their pride. They would''ve loved me even if I hadn''t done anything for all my life. But today , people salute them for how they brought up their sisters , despite the fact that we aren''t blood rted. The world admires the purity and serenity of our rtionship. Whenever I and Xiao are mentioned , their efforts are acknowledged as well. Earlier , they loved me. But now , they respect me as well.

    "When they talk about me , their eyes are filled with pride. I want to see that pride till myst breath.", the girl smiled as she looked at the six menughing and enjoying their conversations.

    Xi Yuan patted the girl''s head lovingly ,"You are amazing. I feel like I fall in love with you for every second I spend with you."

    The girl stopped in her tracks and turned around to re at the man ,"There are so many people here , Mr. Xi. What will they think ?"

    "They will think that Xi Yuan is in love with Rong Xinghe.", the man shrugged his shoulders indifferently.

    "Shameless !"

    "Only for you.", Xi Yuan winked.

    Rong Xinghe : "....."

    This man was bing more and more good with flirting ! But what could she do ? Her heart raced only for this sweet and warm man.

    At this time , Rong Xinghe felt a sharp pain in her right foot as her heel broke down suddenly. Subconsciously , the girl screamed in pain and grabbed Xi Yuan''s arm with all her strength.

    Xi Yuan was taken aback for a second but he then nced at the wet floor of the banquet hall and patiently allowed the girl to lean on him.

    By now , almost everyone in the wedding hall were looking at the man and the woman worriedly. Initially , they misunderstood that the duo were deliberately disying their affection. But after sometime , they saw tears rolling down Rong Xinghe''s eyes and only then did they finally looked at the girl''s swollen foot.

    Xi Yuan didn''t bothered wasting anymore time and lifted the girl up in his arms swiftly. He then gently helped her sit on one of the chairs before he patted her head lovingly ,"Let me have a look."

    Rong Xinghe took a deep breath in order to suppress the unbearable pain and nodded her head in approval.

    To everyone''s shock , the business king Xi Yuan sat down on his knees in front of the woman. Next second , the man delicately ced Rong Xinghe''s injured foot into his warm palms as he carefully separated the heel from her feet. After observing the swollen ankle for sometime , Xi Yuan skillfully massaged the affected area ,pletely ignoring the shocked and speechless crowd.

    But for him , nothing was more important than his woman. Except Rong Xinghe , there was possibly no other woman in this world who could make this proud and unapproachable man treat her with this amount of respect , care , warmth and devotion.

 Chapter 244: National Business Meet: the start to the end ?

    Chapter 244: National Business Meet: the start to the end ?

    While the crowd was busy looking at the couple , six dark figures rushed towards their sister hurriedly. Su Rogguang and Mo Zixuan knelt down before the woman and nced at Xi Yuan with an extrayer of meaning.

    Xi Yuan understood the six men''s gesture as he nodded and stood up allowing Su Rogguang to check upon the girl. After observing the swollen ankle for sometime , the man sighed helplessly ,"Such a troublemaker ! It is internal swelling."

    "Sorry.", the girl sighed as she held onto Xi Yuan''s hand subconsciously.

    Soon , Zhi Bo brought an ice pack while Lu Wei came back with an ointment. Su Rogguang and Mo Zixuan then gently massaged the girl''s foot.

    At the same time , every distinguished delegate present in the banquet hall looked at the six men withpletely shocked expressions. From their perspective , Xi Yuan was Rong Xinghe''s friend. So it wasn''t odd for him to kneel down in front of her and help her with her wounds. But the six men held more authority and respect among socialite families. Hence , it was totally unexpected for them to disregard everything in order to attend to Rong Xinghe.

    Xi Chonglin and Luo Youyou exchanged nces with each other as a thought crossed their minds. It seemed like the six men were Rong Xinghe''s biggest weakness. So if their reputation was harmed by the Xi family , how would Rong Xinghe react ? Would she step into a family where her brothers were disrespected ?

    They knew that provoking the six men wasn''t something they could afford. But for the sake of their son''s future , they were ready to take the only bait.

    Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan''s rtionship was the biggest risk for them. Even if Xi Fang was to be Xi Corporations'' CEO , it would be of no value against this specifically outstanding couple. Xi Yuan was capable enough to build ten such Xi Business groups on his own once Rong Xinghe stood beside him.

    And that wasn''t what they wanted. They wanted Xi Yuan to stay under Xi Fang''s scrutiny and supervision. Therefore , separating Xinguan was their only option because Rong Xinghe would never let their imaginationse true. As the woman who loved Xi Yuan , she would rather keep his honor and individuality intact than seeing him suffer. She wouldn''t ever allow anyone in this world , to walk over her man.

    Only if Xi Chonglin and Luo Youyou knew that this stupidity of theirs was going to destroy their rtionship with their son forever...

    Meanwhile , after massaging the girl''s ankle for roughly one hour , she was finally able to stand. But in order to walk , she still needed someone''s support. And obviously , who could this ''someone'' be ?

    So Xi Yuan assisted his silly girl for the entire night as the girl directly turned down the offer of leaving the guests and going back to get some rest. Eventually , the wedding came to an end on a happy note.

    ___________

    Next day , Rong Xinghe visited Zhi Family Mansion to meet her nephew and niece. Ningtao and Songyan were good friends , so they used to meet each other almost everytime they were free.

    Since little baby Alix was six months older than the troublemaker Taio who had just born , it was easy for Ningtao to carry her around now. Both the babies were chubby and cute. Naturally , everyone in the family were fond of them , including the Rong aunties !

    As soon as Rong Xinghe entered the living room , Lu Wei''s princess startedughing hysterically.

    On the other hand , baby Taio was still asleep ,pletely oblivious to his aunt''s presence.

    Songyan and Ningtao also diverted their attention at the super excited girl before they shook their heads helplessly. It was the crazy aunt-niece moment !

    As expected , Rong Xinghe chuckled and quickly stepped into her auntie shoes before she squinted her eyes at Lu Alix.

    "Roaaarrr !", the girl pretended to roar akin to a tiger.

    Lu Alix became silent for sometime before sheughed again with even more intensity.

    Followed by this , Rong Xinghe generated sounds of almost every animal including elephant , dog , parrot , cat and donkey. And every time , the sounds made little baby Alix chortle more than before.

    After she was done ying , Rong Xinghe stopped and picked up Lu Alix in her arms ,"Whom does my Alix loves more ?"

    Lu Alix was just seven months old and couldn''t speak too much. She could just pronounce words like ''baba'' and ''dada''. But Rong Xinghe asked her the question so seriously that she also tilted her head and looked at her confusedly.

    Rong Xinghe''s heart melted when she saw the mature expression on her niece''s face and kissed her nose softly ,"Of course you love your auntie Xinghe more !"

    Rong Xinghe then passed the girl back to Ningtao and kissed her nephew''s forehead before she turned around to look at the study ,"Where is bro Zhi Xi ? Isn''t he on leave ?"

    "Yeah. But he has been too busy for the past few days."

    "Why ?"

    "Because there is a National Business Meeting on Saturday. You need to prepare yourself for that too , Kiddo.", Zhi Xi and Lu Wei walked out of the study room as they smiled at the girl.

    "National Business Meet ?", the girl frowned as she nced at her schedule on Saturday. Thankfully , no meeting with politicians or forces'' chiefs was arranged that day.

    "Yeah. This meeting takes ce in every six years. In this particr event , almost every business tycoon affecting Country X''s finance gather together to discuss about their future perspectives. They see if individual ns can merge together to change the course of the nation''s development. This meeting is broadcasted in every corner of the world , so it somehow affects Country X''s international image as well.", Lu Wei exined to the girl.

    "I also need to be there ?"

    Zhi Xi nodded at the girl before he replied seriously ,"Obviously. Rong Business Group has been performing pretty well since the past few months. In fact , Xi family , Jiang family , Su family and Meng family will be present there as well."

    "Alright then. I will prepare myself for it !", the girl smiled confidently before she turned around to head towards Rong group''s headquarters.

    Only if she had known that this meeting was going to result in her and Xi Yuan''s separation , she would''ve had never went there....

 Chapter 245: The Werewolf Crew !

    Chapter 245: The ''Werewolf Crew'' !

    Nighttime , 10:00 p.m. ,

    Rong Xinghe returned to Elite residences after she was done with her work at Rong corporations. But just when she was about to enter her penthouse , the girl noticed that the lights at Xi Yuan''s ce were switched on. After contemting for sometime , the girl finally decided to disturb the man.

    Xi Yuan was making coffee for himself when the girl walked into the kitchen. Suddenly , a pair of long and slender arms wrapped the man''s built body from behind as a sweet voice resounded throughout the kitchen ,"One cup coffee for me too !"

    The man froze on the spot as he didn''t even knew how to react. He recognized this voice more than anyone. But this particr person had never been this sensual with him before. Just what had gotten into her today ?

    After pacifying his rapidly beating heart , Xi Yuan turned around to look at Rong Xinghe seriously ,"What happened ? Are you fine ?"

    The girl scratched her head awkwardly as she let out a gentleugh ,"Um...you look more imposing when you are in kitchen."

    The man raised his brows ever so slightly as his lips curled up with amusement. From when on did she started topliment him straightforwardly ? Most importantly , wasn''t thepliment too tempting for a man ?

    "Are you trying to seduce me , Xinghe ?", the man smirked and pulled the girl by her waist towards himpletely sealing her every action.

    The girl was stunned by the man''s sudden actions , but she didn''t dared to make a movement. She simply rested her head against Xi Yuan''s shoulder ,"I am tired , Yuan."

    The girl''s voice seemed so weak and pitiful that the man''s heart ached for her and he gave up on teasing her anymore. Next second , the man lifted the girl up in his arms and ced her on living room''s couch before he kissed her forehead softly ,"I will bring you your coffee. Just wait here."

    The moment the man left , Rong Xinghe chuckled mischievously. One thing was for sure , she was going to always have the upper hand in their rtionship in the future. Her man couldn''t see her suffer , even if she was putting on an act.

    At this time , the girl''s eyesnded on the documents ces over the living room''s table. Detailed information about an underworld organization named ''Werewolf Crew'' was provided in those stack of papers. The girl picked up the file and read through them silently as her brows furrowed with worry.

    She was Country X''s Military Chief and naturally knew about such gangs. During her five years of Military Chief training , Rong Xinghe had worked under many such shady powers. As a result , her contacts were more widely ranged. She knew what ''Werewolf Crew'' actually was. It was the secondrgest and one of the most dangerous underworld gangs in Country X. They were well known for kidnapping , murders , and drug dealings across entire Asia.

    But what use did Xi Yuan had of this information ? How could he be rted to such people ?

    Soon , Xi Yuan came back with two cups of coffee and passed the girl''s favorite cup to her. The man then sat down beside the girl and observed her stressed expression. Xi Yuan subconsciously looked down at the documents in Rong Xinghe''s hands and shook his head helplessly. What was this girl thinking now ?

    Xi Yuan ced the documents upon the table again before he pulled the woman into his embrace ,"I have no connection with it. I was simply reading about them."

    "Why ?", Rong Xinghe sighed as she hugged the man back ,"What is all of this about ? Why would you investigate them ?"

    "Do you remember how my grandparents were killed ?"

    Rong Xinghe was shocked when the man mentioned his grandparents out of nowhere. How could their murder be connected to ''Werewolf Crew'' ? The girl lifted her head up and nodded at the man.

    "I have been trying to search the killers for past eleven years. I want to know the reason behind their death , Xinghe. Don''t I have the right to do so ?", the man looked at the woman earnestly.

    Rong Xinghe replied after thinking for sometime ,"You have every right , Yuan. You were merely fifteen when you lost the people you loved the most. I don''t know what I would''ve had done if anything would''ve happened to my brothers. I had literally destroyed the entire Zhou family when Bro Lu had met with an ident. So I understand your anger."

    Xi Yuan smiled as he listened to the girl''s understanding words ,"My private investigator informed me not too long ago that this ''Werewolf Crew'' had sent the assassins in order to attack us that night."

    "Hmm. So you don''t know the real instigator''s name currently.", the girl asked.

    Xi Yuan shook his head in denial before he spoke up ,"But I will know soon. Possibly by this Saturday."

    "You mean when National Business Summit is going to take ce ? You should be in your right state of mind at that time , Yuan.", Rong Xinghe said as she sipped her coffee.

    "I will be fine. And even if something happens to me , won''t you be there for my siblings ? In my absence , you have every right to manage Xi corporations and Xi family n.", the man nodded at his woman meaningfully.

    Rong Xinghe punched the man''s arm angrily ,"Don''t talk like that about yourself ! Sometimes , the words we say reallye true. I don''t allow you to leave me midway , Mr. Xi."

    The man chuckled and suddenly leaned in on the woman making her lie down beneath him. The man then ced a soft kiss against thedy''s forehead ,"I would never want to leave you alone as well , Xinghe."

    After saying those words , the couple''s lips intertwined with each other as they lost themselves in the heat of the moment.

    But who would''ve thought that Xi Yuan''s words would actuallye true so soon...

 Chapter 246: "You are literally everywhere !"

    Chapter 246: "You are literally everywhere !"

    National Business Summit , Saturday

    Finally , the day for the big event arrived. Almost every acknowledged businessman from different corners of Country X gathered together at the majestic Meeting House in City A. Journalists from different countries were also present there with the intention to broadcast Country X''s 23rd National Business Summit live across the globe.

    As the clock struck 2:00 p.m. , the meeting officially came to a start as every business tycoon including Zhi Xi , Lu Wei , Jiang Yue''s father Jiang Qiyang , Rong Xinghe , Xi Fang , Xi Chongkun and Xi Chonglin. The meeting was more or less like a round table conference where people followed a proper series of etiquettes for interacting with each other. Every businessman would discuss about their future projects when their names were announced by the officials. Only then could other businessmen raise their hands to question or inquire about the business n.

    But just when the meeting was about to begin , the officials received a call from Country X''s president.

    "How may I serve the President , Sir ?", the administrative officer asked respectfully while other businessmen also turned to look at the officer attentively. Why would the highest authority of the nation want to get involved with the business suddenly ? As the call was made over the main system , they could clearly hear the conversation through the speakers connected.

    "Good Afternoon , respecteddies and gentlemen.", the old man''s voice resounded across the meeting hall ,"May I be bold enough to request the association for something ?"

    "Of course , Sir !", the Manager present replied instantly.

    "I had invited President Xi Yuan for a meeting regarding something confidential at President House today. And in order to not disrespect me , he risked the opportunity to represent himself at the honorable 23rd National Business Summit. He is on his way now. I hope the association can make an exception for him this once.", the President exined humbly.

    "Don''t worry , sir. We will definitely wait for Mr. Xi. He is worth it.", the Manager replied.

    Other businessmen exchanged nces when they heard the President''s words. This was what everyone dreamed their life to be like. This was the reason everyone wanted to be as influential as the legendary Xi Yuan. Even the President of the country cared about his opinions and views on certain matters !

    "I apologize for the inconvenience. Anyhow , is Military Chief also there ?", the old manughed through the other end.

    Rong Xinghe rolled her eyes as she tapped the microphone in front of her ,"Long live the Country X , President."

    "HAHAHA. Long live the Country X , Military Chief. You are literally everywhere ! How does it feel to be a businesswoman ?", the manmented.

    Rong Xinghe shook her head helplessly ,"Even you are teasing me now , President... Where should I seek mercy from ?"

    "From your brothers , obviously. By the way , President Lu and President Zhi must be there as well , right ?"

    Lu Wei and Zhi Xi sighed as they joined into the conversations ,"We are indeed here , Sir."

    "Ah ! That is amazing. On this asion , I would like to congratte both President Lu and President Zhi for the two new entries in their life. May your family prosper and you achieve great heights in your lives.", the old man mentioned Lu Alix and Zhi Taio''s birth as soon he heard the two men''s voice.

    "Thank you."

    After conversing for some more time with Rong Xinghe , the President finally disconnected the call leaving everyonepletely shocked. From the looks of it , Rong Xinghe and her brothers weren''t any less influential. Just how capable this Superfamily was ?!

    Meanwhile , Xi Chonglin''s expression turned dark as he listened to the casual conversations between Rong Xinghe and Country X''s President. This was the reason that he wanted to separate Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan. Both of them were too powerful and unapproachable. Naturally , their union could easily overpower Xi Fang''s authority in Xi Corporations.

    At this time , the entrance door to the meeting hall opened and Xi Yuan walked in hurriedly. After apologizing to the association officials , the man grabbed his seat , between Xi Chongkun and Xi Chonglin. He then respectfully nodded at Lu Wei and Zhi Xi before he smiled at Rong Xinghe sitting exactly opposite to him.

    After sometime , the meeting came to a start and every businessman introduced their future projects to other business tycoons. Soon enough , Jiang Qiyang , Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan had represented their respective business groups to the association. Other than Xi Yuan , most businessmen were intrigued by Rong Xinghe''s ns.

    It was now that Lu Wei''s name was announced and Lu Corporations'' team made an entrance. Lu Wei was mainly involved in construction business. So his project this time was also about a highway construction. But at this time , something unexpected took ce. The huge screen in the meeting hall suddenly started showing a CCTV footage. The video clip clearly showed a ck SUV hitting an olddy and two men getting off the car. The faces of the two men weren''t recognizable but their backs clearly imitated Lu Wei and Zhi Xi.

    One look at the clip and Rong Xinghe knew that the two men weren''t her brothers. The two men were more tall and built than the ''actors'' in the video. Clearly , somebody was trying to frame them.

    As the crowd broke into murmurs , Lu Wei and Zhi Xi furrowed their brows and looked at each other. They could justify themselves there and then but they decided against it in order to know who was behind all of this.

    And as expected , a voice resounded throughout the meeting hall ,"Looks like Mr. Lu and Mr. Zhi have many skeletons hidden in their closets."

    Rong Xinghe and the two men along with Xi Yuan and Xi Fang turned their heads to look at Xi Chonglin who had just made thement. What the hell was he upto ?! Why was he digging his own grave ?

    Subconsciously , Rong Xinghe looked at the man sitting opposite to her worriedly. Just what was happening ? Why would Xi Chonglin frame her brothers unreasonably ?

 Chapter 247: "Everything is over , Xinghe !"

    Chapter 247: "Everything is over , Xinghe !"

    Lu Wei and Zhi Xi nced at Xi Yuan before they shook their heads helplessly. This was what they were trying to tell him all along. For once , they could trust him. But trusting his family wasn''t something they were sure about from the start. Judging by Xi Chonglin''s words , they could easily tell that he already knew about Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe''s rtionship. Also , by the way he was framing them , he was possibly hoping for Rong Xinghe to misunderstand Xi Yuan.

    But contrary to Xi Chongling''s expectations , Rong Xinghe had always been ady with wisdom.

    The woman locked eyes with Xi Yuan and smiled at him warmly. The man was stunned as he lifted his head up and looked back at the girl.

    Rong Xinghe brushed her right hand over her heart and then brought the index finger to her head above her right ear. The girl then folded the same hand and ced it above her open left palm before she pointed her index finger at the man.

    As he noticed the girl''s actions , Xi Yuan breathed a sigh of relief as ease and happiness spread across his restless heart.

    Actually , Rong Xinghe had intentionally used American Sign Language to convey the words ''I trust you'' to the man because she knew that only Xi Yuan could understand the signnguage. The girl simply wanted her love to know that she had faith in him , no matter what his family did.

    Meanwhile , none of the businessmen present there had any idea about the secret conversation the couple had just had. They were all too focused on Xi Chonglin''s sharp words. Even they could sense that he was deliberately forcing Lu Wei and Zhi Xi into a dead end. By now , Xi Chonglin had not only insulted the two men , he had also exposed few of those secrets that families like theirs usually kept hidden.

    But when Xi Chonglin was about to disclose the matter about Zhi Bo''s drug addiction during his adulthood , the two men looked straight into his eyes fiercely as a voice resounded throughout the meeting hall ,"Enough , Mr. Chonglin ! I would suggest you to watch your mouth."

    Everyone , including the association officials , felt a chill run down their spine when they heard Rong Xinghe''s cold and bone-chilling tone. Even if she was here as a businesswoman , she was still Country X''s ruthless Military Chief and a brother-doting sister. And her tolerance was bound to reach its limit at a certain point of time.

    The woman mmed her hands against the table in front of her and stood up angrily as she red at Xi Chonglin ,"I would expect Mr. Chonglin to maintain the dignity of this National event. It isn''t proper for a man like yourself to act so impulsively. And regarding this video clip , Mr. Lu and Mr. Zhi will provide evidences against it by the end of next week."

    Xi Fang was anxious as he realized that his to be sister-inw was getting upset further , so he tried to pacify her ,"Xiao Xinghe..."

    But Rong Xinghe stretched her hand out to stop the man and nced at the association officials ,"As the Military Chief of Country X , I hereby dere the National Summit officially adjourned. Many individuals present here , has harmed the spirit of this meeting by making personalments , solely based on rumors. There is no point continuing this event. Country X cannot be a joke in front of the entire world because of such people."

    The Manager and other officers nodded their heads respectfully before they left the ce to make the required announcements. They couldn''t oppose Rong Xinghe , not just because she was powerful , but also because she wasn''t wrong. National Business Summit was an event under the visual scrutiny of almost every nation''s union and finance ministries. Hence , Country X''s reputation was at risk currently.

    Soon enough , everyone except Xinguan and their families , exited the meeting hall.

    After some seconds of silence , the silent Xi Yuan stood up from his seat and approached Lu Wei and Zhi Xi. Before the two men could say anything to the man , Xi Yuan knelt down in front of them and bowed down to them guiltily.

    "I am sorry , Senior Zhi , Senior Lu , for what happened today. I would have been nothing today if not for your guidance. The Xi empire is indebted to you both for its existence and strength , as well. We can''t thank you enough. Hence , I , Xi Yuan apologize to you both on behalf of my uncle. Please forgive us."

    Lu Wei sighed helplessly and helped the man to stand up again ,"Have you gone crazy ? How can you apologize for something you haven''t done ? It is alright , Yuan. We can handle this. You should just go and get some rest first."

    "Yeah , boy. You look tired. Just don''t exert yourself too much.", Zhi Xi also smiled at the man bitterly.

    Xi Yuan nodded his head and walked towards the girl standing beside her brothers ,"Angry ?"

    Rong Xinghe pinched the space between her brows and shook her head ,"Nope. I just couldn''t let Bro Bo..."

    "Shh. You had every right to do what you did. I don''t me you. In fact , your reaction was understandable.", the man smiled as he ced a soft kiss against the girl''s forehead lovingly.

    At this time , Xi Yuan''s phone beeped with a text message and the man pulled out his phone as he read through the contents of the message carefully. A photo was attached to the message , which showed two men standing together. One man was Xi Chonglin and the other one was...Werewolf Crew''s leader !

    As soon as she saw the photo , Rong Xinghe''s eyes widened and she looked at the man in front of her worriedly. And as expected , his expressions had turned pale and empty all of a sudden.

    Rong Xinghe had never seen Xi Yuan like this before. He had always been a warm person. But today , she couldn''t read him at all. The girl subconsciously hugged the man tightly and rubbed his back ,"Its alright , Yuan. I am here. Just calm down."

    As the couple''s families looked at them with a tensed expression , Xi Yuan''s phone fell down on Meeting Hall''s ground covered by carpet. Xi Fang rushed towards his brother and picked up the phone as he started reading through the messages with a tensed expression.

    Meanwhile , a tear rolled down Xi Yuan''s cheek as he responded to the girl''s hug even more tightly ,"Everything is over , Xinghe ! Grandfather , he was....."

 Chapter 248: A frightening tragedy !

    Chapter 248: A frightening tragedy !

    While Rong Xinghe tried to pacify the shattered man , Xi Fang read through the messages between Xi Yuan and the investigator silently. He was inplete disbelief after he roughly understood the situation. The man''s hands started trembling as he looked at his brother anxiously. He had never seen Xi Yuan is such a pitiful state.

    And why not ? Other than their grandparents , Xi Yuan had never been so emotionally connected to anyone else. And most importantly , the person involved with that frightening incident was none other than his own father.

    Xi Fang didn''t knew what got into him , but he strode towards Xi Chonglin and showed him the photo straight away ,"An exnation , dad ?!"

    As soon as Xi Chonglin saw the photo , he broke into a cold sweat and looked at Xi Fang ,"I didn''t do anything son , I..."

    But at this time , Xi Yuan separated himself from the woman and wiped her tears away with the pad of his thumb gently ,"I am not able to think straight , Xinghe. I need to go."

    "To where ?", the girl grabbed the man''s hand worriedly ,"Yuan , just stay with me. We can leave this ce together. But just let me be with you. We can talk about it."

    Xi Yuan shook his head in denial ,"I want to be alone for sometime , Xinghe. I want to visit my grandparents'' graveyard. Please let me spend some time with them."

    The man then gestured Zhi Xi to handle the girl before he left the meeting hall.

    "Bro Lu , Bro Zhi , just let me go. My heart is feeling restless. I want to...", the girl struggled desperately as the two men stopped her from following Xi Yuan.

    "Xinghe ! Just let him do what he feels like. He is mature and wise. He will take care of everything.", Lu Wei sighed as he patted the girl''s head helplessly.

    ''But brother..."

    Before the girl could say anything further , her phone rang and she picked it up quickly ,"Yes , Mr. Shou."

    "Military Chief , roughly ten to twelve men from the ''Werewolf Crew'' were seen following President Xi just now. And his security team has also been knocked down. Should we send our teams for his protection ?", the old assistant reported to the girl anxiously.

    "What ?!"

    ____________________

    Meanwhile , Christ Graveyard ,

    Xi Yuan sat down in front of the two graves as he stared at them nkly. He had nothing to say to them. Also , he couldn''t express his pain in merely few words. He waspletely at the loss of words. But the man still tried to talk to the people he had lost.

    "I miss you both a lot. I miss your food , grandma and I miss your scoldings , grandpa. You must be happy in the heaven , right ? But how could you not think of me when you left this world ?

    "Anyway , Xinghe is right. At least , you left the world together without knowing about who attacked you..."

    BANG !

    At this time , few men rushed inside the graveyard and covered Xi Yuan from every direction as they pointed their rifles at him.

    Xi Yuan furrowed his brows and stood up as he red at the men around him coldly. It seemed like he wasn''t destined for peace in his entire lifetime. And unfortunately , he had forgotten his licensed revolver in his car.

    The man stretched his arms and neck before he jumped into the fight. Actually , he had already guessed that the men belonged to the ''Werewolf Crew'' and that there was no point negotiating with them by using words. It was a in ''do or die'' situation.

    Even though he didn''t had his weapon by his side , he was still the mighty Xi Yuan. He was a ck Belt in Taekwondo and was highly skilled withbat. So he was able to tackle most of the men on his own.

    But this was an uneven fight , where his opponents had rifles and revolvers in their hands. So there was bound to be some tragedy...

    BANG ! BANG !

    Two bullets pierced through Xi Yuan''s torso as the man stopped all his actions and held onto his wound tightly. For some unknown reason , the man felt like this pain was his only liberation. As the endless stream of blood flowed down his body , the man''s knees weakened and he copsed down on the ground.

    The attackers soon left the ce assuming that Xi Yuan wouldn''t be able to make it after this blow of theirs. Also , it was more satisfying for him to have a torturous and agonizing death.

    Ironically , just after the attackers ran away from the graveyard , Rong Xinghe reached there worriedly. The girl strode inside the arena as she held onto her gun cautiously. But the moment she arrived at the Xi elders'' grave , her heart stopped racing involuntarily and her grip on the gun loosened.

    "Yuan !"

    Rong Xinghe ran towards the man and ced his head above her knees as she looked at the man''s wounds worriedly ,"No , no , no ! Not this... Not this... Yuan , stay with me. Please just don''t close your eyes. I will call the ambnce right away. Just don''t leave me , Yuan. I can''t let you go. I can''t..."

    The girl pulled out her phone quickly and texted Su Rogguang about the situation before she fixed her gaze back at the man lying on the ground.

    "Xinghe...", the man weakly opened his eyes and caressed the girl''s cheeks with a smile across his lips ,"My Xinghe..."

    When she listened to the man''s hoarse yet passionate tone , tears rolled down Rong Xinghe''s cheeks. Was he not feeling any pain ? How could he think about all those things at a time like this ?

    But before the girl could say anything , Xi Yuan pulled her towards him as her lips brushed against his softly. In this one kiss , the couple shared their pains , sufferings , exhaustion and struggles. It could be said that this kiss was Xinguan''s one of the most purest and serene kiss till now...

    After the short kiss , the girl separated herself from the man and turned her attention back at his wound. But Xi Yuan simply kissed the girl''s hands as a his eyes turned red involuntarily. The man''s body was clearly telling him that he couldn''t apany hisdy for too long now.

    "Xinghe...I love you...", the man lost his consciousness the moment these words left his mouth.

 Chapter 249: Rong Xinghes painful confession

    Chapter 249: Rong Xinghe''s painful confession

    Soon , Xi Yuan was taken to the City Hospital owned by the Xi family. And as soon as the Xi trio received the news about their brother , they also reached there along with the Xi family elders.

    As he looked at the surgeons surrounding his son inside the operation theater from outside , Xi Chongkun couldn''t restrain himself from roaring at Xi Yuan''s security staff ,"Where the hell were all of you when my son was attacked ?!"

    "Sir...we...", one of the bodyguards tried to exin but the Xi family wasn''t in their proper mental state to listen to anybody.

    "Just get out right now !", Xi Wei shouted at the men after he passed a ss of water to Xi Chongkun.

    At this time , Li Jungah anxiously looked at the girl standing silently beside the operation theater''s window. For Rong Xinghe , nothing was more important than her man currently. Not even his family. Li Jungah shook her head as she walked towards the girl and rubbed her back worriedly ,"Xinghe , are you alright ?"

    Rong Xinghe nodded her head subconsciously before she looked at thedy beside her emotionally ,"Auntie...Can I stay here by his side ? Do I have the permission to take care of Yuan ?"

    Li Jungah was slightly stunned by the girl''s words before her eyes turned red and she pulled Rong Xinghe into a motherly warm hug ,"Oh darling ! Of course you can stay by his side. In fact , you have this right more than even us. Because you are the only person who has brought a smile across his lips. You are special to him , Xinghe. Very special. Just do what you feel like doing. Auntie and Uncle will always back you up. Right , Mr. Xi ?"

    Xi Chongkun approached the twodies and wiped his wife''s tears before he patted Rong Xinghe''s head ,"Of course ! Xinghe , thank you for bringing Yuan here on time. I don''t know what would''ve happened if you werete by even a single second. Thank you so much."

    "He is important to me too , Uncle.", the girl sighed as she nced at the man inside the O.T.

    After sometime , Su Rogguang stepped out of the operation theater followed by other surgeons as the entire Xi family surrounded him.

    "How is he , Senior Su ?", Xi Fang looked at the man earnestly.

    Su Rogguang nced at his sister standing in the corner before he turned his attention back at Xi Fang ,"We have already removed the two bullets from his body and the surgery was sessful. But there was aplication during the surgery. We noticed that , although his body is safe , his emotional or psychological state is not."

    "What do you mean ?", Xi Wei asked.

    "Well...let me be honest here. Xi Yuan was going through an emotional trauma when he was attacked. His past was in front of him when he was fighting with the attackers. None of us have any idea about the pain he was going through at that point of time.

    "So now , even if his wounds are cured , his brain is unwilling to respond."

    Xi Ying clenched her fists tightly as she looked at her elder brother through the transparent ss window ,"You mean..."

    Su Rogguang nodded his head ,"Yeah. Yuan is in a vegetative state. Or we can say , he is in aa. And as to when he will open his eyes , it can''t be estimated."

    The moment Rong Xinghe heard her brother''s words , her entire body started shaking uncontrobly as she sat down on the bench behind her. Currently , she was feeling like a thousand needles were pricked into her heart altogether. The pain was so excruciating that she felt like her soul was leaving her body. How could this happen to her Yuan ? What had he done wrong to go through this ?

    While the Xi family was still digesting Su Rogguang''s words , the girl stood up and directly headed into the operation theater swiftly ,pletely disregarding everyone. She needed to see him as soon as possible.

    Naturally , the Xi family and Su Rogguang followed behind the girl hurriedly.

    Rong Xinghe stepped into the operation theater and held onto the man''s rtively cold hands gently. The girl kept on looking at the man''s motionless body for sometime before a stream of endless tears rolled down her eyes involuntarily.

    "Yuan...don''t do this to me. Don''t scare me like this. Wake up , Yuan. Wake up for Fang , Ying and Wei. Wake up for your Xinghe. Didn''t you said that you would never want to leave me. Then how can you break your promise ? How can you lie to me ?!

    "Yuan , I still get those frightening dreams about the Rong family. I still feel doubtful about my abilities to handle the Rong corporations. Who will pacify and console me ? Who will assure me that everything will be alright ? Yuan , I need you. Please wake up.

    "Okay , if not for me , then get up for Fang. Yuan , Fang is going to get engaged with Jiang Yue tomorrow ! How will he celebrate his big day without his brother ? Who will toast the first drink for him ? Who will be his best man ?

    "And what about your parents ? Yuan , you are their only son. Auntie has gone through so much pain to give birth to you and Uncle is so proud of you. They won''t be able to live without you , Yuan. They have so many dreams for you. How can you shatter those dreams so ruthlessly ?

    "Yuan , please talk to me. At least , just listen to me. Don''t you want to know about my feelings for you ? Didn''t you always wanted me to ept your love ? I am so sorry for not telling you earlier. I am so sorry for waiting for that ''perfect time''. But let me tell you now.

    "Xi Yuan , I love you ! I love you from the bottom of my heart. I want to spend my entire life with you. I want tough and cry with you. Please allow me to do that. Please..."

    At this time , the girl felt a sharp sensation rush through her brain as her grip on Xi Yuan''s hand tightened ,"Brother ! This pains..."

    Before the girl''s body could touch the ground , Su Rogguang strode towards her and pulled the girl into his arms worriedly ,"Xinghe ! Doctor Gu , prepare a private ward quickly. This might be aplex migraine stroke !"

 Chapter 250: "You know what is the worst part ?"

    Chapter 250: "You know what is the worst part ?"

    "Yuan !"

    The six men were standing around the girl''s bed when she suddenly woke up with a jolt and sat up on the bed anxiously. The girl nced at the six men before her eyes turned red and tears started flowing down her eyes ,"Bro Su , aren''t you the Miracle Man in the medical world ? Please save him. Please save my Yuan , brother !"

    Lu Wei sighed as he sat down beside the girl and hugged her gently ,"I understand your pain. I felt the same way when I and Tao had met with that ident and I had seen her losing her consciousness right in front of me. In fact , my fear was twice because Tao was pregnant at that time and I could''ve had lost both my wife and daughter at once.

    "But at that time , my strong Kiddo was by my side. She bravely assured me that everything will be fine. Where is that Rong Xinghe now ? Where is that bravery now that you need it the most ?"

    The girl became silent after she heard her brother''s words and separated from him before she looked at each of them guiltily ,"Ten years ago , when I was ina for three months , I must''ve scared you all a lot , right ? The possibility of losing me forever must''ve been terrible , right ?"

    Mo Zixuan kissed the girl''s forehead warmly ,"Yeah. We just didn''t knew what to do at that time. But because of that incident , we are rtively more calm andposed this time. You will have to be strong Xinghe. Since you already love him , you will have to be his strength and might now."

    "You guys have no problem with me helping him and his family ?", the girl was slightly stunned by the man''s words.

    Zhi Bo shook his head as he smiled at the girl ,"Who are we to tie you down , Xinghe ? Ever since you were young , we had always aimed to make you an independent and toughdy. Most importantly , love is an universal right. We cannot stop you from loving someone.

    "Also , Yuan is a modest and nice person. He is righteous and shows gratitude to the people helping him. Even if we hate the Xi family to our cores , our hatred has nothing to do with him. Rest assured , your brothers will always support your every decision , no matter what."

    Zhi Xi sat down beside the girl and helped her lean against his shoulder ,''Now tell me. What do you n to do ? Do you want to take care of Yuan and give Rong Corporations a break ? If that is the case , I will help you take care of the business group. You just have to say the word Kiddo."

    Rong Xinghe couldn''t help but hug her Bro Zhi tightly. Her brothers had finally epted her love ! Her six pirs of strength , love and care were willingly weing her Yuan with open arms. Although she was still worried about her man , at least , her brothers were ready to back her up till the end now. And that was all that she needed to regain her courage right now.

    _______________

    Meanwhile , Xi family was in a mess. The Xi Corporations was technically running without any acting CEO. No matter how unwilling they were , they still needed to think about this legacy of theirs.

    "I will not be the President of Xi Corporations , Uncle ! Brother is irreceable. For me and for all the employees.", Xi Fang firmly rejected Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah''s genuine request.

    "Fang , try to understand. We cannot let Yuan''s hardwork get destroyed. Be sensible and take over thepany. No one is ming you for anything here. In fact , Yuan has always believed in you. At least respect his wishes.", Li Jungah cupped the young man''s face lovingly.

    "I can''t do this , Auntie. I can''t. If I be the CEO , the media will use me of intentionally harming brother under the greed of power. The public will say that I am insensitive and ungrateful to my brother. And I really can''t take those usations. I''d rather kill myself.", suddenly , the man picked up the knife kept in the fruit basket.

    PAK !

    Just when Xi Fang was about to injure his wrist , a hard pnded across his face and the knife fell down from his hands. The man was taken aback for a moment before he turned around to look at his to be sister-inw standing in front of him.

    Rong Xinghe strode towards the man and grabbed his cor angrily ,"What the hell do you think you were doing just now ?! Who gave you the right to harm yourself ? Isn''t Yuan''s condition already a matter of concern ?

    "And you are not the only person with pain here. If he is your brother , then he is also my love ! And you know what is the worst part ? He doesn''t even know about my feelings yet.

    "Stop causing trouble , Fang ! I won''t repeat myself again."

    Xi Fang looked down with guilt before he spoke up ,"Other than brother , I respect and admire only you , Xiao Xinghe. Please direct me. What should I do ? I will do whatever you tell me to do."

    The girl sighed as she nced at the man lying on the cold bed ,"Hmm. Answer me honestly. Do you want to be the CEO of Xi Corporations ?"

    "No."

    "Fine. But Xi business group can''t run on its own. Since you don''t want to do it , I will shoulder this burden for Xi Yuan.", Rong Xinghe smiled as she nted a soft kiss against the man''s forehead ,"I will take over the Xi Corporations !"

 Chapter 251: "From now on , you both are no more my parents !"

    Chapter 251: "From now on , you both are no more my parents !"

    The Xi family elders were shocked when they heard Rong Xinghe''s words. Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah exchanged nces among themselves as they sighed helplessly. It seemed like their son had already made the proper arrangements regarding the matter.... Sigh !

    Meanwhile , Xi Chonglin clenched his fists angrily as he realized Rong Xinghe''s intentions ,"What are you trying to say ?! Is it some kind of joke , Ms. Xinghe ? How can someone from outside the Xi family be the CEO of Xi Corporations ?"

    The girl shrugged her shoulders nonchntly before she smiled at Xi Chonglin innocently ,"Mr. Chonglin , I have the legal right to rece Yuan in Xi Corporations , lest something happens to the acting CEO."

    "What nonsense !", Luo Youyou yelled at the girl.

    "I suggest Mrs. Luo to not raise her voice at our sister !", at this time , Lu Wei stepped inside the private hospital ward followed by the other five men. Clearly , the six tigers were displeased by the way the Xi family was speaking to their kiddo. So their approach and presence was way more intimidating and overbearing than usual. Naturally , none of the Xi family members dared to act recklessly around the girl.

    The girl shook her head weakly as she rested her head against her bro Mo''s shoulder. What could she do of these men ? Even the Xi family had to restrain themselves and stay down in front of them...

    But the girl''s brothers were also confused by her words from a moment ago. What did she meant by handling the Xi empire ?

    Zhi Xi patted the girl''s head as he asked her softly ,"What are you nning to do , Kiddo ?"

    Rong Xinghe didn''t responded by words. Instead , she passed a stack of documents to the man.

    As soon as he looked through the papers , Zhi Xi''s eyes widened in surprise and he raised his brows at the girl standing beside him. Emergency shares transfer ? Seriously ?!

    Other five men also read the documents as they were rendered speechless by Xi Yuan''s actions. It seemed like their rtionship was much more deep and serene than what they thought would be. Just how much did that man trusted their sister to directly hand over his authority to her ?

    But when Xi Chonglin saw the documents , he couldn''t help but object fiercely ,"I don''t permit this !"

    "And who do you think is asking for your permission here , Mr. Chonglin ?", Rong Xinghe tilted her her head slightly as she smiled at the man meaningfully.

    "You..."

    Xi Chonglin was about to push the girl back , but his hand was suddenly blocked by Xi Fang. The father and son red at each other for sometime silently before Xi Fang released the man''s hand firmly ,"Don''t you dare to touch my sister-inw ! Since brother isn''t here , it bes my responsibility to protect her. Please stay away from her."

    Xi Chonglin and Luo Youyou were taken aback by Xi Fang''s fierce tone. Their son had never spoken to them in such a way ever before. Was this girl really more important than them ?

    Luo Youyou held onto her son''s hand earnestly ,"Fang ! He is your father. Show some respect. How could you oppose your parents for the sake of an outsider ?!"

    By this time , Xi Fang''s tolerance had already reached its limit. There was no way that he was going to stay silent after everything that had happened with his brother this time. So Xi Fang''s words this time were more sharp and strong ,"What outsider ?! She is going to be the Queen of this entire Xi business empire and Xi family one day. In fact , Mrs. Xi , she is more important to me than you just like how brother is more important to me than dad. It must have hurt you to hear that , right ? You know what , you deserve this pain."

    "Fang...Calm down.", Rong Xinghe squeezed the man''s shoulder sympathetically. She knew how important Xi Yuan was for him and hence , naturally understood his anger. But his words couldn''t bring back her Yuan , right ?

    Xi Fang too a deep breath before he turned around and helped thedy sit down upon a stool beside Xi Yuan''s bed ,"Let me confront them this one time , sister-inw. Please ?"

    Rong Xinghe thought about the situation for sometime before she nodded her head in approval. It was his right to express himself , after all.

    Xi Fang kissed the back of thedy''s hand before he nced at his brother and turned around to face his family elders ,"Do you all have any idea of what you have done to your own children ?! Let me tell you. You all failed terribly as parents. Pardon my words but none of you ever cared about me or brother. All you cared about was that god damned position ofpany CEO !

    "Tell me one thing Uncle and Auntie , how could you both prioritize a materialistic wish over your only son suffering from Autism ? At that time , when brother needed your love and attention the most , you weren''t there for him. When he was having difficulty in pronouncing even the vowels , his parents weren''t there for him.

    "Auntie , did you ever told him a single bedtime story when he was five ? Or did Uncle ever bothered attending his parent teachers meetings ? No. Because Xi Yuan was never more important than money. How disgusting !"

    Li Jungah and Xi Chongkun looked at each other while they listened to their nephew''s heart-piercing words. As she looked at her motionless son sleeping on the cold bed , Li Jungah couldn''t help but bury her face in her husband''s chest and cry hysterically. Xi Fang wasn''t wrong anywhere. They had indeed disregarded their son for the sake of their ambitions. So who were they to me for their pain now ? They very well deserved this pain. But...what was their son''s mistake ? Why was he being punished for their sins when he was the biggest victim of their actions ?

    Although the six men felt sympathy for Xi Yuan''s parents , they had no right to interfere. They were there for their sister , so nothing was more important than her.

    But Xi Fang had no intention to stop just yet. After dealing with Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah , the young man fixed his gaze upon his own parents ,"Anding to you Mr and Mrs. Xi , how does it feel to destroy so many lives altogether ? The person lying on this bed is my , Ying and Wei''s brother. That man is someone''s love. Now that you have sessfully hurt him to this extent , it must have been a relief for your soul , right ?"

    Luo Youyou held onto the man''s hand anxiously before she sobbed in front of him pitifully ,"Son..."

    "Don''t call me your son ! You lost him the moment you got involved with that ''Werewolf Crew''. You lost him the moment you disrespected my sister-inw. From today onwards , you both are no more my parents. You both are dead to me after everything you did. Xi Fang is officially an orphan from this second onwards !"

 Chapter 252: Born to bear the crown

    Chapter 252: Born to bear the crown

    While the six men , Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah were shocked by Xi Fang''s decision , a chill ran down Luo Youyou and Xi Chonglin''s spine. What did their son just said ?! How could he say something like that so casually ?

    This time , Xi Chonglin rushed towards Xi Fang worriedly ,"Fang... you need to trust me. I had no involvement in that incident years ago. Just let me exin , son."

    Xi Fang let out a cold chuckle before he looked straight into his father''s eyes ,"And why do you think I would believe your exnation ? Moreover , you really think that this is all about grandpa and grandma''s death ?!

    "I wasn''t as close to them as brother was in the first ce. So obviously , I wasn''t as hurt as he was. But have you ever thought of the pain he went through when he saw them dying in front of his own eyes ? He was running around the streets asking for a god damned phone to call for an ambnce that night , Mr. Xi ! A fifteen year old boy was managing the cremation ceremony of his grandparents while the family elders were fighting for a meaningless business inheritance.

    "For god''s sake , he was a child with Autism ! Among all of us , he deserved the highest amount of care , concern , attention and love. But unfortunately , that had never been his destiny. All he got was ignorance , pain , loneliness and struggles. He never expressed his feelings to any of you before because he was afraid that his words would hurt you. But that was where he was wrong. You deserve these insults and confrontations !

    "I hate you both. I hate you to the core. Just leave me alone. Don''t interfere in my life again and please stay away from me forever."

    When Luo Youyou saw the distance between her and Xi Fang drifting apart even further , she couldn''t help but yell at him desperately ,"Brother...brother....brother ! Just what has this Yuan done to make you so possessive of him ?! You are willing to leave your own parents for him ? Who the hell is he ? God ?!"

    The young man turned around to look at the motionless Xi Yuan lying on the cold bed as tears slipped down the corner of his eyes ,"He is more important than any God to me , Mrs. Xi. Only if you both knew what he had done for me in the past.... You would''ve never pushed me topete with him over the position of CEO."

    "What do you mean ? What did he do for you ?", Xi Chongkun asked worriedly.

    The entire world knew that the Xi siblings shared a pretty harmonious rtionship among themselves. Butpared to Xi Ying and Xi Wei , Xi Fang was more closer to Xi Yuan. Especially after the Xi trio returned back from their boarding schools to live permanently with their family , the bond between Xi Yuan and Xi Fang had strengthened even more. They just never imagined that there could''ve been some incident behind that...

    Xi Ying rushed towards Xi Fang and looked at her twin with concern ,"Are you sure about this ?"

    The man took a deep breath before he nced at Su Rogguang ,"When you were operating upon him , you must''ve noticed a wound across his back. Right ?"

    After thinking for few seconds , Su Rogguang nodded his head in admittance.

    "Well...He got that because of me. Ten months after I returned back to Country X , I was kidnapped. Brother was injured in order to save me.", Xi Fang said as he wiped his tears.

    "What ?! You were kidnapped ? Why didn''t you told me ?", Luo Youyou grabbed her son''s shoulder anxiously.

    The man shrugged his shoulders nonchntly ,"As if you cared... My parents and uncle , auntie were busy in a world-renowned business summit at that time , as far as I remember. So did the four of us even mattered ?"

    "Fang..."

    "Please , Mrs. Xi. Don''t y the motherhood card with me. I still remember how scared I was at that time. I was just twelve and brother was sixteen. The kidnappers were sent by our business rivals. They intended to sell me to a human trafficking gang. But brother had already nted GPS tracker inside my shoes. As soon as he reached the location along with police personnel , the entire ce was a mess. Amid the chaos , one of the kidnapper was about to slit my throat. That was when brother shielded me and took the attack on himself. He had lost a lot of blood at that time. Doctors even said that it could''ve costed us his life if he was anyte for the treatment. But even after staying unconscious for three continuous days , his first concern was my well-being when he woke up.

    "So how is he any less than the almighty God for me ? My life is his present to me. I owe my existence to him. Then how can Ipete over inheritance with him ? How can I rece him ? How can I be so insensitive and ungrateful to him ? Most importantly , there would''ve been no Xi Fang without the sacrifices of Xi Yuan in the first ce.", Xi Fang said before he turned around and knelt down in front of his to be sister-inw.

    "I know that I am troubling you a lot , Xiao Xinghe. You already have to take care of Country X''s security and Rong empire altogether. And now , Xi Corporations. But I really cannot..."

    Rong Xinghe smiled warmly at the man before she patted his right shoulder firmly ,"Don''t worry. My brothers will handle Rong Corps. And William will take care of Youth Team NGO. I will be simply managing Xi empire and the nation''s military this time. Yuan would never want you to force yourself into any decision. So take your time , Fang.

    "But I will need your assistance in thepany. Other than Yuan , can you make an exception for me ? I can''t trust anyone else."

    Xi Fang looked at Xi Yuan before reverting his attention back at thedy in front of him ,"You and brother are not different , sister-inw. For me , the only person who can rece a King is his Queen. And you were born to bear that crown , sister-inw. Xi empire officially wees their new CEO."

 Chapter 253: Their ambiguous relationship

    Chapter 253: Their ''ambiguous'' rtionship

    While the Xi family''s destiny was being decided in that small private hospital ward , the entire Country X''s business world was in a chaos. The news of Xi Yuan going into a vegetative state had been leaked into the media , which was enough to shake the economies of many countries altogether. Other than Country X , Xi Corporations was a leading business group in other nations including Japan , France , Australia , Denmark and many more. Naturally , the Business King Xi Yuan''s retirement for an indefinite period of time was a shock for these nations.

    "Country X''s business tycoon Xi Yuan in a state ofa , the Xi family rushed to the hospital at 2:00 a.m. in the midnight !"

    "Business King Xi Yuan in a vegetative state : What will be the future of the mighty Xi Corporations ?!"

    "Military Chief Rong Xinghe stands beside a ''friend'' during the tough times , the Superfamily reaches the hospital too."

    "Xi Yuan : an eminent personality in digital , virtual and technological business ; Is this the end of an era ?"

    "Xi Corporations in a state of dilemma ; employees ask for a proper investigation regarding the unexpected and drastic attack !"

    "In the absence of the acting CEO , will the younger brother Xi Fang rule over the magnificent Xi business empire ? Let''s hear thements from some legends in the field."

    These were headlines of almost every news channel in Country X next morning. And as he hailed from the world of journalism itself , it was impossible for Mo Zixuan to stay uninformed regarding the matter. As he looked at his sister staring nkly at the motionless Xi Yuan , he couldn''t help but pinch the space between his brows worriedly. Could she really stay strong throughout this difficult time ? Or would she end up affecting her health adversely ?

    The man caressed the girl''s cheeks gently as he looked at her encouragingly ,"The media knows , kiddo. You will have to take the action soon. Are you ready ?"

    The Xi family members exchanged nces among themselves when they listened to Mo Zixuan''s words before they looked at Rong Xinghe withplex expressions across their faces. On the other hand , Rong Xinghe took a deep breath and closed her eyes as Xi Yuan''s deep and maizing voice started resounding in her ears.

    "When a King is weak and injured , only the Queen has the capability to safeguard his empire."

    "If something happens to me someday and I am unable to take care of Xi corporations , will you take over from me ? Will you be the CEO of Xi corporations then ?"

    "But life is always filled with uncertainty. I just don''t want you to weaken up if such a timees in our life. I have many enemies , Xinghe."

    "More than anyone , I trust you , Xinghe."

    "I am not trusting just anyone. I am trusting my Xinghe. I am trusting the woman I love."

    As she recalled their conversation from a few days ago , Rong Xinghe''s heart was suddenly filled with confidence and courage. The girl slowly opened her eyes as she looked at her bro Lu with certainty ,"Inform the media , brother. And also call for an emergency shareholders meeting , Fang."

    Even when he wasn''t physically present beside her , her Yuan was still her biggest source of emotional and mental support. She didn''t knew if Xi Yuan had already had the premonitions about the attack , but his words back then proved to be the best encouragement she needed currently. In fact , Xi Yuan''s every smile , his every memory was Rong Xinghe''s only source of strength right now.

    ______________________

    Few hourster , the nation was yet again in an uproar. Country X''s Military Chief Rong Xinghe was going to rece the Business King Xi Yuan in the Xi Corporations , and not his own brother Xi Fang. This piece of news was confusing and shocking at the same time. After all , Xi Yuan was just an acquaintance with Rong Xinghe in front of the world. Although there were many couple fans shipping them , they both were mature enough to keep a low profile. So this decision waspletely unexpected for everyone.

    As a result , many rumors started spreading throughout the country. Some anonymous sources started iming that Rong Xinghe had intentionally manipted the Xi family and that she was an opportunist who wanted to step all over Xi Yuan when he was down. Most of these rumors were spread by the Rong empire from the dark. After all , how could they see Rong Xinghe bing the most influential person overnight ?

    But Xi Fang was also the brother of Xi Yuan. For him , it wasn''t too difficult to guess that the Rong family was involved in his sister-inw''s defamation. And since his brother wasn''t beside Rong Xinghe , her honor and safety were his responsibilities now.

    Hence , the man soon called for a press conference , so that he could face the judgements and usations himself. It was better for his sister-inw to stay away from the media at such a time. She was already having a tough time in the shareholders meeting at the Xi Corporations. She didn''t needed to tire herself out for the PR as well after doing so much for the Xi family.

    When asked about the reliability of the decision , the man lifted up his head and answered humbly ,"Since an entire business empire can''t run on its own , we have indeed requested Military Chief Rong Xinghe to take over from my brother."

    "What is the health status of President Yuan , Mr. Fang ?", one of the female reporters asked with concern.

    The moment his superhero was mentioned , Xi Fang clenched his fists as he felt a burning sensation in the corner of his eyes. In a weak and hoarse voice , the man replied softly ,"He is in a vegetative state currently. But we won''t be giving up on him just yet. I expect the same from our employees and the entire nation. Please pray for him."

    "Since you are the eldest son after Mr. Yuan , why didn''t you volunteered for the position of CEO , Mr. Fang ?"

    "I am not suited for the throne , sir.", the man nced at the reporter sitting in the dark. It seemed like he was the one hired by that crazy Rong family.

    The reporter chuckled coldly before he asked again ,"And what purpose does the Military Chief have behind involving with the Xi family''s personal matters ? This only makes her rtionship with Mr. Yuan look more ambiguous to the world."

    "What do you mean ?", Xi Ying frowned. Unlike Xi Fang , she couldn''t figure out that the journalist was nted by the Rong family.

    But before Xi Fang could stop the reporter , the manughed as if he had heard something funny ,"Actually , this swift possession over thepany shares can make anyone think that Ms. Xinghe is nothing but a mistress to Mr. Xi Yuan. A mistress , who is very dear to his heart !"

    The moment Xi Fang heard the reporter''s words , he mmed his hands against the table in front of him and red angrily at the man with the intention to cut him into thousands of tiny pieces at once. What a trap !

    This matter was definitely going to get out of control. He needed toe up with something quickly. But what could he do in front of such a huge crowd ?

    The only thing Xi Fang forgot was that , there were still those six sister-doting tigers alive , who were capable enough to protect their kiddo alone !

 Chapter 254: Protecting their Kiddos dignity

    Chapter 254: Protecting their Kiddo''s dignity

    Just when Xi Fang was thinking about a way to save his sister-inw''s reputation , the six men had their own ns. Ever since she was a child , they had carefully shaped her future. They had never allowed the Rong family''s sins to affect Rong Xinghe''s image. So how could they let their sister suffer this time ?

    As a result , every big screen installed in every street of Country X lit up as it started ying a ten minutes long video. Initially , the video showed Rong Xinghe''s works , till date. These works included the formation of Youth Team , NGO , motivational speeches and the girl''s sacrifices for her nation. The video showed how Rong Xinghe had boosted up Country X''s international standing after bing the nation''s Military Chief and how she had saved the lives of those 118dies , who were a victim of sex very in Syria. And after the eight minutes long video , the screens showed the screenshot of an e-mail sent to the six men. It was a message sent by Xi Yuan one day before the National Business Summit , which clearly stated that he had willingly passed on his shares to Rong Xinghe under no pressure or external influence.

    Of course , Xi Yuan had never sent such an e-mail before. It was just that Zhi Al was an infamous ethical hacker and it wasn''t tough for him to hack into Xi Yuan''s ount and send a convincing mail to the six of them while managing timepse at the same time. Zhi Al was actually a dignified and certified hacker and normally avoided using someone''s ount without their consent. But this time , his sister''s honor and dignity were at risk. And most importantly , the six men knew that Xi Yuan was in love with Rong Xinghe and that he would have also wished to protect her in every possible way.

    As soon as Xi Yuan''s written proof came in front of the entire nation , media was in an uproar. Even the reporters sitting inside the press conference arranged by Xi Fang were informed about it there and then. Nevertheless , the six men weren''t going to show mercy so soon as well.

    So just when the reporters in the press conference were done seeing the video , six dark figures made an entrance together followed by their personal security staff and a team ofwyers. And the moment these eminent personalities stepped inside the conference hall , the Xi trio and all the journalists were taken aback. It was rare for the six men to show up together at an event such as this one. But it wasn''t too unexpected as well. Since their lovely sister was involved in the matter , they weren''t going to sit idly by , anyway.

    The six men nced at the ck sea of cameras dangerously , sending a chill down everyone''s spine , before they strode towards the Xi trio standing on the stage. The men smiled approvingly at Xi Fang before Lu Wei patted the young man''s shoulder as a gesture of encouragement. It was nice to know that in the the Xi family , other than Xi Yuan , there was someone who cared about their sister. But his service wasn''t needed this soon. They were still the same six knights in shining armours they used to be ten years ago.

    At this time , Mo Zixuan diverted his attention at the group of silent reporters as his hawk-like eyesnded upon the paparazzi nted by the Rong family ,"How have you been you doing Mr. Xiu ? Junior reporter at GenEd News Channel , right ?"

    The moment the reporters in the conference heard Mo Zixuan''s cold tone , an unknown fear crept across their entire souls as they turned around to look at the pitiful journalist. Mo Zixuan was literally the God in the world of journalism. His authority was simply unquestionable , especially at an event like this one. He could literally decide the fate of every reporter present there , and the future of this ''Mr. Xiu'' didn''t seemed to be too bright. In fact , who knew whether the man had any future after today''s incident.

    Mo Zixuan wasn''t partial , but rational. He valued professional ethics more than anything. So he strictly condemned the use of vulgarnguage and hated unjust and judgemental nature of modern journalists. Naturally , Rong Xinghe''s defamation wasn''t eptable for him too. Firstly , she was his sister and secondly , she was the highest Military Authority of Country X. Disrespecting an individual like herself was already a serious crime under the national military protocols. What more , the six men had involved themselves here altogether.

    It was rare for the six men to make an appearance together but whenever that happened , there was bound to be a good show. Such immense disy of power and wealth was unforeseen and intimidating already. Just what was toe next ?

    Shortly after Mo Zixuan was done torturing the reporter with his menacing gaze , Zhi Al smiled wickedly at Mr. Xiu ,"He is scary sometimes , isn''t he ? I know !"

    The reporters let out an inaudibly awkwardughter as they listened to the statement made by third master of the Zhi family. Why were they feeling like they were captured by a group of terrorists and that they weren''t allowed to move or even breath without their permission ?!

    "By the way , Mr. Xiu , how much did the Rong family funded you this time ? One hundred million rmb , right ? That''s huge !", Zhi Al chuckled coldly as he pinched his chin and fixed his gaze on the reporter.

    The moment the Rong family was mentioned , the crowd broke into murmurs while the reporter nted by the Rong family stood up frantically as he looked at Zhi Al with a panic-stricken and nervous expression ,"S...sir , I .... didn''t ..."

    "Its alright , Mr. Xiu.", Zhi Bo smiled wryly ,"Money is like a mirage. It doesn''t allow one to look at things clearly. Just like how you weren''t able to judge right from wrong. What a pity !"

    The screen behind Xi Fang started showing the evidences of money transfer between the reporter and the Rong family at this time. One of Rong Xinghe''s trustworthy soldiers walked in , followed by that. The young officer shook hands with the six men respectfully before he turned around to look at Mr. Xiu.

    "The Prime Minister already had had looked through the proofs and trusts Mr. Alpletely regarding the matter. You are left with only two choices , Mr. Xiu. Either you leave Country X along with your family before tomorrow''s sunrise , or surrender yourself to the military''s testing center. The forces require human subjects to experiment their explosives upon , so we would love to wee you there.", the officer said in a robotic manner.

    "I... am really sorry , Mr. Lu ! Please don''t do this to me. I can''t let my family live a life of refugee , sir ! Please !", the reporter was terrified by the soldier''s words as he started begging to Lu Wei for mercy ,"You are the eldest in the Superfamily , Mr. Lu ! Please forgive me this one time. Since Ms. Rong isn''t here , I can only apologize to you. I am sorry , Mr. Lu."

    Lu Wei nced at the pitiful man before he looked at the watch gifted to him by his kiddo as he replied in a cold and emotionless tone ,"I have never been merciful to the people insulting my sister or wife before. So there isn''t going to be any exception today. Out of my sight !"

    "No , Mr Lu , mercy !"

    As the military soldiers dragged the reporter away from the conference hall , the remaining journalists'' backs stiffened involuntarily. That was way too frightening ! Being kicked out of the nation just because he harmed their sister''s reputation...

    They needed to chose their words wisely and properly today , no matter what !

    After the silence spread through the hall , Zhi Xi finally picked up a mic and faced the ck sea of cameras seriously ,"So... any more questions about the Military Chief''s or to be precise , our sister''s character ,dies and gentlemen ?"

    Reporters : "...."

    No lord , we wouldn''t dare to !

 Chapter 255: "Please wake up , love !"

    Chapter 255: "Please wake up , love !"

    As Zhi Xi noticed that the reporters were too afraid to ask anything , he took in a deep breath and started speaking himself ,"Alright then. We would like to make certain things clear from our side. Actually , we will be supporting our sister , no matter what she decides. The country doesn''t need to worry about its security. Military Chief wouldn''tpromise this position for anything in the world. The nation and its safety has always been her first and foremost priority.

    "She will be sharing her other responsibilities with us , though. It is impossible for the Military Chief to manage so many tasks at once. Not to mention , she is a migraine patient as well. Naturally , her family and friends are going to stand by her side at such a time. I will be taking over the Rong Corporations from her for the time being and Mr. William Young will be managing the Youth Team. Meanwhile , the seconddy , Rong Xiao , will be helping with the NGO."

    Lu Wei adjusted his tie and continued further ,"And regarding the matters with the Xi Corporations , this is indeed the truth that she is going to temporarily take over the business empire from President Yuan , who isn''t in his best health currently. Wepletely support this decision of hers as well.

    "Before discussing the depth of their rtionship , one should know that their rtionship had established with the foundation of a pure friendship. And it is normal for friends to support each other during tough times , right ?"

    After a few seconds of silence , there was a murmur of agreement from the group of reporters as they nodded their heads at each other. There was no point stretching this topic anymore. The rtionship between Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan was clearly a beautiful and serene one. Whether it was of friendship or that of romance , the man and the woman were a perfect match. So there was nothing wrong in Rong Xinghe taking over the Xi business empire.

    But there were still many questions running through their heads. So one of the journalist raised his hand and directed his question towards Xi Fang ,"Sir , it is a matter of record that you were going to get engaged to Ms. Jiang Yue tomorrow. But after everything that is happening in the Xi family now , what are your ns for the future ?"

    Xi Fang took a deep breath before he answered emptily ,"I hope the Ms. Jiang would forgive me for my actions , but I cannot celebrate such a grand day of my life without the presence of brother Yuan. He is no less than the almighty God for me. Hence , his blessings matter a lot to me." the man felt a burning sensation in the corner of his eyes at this time. He simply bowed down and wiped his tears as he mumbled in a choked and weak voice ,"I am sorry , Yue. I love you but my responsibilities... are calling for me. Xiao Xinghe needs my assistance currently. But you are suffering a lot too. I am really sorry , Yue."

    ___________________

    Night , 10:00 p.m.

    City Hospital ,

    Rong Xinghe walked into the Private ward tiredly as she held onto some files in her hands. The girl smiled sadly at the man sleeping motionlessly on the bed and dropped the stack of documents upon the couch in the corner of the room. She then approached the man and sat down on the stool beside the bed as she held the man''s hand into hers and kissed it softly.

    "How have you been today ? Were the doctors nice to you ? Okay , let me tell you about what happened today. I did what you wanted me to do , Yuan. I walked into the headquarters of Xi Corporations and imed my right to be the CEO of the business group. Initially , the shareholders didn''t weed me warmly. But then they eventually epted your wish.

    "Then I walked into your office. You know I saw your workce for the first time and that was so ssy and mesmerizing. You sure have a great choice , Mr. Xi. But I didn''t dared to sit on your throne. Even if the Queen is managing the empire in absence of the King , the throne will still belong to you.

    "Other than that , my brothers showed up together in the press conference organized by the Xi family and helped Fang to deal with the reporters. They were pretty ruthless today. But that is also the cutest trait they possess. The protective and vignt six tigers of mine !

    "Fang was in a pretty weak state , though. You know you were right. No one can understand your siblings better than you. You had already told me that Fang would be the most devastated one , if something ever happened to you , and see. He was so shattered , Yuan. He even postponed his wedding ns until the time when you would wake up."

    At this time , tears started flowing down the girl''s eyes as she hugged the man''s hand even more tightly ,"Please wake up , love ! For me , for your Xinghe. I am so helpless without you. I feel like my heart is being pricked by thousands of needles endlessly all day. This... this is so suffocating. This show and these fake smiles are all so suffocating.

    "I want you , Yuan. I need you ! Pleasee back to me. Come back to your Xinghe. She is waiting for you. Mr. Xi , Rong Xinghe loves you ! Did you hear me ? I love... you.", the girl kept on crying for the entire night before she finally fell asleep beside the man. The only question left was , that what was this beautiful couple destined for ?

 Chapter 256: The approval from her six tigers...

    Chapter 256: The approval from her six tigers...

    Next morning , the six men walked into Xi Yuan''s private ward to check on him and that was when they realized that the girl was already sleeping there. In fact , she had spent the entire night beside the man''s bed. Zhi Al gently lifted the girl up and helped her sleepfortably on the couch while Mo Zixuan covered her with a nket.

    "Mm... Yuan...", the girl mumbled tiredly in her sleep before she turned around and hugged the extra pillow tightly.

    As they looked at the fatigue stricken across their kiddo''s face , the six men couldn''t help but feel their heart ache for the girl.

    "Just how much does she loves him that she doesn''t care about her own health ?", Lu Wei sighed helplessly.

    "Yeah. By the way , Rogguang , what are his chances of surviving ?", Zhi Xi fixed his gaze on the man lying on the bed.

    Su Rogguang called for the doctors on duty and analyzed the reports before he replied ,"There is no progress recorded till now. He isn''t simply willing to wake up. Not to mention , he was shot pretty badly before he came here. His immunity is already weak. I cannot say anything currently , you know. His condition is very unpredictable. But one thing is for sure. Xinghe will have to be patient and courageous , both at the same time. And it is getting difficult for me to see her like that...."

    "I just feel that we were wrong for trying to keep her away from him. If we observe closely , Yuan is actually a nice guy. He prioritizes our kiddo. He had never forced her for any sort of exnations. In fact , he valued her presence and fulfilled her every wish , no matter how childish it would be.", Zhi Al muttered as he patted the girl''s head softly.

    Zhi Bo nodded his head in approval ,"I realized that too. It was just that protecting her had be a habit after all these years. We had developed this belief that everyone entering her life intended to hurt her. And after what that Zhou Che did to her , it wasn''t easy to allow Yuan into her life."

    "I know. But now that we are finally epting their rtionship , this has happened. I just don''t understand why these two are destined for so many struggles. Ever since they both were young , they have been facing challenges and pain continuously. Don''t they deserve happiness as well ?", Mo Zixuan pinched the space between his brows tiredly.

    While the six men were discussing Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan''s rtionship , few drops of tears silently soaked the blue pillow cover. Rong Xinghe closed her eyes forcibly as her lips shivered involuntarily. The girl tried her best to not turn around and hug her bro Al tightly. She knew that her tears would only make her six tigers more anxious and worried , and that was thest thing she wanted now. How could she stay strong if her six pirs of strength and love were to weaken up ?

    Ah ! Only if her love could listen to this approval from her family.... This was something her Yuan had always wanted. But now that she loved him , he couldn''t hear her confessions. Why ? Just why was this happening to them ?!

    ________________________

    Four monthster ,

    "I still don''t understand this sister-inw. Why aren''t you involving the police and judiciary in the ''Werewolf Crew'' incident ? Why are you not interrogating Mr. Xi ?", Xi Fang adjusted the air conditioner''s temperature in Xi Yuan''s room as he spoke with Rong Xinghe on the phone.

    Xi Yuan was brought back to the Elite Saphhire Penthouse after one month of observation in the City hospital. ording to many renowned medical majors , it didn''t mattered if a person in vegetative state , stayed in hospital or home. Rong Xinghe also thought that change in surroundings could help Xi Yuan , so there wasn''t any problem in bringing him back. Most importantly , the penthouse had given home to many of the memories she and Xi Yuan had made together. Naturally , the ce was more lively aspared to those cold hospital walls.

    Rong Xinghe rolled her eyes when Xi Fang addressed her as ''sister-inw''. What could she do of these Xi trio ? So stubborn !

    "We have discussed this already many times Fang. I am secretly investigating the ''Werewolf Crew'' and your father''s connection with it. I will deal with this matter in my own personal way. I wasn''t too connected to your grandparents. But the ''Werewolf Crew'' has harmed Yuan as well. And no one can beat Rong Xinghe when ites to plotting revenge. Don''t worry about it , Fang.", the girl replied indifferently as she signed Xi Corporations'' merger documents simultaneously.

    After some seconds of silence , Xi Fang cleared his throat and spoke up in an emotionless tone ,"Don''t call him my father , sis-inw..."

    "Fang... it could have been a misunderstanding. A mere photo can''t prove him guilty. The investigator hired by Yuan is still missing and he hadn''t clearly detailed the source of the photo back then. Don''t spoil rtionships , unless you are sure that it wasn''t a misconception.", the girl stopped her actions and took a deep breath.

    "The ''Werewolf Crew'' thing might be a misinterpretation , but the way they tried to drift me and brother apart was never a misunderstanding. I still remember how they wished for me to rece my brother in thepany. Instead of encouraging me to do my best in whatever I liked , they kept on forcing me to outshine brother. Sister-inw , don''t try to talk me out of this. Its fine.", the man smiled weakly as he sat down beside the motionless Xi Yuan and observed him carefully. This had be one of Xi Fang''s daily routine now. He took note of every change in his brother''s position three times a day , hoping that the man would actually wake up soon.

    And to his shock , he felt as if Xi Yuan''s index finger moved slightly. Initially , he thought that he was hallucinating and that it was all his wishful thinking. But as soon as he turned around to drink a ss of water , the man behind him gasped and woke up with a jolt.

    At first , the man faced quite a difficulty in breathing for sometime. But after adjusting to the surrounding environment , Xi Yuan finally pronounced a word in a weak and hoarse voice ,"Xinghe !"

 Chapter 257: "Screw the grand confession !"

    Chapter 257: "Screw the grand confession !"

    "Xinghe !"

    The moment the familiarly deep voice faintly reached her ears , Rong Xinghe''s mind went nkpletely and her grip on the phone tightened. The girl tried her best to not make a single sound , fearing that she might not be able to hear the voice again. But no matter how hard she tried , she couldn''t calm her rapidly beating heart.

    "F...Fang , wa...was that him ?", the girl asked anxiously.

    Xi Fang was in quite a shock too. But as soon as he turned around , he saw that Xi Yuan was struggling to separate the IV drip from his arm. The man quickly threw his phone away and rushed towards the man worriedly ,"Brother ! What are you trying to do ?! Oh my god ! You are finally... Don''t get up. Lie down. Let me call the doctors. No !"

    As the girl listened to Xi Fang''s anxious shrieks , her hand involuntarily stretched for the car keys on the table and she ran out of her office hurriedly. She needed to see him as soon as possible.

    _______________________

    Soon enough , doctors arrived at the Elite Saphhire Penthouse and checked on Xi Yuan''s condition patiently , giving attention to every little and minor detail. The Xi family , along with the Superfamily , had also gathered inside the man''s room. But Xi Yuan''s eyes were still searching for someone who hadn''t arrived yet.

    "Mr. Yuan''s condition is stable now. Although his body is still pretty weak , he will be able to recuperate more easily now. We will provide you with a proper diet chart and medication n for him. Please follow it and contact us if anyplication urs.", the doctorsmented and took their leave as Xi Wei escorted them out.

    Xi Fang remained silent for sometime before he hugged Xi Yuan tightly as his voice choked up ,"We missed you..."

    "You took a lot of time to wake up , brother !", Xi Ying yelled at the man before she joined into the hug as well.

    Xi Yuan sighed as he wiped his sister''s tears ,"I am sorry..."

    After sometime , Zhi Al cleared his throat as he nced at Xi Yuan ,"By the way , I hacked into your e-mail ount to send mails to the six of us. I would like to apologize for that. It was just that Xinghe had decided to take over Xi Corporations and we had to take care of the PR. I hope you won''t mind."

    Xi Yuan frowned as he asked weakly ,"Is she... still managing... the business ?"

    Lu Wei nodded his head ,"She is. I would like to have a word with you about it after you recover , though. After all , there has been a lot of pressure on her recently. Just what were you thinking when you..."

    "Wei ! He has just got back his consciousness. Could you not talk about the business now ?", Ningtao cut in. She red at her husband angrily. Was it really necessary to intimidate a weak patient ? But for Rong Xinghe''s brothers , her health wasn''t something trivial too. And same was the case with Xi Yuan.

    The man fixed his gaze on his younger brother , who was sitting beside him ,"Fang , could you... be any less.... stubborn ?"

    Xi Fang was just about to exin himself to the man , when the sound of approaching footsteps was heard in the room. Few secondster , a tall figure rushed into the room , demanding everyone''s attention. As soon as the girl''s eyes met with those of the man , their breathing steadied and the world around them somewhat quietened down.

    Involuntarily , a stream of tears flowed down the girl''s eyes and she sat down on the edge of the man''s bed carefully , paying close attention to not touch his wounds or medical drips. The man naturally understood the woman''s concerns more than anyone as he gently ced the girl''s hand into his and smiled at her warmly ,"Don''t punish me... like this , Ma''jolie. Your every... touch is miraculous. Don''t stay... away."

    Unfortunately , the man''s words weren''t able to calm the girl down. Instead , she rested her head against the man''s shoulder and started crying even more , allowing all her fears and pains to flow down with the tears. The man didn''t uttered a single word , and neither did the two families. They knew very well that she needed this. She needed time to believe that her Yuan was finally back. And it was perfectly alright...

    After sometime , the girl separated herself from the man and looked at him seriously. Xi Yuan caressed the girl''s hair lovingly as a smile appeared across his lips ,"What do you... want to say , Xinghe ?"

    Rong Xinghe contemted for roughly two minutes before she finally looked at the man ,"Screw the grand confession."

    Without bothering about the people around them , the girl leaned in on the man and closed the distance between their lips. Xi Yuan groaned softly, low in his throat, and then his arms circled her , providing the girl with some support. He wasn''t simply able to process the sudden change. Rong Xinghe wasn''t clearly the type of woman to act impulsively. Why was he feeling like this was something else ? Something , which was very important for him to know ! What confession was she talking about just now ?

    Only when Xi Yuan started having difficulty in breathing , did Rong Xinghe allowed him to part from her. The girl held onto the man''s both hands tightly before she smiled sweetly at him ,"Xi Yuan , I love you !"

    "Huh ?!", the man looked at the girl with a shocked expression. What... just happened now ? What did she meant by that ?

    The girl also naturally understood the man''s reaction. She had really made him wait for a long time for this. She was at fault here.

    So the girl hugged the man gently and whispered her confession softly in his ear ,"Mr. Xi , I , Rong Xinghe , love you from the depth of my heart. I am sorry to make you wait for this , dear. I wanted to tell you about my feelings after Fang''s engagement , but circumstances turned against us before that.

    "You showed a lot of patience , Yuan. You waited for me to deal with my past and priorities. That was very sweet of you. But I can''t test your patience anymore. I really love you. I love you more than my life , Xi Yuan !"

 Chapter 258: Like a wild little kitten

    Chapter 258: Like a wild little kitten

    Xi Yuan initially felt like he was hearing things. Was the girl of his dreams actually confessing her love to him ? Did she really put aside all her fears and past experiences for the sake of their rtionship ? For the world , Rong Xinghe''s confession wasn''t anything extraordinary. But for Xi Yuan , this was her biggest gift to him. The fact that she was finally willing to give their rtionship a chance after what she had gone through in the Zhou family , was pretty courageous of her. It also meant that she trusted him with her heart. This... was probably the best feeling he had ever experienced before.

    After few seconds of silence , the man gently cupped the girl''s face with both his palms and looked at her seriously ,"Say it once... again , Xinghe."

    The girl smiled amid her tears as she repeated her confession twice ,"I love you , darling. I love you so much !"

    Next second , the girl was pulled into a tight hug as the man buried his face into her shoulders silently. Rong Xinghe felt the man''s moist and hot tears against her neck and that made her feel like her heart was being pricked by thousands of needles at once. The girl had no option , but to let Xi Yuan do as he wished. His tears were no less than any torture for her. But she deserved to be punished like this , for she had made him wait for such a long period of time.

    The man separated himself from the girl and smiled at her tenderly ,"I love you too."

    "I know.", the girl chuckled.

    "Are you guys done with your PDA ?!", at this time , Xi Wei loosened his tie and expressed his anger ,"I am still single. Just show some mercy , your highness !"

    "We won''t.", the couple smirked at the young man together.

    The two families : "....."

    _______________________

    One weekter , Xi Yuan finally recuperatedpletely and was allowed by doctors to start working again.

    Initially , the man was displeased when he got to know that Rong Xinghe had to overexert herself because Xi Fang had rejected the offer to rece him. He understood that Xi Fang loved and respected him , but being insensitive to his woman was no different than hurting him. Anyhow , before he could confront Xi Fang , Rong Xinghe pacified him as she exined how efficiently Xi Fang had assisted her in thepany. Even though he wasn''t the CEO , he still took initiative in managing most of the business projects , in order to not affect her health.

    Xi Yuan realized that the past four months had brought the Xi trio and Rong Xinghe more closer than before. They had connected so much that Rong Xinghe wasn''t willing to hear even a word against them. In fact , the man felt that Rong Xinghe had suddenly became more protective towards the Xi trio than even he was.

    Soon , the news of Xi Yuan waking up from thea and being all set to join back the business world , started circting across the nation. Obviously , every Xi Corporations'' employee was excited by this piece of news. Although they didn''t had any problem under Rong Xinghe''s management , but Xi Yuan was still the only Business King in the business world.

    As she looked at the news headlines , Rong Xinghe couldn''t help but smile helplessly ,"Seems like Mr. Xi has quite a fan base."

    Xi Yuanughed and got up from his bed as he poured a ss of juice to the girl ,"It isn''t new for me."

    "What do you mean ?"

    "When I took over Xi Corporations at the age of eighteen , it was even more of an uproar. Apparently , I was too young for that position back then.", the man passed the ss to the girl before he started removing his shirt.

    As the man''s toned and well-built body came in front of her , Rong Xinghe started showing her littledy devil wings ,"Are you trying to tempt and arouse my inner tigress , Mr. Xi ? Don''t overestimate my self-control."

    Xi Yuan was taken aback by the girl''s flirtatious tone. What the hell was this girl thinking ? He was simply intending to change his shirt. How did he provoke her ? This was the entirely different Rong Xinghe , though. So this was how his woman was , when in love. Like a wild little kitten !

    Since she wanted to y the game , he was naturally going to y along.

    "We aim to impress , mydy.", the man chuckled mischievously before he intentionally pressed the girl against his bedroom wall and closed the distance between them slowly ,"So... How was the performance , baby ?"

    Xi Yuan''s every single touch could make Rong Xinghe''s cheeks burn easily. But now that he had addressed her by the term ''baby'' for the first time , it was a whole new different feeling. The man''s such actions reminded her that they were actually in a rtionship of romance. And that it wasn''t just a dream. Their rtionship was no more a simple friendship now.

    "Xinghe..."

    "Huh ?", the girl looked at the man , absent-minded.

    "You are the most beautiful woman in this world , especially when you blush like that.", the man sighed ,"It makes me want to kiss you."

    "Then who stopped you ?", the girlughed.

    Xi Yuan raised his brows ever so slightly ,"Actually , that''s right ! You are mine now. No one can protect you from me anymore. Soe here , girlfriend !"

    Eventually , the couple ended up sharing an intimate and intense moment among themselves.

 Chapter 259: Never going to leave her alone again

    Chapter 259: Never going to leave her alone again

    While the couple were busy kissing each other , Xi Wei walked in followed by Xi Fang. As he witnessed the passionate scene unfold in front of him , Xi Wei couldn''t help but roll his eyes at the lovey-dovey duo.

    "Sister-inw ! You are spoiling him with all that love now.", the young manined.

    Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe separated from each other as they red at the two men with an annoyed expression. How troublesome !

    "Good morning , Sister-inw.", Xi Fang smiled at Rong Xinghe before he presented Xi Yuan with a Maroon suit ,"Bro , you have a press conference in next two hours. We need to officially announce youreback."

    "Hmm.", the man nodded , rushing towards the washroom ,"I will shower first. Keep the suit on the bed. And darling , what would you like to have for breakfast ? Just tell the butler about it , okay ?"

    "Okie dokie !", Rong Xinghe smiled cheekily as she left the man''s bedroom , her two ''brother-inws'' following her.

    "Xiao Xinghe , um... wasn''t that too much ?!", Xi Wei asked , irritated. He had heard the word ''darling'' from his brother for the first time , after all ! At least , they could''ve warned him before disying this level of affection of theirs...

    "What ''too much'' ?!" , the girl pouted ,"You walked in at the wrong time. Was that our fault ? Next time , simply knock the door before disturbing us."

    Xi Fangughed as he pulled a chair for Rong Xinghe at the breakfast table ,"Don''t bother listening to him , sister-inw. You both look perfect together. Although I and Yue were in rtionship since high school , our chemistry still doesn''t match up with you both. You guys are amazing. I will be needing your tips in near future !"

    The moment the girl heard Xi Fang''s words , she subconsciously looked at him worriedly.

    "I will be needing all your tips , sister-inw !"

    Those were some familiar words. The words she had heard after roughly seven years. Zhou Che''s brother , Zhou Zhichen , used to say that to her , almost everyday. When she was in rtionship with Zhou Che , Zhou Zhichen was the first Zhou family member she had met. Zhou Zhichen''s liveliness could easily win over anyone''s interest. She was no exception. Zhou Zhichen used to admire her and Zhou Che''s bonding the most. But Zhichen was no more now , and so was her and Zhou Che''s rtionship.

    Nevertheless , she didn''t regretted her breakup at all. For her , no one could ever rece Xi Yuan in her life now. Her man wasn''t anything like Zhou Che. He not only loved her , but respected and cherished her presence. He was the most patient and sweet person she had ever seen before.

    Zhou Che... was just her past now. Her soul and her heart could only be possessed by her Yuan now. It was just that it was impossible for her to forget Zhou Zhichen. He was , after all , her deceased friend. Naturally , Xi Fang''s words reminded her of Zhou Zhichen.

    "What is it , sister-inw ?", Xi Fang asked.

    "Uh...nothing. Can I get some water ?", the girl shook her head as she broke out of her trance.

    At this time , Xi Yuan came out of his bedroom and strode towards Rong Xinghe , cing a soft kiss against her forehead , he sat down beside her ,"So... what''s there for the breakfast ?"

    "Anything you want , sir.", the old butler bowed down.

    "Don''t do that , please.", Xi Yuan frowned ."How many times do I need to tell about it ? You have been serving the Xi family since my grandfather was the President. You are my elder. Don''t bow down like that again. And you can address me by my name. It makes me really ufortable. I am just like your own grandson , butler Zheng."

    "Alright , Master."

    Rong Xinghe smiled at the handsome yet humble man beside her as warmth spread across her heart. This... was the man she loved ! There was no chance he could be ever reced in her life...

    Xi Yuan diverted his attention back at the girl before he smiled at her and fed her with some of his oats. This girl had really affected her health for his sake this time , and that made his heart ache so much. He would never put on so much pressure on her again , no matter what. And he would never leave her alone like this time anymore... After all , his Xinghe had suffered a lot already !

    Few minutester , the man''s phone rang and he picked it up , absent-minded ,"Hello ?"

    "President Xi , I am the security in-charge of Elite Saphhire. There is someone to visit Military Chief here."

    "Who ?", Xi Yuan asked.

    "President Zhou Che from the Zhou Corporations."

    The man nced at Rong Xinghe before he passed the phone to the girl ,"Do whatever you want. I will be backing you up."

    The girl listened to the security in-charge and shook her head helplessly. She already knew that Zhou Che had already known about the reality behind Zhou Zhichen''s death. Her brothers had told her about that earlier. So obviously , Zhou Che''s arrival wasn''t unexpected. He had been busy with retrieving his business losses abroad , so wasn''t able to meet her. But he was back in Country X now.

    "Pass the phone to Che."

    "Yes , Ma''am !", the security in-charge followed the orders and handed his phone over to Zhou Che ,"Ma''am wants to speak to you , Mr. Zhou."

    Zhou Che nervously brought the phone to his ear and closed his eyes. The girl... was so close yet so far from him. Finally , after few seconds of silence , the man spoke up in a hoarse and dull voice ,"Xinghe..."

    "Speak.", the girl said , without any trace of emotion in her tone. Neither anger , nor pain. ording to her , he wasn''t worth any of that.

    Her voice was like a wave of a ocean that brushed over his heart and provided her with a unique feeling of relief. The man cleared his throat before few tears slipped down his eyes ,"I... How are you ? I am standing outside outside Elite Saphhire. Your... security staff told me that you were with Mr. Xi. Xinghe .... let''s just talk. I will not take too much of your time. I want you to... really give our rtionship a.... second chance. Just once..."

    "Get out !", the girl clenched her fists before she roared akin to a tigress.

    "Xinghe..."

    "I said out , Mr. Zhou !"

 Chapter 260: "Oh , I love this man !"

    Chapter 260: "Oh , I love this man !"

    The girl''s words were akin to a tight p across Zhou Che''s face. She had directly rejected the idea of meeting him. For some unknown reason , he suddenly felt as if someone was trying to strangle him to death. Did this mean that he had no chance to even see her again ? How could he live all his life burdened by the regrets of his wrongdoings ? He couldn''t definitely afford to live like that. That would be too suffocating for him...

    Most importantly , ever since he had known about the truth behind Zhou Zhichen''s death , he had started to think everything from Rong Xinghe''s perspective. Because that was his only mistake six years ago. Had he trusted Rong Xinghe''s intentions all those years back , the circumstances would''ve been quite different now. So he was going to take things slowly this time.

    "I will wait.", the man smiled sadly.

    Rong Xinghe raised her brows ever so slightly as a smirk appeared across her lips ,"Get out of Yuan''s territory in the next five seconds !"

    As soon as the girl was done saying this , the phone got disconnected , leaving Zhou Che in a state of shock. Yuan ? Did the girl actually addressed someone as influential as Xi Yuan so intimately ? What was their rtionship exactly ?

    But as soon as the possibility came to his mind , Zhou Che pushed it away. They must be friends , he thought. Moreover , if Xi Yuan was the King of business world , Rong Xinghe was the Irondy of Country X too. It waspletely normal for the both of them to be acquainted with each other. With this exnation to his heart , Zhou Che turned around and left. Temporarily. Until and unless he apologized to her face-to-face , he wasn''t going to back down.

    Meanwhile , Rong Xinghe didn''t cared about the matter at all. Her entire heart was now possessed by a certain someone now. The girl ced a soft kiss against the man''s lips before she pulled out her revolver ,"Time for the Military Chief to pull up her socks , gentlemen."

    Xi Yuan smiled and stood up from his seat as he adjusted his suit. Although he knew that working for the armed forces had always been risky for the girl , this was not something he could hinder her from doing. She loved it. She loved working for a greater cause. Making someone smile and feel safe , ensuring empowerment of numerous lives , was what she enjoyed doing. Then how could he stop his love from doing what she loved ? All he could do was pray and wish for her safety. The most powerful man in Country X waspletely helpless against the woman he loved.

    "I can handle everything in Xi Corporations from here , Xinghe.", the man caressed the girl''s hair lovingly ,"You need not bother facing media. Just be safe."

    "Of course , I wille with you to the press conference. I will go to Military Chief office only after dropping you to Xi Corporations'' headquarters.", the womanughed.

    "But this will be our first public appearance together. The journalists might ask you something offensive. And you know my temper.", the man resisted. Rong Xinghe''s honor was his responsibility. If someone was to disrespect his woman , the consequences were bound to be dire.

    "I bet the media will maintain its decorum after what my brothers did during thest conference.", Rong Xinghe chuckled ,"I aming. Please ?"

    "OK", the man sighed.

    ________________________

    "How is your health now , President Xi ?", one of the reporters asked as Xinguan entered the

    crowded conference hall followed by the Xi trio.

    "I am fine now.", Xi Yuan replied after he helped Rong Xinghe sitfortably.

    The reporters were given the chance to interview Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe only after the girl handed over the position of Xi Corporations'' CEO to him rightfully.

    "President Xi , firstly , wee back to the world of business. I would simply like to ask how the incident took ce , out of nowhere ?", a female reporter raised her query.

    Xi Yuan took a deep breath before he clenched his fists beneath the table. At this time , a long slender hand brushed against his palms and held onto his one hand tightly. The man looked at the girl beside him. She was smiling encouragingly at him as if she was saying ''Everything is going to be fine''. That was right. What was there for him to worry about now ? He had the most amazing person in the world standing beside him , after all.

    "Well... the police department is still investigating the matter. So the matter is currently confidential. Since it is an affair of government record , they will be the ones handling it. I would just like the employees and customers of Xi Corporations to know that I am mostly recovered and that I will be managing Xi Corporations hereafter.", the man said as the day of the incident started floating in front of his eyes.

    "Sir , can we know the reason behind you transferring your shares to Military Chief Rong ?", another papparazzi asked.

    "Is there anyone more worthy of this position than her ?", the man smiled , as he kept holding onto the girl''s hand beneath the table ,"Fang has the first right to rece me in the Xi Corporations and he has the potential to do that. But he wasn''t mentally prepared for the sudden incident at that time.

    "Xinghe is my friend. I admire her and I respect her. Most of you know that we met at a party organized by her best friend William Young. Since then , she has been a close friend. I trust her from the bottom of my heart. I knew that she was the only one who could help my family during my absence. So I discussed my concerns with her one day and she epted my request without any second thought. I have no words to express my gratitude to her. All I can say is that , I was extremely lucky to have met her in this lifetime."

    The journalists were taken aback by Xi Yuan''s not-so-robotic tone. Howe he sounded so sweet and considerate today ? Were they hearing things ?

    After some seconds of silence , another female journalist spoke up ,"What does Military Chief have to say about Mr. Xi''s words ?"

    Rong Xingheughed softly and took a deep breath before she supported her chin with her hand and ced her gaze on the stunning man sitting beside her ,"Oh , I love this man !"

    Xi Yuan : "....."

    Hadn''t she decided to keep their rtionship a secret for now ? What was going on in that little havoc-causing head of hers now ?!

 Chapter 261: His best medicine

    Chapter 261: His best medicine

    As soon as the journalists heard Rong Xinghe''s words , the conference hall was in an uproar suddenly. They stood up from their seats and violently pointed their mikes towards Xi Yuan , so they could record his reaction with uracy. After all , almost entire Country X was shipping this couple from the past one year. If what Rong Xinghe said was really true , then it was bound to be a sensational breaking news.

    Meanwhile , Xi Yuan kept staring at the mischievous littledy devil beside him , with a muddled expression. Just how was the girl expecting him to react now ?!

    Rong Xinghe realized what she had blurted out a moment ago , only when her eyes met with Xi Yuan''s helpless ones. Crap ! She wouldn''t have been distracted like this , had this man not looked so striking hot today. Anyhow , she had to handle this situation now. After all , she was the one to create the entire mess. But now when she thought about it , this could be a beneficial opportunity for her as well...

    The girl cleared her throat and tapped onto the mike in front of her before she spoke up with a cheeky smile ,"Actually , Mr. Xi is my crush. But he refuses to marry me. Can my fans help me propose him , please ?"

    The journalists exchanged nces among themselves and looked back at the girl before they finally convinced themselves that Rong Xinghe was just kidding. Eventually , they broke out into a nervousughter as well and sat back on their seats. As expected of the nation''s Military Chief... unexpected and incredible !

    "In case I am spotted flirting with Mr. Xi someday , I hope the media and fans will not trouble us.", the girlughed at the cameras ,"He is so charming that it gets difficult for me to restrain myself."

    Xi Yuan red at the girl before he shook his head and smiled to himself. She was literally making a membership pass for herself ! The woman deliberately pretended as if he was her crush , so that she could easily flirt around with him anywhere and anytime , not bothering about the pressure from media. She was indeed his adorable wild little kitten. How smart !

    "What are your opinions about Ms. Rong''s words , President Xi ? Have you really rejected her proposal to marriage ?", a reporter directed his question towards the man with excitement.

    Xi Yuan pinched the space between his brows as he muttered under his breath ,"I don''t know what to do of this girl !"

    Next moment , the man grabbed onto Rong Xinghe''s hand and dragged her out of the conference hall , as the journalists tried to follow behind them but were stopped by the security staff hired by the couple. Anyhow , even if the interview was a short one , it was worth it. They were able to shoot Rong Xinghe''s sweet yet cheeky confession , along with Xinguan holding each other''s hands. These two footage clips alone could easily boost the ratings of their channels for two weeks , at least. And clearly , Xi Yuan''s standpoint regarding the matter was still unknown. Both , the man and the woman , surely knew how to put on an interesting show ! They had a lot to research on now...

    ___________________

    Meanwhile , Xi Yuan hauled the girl to his office and closed the door impatiently. The man then leaned in onto the girl as he trapped her against the door with his body. He loosened his tie before a smirk appeared across his lips.

    "What was that ?", the man asked.

    As the heat between their bodies increased , Rong Xinghe felt slightly intimidated. This man... How could his presence be so imposing ? Even she couldn''t survive that maizing smile of his !

    Finally , after calming down her rapidly beating heart , the girl pulled the man''s cheeks and hooked her arms around Xi Yuan''s neck ,"What can I do ? I couldn''t control myself. Its better for the world to beware of my crazy and dangerous side , baby!"

    Xi Yuan couldn''t help , butugh at the girl''s cute attempt to appear seductive for him ,"So you want to y around publicly , while I am not even allowed to respond back ? Don''t you think that''s unfair to me ?"

    "What do you mean ?", the girl asked , confused by the man''s deep tone.

    "Don''t overestimate my self control , Military Chief. Else , you will have to face the consequences eventually.", the man smiled as he provocatively closed the distance between him and his woman ,"For instance , the way you publicly staked your im upon me today , you have no idea what that did to me."

    Rong Xinghe simply looked into the man''s maizing eyes , and the silent message wasn''t difficult for her to read. After all , she understood her Yuan and his desires more than anyone else in this world. Next second , the girl closed her eyes as she ced her lips softly upon Xi Yuan''s.

    In response , the man responded with the same passion and fire in his heart. He suddenly had the urge to melt into her. It was getting very difficult for him to control himself now. But then again , Rong Xinghe''s consent was more important than anything else for him. And he just knew that the girl wasn''t ready for it yet.

    And his Xinghe''sfort and happiness had always been his first priority , and that was never going to change in this lifetime.

    Only when the man started feeling ufortable , did Rong Xinghe parted from him. The girl worriedly brought a ss of water to the man before she pulled out her phone and opened the emergency contacts list. But before the girl could call Su Rogguang , Xi Yuan snatched away her phone and rested his head over Rong Xinghe''s shoulder.

    "I... am fine. Calm down , sweetheart.", the man smiled weakly ,"I simply need you. My best medicine..."

    Helplessly , the girl rubbed the man''s back as she breathed a sigh of relief ,"Yuan... Don''t scare me like that again , please. I won''t be able to live , I will weaken up. Without you... I just can''t..."

    Xi Yuan lifted his head up and looked at the tears rolling down his Xinghe''s eyes. That made his heart ache even more. Her pain , her tears , her grief... They were his only weaknesses.

    "I will never , Xinghe. I will never leave you. Promise !", the man replied anxiously ,"Just stop crying. You know I can''t see you like that. Please. I am sorry. I am so sorry for scaring you."

    "Make it up to me then.", the girl wiped her tears andughed. She couldn''t bear to see that pitiful expression on her darling''s face , after all. Time for the littledy devil toe out !

    "How ?", Xi Yuan pped his forehead. Why was he having a bad feeling about this ?

    "There is this ''feast carnival'' going on , with 60% discount on all the street foods. And I am hungry. Lets dig into some hotpot , noodles and fried rice. Please !", the girl winked at the man ,"I will do your makeover , okay ? No one will recognize us."

    "You do realize that your boyfriend is a billionaire and that he can afford to take you to a certified and starred hotel , right ?", the man sighed.

    "Nothing can beat street food , love !", the girl said in an inaudibly soft tone , as her expression turned into that of a homeless puppy dog.

    Damn ! Xi Yuan cursed under his breath. Now how was he to fight this ? Street food it was , then !

 Chapter 262: Only his !

    Chapter 262: Only his !

    Meanwhile , the Xi trio were in a state of grief. This brother and to be sister-inw of theirs were so unpredictable. Firstly , thedy publicly confessed her feelings about their brother on the national television. Then , their brother also didn''t bothered about the media and walked out of the conference hall , holding their sister-inw''s hand. It was so difficult to handle the media after all of that. Damn , this love !

    "Ms. Ying , is there really something going on between President Xi and Military Chief Rong ?", one of the young reporters asked excitedly.

    Xi Ying coughed lightly before she smiled warmly at the cameras ,"We... um... ourselves have no idea what they both are up to usually. What do you expect from the geniuses like them ? But of course , we love both of them. So no matter what they do , we will support them."

    "What do you think of their rtionship , Mr. Wei ?", another journalist pointed his mike towards Xi Wei ,"Are you looking upto their rtionship ?"

    "Well... I am actually a Xinguan fan myself !", the man chuckled ,"I believe that they suit each other perfectly. Theyplete each other. And they understand each other like no one else can. Its like when they both stand together , no one can beat them. So yes ! I would love to see them get together."

    The Xi twins red at the man angrily before they shook their heads helplessly. Was this really how this conference was meant to end like ? The entire media was going to talk about this for an entire month now ! And the PR team of Xi Corporations had a lot of work on their tables suddenly. Amazing !

    ______________________

    On the other hand , Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan finally stepped out of the Elite Diamond Penthouse after the girl was done with their makeover. The couple had dressed into typical countryside clothes. They both were wearing cargo pants along with in ck shirts covered by brown and ck jackets. The girl had skillfully darkened their visible fair skin , including their faces and had forced the man to put on a hat , so that he couldn''t be recognized. As for herself , she had simply opened up her wavy jet ck hair , which covered her face everytime she looked down or shook her head.

    It was already evening when they both reached the crowded market. Xi Yuan had never wore such clothes before , so he was naturally ufortable with the his brown cargo pants and the big ck hat.

    But the moment , when he saw a genuine smile appear across Rong Xinghe''s face , as her eyesnded on one of the famous hotpot shops in the street , he felt that it was all worth it. This was the person he could literally do anything for. That smile.... That adorable smile of hers , could just make him do things he never thought he would ever do !

    Then again , they were in a rtionship now. After all the rejections , contemtions , fears and tears , they were finally together now. And since they were dating now , it was very important for them to know each other. He always thought that it wasn''t even slightly difficult for Rong Xinghe to understand him , and that he was the one who needed to make more efforts. There were still so many things he didn''t knew about her. And he wanted to know about every little thing that concerned his Xinghe. That was the only way he could get more closer to her. That was his definition of love. He wanted to be as crazy as her , and as supportive as her. Because she wasn''t just his love , but his inspiration and role model too. He had always been his Xinghe''s number one fan !

    "Look Yuan ! Let''s get that hotpot bowls now. There is a 50% discount for couples. Come !", the girl screamed amid the noisy public walking past them.

    As the duo reached the restaurant , they realized that all the tables were already booked and that they had to wait for two more hours in order to get a seat there. They could''ve easily got a VIP booking , Xi Yuan thought.

    Unfortunately , Rong Xinghe was always a girl with the most unique backup ns. The girl ran towards the restaurant owner and talked with him for sometime in Mandarin before she came back with a cheeky smile ,"Let''s go !"

    "Where ?", Xi Yuan smiled ,"All the tables are already booked , aren''t they ?"

    "Who told you we were going to sit on those boring tables ?", the girlughed as she pointed towards the roof of the restaurant , and then towards a woodendder leaned against a storehouse wall.

    "No.", the man stared at the girl with disbelief.

    "Yes.", the girl smiled as she dragged the man towards thedder.

    ______________________

    Soon enough , the couple were sitting on the roof of the restaurant along with the two bowls of hotpot passed by the restaurant''s owner. As the girl was enjoying her ''meal'' , Xi Yuan kept looking at her with surprise.

    "What did you say to the owner ?", Xi Yuan smiled.

    "He knows me. I have beening here for the past 3 years now. So he knew that this is my favourite ce to eat.", the girl said.

    "You... Whom else did you came here with before ? Didn''t you said that this ce is very special to your heart ? Then who apanied you here before me ?", the man asked silently , trying his best to not look too obvious.

    "William Young. He was the only idiot who used to roam around the city with me back then. We used to pretend as couples , in order to avail these discounts , you know.", the girlughed ,"And yes , this ce is very special to my heart. You know why ? Look above , in the clear sky. Aren''t these stars beautiful ? I specifically like to observe their orderly arrangement."

    "You better... go with me to any ce you like from now on. Okay ?", suddenly , the man spoke up , unable to control his jealousy. How could someone else even dare to ''pretend'' to be her boyfriend ?! She was only his !

 Chapter 263: Some serious trouble !

    Chapter 263: Some serious trouble !

    Rong Xinghe choked on her beer as soon as Xi Yuan''s mutterings reached her ears. Was her indifferent Yuan getting jealous ? Again ? How cute !

    The girlughed softly before she gently fed the man with the hotpot from her bowl ,"Don''t worry. I love my Yuan more."

    "You better do !", the man smiled ,"I hope that you know that I trust you. Its just that you are so amazing that I..."

    "...fear that someone will snatch me away from you ?", Rong Xinghepleted the man''s unsaid words ,"Mr. RichXi , rest assured , you are destined for my craziness for all your life now. No matter who enters my life , you will be the only one going through all my tantrums. Got it ?"

    "I am honoured , Ma''jolie !", Xi Yuan said as he pushed back the girl''s hair behind her ears , so that she could eat morefortably.

    ______________________

    Later , the couple roamed around in the streets of the city aimlessly , holding each other''s hands. Rong Xinghe had many ces to show to her darling , after all. Her favourite local park , where her bro Mo used to bring her when she was nine. And the ice-cream parlour , which served 12 scoops in a big tub with the challenge for two people to finish it in one hour. Also , she introduced Xi Yuan to an old fruits wendor , who had lost his daughter and thought of her as his own kin because her eyes looked just like his baby girl.

    Xi Yuan had never seen this side of Rong Xinghe before. He knew that the girl enjoyed living a simple and down-to-earth life , and that she loved interacting with new and different people. But he had never thought that she cared about her public so much. He realized that , for her , thesemoners were a part of her being. They weren''t just some random strangers she was protecting. In fact , she saw a lot of potential in them. And that was what she was trying to protect , her nation''s future.

    "What are you thinking ?", the girl asked the man as she saw him looking at her in a daze.

    Xi Yuan shook his head , but wasn''t able to hide his silly smile. Atst , he gave up and kissed the back of the girl''s hand lovingly ,"I have fallen for you once again today. This was the second best day of my life. Thank you so much !"

    A curious smile appeared across the girl''s lips as she looked at the man beside her ,"And what was your first best day ?"

    "The day when I saw you , sweetheart.", Xi Yuan replied honestly.

    Rong Xinghe quickly buried her face in the man''s arms as soon as she remembered their first meet. Was this man trying to flirt with her ? Damn ! And why the hell was she blushing like an idiot ?

    "How could that day be a nice one ? That was so embarrassing for me ! I took you as a bartender. And I was even nning to hire you as my personal barkeep. How could that be a good experience ?", the girl mumbled.

    "Hush. That was the time my eyesnded on the most beautiful woman in the world. I saw the most adorable smile , the most mesmerizing eyes and the most bewitching soul that night. Don''t you dare to say that it was a bad experience. Your every wish has been my responsibility since then. Be it making a Virgin Mojito for you or be it walking aimlessly on the roads with you , I can do that all my life. Alright ?", the man scolded the girl , without any trace of anger in his tone.

    "Hmm.", the girl nodded obediently. How could she forget that it was a ''love at first sight'' for her darling ? Although their first meet was embarrassing for her , for him , it waspletely different. It was only normal for him to want to cherish and capture those memories.

    At this time , from the corner of her eyes , Rong Xinghe saw two familiar figures.

    "What the....", the girl''s eyes widened as she pulled Xi Yuan''s arms.

    Xi Yuan furrowed his brows and followed the direction where Rong Xinghe was looking. The scene in front of them was shocking and surprising at the same time. Rong Xiao and Xi Wei were sitting together in a local restaurant and they were sharing the same Bluegoon with two straws. After sometime , Xi Wei leaned in on the girl and ced a soft kiss against her right cheek.

    "Oh my good god !", Rong Xinghe screamed , attracting the attention of the people in the market.

    Xi Yuan noticed the stares and gazes on them. Reflexively , his handsnded on Rong Xinghe''s waist as he pulled her into a tight hug ,"I missed you so much darling ! These past three years have been so difficult. We will never part from each other again. Promise !"

    As a result , the man''s words were able to convince the crowd , that him and the girl had been in a long distance rtionship and that they had just met after all those years. Naturally , everyone understood how difficult and lonely long distance rtionships could be. So it wasn''t wierd for the girl to behave like that at all. Few secondster , the crowd gradually got dissipated.

    "Let''s go home first , okay ?", Xi Yuan asked the girl , still locking her in his warm ebmbrace.

    "Y... yeah.", the girl responded , absent-minded.

    __________________

    "What should we do now ? How will we exin this to my brothers ? Oh my god !", as soon as they reached Elite Saphhire Penthouse , Rong Xinghe started pacing back and forth in the living room with anxiety.

    Xi Yuan shook his head and helped the girl sit down on a couch before he held her hands into his and looked straight into her eyes ,"Do you not trust Wei ? And be honest. For me , there is no difference between him and Xiao. Every individual close to you is important to me as well. So tell me Xinghe. What is going on in your mind ? Do you not consent their rtionship ?"

    "Yuan... the concern here isn''t my consent. I allow Xiao to make her decisions , when ites to rtionships. But I am more worried about what my brothers will think of this !", the girl cupped her cheeks with the man''s warm hands before she looked back at him earnestly.

    "What do you mean ?", the man frowned ,"They don''t like Wei ?"

    "Do you really think convincing them is so easy ? Even when it was about you , they were unwilling to consider our rtionship. But at that time , the Xi family''s internal shes and your past were their concerns. They were also worried if you would prioritize me , provided your hectic work schedule. Thankfully , they acknowledged your personality and character from the beginning. They also knew that you genuinely loved me. And that was how they finally came around.

    "But when ites to Wei , they simply think that he is a yboy. And obvioisly , no brother would allow their sister to hang out with a creep. So if I conclude , your brother might be in some serious danger , Mr. Xi !", the girl pinched Xi Yuan''s nose and kissed his forehead before she stood up and walked away.

    Xi Yuan : "....."

    yboy ? Creep ? His brother ?

 Chapter 264: "How serious are you about her ?"

    Chapter 264: "How serious are you about her ?"

    Same night , 2:00 a.m.

    Military Chief Office

    "Long live Country X , Military Chief !", assistant Shou Wu stood up from his seat as soon as Rong Xinghe strode inside the Military Chief Office''s control room.

    "Long live Country X. Show me the footage quickly !", the girl nodded her head at the old man and grabbed a chair for herself.

    "Here it is , Military Chief.", Feng Mian pointed her index finger towards one of the monitor screens. The CCTV footage showed Country X''s three soldiers , tied down to chairs , with a lot of bruises across their faces and bodies. One was a 21 year old woman while the other two were men , in their early 30''s. They were captured by the ''Werewolf Crew'' and were currently in an unconscious state.

    "Damn it !", the girl clenched her fists and stood up from her seat.

    "They were investigating the ''Werewolf Crew'' , boss.", one of the military subordinates exined ,"We are extremely sorry. We lost the track of their location for sometime and they were captured in the meantime."

    Rong Xinghe pinched the space between her brows and mumbled in a dull tone ,"Do you have any idea what can be the consequenses of your carelessness !? Those are our people , for hell''s sake !"

    The woman then nced at Zhou Wu standing beside her ,"Come to my office , Mr. Shou. Let''s discuss this first. I want all the three of them out , no matter what. And put all my other projects on hold and inform Rong Corporations that I won''t be attending any business meeting for theing few days."

    "Alright , Military Chief.", Shou Wu nodded his head as he followed behind Rong Xinghe.

    "Sorry for calling you sote , Ma''am. It was just that..."

    "Had you kept me in the dark , I would would have definitely fired you. This concerns me the most , Mr. Shou. They are my people and someone''s family. Being the highest Military authority of Country X , every soldier''s life is my responsibility. Got it ?", Rong Xinghe said coldly.

    "Yes , I understand."

    _____________________

    Meanwhile , the entrance door to Elite Saphhire opened and Xi Wei entered the living room. The young man waspletely unknown to the fact that Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe knew about his and Rong Xiao''s rtionship. Hence , he was speaking to Rong Xiao over the phone , without any worries.

    "Did you reach home ?", the man asked.

    "Not yet. Stuck in the traffic.", the girl replied , tired.

    "You left pretty early today. What was your emergency case ? And how is the patient now ?", Xi Wei questioned worriedly.

    "The patient is finally out of danger. It was an Arrhythmia surgery. It had to be done urgently in order to stabilize the young boy''sirregr heart rhythms involving both atrial fibrition and ventricr tachycardia. But the patient will be under observation for next two weeks. Anyhow , the surgery was sess.", Rong Xiao started exining her experience to the man , not realizing that he was a businessman.

    But Xi Wei also kept on listening to the girl''s every word withplete concentration patiently. Only after when the girl was done speaking , did he smiled warmly and loosened his tie ,"Although I tried my best to understand what you were talking about , I couldn''t follow up with you. Sorry. But I am really proud of you , Xiao. Congrattions ! You just saved a life today. That is really amazing."

    As she listened to the man''s silly words , Rong Xiao''s lips curled up with helplessness ,"How am I even dating you ?! I never thought that I would ever make a businessman my boyfriend. And look , here I am , talking to you."

    "What is wrong with dating a businessman ?", the man frowned.

    "There is nothing wrong.", the girl shrugged nonchntly ,"I just thought that I would bond well with a surgeon. After all , their lifestyle is somon. The first person can understand the other one pretty easily. Isn''t that amazing ?"

    "Is my bro Yuan a Military soldier ?", Xi Wei asked seriously.

    "No ?", the girl answered , confused.

    "Then howe the chemistry between him and your sister is so amazing ? In fact , they understand each other better than all those ''dream'' couples out there ! What do you think of them then , Xiao ?"

    "True.", Rong Xiao said after thinking for sometime ,"But there is a difference between brother-inw and you. He is simply perfect. And so is my sister. They are made for each other."

    "You..."

    At this time , a dark figure appeared in front of Xi Wei and snatched his phone away from him. Xi Yuan then red at the man before he brought the phone to his ears and spoke to the girl in a cordial and gentle tone ,"Don''t talk while you drive , Xiao. Come to the Elite Saphire directly. No need to go to your sister''s penthouse. I guess we need to talk about your and Wei''s rtionship first. Okay ?"

    As soon as Rong Xiao heard Xi Yuan''s voice , her phone almost slipped down her hands. What !? He already knew about them ? When the hell did it happen ?

    "Does Xinghe know , brother-inw ? And brothers...", the girl asked subconsciously as her grip over the steering wheel tightened.

    "Xinghe knows but your brothers have no idea about it. You juste to my ce , first. Okay ?", Xi Yuan smiled tiredly at the other end. It seemed like they really liked each other , else why would they behave so anxiously ?

    "Okay.", the girl nodded her head like a rattle-drum. This was it. This was the end. The final moment of truth !

    _____________________

    "Bro... I...", Xi Wei started stammering as soon as Xi Yuan disconnected the call and passed the phone back to him.

    But unlike Xi Wei , Xi Yuan maintained hisposure. He simply sat down on the couch and rested his head against the back of it. The man then kept staring at Xi Wei as if he was interrogating a criminal , until Xi Wei decided to shut his mouth fearfully.

    "How serious are you about her ?", Xi Yuan asked the man.

    "I... really like her , brother. I like her as much as you like sister-inw.", Xi Wei answered honestly.

    On hearing Xi Wei''s words , Xi Yuan furrowed his brows and raised his index finger in the air agitatedly ,"Firstly , I do not like Xinghe. I ''love'' her. I n to marry her and I n to grow old with her. My rtionship is not a fling. For the past one year , we fought together , we spent time together and we waited together. So do notpare north to south. Every rtionship is different.

    "Secondly , act a little sensible. Show some maturity. If you really like her , then prioritize her priorities. Her six brothers and Xinghe are her priorities. And do you really think that it is easy to impress those six sister-doting tigers ? Especially , with the reputation you have gained ? yboy. Creep. Good-for-nothing. Immature. Ladykiller. And of course , Womanizer !"

    Xi Wei : "WHAT ?!! ME ?"

 Chapter 265: The Xi Romio and Rong Juliet !

    Chapter 265: The Xi Romio and Rong Juliet !

    "Yes ! You , young man.", Xi Yuan nodded before he pointed his chin towards the kitchen ,"Bring a beer can for me from the fridge. This is going to be a long night."

    Xi Wei nodded his head and came back with beer. He grabbed a seat for himself on the couch opposite to Xi Yuan after passing the drink to the man. As he observed the fatigue across his brother''s face , the man realized how much of a trouble he and Rong Xiao had caused for them. Xi Yuan had recovered from his injuries not too long ago and he was already bothering him. Simrly , Rong Xinghe already had so much on her te , including military and her family. And now she had one more thing to worry about. With so much going on in their families , they were thinking about their rtionship. Could they both be anymore immature ?

    "When did you both started dating ?", Xi Yuan asked as he opened the can.

    Xi Wei looked down at the floor as he replied in a guilt-stricken tone ,"Actually , bro... we started dating when you were ina. I... just..."

    "Go on , Wei.", said Xi Yuan assertively.

    "I am really sorry , bro. It was just that your health was breaking me with every passing day. And seeing Sister-inw and bro Fang work endlessly everyday was even more disturbing for me. The possibility of loosing you scared me , brother. I just didn''t knew how to deal with it. So one day , I was so tired of all of this that I..."

    "Wei ? What did you do ?", the man frowned as the possibility came to his mind.

    "I... I gulped down four sleeping pills altogether.", Xi Wei broke down and knelt in front of his brother. He held onto Xi Yaun''s hand and looked at him desperately.

    For Xi Yuan , this waspletely unexpected. No matter how much he and Xi Fang teased Xi Wei , they were still brothers and he loved him. Ever since they were children , he had taken care of the Xi trio himself. So obviously , loosing any of them was no different than loosing his own children.

    "Just because I wasn''t responding , you decided tomit suicide ?!", Xi Yuan yelled at the man as he clenched his jaws and tried his best to contain his fury ,"What the hell were you even thinking Wei !? How can my brothers be so weak ? And how exactly did you survived through that ?"

    As he faced Xi Yuan''s rage , Xi Wei had no courage to look him into the eyes. This reaction waspletely normal ,ing from him. After all , Xi Yuan was the first person , who had held his fingers and helped him walk. How could he not be dissapointed with what he had done ?

    "Xiao visited my appartment coincidentially that day. Being a skilled medico , it wasn''t difficult for her to treat me. That was how we started bonding and knowing each other.", the man exined.

    After roughly two minutes of silence , Xi Yuan took a deep breath and turned back to his calm self ,"If I would havemitted suicide , when grandfather and grandma were killed in front of my eyes , imagine what would have happened. Wasn''t our grandparents'' death a good enough reason for me to slit my wrist ? Tell me , Wei.

    "If Xinghe would''vemitted suicide after her family pushed her down a running train , what would''ve happened ? Have you ever imagined that ? What would''ve happened to all those thousands of children , she is raising in her NGO today ? What would have happened to her brothers and Xiao ?

    "Life is all about fighting Wei. And it is never meant to be smooth. Life is always rough. You say that I and Xinghe are your inspiration , but have you ever seen us epting defeat ? We could''ve also simply ran away from all those challenges , like what you did. But we decided against that. We knew ourselves and we believed in ourselves. Strengthening a falling business empire was never easy , Wei. And neither was empowering millions of life , for Xinghe.

    "Suicide is never an option. Quitting is never a choice. Do you get that ?"

    Xi Yuan''s tone were indifferent , but there were traces of obvious concern hidden inside it. And Xi Wei could clearly feel it. So he just nodded his head in understanding. His brother was right , after all. He had been provided with afortable life in a silver tter since he was born. But unlike him , Xi Yuan had seen all the ups and downs of life from an innocent age of 15. He had witnessed the death of their grandparents. He had faced a lot of rejections during his initial days , because of his age. And still , he never gave up. Simrly , his sister-inw had cried endlessly for who knows how long. She was unable to walk on her own feet for one entire year. Yet , she fought. Akin to a tigress , like a warrior. She was a woman who looked at challenges dead in the eye and gave them a wink with a smirk. With such fighters backing him up , how did he even dared to weaken up ? The brother of Xi Yuan never had the right to do that.

    "Sorry brother.", said Xi Wei weakly.

    "Its fine. You are fine now , at least.", Xi Yuan sighed ,"So you like her since then. You do realize that she is one year older than you , don''t you ?"

    "Bro..."

    "Wei , you know I am not narrow-minded. But society is. How will you face them ? How will you deal with media ? You hail from the Xi family , so your actions and decisions are bound to attract attention. And what do you..."

    "Brother-inw ! I am here !", at this time , Rong Xiao came running inside the living room with the speed of light and stumbled over a coffee table as she fell down. The girl hit her against the bottom of the couch and screamed in pain involuntarily.

    "Are you fine , my Juliet ?!", Xi Wei asked worriedly , as he rushed towards her and started rubbing the girl''s forehead.

    "I am fine , my Romeo.", Rong Xiao mumbled involuntarily.

    Xi Yuan : "..."

    What the holy hell ?!

 Chapter 266: Making it up to her

    Chapter 266: Making it up to her

    Just when Xi Wei and Rong Xiao were irritating Xi Yuan with their public disy of affection , Rong Xinghe walked in and saw her sister in Xi Wei''s arms. The woman squinted her eyes at them and pulled out a knife from the fruit basket.

    "How dare you seduce my sister , Little panda ?!"

    Xi Wei and Rong Xiao had just stood up when they heard the girl''s voice. As soon as they turned around , they saw the littledy devil rushing towards them with a knife in her hands. Xi Wei felt a chill run down his spine the moment Rong Xinghe''s eyesnded upon him. Subconsciously , he took few steps back. Soon , Rong Xinghe was running behind Xi Wei while Xi Yuan and Rong Xiao kept looking at them nkly. What could they possibly do of this girl and the man ?

    Only after Xi Wei was out of breath did Rong Xinghe stopped and showed some mercy to the man. The girl simply punched the man in the back lightly and strode towards her darling.

    "You had your medicines today ?", asked Rong Xinghe.

    A warm smile appeared across Xi Yuan''s lips before he pulled the girl in his cozy embrace ,"Hmm."

    "I am hungry. Lets talk over dinner ?", the girl smiled at the man helplessly.

    Xi Yuan could clearly tell that the girl was pretty tired and she needed a proper rest as soon as possible. But he couldn''t allow her to sleep on an empty stomach. So he simply hauled her into the dining room , the ''new'' couple following behind them.

    Rong Xinghe started questioning Rong Xiao and Xi Wei about their rtionship while Xi Yuan was serving food for her in a te.

    "So that was how you both got attached... But I never expected you to have such a poor mental strength , little Panda.", said Rong Xinghe , displeased by Xi Wei''s past actions.

    "Sorry , sister-inw. I thought..."

    "What did you thought ? Do you have any idea how much your absense would have hurt Yuan ? Why is suicide such a casual decision for youngsters nowadays ? Is life some sort of joke for you ? Then what is the point of us soldiers risking our lives for the sake of you people ?", Rong Xinghe cut in.

    "I understand and I apologize for my stupidity. This won''t happen again. I promise.", Xi Wei sighed.

    "You better remember your words , young man !", Rong Xinghe said indifferently.

    The girl then rested her head against Xi Yuan''s shoulder and closed her eyes. Xi Yuan naturally understood that the girl was feeling sleepy. He just chuckled softly before he helped her sit straight and started feeding her with his own hands.

    "Just finish this bowl of oats before going to sleep , sweetheart. You health is important as well."

    "I want to sleep.", Rong Xinghe frowned as sheined.

    "Do you want me to call your brothers ?", the man warned.

    "I hate you !"

    "But I love you !", Xi Yuanughed ,"No drama now."

    After she was done eating , Rong Xinghe hugged the man and fell asleep directly in his arms. She didn''t even had the strength to walk to the bedroom. All she wanted was her darling and his warmth. And it wasn''t difficult for her to get that. After all , she was the only woman in the entire world , who hadplete im over him.

    In the end , Xi Yuan had no option but to lift her up and carry her to his bedroom. But before he could enter the room , Rong Xinghe pulled onto his sleeves and mumbled sleepily ,"Mm... I permit... them..."

    Xi Yuan couldn''t help but smile at the girl''s concern for their siblings. Hence , he turned around and forwarded the message to the couple ,"You both are allowed to date but take your privacy into consideration before doing anything. Media isn''t easy to handle. And try to understand each other more better. You are dismissed !"

    Xi Wei : "...."

    Rong Xiao : "....."

    As soon as Xi Yuan disappeared from their line of sight , they exchanged nces among themselves and hugged each other tightly. Until and unless this mighty couple was backing them up , no one could stop them.

    ___________________

    After coaxing the girl to sleep and covering her with a warm ket , Xi Yuan came out of his bedroom and pulled out his phone before he made a phone call to Rong Xinghe''s assistant.

    "Yes , Mr. Yuan ?", asked Shou Wu , surprised by the man''s unexpected call.

    "Please clear Xinghe''s schedule for tomorrow , Mr. Shou. She needs rest. She has been tiring herself out a lottely.", Xi Yuan exined.

    "Sir... I can''t really do anything about this. Military Chief has been scheduled for a meeting with the Prime Minister himself tomorrow morning.", said Shou Wu.

    "Alright then.", the man disconnected his call with Shou Wu before he made another phone call.

    "Am I talking to the Prime Minister ?", Xi Yuan asked in a humble tone as soon as the call got through.

    "Oh yes ! What is it , young man ? Is everything alright ? Does this concern business ?", a hoarse voice came through the other end.

    "Sorry for disturbing you at this time of night , Mister Prime Minister. But could the meeting scheduled with Xinghe for tomorrow morning be postponed ? She is really tired. I hope you understand.", the man requested.

    "You... called for discussing about Militay Chief''s health ? This...", the Prime Minister asked with surprise and disbelief evident in his voice.

    "She is more important that the entire Xi Corporations , Prime Minister.", said Xi Yuan indifferently ,"May I know your decision please ?"

    "Um... sure. She may as well rx for a while. The past four months have been pretty traumatizing and hectic for her.", the old man sighed.

    As soon as Xi Yuan heard the Prime Minister''s words , he felt as if he was stabbed by a sword in his heart.

    "I will definitely make it up to her...", mumbled Xi Yuan guiltily , before he came back to his senses ,"Thank you for your time , Prime Minister."

    The man then disconnected the call and returned back to his bedroom to apany hisdy. After the long and tiring day he had , he simply wished to hug his wild little kitten to sleep. Her presence was the best form of energy for him , after all.

    "Young love....", the old manughed.

 Chapter 267: No secrets

    Chapter 267: No secrets

    Xi Yuan entered the bedroom to find Rong Xinghe sleeping sound , without any idea about his and Prime Minister''s conversation. The man approached the bed with soft footsteps andid down beside the girl silently. Although he was himself pretty tired by the entire day''s work , for some uncertain reason , he was finding it difficult to fall asleep. Involuntarily , his left handnded over Rong Xinghe''s waist as his eyes started observing the girl''s each and every facial expression.

    But at this time , Rong Xinghe frowned and scrunched her eyebrows. Before Xi Yuan could understand anything , the girl ced her both hands over Xi Yuan''s left hand and clutched onto it tightly.

    "Xinghe ! Are you alright ?", asked Xi Yuan as he sat down on the bed and tried to wake up the girl worriedly.

    As the man''s voice reached her ears , Rong Xinghe opened her eyes slowly and looked at him with a muddled expression. But suddenly , she felt a sharp pain kick in into her lower back.

    "Aaahh !", the girl screamed in pain.

    Soon , she realized what was wrong with her body and bit her lips anxiously.

    "Umm... Yuan... could you go out for a while ?", Rong Xinghe asked.

    "But what is wrong Xinghe ?", the man asked worriedly ,"Should we go to hospital. Wait ! I will grab the car keys right away."

    "No ! Calm down. I ampletely alright. Its just that...", the girl panicked with hesitation.

    "Xinghe..", the man red at the girl with a serious expression ,"Complete the sentence !"

    The moment the man''s words reached the girl''s ears , she felt a chill run down her spine. Damn ! The devil had started to lose his patience now. If she dared to hide the matter from him anymore , a disaster was bound to take ce. But how was she to tell him about this ? Wouldn''t that be too embarrassing ?

    Finally , the girl took a deep breath and sat down on the bed beside the man before she pointed her index finger towards a red color spot on the man''s white bedsheet ,"I... got my periods."

    As soon as Xi Yuan''s eyesnded over the blood mark on the sheets , he subconsciously pulled the girl into his embrace. That was scary. That blood was very scary. He had studied about periods in his high school. So he naturally understood what menstruation meant. But he had never dealt with such a problem before. Most importantly , he couldn''t see his Xinghe in pain. Yet , he couldn''t do anything against the nature. This was how a woman''s body was formed , after all.

    "Where does it pain , sweetheart ?", the man asked in an extremely soft tone.

    Rong Xinghe had never heard such a gentle voice from Xi Yuan. Moreover , she hadn''t even expected for him to react so considerately. Clearly , he was concerned for her.

    "Yuan... I am fine. They are just period cramps. Most of the women go through this pain before and during their periods every month. My periods are very irregr. And during my periods , my lower abdomen and lower back hurts the most. Its like someone is punching over there every now and then.", the girl tried to exin.

    Xi Yuan remained silent for sometime before he cupped the girl''s face and looked straight into her eyes ,"It has been one year since we both met. Howe I never knew about these cramps ? Does that mean that every time we met , you had a fake smile stered across your lips ?"

    "A woman is too good at hiding her pain , Mr. Xi.", the girl smiled gloomily.

    "We will talk about thister.", Xi Yuan sighed helplessly ,"Let me first get you the saitary pads."

    "Are you angry , darling ?", Rong Xinghe asked worriedly , as she saw the man change the topic and get down the bed.

    "Just calm down. I will talk to Ying first. She must be home by now.", the man said and left the bedroom hurriedly.

    ___________________

    "Done ?", the man asked as the girl stepped out of the washroom.

    "Yeah.", said the girl before approaching the man , who was sitting on the living room couch.

    The girl then smiled cheekily and sat down on the man''sp before she started massaging his tensed shoulders. She knew that something was bothering him but didn''t dared to poke him about it. All she could do was try to pacify him. Naturally , the man understood the girl more than anyone. So he simply grabbed the girl''s hands and brought them down before allowing her to rest her head against his shoulders.

    "Yuan... What happened ?", the girl frowned.

    After sometime , the man kissed the girl''s forehead and started speaking ,"Xinghe , the entire world knows how strong you are. And trust me when I say this , I am very proud of you. Its just that I want to know about your weaknesses too. I want to be the person you arepletelyfortable around. I feel like an outsider when you hide your pains and tears from me. Are you getting me ?"

    The girl thought for few seconds before she smiled and ced a soft kiss against the man''s lips ,"I get it. But the same thing goes for you too. No secrets. No contemtions. No overthinking. Yeah ?"

    A smile finally appeared across the man''s lips as he brushed the girl''s hair strands behind her ear ,"Hmm. Works for me. Come here !"

    And... the couple spent the next few minutes kissing each other intensely. All they wanted was to melt into each other.

    At this time , Xi Yuan''s both parents , Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah entered the man''s penthouse using a spare key , in order to not disturb the children but ended up witnessing the couple kissing intimately , in the living room. Xinguan also realized a foreign intrusion and parted from each other to see Xi family elders standing at the entrance door.

    "Um...", Li Jungah coughed awkwardly ,"We just wanted to grab a file from Yuan''s bedroom. Sorry to disturb you young people. Let''s go , Mr. Xi."

    But as soon as Li Jungah and Xi Chongkun entered Xi Yuan''s bedroom , Rong Xinghe pped her forehead as panic flooded through her heart.

    "What is it ?", the man asked worriedly.

    "We haven''t cleaned your bedsheet !", the girl whispered.

 Chapter 268: "You are Xi Yuans girlfriend."

    Chapter 268: "You are Xi Yuan''s girlfriend."

    "Mr. Xi ! Look at that. Isn''t that blood !?", as soon as Li Jungah entered the room , her eyesnded upon the dry red spot over Xi Yuan''s bed ,"Who knows we might be geandparents very soon !"

    Xi Chongkun furrowed his brows the moment he looked in the direction his wife was pointing. The kids these days...

    Shortly after , Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe entered the bedroom , with the attempt to exin the situation to the family elders. Although Xi Yuan personally felt that there was no need for him to exin anything to anyone , he understood Rong Xinghe''s worries. For her , her reputation in front of his parents mattered a lot.

    Li Jungah turned around and stared at the couple for few seconds before she smiled at them and patted Rong Xinghe''s shoulders ,"Its alright , sweetie. We aren''t as narrow-minded as you think. You young people have your ways of doing things. At least , you both are serious for each other. Otherwise , youngsters nowadays are so..."

    "Auntie ! It isn''t actually like what you are assuming. Its just that...", the girl hesitated. She would''ve been morefortable talking about menstruation if only Li Jungah was present there. After all , she was no different from her own mother. But how was she to mention the real incident in front of Xi Chongkun ? Wouldn''t that make him slightly ufortable ? No matter how much they imed to be broad-minded , there were still some issues that the society needed to deal with. And generalizing menstruation was one such issue.

    Naturally , Xi Yuan could read his woman''s every expression. He knew that she needed a proper rescue from all the awkwardness. The man smiled helplessly and pulled out a kitchen knife from the fruit basket beside his bed. He then slit the palm of his right hand , without making a single sound.

    "Well... I was just cutting fruits for Xinghe few minutes ago. But instead , I ended up hurting myself. In order to not wake her up , I went out to apply disinfectant to the wound. I just didn''t realized that she had woken up by the sound of my footsteps. And that was how she followed me in the living room.", said the man , lifting up his right hand and showing his bleeding palm to his parents.

    "Oh my god , Yuan !", Li Jungah panicked the moment she saw her son''s hand and rushed towards him worriedly ,"You are a grown up man now. Is this the way you take care of yourself. If you keep on behaving so carelessly , how will you take care of Xinghe in future ?"

    Meanwhile , Rong Xinghe kept looking at Xi Yuan''s hand nkly , as she felt a burning sensation in the corner of her eyes. Was this man crazy ? How could he harm himself for the such a small matter ? Just how much did he loved her ?!

    As Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah started searching for the first-aid kit in Xi Yuan''s closet , the couple''s eyes met across the room. Xi Yuan smiled warmly at the girl and shook his head meaningfully , gesturing her to not break down. She was his life , after all. This was the least he could do for her. There was nothing for her to feel guilty about.

    Few secondster , the girl shook her head helplessly and quickly wiped the teardrops from her cheeks as she took a deep breath to calm herself down.

    Soon enough , the man''s wound was treated and the family of four sat in the living room facing each other. While Xinguan were sitting on the same couch , Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah were sipping tea on another couch , opposite them.

    "How are you both doing ?", Li Jungah asked after sometime of awkward silence ,"We already know that you both are dating after Xinghe confessed to you in the hospital that day. So no need to be formal around us. Honestly , we both believe that Yuan was very lucky to have met you , Xinghe. You both reallypliment each other."

    "That''s right. Ever since you both were young , you have faced a lot of problems and struggles. Now that you are finally thinking about your own happiness , we won''t get too involved in your rtionship. Just remember that me and Mrs. Xi are really delighted for you. If you face any problem in near future , we are just one call away. Okay ?", Xi Chongkun said , loosening his tie.

    Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe exchanged nces among themselves , totally surprised by the elders'' words. They never expected the family elders to acknowledge their rtionship so easily.

    "Thank you , Uncle and Auntie.", a genuine smile appeared across Rong Xinghe''s lips as she bowed down to Xi Yuan''s parents respectfully.

    "It is not Auntie and Uncle , child. You better address us as Mom and Dad. That is more like a family. I would rather disown Yuan , if I could get a daughter like yourself in exchange.", Li Jungahughed softly.

    Xi Yuan : "..."

    Firstly , his siblings and now his parents. Why did it looked like this girl was winning over his family with an unimaginable pace ? Anyhow , this was even better. No matter how much detached he was from his family , he knew that these little things mattered a lot to his Xinghe. Although her brothers loved her better than any family ever could , she had still missed the most needed parental love since her childhood. Maybe his parents could love her the way she deserved...

    ________________________

    Only after the family elders left the ce did Rong Xinghe held onto the man''s injured hand and started sobbing like a five-year old child. Xi Yuan couldn''t help butugh at the girl''s actions. He knew that she was genuinely concerned about him and that she was feeling guilty for what happened. But that wasn''t the only reason , for which , she was crying.

    The man quickly ced a gentle kiss against the girl''s petal-like lips and hauled her into the kitchen. He then opened the refrigerator and passed a chocte bar to the girl before he pulled out his phone and gave Xi Wei a call.

    "Have you dropped Xiao to her appartment ?", asked Xi Yuan.

    "Y...Yeah , brother. Is everything alright ?", Xi Wei parked the car at the side of the road hurriedly. Why would such a punctual man call him in the middle of the night ?

    "Reach home within fifteen minutes with a chocte and vani ice-cream tub.", the man ordered before disconnecting the call.

    Xi Wei : "...."

    Ice-cream tub ? Was this guy drunk ? When did he developed a sudden interest in midnight snacks ?

    As she looked at the man searching for cake ingredients around the kitchen , Rong Xinghe couldn''t help butugh at him ,"Yuan... This wasn''t actually needed , darling."

    "Of course , this is very important during periods. While you were in bathroom , I was browsing inte for different ways to deal with period cramps and mood swings.", the man exined ,"You are Xi Yuan''s girlfriend. You deserve the world , let alone these ice-creams , choctes and cakes."

    "I so damn love you !", the girl smiled.

    "Not more than how much I love you.", the man smiled back , wrapping the girl in his warm and cozy embrace tightly.

 Chapter 269: I will stop at nothing , unless I get her !

    Chapter 269: I will stop at nothing , unless I get her !

    Next morning , Rong Xinghe woke up to the smell of grilled sandwhich and an espresso. The man was already up and was selecting clothes for himself from his closet. Clearly , he was the one who had prepared the morning breakfast.

    The girl''s lips curled up in an amused smile as she adjusted her eyes to the bright sunlighting from the bedroom window. The girl rubbed her eyes akin to a wild little kitten before she sat down on the bed , staring at the man''s naked back. Judging by by the smell of the shower gel , she could tell that he had bathed not too long ago. Such an innocent man... How could he be so careless around a wild and untamed beast like herself ?

    Next second , Xi Yuan felt a pair of human nails scratching his back as endless alluring kissesnded across his bare shoulder. The man had no choice but to remain frozen. Thedy devil was finally up...

    Only after the girl was satisfied did she let go of the man and tiptoed around him , hugging him tightly while burying her face in his chest. Damn ! The addictive and unique fragnance of this man was going to kill her someday for sure.

    "Good morning , sweetheart.", the man smiled warmly , hugging the girl back ,"How was the sleep ?"

    "Good morning. Never slept such afortable sleep before.", the girl said ,"Howe you are up so early ?"

    "Its already 10 a.m. , Xinghe. I got to leave for office. Just enjoy your breakfast and have some rest today.", the man replied as he caressed the girl''s hair lovingly.

    "WHAT ?! Its 10 already ? Why didn''t you wake me up ? What should I do now ? I didn''t even talked to Prime Minister, and assistant Shou has no idea about it as well... How could I be so...", the girl panicked.

    "Hush !", the man whispered in the girl''s ear before he pulled out his phone and showed his recent call list to her ,"I have already taken care of it. Just get a proper rest. Okay ?"

    The girl stared nkly at the man''s phone screen for sometime as she tried to register his wordspletely. "When... did you...", the girl looked at the man with a muddled expression. Wasn''t he there with herthroughout the entire night ?

    "Last night after you slept. You were clearly tired. And then my parents showed up. So there was no way I was going to allow you to overexert yourself.", the man replied.

    "Oh.", the girl finally came to the realization ,"You are bing more and more secretive , Mr. Xi. Most importantly , being a soldier , I should be used to such sleepless nights. Don''t pamper me like this."

    "You''ve had innumerable sleepless nights ever since you were thirteen , Military Chief Rong.", the man looked straight into the girl''s eyes with a serious expression ,"Nevertheless , I have promised your brothers that I will always look after yourfort. And I won''t ever dare to let your brothers down. Understood ?"

    "Hmm. So its a union of seven warriors saving a damsel in diistress ? Impressive !", Rong Xinghe sped her hands excitedly.

    Xi Yuan chuckled softly before he pinched the girl''s nose ,"Nope. Its seven warriors serving the most beautiful , brave and brainy Queen in the world. My Xinghe can never be a damsel in distress. She woman is way too powerful for that. "

    The girl shook her head helplessly before she turned around to select a suit for her darling ,"You are just impossible. Here ,dark blue suits the best. Go get changed now."

    "What are your ns for today ?", asked the man as he recieved the suit from the girl.

    "I need to visit my niece and nephew now. I haven''t been able to spend time with them since the past four months. They must be missing their Auntie , right ?", the girl answered before she picked up her phone to call Ningtao.

    "I will leave my car for you.", Xi Yuan said.

    "Don''t leave your driver. Just me and my Monalisa !", the girl remarked.

    Xi Yuan : "Monalisa ?"

    Rong Xinghe : "The new entry in your sports car collection. The Alpine A110. She is my Monalisa , my sweetheart !"

    Xi Yuan : "I am destroying that piece of junk today !"

    Rong Xinghe : "...."

    Getting jealous over a sports car ? Seriously ? He could really behave childishly sometimes !

    ___________________

    Meanwhile ,in an abandoned warehouse in the outskirts of City Cratn of Country X ;

    "What should we do of these three soldiers now , boss ?", a dark toned man known as Nifhel asked to his boss , who was doing pushups.

    "Doesshe know yet ?", the twenty-six year old boss asked , amid his pushups.

    "Maybe..."

    "Come on , Nifhel !", the man rolled his eyes and stood up to face his subordinate ,"I am doing everything for her to notice me. I love her ! I love Xinghe..."

    "It is a in obsession , Diablos !", Nifhel furrowed his brows with irritation ,''You have seen her just once and im to love her. That''s idiotic ! You were merely 21 when you took over ''The Werewolf Crew'' from your father and now , a woman is distracting you to the extent , that you can''t even think about our real goal.

    "Most importantly , do you really think that she would bother looking at you after you kidnapped the soldiers of Country X''s armed forces. She is the Military Chief of Country X , Diablos !"

    "Have you ever seen her fight ? No. Have you ever seen her look into enemy''s eyes with pure love and stabbing him in the torso the next second without even blinking an eye ? No. Have you ever seen her smirk devilishly ? No.

    "I have seen all of that , Nifhel. She is the most beautiful woman in this entire world. The most alluring woman and the most prudent one too. I will stop at nothing , unless I get her.", said Diablos.

    "So what do you want me to do ?", Nifhel took a deep breath. He knew that there was no point talking Diablos out of it , for he was totally addicted to the girl by now.

    "Keep them dehydrated and starving for the entire night and send their ''heart-wrenching'' videos to their families by tonight. Maybe Xinghe wille looking for me...", said the man after thinking for sometime.

 Chapter 270: How dare he bully her Auntie ?!

    Chapter 270: How dare he bully her Auntie ?!

    "You will regret your actions someday , Diablos ! Do you have any idea that you are pushing her further away from yourself ? She is pretty attached to Country X''s forces. She will definitelye looking for you , but contrary to your unrealistic imagination , she wille here with the intention to slit your throat.", Niflhel rolled his eyes at the man.

    "And will you let me die ?", Diablos chuckled as he picked up a beer can kept beside him.

    "No."

    "Then why should I fear anything ? There is a reason you are known as ''Niflhel'' in the underworld. This word itself means hell. When ites to my safety , I am always depending on you. I know you won''t let anything happen to me.", said Diablos.

    It was indeed true. Niflhel was one of the most ruthless assassins in the entire underworld of Asia and Europe. The most frightening thing about this man was his swiftness. Most of the time , his attacks were unforeseen. Although he was just twenty seven in age , he had killed more than three hundred people till date !

    Same was the case with Diablos. Of course , Diablos wasn''t his real identity. Diablos meant Devil. And he was indeed a devil , when it came to mercilessness and barbarity. He had always had a rough childhood with an insensitive father , who had only ever prioritized the Werewolf Crew more than his own son. Instead , he had always forced Diablos to be trained as a suitable sessor to his throne. During all these trainings , Diablos was beaten , tortured and almost murdered once. As a result , the young boy grew up to be one of he most cold and terrified underworld gang leader.

    As of Rong Xinghe and his rtionship , it was clearly impossible. The reason was simple. She had a person she was madly in love with. No one could rece him. In her heart and in her life.

    ____________________

    "Little baby Alix !"

    As soon as Rong Xinghe entered Lu family mansion''s living room , her eyesnded upon her niece and she strode towards her excitedly.

    "How is my darling ?!", the girl picked up the little princess from her cradle and started roaming around the house with the child in her arms.

    At this time , Lu Wei and Ningtao came out of their bedroom as they heard the noices in the living room. To their surprise , Rong Xinghe was feeding their daughter with some tamarind extract. Naturally , little baby Alix was too young to understand what was happening , but as soon as tamarind''s sour taste reached her tongue , the baby squeezed her eyes and stretched out her tongue with a frown across her forehead. Little baby Alix was a bubbly and healthy child , so her balloon-like cheeks involuntarily went up , making her look even more adorable. Rong Xinghe was obviously enjoying the girl''s reaction , so she kept on feeding the liquid to her niece.

    As they saw the girl experimenting with their daughter , Ningtao and Lu Wei had no option but to sigh helplessly. Although they wanted to stop Rong Xinghe , they knew how connected the Auntie-niece were. Lu Alix was bound to get upset , if she was to be separated from her Auntie Xinghe suddenly. They had already stayed away from each other for thest four months. It was more or less like , two lovers had finally met , touched and kissed each other after a painful long distance rtionship.

    But this wasn''t the only reason. The couple themselves enjoyed this bonding between the girl and baby Alix. In fact , Rong Xinghe and Rong Xiao were the coolest Aunts in the entire Country X. Since both the Zhi and Lu families were business families with Ningtao and Songyan were famous celebrities , Lu Alix and little baby Zhi Taio already had their own social media ounts , which were handled by both their Aunties. The Rong twinies usually posted their photos with their niece and nephew every now and then on these ounts. And as a result , both the kids were trending in almost every socialworking channel. They were no less than any celebrity in Country X. So the entire nation considered the Rong twins as ideal Aunt goals !

    "Are you done , Xinghe ?", only after half bowl of tamarind extract was gulped down by Lu Alix , did Lu Wei rushed towards the dining table and snatched away the bowl from Rong Xinghe.

    "Hey !", the girl frowned ,"We want more."

    But as soon as her bro Lu red at her in an imposing manner , Rong Xinghe decided to shut down her mouth. The girl simply turned around to look at her niece and hugged her tightly.

    "Your daddy is scolding Auntie , darling !"

    Lu Alix was a smart child. She quickly spread her arms and tried to hug her auntie tightly before she tilted her head slightly to stare back at her father with her huge light brown colored eyes. How dare he bully her Auntie ?!

    Lu Wei : "..."

    Ningtao : "HAHAHAHA !"

    Could her family be anymore cute ? Such a charming trio !

    "Alright now. Xinghe , give me Alix. Let me get her some medical syrup , or she will end up catching cough.", Ningtao said as she approached towards her sister-inw.

    "Okie dokie.", Rong Xinghe nodded her head ,"But just keep pressing the thumb side of her wrist. It usually works for me. That is the upuncture point for suppressing cough. Cough syrups ususally makes babies sleepy. Lu Alix is pretty young to stay sozy , right ?"

    "Yeah ! Nice idea , actually. Let me try it out.", Ningtao smiled as she carried Lu Alix in the bedroom.

    "So... How are you bro ?!", Rong Xinghe lightly punched Lu Wei''s right arm before she hugged him tightly.

    "What is going on ? Why so much love all of a sudden ?", Lu Weiughed as he hugged the girl back ,"What do you want now ?"

    "Nothing much. I just felt like it.", the girl shrugged her shoulders nonchntly ,"I missed you for the past few months. I wanted my bro Lu''s big bear hug."

    As soon as the girl''s words reached his ears , Lu Wei felt like his heart was melting slowly and gradually. No matter how many new people entered her life , for their kiddo , her six brothers had always been irreceable. Even today , whenever she felt a sense of loneliness or insecurity , she would subconsciouslye to them , searching for warmth and safety.

    "We were always there for you , kiddo...", the man replied helplessly.

    "Yeah but we didn''t spent enough time together. We were always discussing business and military stuff. I want our silly fights back.", the girlined with a pout as an idea struck her mind ,"Yeah ! Let''s call for the five others and Xiao too. We will have a ''Sibling bond revival'' party !"''

    Damn ! Here goes the littledy devil again , the man thought...

 Chapter 271: Ten hours of long distance relationship

    Chapter 271: Ten hours of long distance rtionship

    Elite Retro Longue , 10 p.m. sharp ,

    Rong Xiao and the six men reached the bar as soon as they got the text message from Rong Xinghe. As the night grew older , they realized that it had indeed been a long time since they had chatted with each other so casually. Now that they all were together , they were going to live this night to their fullest. Soon enough , the sixdies joined in in the party as well.

    As she looked at her brothers chatting and drinking with their wives , Rong Xinghe whispered in her sister''s ears ,"How can they be so lovey-dovey in front of us ?"

    "They still do not match to the brutal disy of affection , you and brother-inw show all the time.", said Rong Xiao in a tone more of sarcasm ,"Just call him here."

    As the girl thought of her man , a genuine smile appeared across her lips involuntarily ,"But won''t he be busy ?"

    "When ites to you , has he ever been busy , angry or offended ? No. He just can''t. In fact , he loves it when you take the initiative. So stop overthinking and call him !", Rong Xiao said , swirling her ss of wine.

    "You seem to have acquired quite some knowledge about love , my dear.", Rong Xingheughed ,"Why don''t you call Wei then ?"

    The moment Rong Xinghe was done speaking , Rong Xiao''s phone rang up and she showed its screen to her sister ,"Brother-inw and Wei are too different. Brother-inw knows that you are with us. So he doesn''t want to spoil our family time by disturbing you. But this gentleman is a shameless individual. I will be back soon."

    _________________

    Few minutes after Rong Xiao left , the six men joined the longue''s dance floor with theirdies as Rong Xinghe simply smiled at her perfect family , sitting on the couch. The girl had already had four sses of whiskey , so her cheeks and ears had turned slightly pink. Due to that much alcohol consumption , the girl was feeling dizzy and was finding it difficult to keep her eyes open. So she lied down on the couch and made a phone call to her darling.

    "Hello ?", a deep voice came through the other end ,"How is the party going , sweetheart ?"

    "Nice...", the girl''s lips curled up as soon as her Yuan''s voice reached her ears ,"But I am missing you !"

    Subconsciously , Xi Yuan''s left hand stopped signing the papers in front of him as his heart started beating rapidly. Did she just confessed that she was missing him ? Didn''t it meant that he had finally owned a little ce in his woman''s heart ? After all , until and unless her brothers were there beside her , she never bothered thinking about anyone else. But he was an exception this time ! And it was a positive change.

    Ever since she had admitted her love to him in the hospital , he hadn''t been able to ept itpletely. He still felt that it was all surreal. Naturally , such words from his Xinghe''s mouth , made him realize that it wasn''t a dream. He was actually one of her priorities now. Every now and then , he would upy her mind and thoughts. And the imagination itself was magical ! It was beautiful and purely serene.

    "B...but I can''te. My office headquarters are far from the Elite Retro and I also have a lot of shareholders to attend to.", the man spoke up after sometime.

    "You don''t give me time anymore. So sad , so painful. Cruel man !", the girlined childishly.

    "Cruel ?", the manughed softly ,"Xinghe , we had a conversation , just this morning. How much have you been drinking ?"

    "Exactly ! This morning means eight , no , ten hours. Ten hours of long distance rtionship ! You are so insensitive towards my little heart , Mr. Xi.", the girl whined.

    Long distance rtionship ? This girl... She was definitely a whole new person , when drunk. Now how was he to deal with a drunk Xinghe ?

    The man tried his best to control hisughter before he took a deep breath ,"Sorry , honey. I will see you first thing in the morning. Just go to your room and get some sleep now. You sound very tired."

    As no response came from the girl , Xi Yuan could tell that the girl had already fallen asleep. But she was in a longue and judging by the voicesing from the background , her brothers weren''t beside her. He couldn''t take chances with her security. So instead of disconnecting the call , the man quickly hacked into Elite Retro''s CCTV cameras and located his woman.

    Next , he texted Xi Wei ,"Are you with Xiao ? Be honest."

    Xi Wei obviously didn''t dared to lie to this intimidating brother of his , so he replied with a simple ''Yes''.

    "You both better watch after Xinghe. She has fallen asleep on the couch itself. Got it ?"

    "Yeah."

    Sigh ! Such a wife-doting devil , Xi Wei muttered under his breath.

    _______________________

    Next morning , the girl woke up to find herself in her bro Al''s appartment. Her brother must have carried her back home , the girl thought. But from the corner of her eyes , she could sense the presence of one more person , lying beside her.

    "Good morning , Ma''jolie !", Xi Yuan smiled sleepily as he pulled the girl back into his embrace.

    "Woah ! You... How did bro Al allowed you to enter my bedroom ?", the girl looked at the man with a shocked expression.

    "Don''t tell me you climbed in through the window.", the girl''s eyes grew wider.

    "This is the 42nd floor , darling. I might need a chopper for that.", the man smiled ,"Your sister-inw let me in."

    "Ooh !", the girl stretched her brows upwards , as realization came to her mind.

    Xi Yuan kissed the girl''s forehead lovingly before he sat up on the bed and passed a bowl of tablets to the girl ,"Have some medicine for headache first. I will go and make you some hangover drink."

    As the man got down the bed , Rong Xinghe pulled the nket above her head ,"Turn on the TV , baby. I want to listen to the headlines. Please ?"

    "Sure."

    Rong Xinghe had just gulped down the tablets along with water , when a female reporter''s words reached her ears.

    "This video footage was leaked by the infamous Werewolf Crewst night. Three of our soldiers have been captured and tortured by the underworld gang with extreme brutality. This video clearly shows a male soldier''s index finger being gashed , while another young man was burnt by fuming iron rods.

    "In the end , the gang members have also threatened the Military Chief of the nation , iming that her inactivity can further result into the female soldier''s sexual harrassment. Now , the entire nation has ced all their hopes upon Military Chief Rong Xinghe. Let''s see , what thedy decides next. Till then , do watch the stills taken from this footage. Due to the disturbing contents present in the clip , we aren''t allowed to show the entire video to the general public."

 Chapter 272: A disagreement between Xinguan !

    Chapter 272: A disagreement between Xinguan !

    The girl kept looking at the TV screen with a nk expression. Zhi Al had already woken up by now. So as soon as he and Xi Yuan listened to the news content , they rushed inside the girl''s bedroom. They knew that this was a grave matter for Rong Xinghe. The armed forces were literally her second family. She had lived with these soldiers for five years and that she herself knew what it meant to be a soldier.

    And this was Zhi Al''s prior concern. The only thing he could hope for was that his kiddo wouldn''t take any decision that would prove to be dangerous and riskyter. Although he knew that Rong Xinghe wasn''t an impulsive individual , he still had his worries. After all , this involved the lives of three soldiers hailing from Country X''s armed forces.

    As the two men entered the girl''s bedroom , there was no one but an empty bed. Only the sound of water flowing could be heard from the other side of bathroom door. The two men nced at each other silently for sometime before Zhi Al sat down on the stool beside him.

    "Actually , I..."

    "Its alright. I saw Mian opening door for youst night. And since Xinghe was mumbling your name throughout the entire night , I didn''t had the heart to kick you out of my house as well.", just when Xi Yuan was about to exin his presence to the man , Zhi Al cut in and smiled at him wryly.

    "Oh.", said Xi Yuan , in a daze , before his eyesnded over the TV screen in front of him. The moment he saw the headlines of the channel , the incident from eleven years back started floating in front of his eyes. The man couldn''t help but think about the death of his grandparents.

    As Zhi Al saw Xi Yuan clenching his fists subconsciously , he took a deep breath and stood up from his seat ,"Was your Uncle Chonglin really involved in that incident , Yuan ? I mean what was the rtionship between this underworld gang and a businessman like himself ?"

    "I don''t know. I thought that Xinghe was investigating the matter but she recently told me that she didn''t wanted to sour her rtionship with my family elders under the virtue of a in possibility. She believes that only I can confront him and talk this out. She wants me to face the problem because..."

    "Because you were the one who had witnessed the murder ?", Zhi Alpleted the man''s sentence.

    He knew his sister more than anyone. And clearly , she wanted Xi Yuan to n his own revenge. But could Xi Yuan really do it ? After all , taking actions against closed ones had never been easy for anyone.

    "Yeah.", Xi Yuan sighed ,"I would be having a word with him soon. I have also hired some investigators regarding the matter. Currently , I am just waiting for the results."

    "And what if he is actually involved with the murder ?"

    "As the CEO of Xi Corporations , how much time do you think it will take me for firing a major shareholder , Mr. Al ?", Xi Yuan asked back in an indifferent tone ,"And of course , circumstances wouldn''t be just limited to that."

    As Zhi Al looked into the man''s eyes , he felt a familiar aura radiating through him. This was the exact reaction Rong Xinghe had when she had seen Rong Yufan for the first time after one year of the train incident. The only difference was that the hostility , rage and menace in Xi Yuan''s eyes were more deep than that of Rong Xinghe. From the looks of it , this man was no simple.

    And this was the type of man he had always wanted for his kiddo. Only a man like Xi Yuan couldplement his sister. Only he could keep her safe. Not that she needed any man for her security. But it was always a nice idea to be loved by someone so dearly.

    At this time , Rong Xinghe walked out of the washroom and sat down on the bed. The girl was wearing one of Zhi Al''s t-shirt along with her camouge cargo pants. The girl quickly connected her phone with the bluetooth ear-piece and called Shou Wu before she started tying her shoeces.

    "I am going to the base of the Werewolf Crew. Send me the information regarding the gang members and their leader as soon as possible.", the girl ordered as soon as Shou Wu picked up the call.

    Before Shou Wu could say anything , Xi Yuan rushed towards the girl and pulled the phone from her hands ,"I would suggest Mr. Shou to not follow Military Chief''s orders. Let me talk to her first. Okay ?"

    "Sure , Sir !", Shou Wu replied with a sigh of relief. It was literally like the big Boss had just saved him from a destructive tornado.

    Xi Yuan then disconnected the call and looked straight into Rong Xinghe''s eyes ,"I will handle this. Just answer me one question. Do you trust me ?"

    "Yuan , I...", the girl frowned ,"Of course , I trust you with my life ! But this involves the honour of a female soldier. It involves the lives of three military officers , for god''s sake. I can''t just take the risk."

    "So you will put your life in danger ? Just like that ?", the man asked after few seconds of silence.

    Rong Xinghe , obviously knew what her darling''s silence meant. He was upset with her. Most importantly , this was the first time for the couple to settle upon a disagreement.

    "This is my job , Yuan.", the girl said helplessly.

    "Do you think you are in the right state of mind at this point of time , Xinghe ? No. And that is what I am worried about the most. I am not eligible to question your professionalism. But this isn''t the Military Chief I know. You always work with a n.", the man tried to exin his concerns.

    "I don''t have time to n , Yuan !", the girl raised her voice , slightly annoyed.

    Xi Yuan remained silent for sometime , making the girl realize her mistake. The girl then bit her lips and cupped the man''s face worriedly ,"Yuan , I am so sorry... I just..."

    "Three hours. All your soldiers will be out of the Werewolf Crew''s base in the next three hours. Till then , simply stay here.", said the man , in a dull tone before he turned around to face Zhi Al ,"Sir , can you please take care of her for the time being ?"

    "You do realize that she is my sister , right ?", Zhi Al rolled his eyes.

    "Yuan ! Please don''t go like this. I am sorry , honey. I shouldn''t have had screamed...", the girl tried to stop the man.

    But by this time , Xi Yuan had already walked out of Zhi Al''s appartment. As a result , the girl''s heart dropped down. How could she talk to her darling like that ? How could she yell at him ?

 Chapter 273: The talk between the two men

    Chapter 273: The talk between the two men

    "What is going on between you two ?", as soon as Xi Yuan left the apartment , Zhi Al turned around to look at his sister ,"Did he just get angry at you ?"

    Rong Xinghe took a deep breath and smiled warmly at her brother ,"Bro Al , he wasn''t wrong here. I know I look impulsive when I deal with situations such as this. But that doesn''t necessarily mean that I take actions without giving them a proper thought.

    "He was naturally scared to lose me. Moreover , I was the one who messed up here. No matter what happens between us , we have never raised our voices at each other. The way I spoke to him was... very awful. No matter how much he loves me , I am not supposed to treat him the way I did. I will have to properly apologize to himter. But for now , I will take my leave."

    "Wait a second ! Didn''t Xi Yuan just said that he will handle it ?", Zhi Al red at the girl.

    "Is he the Military Chief of Country X , Bro Al ?", the girl raised her brows at the man ,"What will he answer the media after he gets involved with the Werewolf Crew ? The media ispletely unknown to the inner battles going on in the Xi family. And once Yuan gets associated with this gang , they will start connecting the dots.

    "Most importantly , even if he reaches the soldiers after dealing with the gang , they will themselves end their lives. So all his attempts will be of no use in the end."

    "Why would the soldiers give up on their lives after being saved ?", asked Zhi Al with a muddled expression.

    "They are all Special Forces Commandos , brother. They are trained to trust no one , but another soldier with Country X''s authorized badge. As soon as Yuan would free their hands , they would willingly slit their throats or gulp down the toxic tablets they carry around all the time.", the girl exined as she texted a message to the Chief of Air Force.

    "But why ?", the man asked again.

    "The soldiers hailing from the Special Forces are drilled in such a way , that they take the secrets to their graves. They would never leak any of the nation''s confidential information to the enemy , no matter how brutally they are tortured. So if they aren''t rescued by the other fellow soldiers , they directly assume that they are held by other rivals and that self-destruction is the only option left for them.", the girl replied in an indifferent tone.

    "I know that Yuan was once trained in the Armed Forces. He knows what a soldier might do next. So he might actually be able to get them out of there. Safe and sound. But some risks are just not worth taking."

    "You both are going to be the death of me one day !", Zhi Al sighed ,"Just one request. Come back in one piece. Ok ?"

    "Okie dokie !", the girl hugged her brother tightly before she rushed out of the house with the speed of light.

    _____________________

    Meanwhile , In the base of the Werewolf Crew :

    "What is the update from her side ?", Diablos asked , as he looked at the map of his base.

    "No response , Boss.", one of the man''s subordinates replied back quickly.

    "Just be realistic , Diablos !", Nifhel muttered agitatedly ,"She is known as the deadlybination of beauty , brains and bravery for a damned reason. She is smart enough to not walk directly into a trap like this one."

    "Hmm. What gate would she select to walk into , Nifhel ? Just guess. Gate number 1 or 3 ?", the man asked without paying any heed to Nifhel''s words.

    "You have gonepletely crazy. I just don''t..."

    "Boss !", at this time , the business informer of the Werewolf Crewentered the torture room ,"Sir , actually... the Crew has just faced a huge loss of 13 million dors in the stock market. And I just don''t know how it happened ?"

    Involuntarily , Diablos''s brows furrowed as he looked up from his map ,"Howe ?"

    "That bi*ch must be involved !", Nifhel yelled angrily ,"Before doing anything , you should''ve considered the fact that shees from the Superfamily. Two of her brothers are business tycoons , with that Zhi Xi guy being a stock market expert. This was definitely a silly move , Diablos."

    "This is thest time you address her like that , Nifhel !", Diablos looked at the man beside him with a sense of hostility ,"Did I make myself clear ?"

    Nifhel clenched his fists before he nodded his head submissively ,"I am sorry. But..."

    "I know Xinghe. Until and unless the military is involved , she will make an appearance herself. This is not her. Its someone else. Someone associated with her. But who ? That is the question.", the man cut in.

    Shortly after , one more of the man''sckeys walked in with an ipad in his hands ,"Sir , this is a message sent by someone anonymous."

    Diablos held onto the device as he looked at the screen. The anonymous sender had , very skillfully , covered his IP address. By the looks of it , this person was no less dangerous.

    "Leave the three soldiers. Else , this is not even the start for me.", the text read.

    "How dare this guy threaten me ?!", Diablosughed ,"Let me deal with this. He is an interesting character."

    "That''s not smart. Even if you turn my business upside down , I can still torture and kill these three weaklings. Moreover , I am waiting for someone. Just go back."

    As soon as Xi Yuan read Diablos''s message , he couldn''t help but think of a certain someone ,"Waiting for the Military Chief of Country X ?"

    "Yep. Now you know I won''t back off even if you destroy my entire business. She is worth those millions of dors.", the man replied back.

    "You do realize that your entire base is surrounded by my men. Don''t you ?", Xi Yuan typed as he pulled out his phone to call Zhi Al.

    He knew it ! It had something to do with her ! It wasn''t simply limited to the armed forces. As a man , his instinct told him that the leader of the Werewolf Crew had some serious obsession with his Xinghe. Else , who would dare to abduct and seize the soldiers of the ruthless armed forces for no reason ?

    On the other hand , Diablos quickly checked all the CCTV footages of his base in order to confirm the ''anonymous'' guy''s hint. And damn ! It didn''t seem like he was lying. More than 500 men were surrounding his base with revolvers in the hands of each ! Just who was this psycho ?!

 Chapter 274: "Honour of a woman is no small matter !"

    Chapter 274: "Honour of a woman is no small matter !"

    Diablos kept staring at the CCCTV footage screen for sometime before he raised his brows with surprise as a smirk appeared across his mouth.

    He then sat down on his chair patiently as he texted back to the ''anonymous'' individual ,"By the way , how is Mr. Xi doing !? No wonder you are still the same mighty business king. Even after being shot twice by my people , you fought back your death. I really admire you !"

    It wasn''t too difficult for Diablos to recognize Xi Yuan''s identity. After all , only few people in the entire nation had this much control over the international stock markets. And Xi Yuan was one of them. Secondly , the five hundred men surrounding his base didn''t belonged to armed forces. They were modified and trained personnel , which hailed from the ''grey'' world of the country. Neither ck , nor white. These men were believed to be one of the most dangerousbat units , but they weren''t directly associated with government authorities like military or police. Only four or five people in the entire nation were known to have involvement with such shady people.

    And Xi Yuan was one such individual. Those who didn''t respected him , feared him. Because apart from money , this man had strength.

    Most importantly , the Xi family had a past with the Werewolf crew. It waspletely expected for Xi Yuan to seek revenge for the death of his grandparents.

    But this wasn''t the point. Diablos''s major concern was that Xi Yuan was trying to save the three soldiers , which made no sense. The only possibility was that he was doing it all for Rong Xinghe.

    Since Diablos had been keeping a close eye on Rong Xinghe for the past few months , he knew that Xi Yuan and the girl were pretty close to each other. In fact , Rong Xinghe had already confessed in front of the entire media that she had a crush on Xi Yuan. If that was the case , he was his prior rival. After all , no one , but him , had the right to ''love'' Rong Xinghe.

    ____________________________

    Meanwhile , Xi Yuan nced at the screen in front of him as soon as Zhi Al informed him about Rong Xinghe''s decision. The took a deep breath before he told the girl''s brother about the situation in hand ,"He is doing all of this , just so that he can meet Xinghe."

    "Do you mean to say that..."

    "Yes. He is obsesssed with her. Clearly.", the man cut in.

    "F*ck ! But she is already on the way to the base.", Zhi Al clenched his teeth angrily.

    Xi Yuan remained silent for sometime before he took a deep breath ,"I believe in her. She is the smartest woman I know. Its just that... if something happens to her , I won''t be able to forgive myself."

    "Don''t worry , Yuan. She will be back safe.", pacified Zhi Al.

    Xi Yuan disconnected the call before he tried to contact Rong Xinghe. But their was no answer from the other end. Soon enough , the deafening drill of a military helicopter''s rotors reached the man''s ears. The helicopter flew straight over the buildings surrounding the base before it stopped exactly above the centre of the base. Few secondster , a ropedder was thrown down the aircraft''s cockpit. Followed by roughly thirty seconds of motionlessness , a soldier started climbing down thedder.

    One look at the physique , and Xi Yuan knew that this ''soldier'' was none other than Rong Xinghe. The girl was carrying nothing but a rifle and a backpack. Just what was she trying to do ?!

    Xi Yuan suddenly had a strong urge to walk into the Werewolf Crew''s base , but he eventually decided against it. After all , he didn''t wanted his woman to think that he didn''t trusted her at all. Nevertheless , they had already had an argument in the early morning that day...

    ____________________________

    On the other hand , Rong Xinghe walked straight into the Werewolf Crew''s base fearlessly , akin to a tigress. There was no hint of uncertainty or anxiety in the girl''s eyes. Instead , she walked with a smile across her lips. It was like she was strolling around in a garden , and not in an underworld gang''s base.

    Just when the girl was about to enter the torture room , two of the crew members stopped her ,"You can''t walk in with your rifle and revolver. Leave them here."

    "Sure.", the girl shrugged her shoulders nonchntly ,"What about the bag ?"

    Next second , two bullets prated the two men''s foreheads as their bodies fell down on the ground. The girl rolled her eyes at the dead bodies in front of her before she headed inside the torture room. Why would she even bother bringing the equipments along with her if she was to submit them to these idiots in the first ce ?

    As soon as the girl entered the torture room , she saw three of her soldiers lying upon the floor , lifeless. The girl quickly rushed towards the femalemando and turned her around , so that she could check her wrist. Thankfully , the soldier was alive. But there was another serious problem. The femalemando''s clothes were torn and Rong Xinghe could see numerous burns and scratch marks on her body.

    "Officer Zhin ! Are you there ?", Rong Xinghe screamed as her mind wentpletely nk for a split second. She didn''t even dared to think of that frightening possibility !

    But unfortunately , all the three soldiers were seriously injured. It was impossible for them to gain back their consciousness in such a state.

    At this time , Diablos entered the torture room , followed by Nifhel and other few subordinates. The man kept observing the girl''s worried expression for sometime before his eyes finallnded over the unconscious femalemando. The moment he noticed the scars on Officer Zhin''s body , he came to the realization and reflexively looked at Nifhel.

    "Don''t you dare tell me you did this !"

    Nifhel shook his head as he tried to exin himself ,"Of course I didn''t do it ! Moreover , I wasn''t the one who interrogated them. And I can''t guarantee the self-control of other boys. Anyway..."

    "Honour of a woman is no small matter , Nifhel. This has always been my bottom line. No one from the Werewolf Crew is allowed to molest or harass a woman like that. Who the f*ck did this ?! That bastard is dead for sure !", Diablos red angrily at the man beside him.

 Chapter 275: Simply too capable

    Chapter 275: Simply too capable

    While Diablos and Nifhel were talking among themselves , Rong Xinghe listened to their discussion silently and stood up from the floor before she took out one of the smoke bombs from her bag and hid it in her jacket.

    Although she could destroy this entire underworld gang if she intended , her first concern had always been her soldiers. She simply nned to rescue them this time. And if this guy would dare to stop her from doing that , a freaking war was inevitable !

    The girl then pulled out hermando dagger and swiftly jumped towards Diablos as she targeted his neck straight ! Reflexively , Diablos''s hands wrapped around the sharp surface of the weapon while Nifhel and the other men pointed their guns against the girl''s forehead.

    "Guns down !", yelled Diablos next second ,"Anyone who dares to hurt her is going to face the worst form of death. I promise that !"

    Rong Xinghe raised her brows ever so slightly , surprised by the man''s words. What was he trying to do ? Saving the enemy ? Didn''t he knew that she could kill him any moment ?

    "Name ?", the girl asked impatiently.

    "Real ? Yang Bolin.", the man replied almost instantly ,"But the entire world knows me as Diablos."

    As soon as Nifhel heard the man''s words , he sweared under his breath. This guy actually revealed his real identity to a woman he had just met ! Just how crazy was he for her ?

    Actually , other than underworld gang , Diablos was also the only heir to Country N''s most influential businessman , Yang Hai. Even though he was born into a business family , he was never given a fair chance topete with his elder brother for the position of the CEO to the three hundred years old textile empire. Eventually , the young boy developed a sense of detachment from his family. Few yearster , he was trained under the guidance of an old man , whoter found and developed the ''Werewolf Crew''. The young Yang Bolin then got to be more interested in the ''shady'' side of the world and left hisfort zone just at the age of thirteen.

    But few yearster , his elder brother was killed by one of Yang Hai''s business rivals and Diablos was the only legal heir left to the business empire. Although his father didn''t wanted to let in a gangster into the family business , he had no option but to acknowledge Yang Bolin''s business skills. While working under the ''Werewolf Crew'' , Yang Bolin was secretly handling international stock markets , in order to meet the gang''s yearly expences. Bot contrary to his thoughts , he proved to be a great businessman. At the end , the Yang family had to pass on thepany to their rightful heir.

    Anyhow , Yang Bolin didn''t liked to associate himself with his biological family. Instead , he liked to be called an orphan. So he rarely talked about his family and childhood.

    Yet , he disclosed his real identity to Rong Xinghe. It seemed like this woman was really special for him...

    "Diablos...", the girl looked straight into the man''s eyes ,"Doesn''t that mean devil ?"

    Yang Bolin smiled at the girl before he nodded his head ,"It does. But I will never hurt you."

    "What do you mean ? Am I not your enemy ? Don''t tell me you called me here just to have a chat. Because clearly , you wanted me toe here personally. Or else , you would have never dared to capture my people.", the girl rolled her eyes.

    "Can I have a coffee with you ?", asked the man.

    Rong Xinghe : "...."

    Was he literally asking her out ? Such a weird man ! Anyway , it was important for her to know his real intention. This person was too unpredictable and intimidating. Just like her Yuan. The only difference was that her darling radiated warmth while this guy had a cold and dangerous aura surrounding him. And it was important for her to know her each and every enemy. Also , she could buy more time for her backup n. It would be more easy for her to get out of this ce like that.

    "I like tea more.", the girl said as she retrieved her dagger.

    An ted smile formed around Yang Bolin''s mouth as he quickly hid his bloody hands behind his back ,"Let''s go !"

    Nifhel and the other gang members had no choice but to look at each other with disbelief and back off. For some uncertain reason , they just knew that this woman was no ordinary and there was a reason that she was so important to their boss.

    ______________________

    "Yourdymando ispletely fine , Ms. Xinghe. Here are her medical repports. It was just that the torture was slightly intense that her clothes got torn. We would like to apologize to you for that seriously , though.", the gang''s medical expert said as he passed on the reports to the girl.

    "It feels so good to enjoy tea with someone who harassed my soldiers physically.", Rong Xinghemented sarcastically while looking through the papers in her hands.

    "Would youe had we not imnted the fear of losing your people ?", Diablos smiled , passing the cup of tea to the woman.

    Instead of replying back to the man with words , the girl looked straight onto his eyes ,"What do you want exactly ?"

    "You."

    "Excuse me ?", Rong Xinghe was taken aback by the man''s words.

    At this time , the girl''s phone rang up and she picked it up subconsciously ,"He is a psycho , Xinghe , who ispletely obsessed with you. Just get out of there as soon as possible. In case there is anyplication , I am waiting outside for you with my men. Your one word and they will barge in."

    The moment she heard her man''s voice , Rong Xinghe felt warmth spread across her frozen heart as she breathed a sigh of relief ,"I... um... I am fine , Yuan. Your help won''t be required today. My backup team has already reced the entire Werewolf Crew."

    Just as the words left the woman''s mouth , all the so-called members of the gang pulled out their revolvers and pointed them towards Diablos and Nifhel. Although the two men were taken aback initially , they were still experienced gangsters , who had faced such situations many times before. So they weren''t scared at all. In fact , they were impressed by Rong Xinghe''s witty and timely nning. She was one hell of a devil herself !

    "Do you think I can''t handle these ants ?", Nifhel asked as he looked at the soldiers surrounding him.

    "Do you think I care ?", Rong Xinghe smiled sweetly as she kept holding onto her phone ,"Mr. RichXi , I haven''t had anything since this morning. You are treating me to my favorite hotpot restaurant today. Okay ?"

    "You are just hopeless !", Xi Yuanughed from the other end. How could she think of food at such a time ? Why did he even bothered to try to protect her ? She was simply too capable !

 Chapter 276: "Scared to lose you..."

    Chapter 276: "Scared to lose you..."

    As Diablos looked at Rong Xinghe chatting with Xi Yuan in such a tender tone , anger surged through him and he rushed towards the girl , intending to snatch her phone away from her. But Rong Xinghe was holding onto the phone tightly and wasn''t expecting the man to make such a sudden move. As a result , the girl tried to dodge the man''s hand and hit her head against the iron pir next to her.

    "Damn !", the girl groaned in pain.

    Diablos retrieved his hand as he saw blood flowing down from the girl''s head while Xi Yuan felt an unknown fear crept into his mind and heart. For him to sense his woman''s pain , he didn''t needed to stay physically by her side. He could just feel it.

    "Xinghe..."

    "I... I am fine.", the girlforted her man after sometime of silence ,"Don''t worry. I wille by myself. You leave first."

    "You are injured , aren''t you ?", the man obviously knew why she was asking him to leave earlier than her ,"Juste outside. We will be going to the hospital together."

    "Okay.", the girl nodded her head obediently. Could she even hide anything from this man ?

    But the moment the girl disconnected the call , Diablos grabbed the girl''s wrist and looked at her earnestly ,"You should be careful ! Let my doctor treat you."

    Rong Xinghe was obviously not going to appreciate such a forceful behaviour. So she twisted the man''s hand around before she whispered in his ears ,"Don''t you dare touch me like that again ! I have someone waiting for me out there."

    "What is the rtion between Xi Yuan and you ?", the man asked irritatedly.

    "None of your business !"

    The girl then released the man''s hand and ordered her men to carry out the three unconscious soldiers before she turned around to leave the base.

    "Hope we meet again , Military Chief.", smiled Diablos , as he looked at the woman leaving the ce.

    Rong Xinghe rolled her eyes as she left the ce after mumbling a simple sentence ,"I hope not !"

    The moment the girl left the torture room , Nifhel nced at the man beside him with a nk expression. He surely had a great taste in women. Of all the beauties in this world , he fell for someone as unachievable as Rong Xinghe. After all , only this woman had the guts to look straight into the eyes of the leader of the Werewolf Crew , without any hint of fright or uncertainty. Such a woman could either make or break the entire underworld. If not handled with care , caution and respect , this woman was bound to bring destruction upon all of them. Yet , this man was smiling like an idiot...

    Diablos walked straight towards his table and opened one of its drawers before he took out an old shabby folder. Inside it , were two photographs. The man cleaned the dusty folder with a tissue from outside as a smirk appeared across his lips ,"You wille to me soon , Xinghe. I just know it."

    ________________________

    9:00 p.m. , Elite Diamond Penthouse :

    "Yuan ! Can you just talk to me ?", the girl hugged the man from behind as he stood up from the dining table and was about to leave the ce.

    Since the couple had returned from the hospital , they didn''t had time to talk things out with each other. Although they both had a lot to discuss , they were upied by their work initially , and then , their fear of hurting each other. In the end , the couple didn''t talked about anything but the girl''s head injury , for the entire day.

    However , it was impossible for them to stay like that for a long time. Healthy conversations had always been the key to their strong chemistry. Both the man and the woman never bottled up their feelings , when facing each other. ording to them , hiding feelings in a rtionship was the most toxic mistake couples made.

    It was just that Xi Yuan was too sensitive , whenever any discussion involved his girl''s feelings. Naturally , Rong Xinghe knew that he would never take the initiative.

    "Okay. Just listen. Let me just speak my heart out.", the girl requested.

    After few seconds of silence , Xi Yuan took a deep breath and dragged the girl into her bedroom ,"Say whatever you want while I apply ointment to your wound."

    The girl sat down on the bed amenably as the man started opening her bandage slowly and carefully.

    "I am sorry.", said the girl after sometime ," I should have not yelled at you like that earlier today. That was very mean of me. No one deserves to be treated like that. I knew that you were concerned about me and that you wanted to help me out. It was just that I couldn''t let you do that , Yuan. No matter how much you love me , I can''t use your influence and strength for my personal benefit. I know I was wrong to raise my voice at you and I apologize to you for that. But please don''t help me like this again.

    "The six most influential men of this nation are my brothers , Mr. Xi. Couldn''t they help me back then when I was pushed down that running train ? But what theydid instead was that they empowered , encouraged and supported me. That''s what I want from you too. Your love , trust and support is all that I am asking for. I know you understand me more than anyone and I am really silly to tell you all of this but..."

    At this time , the man hugged the girl tightly and kissed her forehead gently ,"Hush !"

    "No need to exin yourself , Xinghe. I understand your point and I am sorry I made you feel ufortable today. Its not that I don''t trust your nning orbat skills. You are the smartest woman I know , Xinghe. I just..."

    "You just what , Yuan ?", the girl asked worriedly.

    "I was scared that I might lose you...", the man confessed honestly , revealing his vulnerable side to his Xinghe.

 Chapter 277: The Prince Charming to their Princess

    Chapter 277: The Prince Charming to their Princess

    As she listened to such a proud man telling her about his fears of losing her , Rong Xinghe''s heart started beating rapidly. Although she knew that he loved her , she had never expected him to confess his deep worries like this so openly. Judging by how tightly he was holding her into his arms , she could tell that he had a lot more to say. So the girl stayed frozen into the man''s embrace silently.

    "I should be the one apologizing here. It waspletely natural for you to yell at me. I might have reacted the same way if someone had randomly underestimated my professionalism. I was the one at fault here. I know how amazing and skilful you are , when ites tobat. I have seen you kill terrorists , for god''s sake. I have seen you n all those underwater naval attacks and all those air force defences. Yet , I assumed that you were behaving impulsively. I am really sorry , my love.

    "But I really can''t imagine my life without you. Especially when this matter involved the Werewolf Crew , I just couldn''t let you go like this. I saw them kill my grandparents when I was fifteen , Xinghe. I just...", the man choked on his words.

    "You imagined me being killed by the gang ?", the girlpleted the man''s sentence as realization struck her. It seemed like her darling was really frightened by the thought of losing her this time. And why not ? His terrifying childhood memories were associated with this underworld gang. It was totally normal for him to try to protect the person he loved , considering the fact that he wasn''t able to save his grandparents.

    The man nodded his head in admission as he continued speaking ,"Xinghe , you ar perfect. You are capable of protecting yourself too. But I just wish for you to not take your life so casually. I can''t afford to lose my Queen. Please. I beg you. No matter what mission you select , prioritize your security as well. If you promise me that , I will never interfere with your work. You can do whatever you want then. I will always be there for you , but behind the scenes."

    The moment the man stopped speaking , tears rolled down Rong Xinghe''s cheeks. Ever since she was a child , she had grown up to be an independant individual. She had never been as emotionally close with someone as she was with Xi Yuan.

    Although she and her brothers shared a pretty close bond too , her rtionship with Xi Yuan was different. Her brothers had their own families to take care of. But this guy had been proritizing her ever since she walked into his life. No matter how uncertain she was , he had always been optimistic about thieir rtionship. And now that everything was perfect between them , he didn''t had the courage to imagine his life without her. Just how much did he loved her , the girl thought worriedly.

    Xi Yuan could obviously not see Rong Xinghe crying like that. So he quickly separated himself from her and wiped her tears hurriedly.

    "I am so sorry ! Please don''t cry, Xinghe. I know I was wrong. I won''t...", the man tried to pacify the girl.

    But before he could evenplete his sentence , a pair of soft lips brushed against his as the couple shared a sweet short intimate moment. The girl then loosened her grip around the man''s neck and buried her head into his shoulders. She then looked up at the man and whispered in his ears.

    "I promise to keep myself safe. Just let''s never fight again. Okay ?", the girl mumbled weakly as she was left with no more strength to talk further. Before the man could reply anything , the girl closed her eyes and fell unconscious in his arms.

    Xi Yuan kept looking at the angel in his embrace for few seconds before a genuine smile crept across his lips. He then leaned in against the girl and kissed her forehead tenderly.

    "Okay."

    He didn''t liked it as well , after all. However , this discussion was important for the both of them. They knew about each other''s intentions and concerns now , at least.

    The man gently ced the girl''s head above one of the pillows and pulled up the nkets for her. He then simply lied down beside the girl after switching the lights off.

    After checking for other wounds on the girl''s body , the man finally breathed a sigh of relief and pulled her in his warm embrace. Gradually , he also fell asleep after observing the girl''s pure and serene sleepy expression for sometime.

    _________________________

    2:00 a.m. , Midnight

    Two men walked into the girl''s bedroom , in order to check onto their sister. Zhi Xi and Lu Wei were already informed about the Werewolf Crew incident and Xinguan''s argument by Zhi Al , earlier that noon. But unexpectedly , the couple didn''t seemed like they ever had any form of disagreement. Instead , both the man and their sister were sleeping in aposed and carefree manner.

    "They handled the situation pretty well , didn''t they ?", Zhi Xi smiled as he caressed Rong Xinghe''s head , attempting to check her injury ,"The wound doesn''t seem to be too deep."

    "It isn''t. Rogguang already checked on her medical reports.", said Lu Wei as he walked towards Xi Yuan''s side of the bed and covered him with the nket too ,"Thisd needs to take his health into consideration too. He has just recuperated from that attack , after all."

    As Zhi Xi saw Lu Wei cing the girl''s favorite cushion under Xi Yuan''s head , he felt as if something was wrong with his eyes.

    "What is it ?", asked Lu Wei.

    "Are you really doing it , Wei ? I mean... epting him in her life ?", Zhi Xi asked seriously.

    "I think its not too bad of an idea.", the man replied ,"He clearly loves her , Xi. He doesn''t even care about his position , authority and reputation , when ites to protecting her dignity. Moreover , its like they both are destined to be together. He literally fought his death toe back to our Kiddo. In fact , the first person he recalled as soon as he got back his consciousness was Xinghe.

    "He prioritizes her and cherishes her presence , just like us. He doesn''t even mind lowering his standards for her. He goes to local markets and restaurants with her , just because that lifts up her mood. I don''t mind giving him the chance. Who knows ? He might actually be the prince charming to our princess."

 Chapter 278: "Welcome to the family !"

    Chapter 278: "Wee to the family !"

    Just when the two men were talking among themselves , Xi Yuan furrowed his brows and opened his eyes slowly. The man was naturally taken aback by the presence of the two men. He realized that the girl was sleeping soundly in his embrace. Yet , the protective tigers hadn''t said a word to him. For a split second , the man almost thought that he was dreaming.

    But as he listened to the conversation between Lu Wei and Zhi Xi , he realized that it wasn''t his imagination at all and that the men were actually considering him as their sister''s love interest. In fact , the girl''s eldest brother seemed to be pretty convinced regarding his intentions and sincerity for the girl. It was an amazing thing , wasn''t it ? Recieving blessings from the people who mattered the most to the girl was something he had always hoped for.

    Next second , the man pushed aside the nket covering him and got down the bed. He then nced at the two men before he ced a soft kiss against the girl''s forehead and gestured the men to talk outside.

    "Why haven''t you slept yet ?", as soon as they walked into the living room , Lu Wei asked to the man.

    "Senior Lu , this is how I am. You know that I am a light sleeper. Anyway , can we talk about the discussion you both were having inside Xinghe''s bedroom a moment ago ?", the man said as he came to the main topic.

    "What do you want us to say ?", questioned Zhi Xi ,"Does our opinion even matter ? Xinghe has already confessed her feelings for you in front of both the families. Who are we to stop her ?"

    After few seconds of silence , the man finally spoke up ,"Only the six of you have the right to think of Xinghe''s right and wrong. No one can n her future better than the six of you. There is a reason that she worships her brothers so much. Your opinions matters the most in our rtionship , Senior Zhi. Just because we are dating doesn''t mean we won''t need our families'' consent."

    The two men nced at each other as a smile crept across their lips. It seemed like the right man had finally walked into their sister''s life. He knew how much their kiddo valued family and rtionships. So in order to not trouble the girl in near future , he was already making sure that all the family members were supporting their rtionship. Indeed a smart man !

    "Hmm. Wee to the family then , I guess ?", Lu Weiughed as he opened his arms wide.

    Xi Yuan raised his brows ever so slightly as he took sometime to register the man''s wordspletely. But the moment he understood the meaning behind Lu Wei''s words , relief flooded through him and he responded to the man with a brief hug quickly. Naturally , Zhi Xi joined in into the moment.

    "Just don''t let us hear about Xinghe going through any pain because of you !", warned the two men , in unison.

    "I will try my best.", the manughed as he raised his hands in surrender.

    "That''s just enough.", smiled Lu Wei ,"Don''t tire yourself out too much about this. We know you care for her. Want some coffee ?"

    "You will make coffee for me ?", the man asked with a visible hint of surprise in his tone.

    "Wei loves making midnight coffee.", Zhi Xi said ,"Since we were both going to work for the entire night anyways , we don''t mind making an extra cup."

    As the two men entered the kitchen , Xi Yuan kept staring at them with an expression of disbelief. Was this how the Superfamily was really like ? So warm and... so weing. It was like he had been suddenly gifted by a new and loving family.

    That night , the three men chatted with each other openly , for hours. While they shared their views and opinions on certain general matters , they also talked about their future business ns. As the night grew older , Xi Yuan realized that Rong Xinghe''s brothers werepletely different people from the two business tycoons he knew. They were carefree , casual and thoughtful , unlike the unapproachable cold personalities he thought of them to be. Maybe being a part of this family was one of the best things that had ever happened to him...

    ___________________

    Next morning, the girl woke up to find herself on an empty bed. The girl rubbed her eyes with a muddled expression as she walked out of her bedroom into the living room.

    But the moment she walked into the room , her eyes flew wide open. The girl was so shocked that she had to cover her mouth with the palm of her hands , in order to not disturb the three men. Her Bro Lu , Bro Zhi and darling were sleeping on the living room''s three couches as threeptops were ced on the table in front of them. Stacks of business documents were ced over one another as more than ten cups of coffee were lying here and there.

    The girl looked at the three men with a nk expression. She just didn''t knew what to do. Was this even real ? And was it even allowed ? How could her brothers be so informal with her darling ? Sharing coffee and all...

    The girl tiptoed to her man and caressed his fluffy hair lovingly before she approached her brothers and sat down between them , like the little kitten she was. She then stretched her legs upon the table and rested her head against her Bro Lu''s shoulder as she held onto her Bro Zhi''s hand tightly.

    Naturally , Lu Wei and Zhi Xi woke up by the disturbance caused by the girl and turned their heads to look at her sleepily.

    "You woke up ?", asked Zhi Xi , in hoarse voice.

    The girl nodded her head like a rattledrum before she smiled cheekily at her Bro Lu ,"What did you guys do all night ?"

    "Nothing much.", Lu Wei shrugged his shoulders nonchntly ,"We just told him about all your secrets , including the one , when you sold my diamond brooch to get your favorite dress."

    "And we also told him about how you had thrown all the kitchen utensils down the 12th floor , when you were four , just to ''enjoy'' gravity."

    Rong Xinghe : "..."

    Who , in their right state of minds , reveals their sister''s secrets to her boyfriend ?!

    Why was she suddenly feeling like maybe it was better for her brothers to maintain a distance from her Yuan ? That way , at least her embarrassing childhood memories would remain under the wraps.

 Chapter 279: Proposal bells for Xinguan ?

    Chapter 279: Proposal bells for Xinguan ?

    "Please say you didn''t really told him about that !", the girl red at her brothers angrily.

    "They didn''t. But thanks to you , I finally know about all of that.", at this time , Xi Yuan''s voice resonated throughout the room as the man opened his eyes and sat upstraight on the couch ,"And honestly , you were just adorable as a child , sweetheart."

    The girl pouted like a little four year old as she buried her face into her hands,"We never had this conversation , Mr. Xi !"

    "Okay.", the man smiled warmly ,"Did you sleepfortablyst night ? How is your injury now ?"

    "I am fine now. My head isn''t paining anymore too.", the girl replied quikly ,"Anyway , I will have to skip the meeting at Rong Corps today. Since the three finest business tycoons are sitting beside me here today , I would like to know who will attend the meeting on my behalf ?"

    The three men looked at each other before they replied to the girl , together ,"In your dreams !"

    "What ?!", the girl asked with a shocked expression. How could all of them reject her at the same time ? Was this the result of their ''strong bonding'' ? Damn !

    "We are too busy for that , Kiddo.", Zhi Xi said as he stood up from the couch. He then picked up all his documents and started arranging them properly.

    "Exactly.", added Xi Yuan , while checking his e-mails.

    "Sorry kiddo.", Lu Wei said as he rubbed the girl''s head tenderly.

    Rong Xinghe squinted her eyes at the three men before she snatched away Lu Wei''s phone and made a phone call after unlocking it.

    "Hello ?", a soft voice came through the other end of the phone.

    "Sister-inw Ningtao , its me ! Your baby Xinghe !", the girl started talking in such a pitiful tone , that it was easily able to convince Ningtao that something really serious had happened.

    "What did your brother do now ?", the woman asked in a strict tone ,"Where is he ?"

    "He... denied to go to the business meeting for me. I don''t want to exhaust him but if that was the case , then why did he promised me in the first ce ? I will have to reschedule everything now !", the girlined , as she looked like she was about to break down.

    "Even if he hadn''t promised you , as your brother , it is his duty and responsibility to take care of your health andfort. Just give him the phone , Xinghe !",manded Ningtao.

    "Okay.", the girl nodded her head obediently before she passed the phone to her brother.

    By this time , Lu Wei , Zhi Xi and Xi Yuan were already looking at the girl with an expression of disbelief. Was she for real ? She always had an ace up her sleeve !

    "Good morning , Tao.", the man greeted his wife sweetly.

    "Morning. Did I just heard that you aren''t helping Xinghe with the business , Mr. Lu ?", thedy asked in an interrogative manner.

    "Nope. Nothing like that.", Lu Wei denied quickly.

    "So it means you are going to the meeting ?"

    "Yep.", the man nced at the littledy devil before he answered back to his Queen.

    "Better...You aren''t allowed to hurt my girl.", Ningtao smiled ,"Anyways , I will be leaving for City M today. I have to shoot a scene there. Mom and Dad will be taking care of Alix , okay ?"

    "Alright. Just take care of yourself too."

    "Hmm. I love you.", the woman mumbled as she went back to sleep. This pair of brother and sister were going to be the death of her one day !

    As soon as the man disconnected the call , Rong Xinghe smirked at the three men as she raised her brows at them ,"So ! I thought no one was going to help me out with the meeting... Howe this happened ?"

    Xi Yuan : "...."

    Lu Wei : "..."

    Zhi Xi : "..."

    ________________________

    11:00 p.m. , Elite Saphhire Penthouse

    Xi Yuan entered his ce to be weed by the Xi trio , William Young , Rong Xiao , Daniel Wilson and Isabe Wilson. The entire group was sittingfortably in the living room as they chatted among themselves. The man furrowed his brows and pulled out his phone to check the time. Howe he had no idea that a ''get together'' was nned ?

    "Bro !", Xi Wei noticed the man and rushed towards him excitedly ,"We were just waiting for you."

    "And may I know the reason behind it ?", the man asked as he loosened his tie and unbuttoned his suit. He already had a pretty tiring and hectic day. This better be good , he hoped.

    "Well... Sister-inw''s birthday ising. Remember ?", the man smiled cheekily.

    "Of course I do. But isn''t it one monthter ?", said Xi Yuan. So that was what it was all about. His wild little kitten''s birthday...

    "Yep ! We have so less time.", William smiled ,"Have you thought of any idea yet ? Although you know how to make her feel special more than any of us , we still want to know."

    As he looked at all the excited pair of eyes glued over him , the man rolled his eyes and grabbed a stool for himself ,"I haven''t thought of anything specific yet. But it seems like you all have something on your mind definitely. So speak !"

    "Propose my sister for marriage !", jumped Rong Xiao ,"She will be so happy and surprised."

    "What the...", the man''s mind wentpletely nk as he looked at Xi Fang standing beside him ,"Have you all gone crazy ?!"

    "Come on , Brother !", Xi Ying grabbed another stool and sat down beside her brother ,"You love her so much. And she loves you so much. What is the problem in marrying her ?"

    The man looked at the three siblings of his with an expression of doubt ,"Are you all drunk ? I can''t propose her just yet."

    "But why ?", Daniel asked , confusedly.

    "Its because...", the man was about to exin himself to the group , when his phone rang up. The man picked it up after gesturing the Xi trio and Rong Xiao to stay silent.

    "Hello , sweetheart."

    "Darling !", a soft and melodious , yet cheery voice came through the other end ,"We have a date tonight ! There is a discount at all the street food shops in the south side of the City. I aming home to pick you up in an hour. Wear something rxing and casual. Okay ?"

    "Why do you n everything at thest moment ?", the manughed.

    "Because I know that my darling won''t ever turn me down.", the girlughed back ,"Wait for me hottie ! I aming. And yes ! Dress to impress. Okay ?"

    "Ok.", the man replied , disconnecting the call.

    "See ! You share such an amazing chemistry. A proposal is a must !", Xi Ying squealed.

 Chapter 280: Some people were just irreplaceable.

    Chapter 280: Some people were just irreceable.

    The man red at the group of people in front of him before he took a deep breath and replied to them ,"I can''t propose to her just yet because I want her to live a normal rtionship. Although I am in love with her for one year now , we have started dating recently. I am more than sure that Xinghe will be the woman I would marry , no matter what it takes. But that doesn''t mean I will rush her into that. I want her to know me well before she makes a decision for herself.

    "She has had a very rough childhood. She has faced the cruelest forms of life , at a very young age. ording to me , it is important for Xinghe to let loose now. She needs something refreshing and rxing. Tying her into a rtionship , where she might feel suffocatedter , is not what I want. So I will propose her only when she will fall for me the same way I have fallen for her. Am I making myself clear ?"

    The Xi trio and Rong Xiao looked at each other with nk expressions , before their lips curled up into surprised smiles subconsciously.

    "As usual... no one can think about sister-inw''s happiness like you do. I just don''t know what to say anymore.", Xi Fang said.

    "Don''t think too much about my and Xinghe''s marriage. Prepare for your own wedding first. I have already had a word with Jiang Yue''s dad today. You both are going to get hooked one month down the line. Ok ?", the man said as he rubbed his brother''s head.

    The young man looked at his brother with a shocked expression as he found it difficult to form words ,"Bro... you really..."

    Xi Yuan simply smiled at the man before he walked into his bedroom to change clothes for his date. The world was soon to witness one of Xi family''s weddings. A grand wedding.

    ____________________

    1:00 a.m. , Live Buzz Bar :

    After enjoying dinner with each other , Xinguan decided to have some drinks together , hence walking into a local bar. As the man brought the girl a ss of whiskey , the girl simply looked at the dancing crowd in a daze.

    "By the way , what were William , Xiao and... people were discussing with you today ?", the girl asked the man as she held onto her ss.

    Xi Yuan raised his brows ever so slightly at the girl ,"How do you know they were there ?"

    "Well... I could clearly listen to William''s foot tapping , Xiao''s giggle and few other murmurs , while we were talking.", the girl shrugged nonchntly.

    "Nothing much. They wanted to n a party or something... I guess.", the man answered.

    "Howe they never get tired of PARTIES ?!", the girl sighed and rolled her eyes dramatically.

    ---

    "Umm... I have something important to tell you , sweetheart.", Xi Yuan said after sometime.

    "Oh..", Rong Xinghe mumbled sleepily. She was already six sses down , so she had no strength to even stand properly. The girl simply sat down on the man''sp and started running her hands through his hair yfully ,"What do you want to say ?"

    The man looked at the woman''s genuine smile for few seconds silently. He didn''t knew how to break the news to her. Moreover , he didn''t had the heart to hurt her like that.

    The man took a deep breath before he looked straight into the girl''s eyes ,"Xinghe , what do you think about long distance rtionships ?"

    "Huh ? Long distance...", the girl chuckled ,"Are you nning to leave me , Mr. Xi ? Again ? You had left me for four months already when you were ina. How can you..."

    "Xinghe..."

    "Nope !", the girl broke down , suddenly , as she buried her face into the man''s chest ,"No long distance. I won''t be able to live without you. Please don''t do this to me."

    As the warm tear drops soaked his shirt , Xi Yuan felt as if his heart was being brutally wrenched from his body. Even the idea of staying away from him was so frightening for her... How could he continue speaking of that topic to her after that ?

    "Okay okay. I am not going anywhere. I am not leaving you. Just stop crying. I am sorry I brought this up.", the man tried his best to console the girl.

    The girl stayed silent for sometime before she faced the man and looked into his eyes ,"I miss my Mom and Dad , Yuan. I don''t remember them. But they left me. I was just..."

    "You were just scared that I might leave you , like how they did.", the manpleted the girl''s sentence ,"Did something happen today , sweetheart ?"

    The girl nodded her head with a wry smile across her lips ,"One of my military subordinates became father today. He brought his newborn daughter to the base , to get her my blessings. He looked so... happy and cheerful. When I saw him like that , I couldn''t help but think of how my parents must''ve felt when I and Xiao were born. I know that the family I have is the most amazing one in the entire world. But I never even saw them , Yuan. I..."

    "Hush.", the man silenced the girl by cing his index finger over her lips ,"They must be missing you too , Xinghe. And it ispletely normal for you to think ofthem. Come here."

    The man then pulled the girl into his warm embrace , waiting for her to doze off , so that he could carry her home.

    Out of all the sufferings she had gone through , her parents'' absence was the most painful mystery. And unfortuantely , he couldn''t do anything to help her out. After all , they had been missing for the past 21 years. No one knew anything about them. Not even the Rong family. He just hoped that the girl could meet them soon. Because... some people were just irreceable.

    Only if the man knew that the person who knew about the girl''s parents , was the same who had attacked him not too long ago. That the person he hated the most and the person who was obsessed with his Xinghe , was the only one he could rely upon , to get to the girl''s mother and father.

 Chapter 281: Already staked claim upon her bartender !

    Chapter 281: Already staked im upon her ''bartender'' !

    3:00 a.m.

    The man carried the girl into his bedroom. He then ordered the housemaid to change the girl''s clothes into a set offortable ones , while he prepared a bowl of lukewarm water for her. After the maid was done with her task , Xi Yuan sat down beside the girl and gently cleaned Rong Xinghe''s face , neck and hands. He wanted her to sleep without any difort , after all.

    Only after the girl turned around and hugged the man tightly , did he stopped all his actions. The man''s perfectly carved lips curled up into an amused smile as he lied down beside the girl and covered her with the nkets.

    The man kept looking at the girl in a daze for sometime. Just how beautiful was this woman ? She wasn''t just his love , but also his inspiration and idol. There were so many things he learned from her almost everyday. Her simplicity encouraged him to interact with the real public , the poor side of the nation. Her empathy towards the helpless motivated him to work for humanity , and not for the money. Her courage gave him the strength to face all his problems. Her persistence inspired him to never give up.

    This was how a person was bound to behave , when in love. Although he was one of the most influential men across the globe , he seeked inspiration from his love. ording to him , no one was as amazing , talented and mesmerizing as her. No matter how many months had passed ever since he had fallen for her , even today , whenever he looked at her , it was like he was looking at an artwork , a magic , an angel. For him , Rong Xinghe wasn''t his need or desire , but his wish. She was the oxygen he needed to survive in this world. And of course , the woman''s feelings were mutual for him.

    Suddenly , the girl smiled in her sleep and snuggled into the man''s warm embrace as she mumbled , sleepily ,"My Yuan..."

    The man couldn''t help but raise his brows with surprise and chuckle softly at the girl''s words and actions. Why was he even worried about their rtionship ? The Queen had already staked her im upon her ''bartender'' ! He was already hers now. Sigh ! He couldn''t get out of this , even if he wished to...

    ____________________

    Next morning , the woman woke up to find herself into the arms of her darling. The man''s one arm was supporting her neck while his second hand was ced over her waist , locking her into his tight embrace. The girl didn''t even dared to move. Who , in their right state of mind , would wake up such a stunning , built and smart man ? She''d rather enjoy the view !

    Just when the girl was ying with the man''s soft and fluffy hair , the man opened his eyes with a frown.

    "Don''t touch !", said the man , in a hoarse voice. He didn''t liked it when people touched his hair , at all.

    "You are my possession , Mr. Xi. I will touch you as much as I want.", the girl replied with augh , as she kept running her hands through the man''s hair.

    As he woke up to the girl''s cheerful voice andugh , the man''s mood was naturally elevated too. He simply rubbed his nose against hers ,"Hmm... Good morning , sweetheart. What do you want for breakfast ?"

    "I will be cooking today.", the girl shook her head as she quickly jumped down the bed.

    "No. You won''t.", disagreed Xi Yuan.

    "You are the only one who prepares the breakfast for us everyday. I feel like I do nothing for you and that I am useless in this rtionship. Moreover , I love cooking. So I am cooking.", the girl announced , akin to the butler of the house.

    "But Xinghe...", the man was slightly worried.

    At this time , Rong Xinghe cupped the man''s face with both her hands and ced a soft kiss against his lips ,"I have the right to dote on you too. Most importantly , I can''t let an old man serve me."

    "Old man ?", the man furrowed his brows with a muddled expression.

    The girl tilted her head slightly and whispered into the man''s ears ,"Aren''t you three years older than me ?"

    "You !"

    But before the man could make a move , the girl had already ran out of the bedroom , with the speed of light. How dare she ? There wasn''t much of an age difference between them. Yet , she had the guts to tease him like that !

    ________________________

    "How are the soldiers , Mr. Shou ?", the girl asked to Shou Wu as she chopped the chillies in front of her. She had already bathed when Xi Yuan was working out in the gym. And only now , that he was having a shower , the girl had finally sneaked in into the kitchen. It was so difficult to trick this man !

    "They are all fine , Military Chief.", the old man replied ,"There is nothing serious diagnosed into their bodies. Just some small cuts , bruises and wounds. But since they are hailing from the special forces , they will retireve soon."

    "Alright. Let them have a proper rest then. And what is the update about the Werewolf Crew and that Diablos ?"

    "Well , we haven''t been able to get any information about the gang yet. Only that this Diablos used to work into a Scienceboratory overseas , few years ago.", answered Shou Wu ,"We are still trying to find out the details about theboratory."

    "Keep tabs on this man , Mr. Shou. I am really not too sure of his intentions.", said Rong Xinghe ,"Anyways , mail me my schedule. Okay ?"

    "OK."

    The moment the girl disconnected the call , she heard someone ''deliberately'' coughing behind her. A chill ran down her spine as she turned around to look at her bro Mo ring at her.

    Damn ! Cooking and her ? That was a bog ''No'' for her brothers. Yet , she was ying with fire and knives here. She was definitely a dead peace of meat taday !

    "Brother , actually I was just...", the girl tried to exin.

    "You were just what , Kiddo ?", Mo Zixuan questioned , crossing his arms and smiling sweetly ,"I would really like to listen to your exnation. I mean...e on ! There is one thing we don''t allow you to do. And you still can''t listen to that. Why ?!"

    "Yuan told me to do so !", the girl pushed the me upon the innocent man , who clearly had no idea of what was happening into his own kitchen.

    "Kiddo...", Mo Zixuan sighed.

    "Really ! I am not lying. He told me to prepare the breakfa..."

    "I trust Yuan more than you , Xinghe.", Mo Zixuan cut in ,"He cares for you too much to let you do all these chores."

    Rong Xinghe : "....."

 Chapter 282: "Control yourself in public places !"

    Chapter 282: "Control yourself in public ces !"

    While the brother and the sister were busy in their conversation , Xi Yuan walked out of his bedroom. He had put on a dark blue suit , which was perfectly enhancing his stunning and noble presence.

    The man was slightly surprised by Mo Zixuan''s sudden appearance , so he walked towards the siblings as he spoke to his assistant over phone. It was only when he reached the threshold of his kitchen did he noticed that the littledy devil was holding a knife and a tomato in her hands.

    On the other hand , as soon as Rong Xinghe saw Xi Yuan , the knife slipped down her right hands , making a cut across her left hand''s palm. The girl quickly squeezed her eyes shut as she groaned in pain ,"Crap !"

    "What the...", the man muttered under his breath , rushing towards the girl. Mo Zixuan also strode towards the couple worriedly and started searching for the first aid kit in the kitchen drawers.

    Xi Yuan held the girl''s left hand''s wrist into his anxiously and shook his head helplessly. He pulled out his handkerchief and covered the injury , in order to stop the flow of the blood. The man then hauled the girl into his living room and made her sitfortably upon one of the couches before he went back into the kitchen and helped Mo Zixuan to find the medical kit.

    ___________________

    "Your brothers are not wrong to hinder you from entering the kitchen. You can handle missiles , nuclear weapons , grenades and even the entire nation , but not a simple knife !", the man expressed his displeasure as he applied the disinfectant upon the girl''s palm ,"Didn''t I told you to not experiment in the kitchen ? Why don''t you ever listen to me ?"

    Rong Xinghe sighed helplessly as she looked at her brother , who obviously was more upset than her darling. The girl didn''t even dared to pacify the two men with her puppy eyes or adorable smile. She knew that it was nothing but a simple attempt of ''adding the fuel into the fire''. The girl kept silent for sometime. But as she noticed that none of the men were taking the initiative to talk to her , she started sobbing uncontrobly.

    "What is it now , Kiddo ?", Mo Zixuan questioned worriedly ,"Is it hurting even more ? Should I call Rogguang here ?"

    The girl shook her head , as she kept crying. Xi Yuan was so worried that he cupped the girl''s face into his and looked into her eyes earnestly ,"Are you alright , honey ? I am really sorry if I sounded too rude just now."

    "N...No. You both aren''t wrong at all.", the girl finally spoke up after few seconds ,"I just don''t like it when... you don''t talk to me. I am sorry. But I love cooking and I really wanted to do it for Yuan today. I won''t do it again. I promise. But please speak to me. Yell at me. Scold me. I hate it when you guys ignore me."

    Xi Yuan and Mo Zixuan exchanged nces among themselves before they burst outughing. Xi Yuan pinched the girl''s cheeks as he pulled her into a tight hug ,"Why are you so cute ?"

    "Still so childish.", chuckled Mo Zixuan.

    Just because they weren''t talking to her , she started to cry like a five year old. They didn''t even knew what to do of this girl. No matter how upset , dipleased or disappointed they were with her , they couldn''t bring themselves to see her break down like that. So there was no way they were going to ''not talk'' to her.

    "Kiddo... I understand that you wanted to cook for him and that ispletely fine. But next time you n to do something like that , just call for him to stay by your side. We just don''t want you to get hurt.", Mo Zixuan said as he wiped the girl''s tears ,"You do remember how you had burned down Al''s entire kitchen when you were fifteen. Don''t you ?"

    "Really ?", Xi Yuan raised his brows ever so slightly as a smirk appeared across his lips.

    "Bro Mo !", the girl looked at her elder brother with a pleading gaze ,"Please ?"

    The man smiled at the girl before he patted Xi Yuan''s shoulders ,"We six are going out for drinks tonight. We don''t mind you and your brothers joining us."

    Xi Yuan stood up from his seat as he shrugged his shoulders confusedly ,"I... um... Sure. Why not ? Is there anything special tonight ?"

    "Nope. We just want to know the man who has his eyes glued over our sister. Moreover , its pretty rxing to talk it out with brothers. Just get some break. Yeah ?"

    "Brothers ?", Rong Xinghe looked at the two men with disbelief. What the holy hell ?!

    "Yuan is family now , Xinghe. Just shut up !", Mo Zixuan rolled his eyes dramatically.

    "I will be there , Senior Mo.", Xi Yuan smiled as he looked at the girl ring at her brother angrily.

    This was what he admired about them the most. No matter how unreachable and majestic the Superfamily seemed to be , at the end , they were all just a group of siblings who loved and protected each other , unconditionally. Even though she was the highest Military authority of her nation , and even though he was the most followed Journalist across the globe , in front of each of other , they were just each other''s bro Mo and littledy devil. And maybe that was the reason the Superfamily was so close and attached to each other. They knew very well , how to water the seed of love.

    "Fine. Also , I hope you both can control yourself in public ces.", Mo Zixuan said as he turned to face Xi Yuan.

    "What happened ?", Xi Yuan asked , pinching the space between his brows. Why was he having a bad feeling about it ?

    Mo Zixuan pulled out his phone and showed an attachment sent to him along with a mail , to the man and then to his kiddo. It was a photo of the couple strolling hand-in-hand , around the streets of the local food market of City A , as the girl was resting her head against the man''s shoulders. The moment Xinguan saw the picture , they nced at each other and then checked their phones , making sure there was no change into Xi and Rong Corporations'' stock marks. Thankfully , Diablos hadn''t made a move yet...

 Chapter 283: He was simply beautiful , inside out !

    Chapter 283: He was simply beautiful , inside out !

    "Is there a probability of the photo going viral , brother ?", the girl held onto her brother''s arm worriedly.

    "I can''t do anything about that , Kiddo. The photo was mailed to all the other media studios too. You both will be in the headlines by today evening for sure.

    "Anyway , I will pull this off all the channels soon. You trust me , don''t you ?", Mo Zixuan replied , rubbing the girl''s head tenderly.

    The girl simply nodded her head with a sigh. Of course she trusted him. He was , after all , the Media Ma Mo Zixuan for a reason.

    "Just take care of this till I discuss the matter with the Prime Minister and President , brother.", the girl said ,"I am the Military Chief of the Country X. Yet , I decided to manage Rong Corporations. It was already a challenge convincing the ministries of my ability to handle the pressure."

    At this time , Xi Yuan ced the girl''s both the hands into his warm ones before he looked into her eyes earnestly ,"Should I keep distance from you for the next few days , Xinghe ?"

    "Huh ?", the girl frowned ,"Why would you do that ?"

    "I can''t let our rtionship affect your professional life , sweetheart. Most importantly , you need to give it a proper thought before going public about ''us''. We won''t be able to avoid paparazzis for too long if they sense something like that. This involves the Xi family and the Superfamily as well. They will be bothered by the journalists too. Just think about it.", the man exined.

    The girl remained silent for sometime before she nodded her head ,"What do you want ? You want to keep it under the covers ?"

    "I don''t mind going public. No one would dare to question me even if I do that.", the man shrugged his shoulders nonchntly ,"And I don''t mind boasting about my amazing girlfriend. But I love this privacy too. This time is ''ours''. This is about you and me. And no one has the right to intrude that. So at the end , it ispletely your call."

    "Boasting about your amazing what , Mr. Xi ?", Mo Zixuan crossed his arms , ring at the man beside him.

    "Umm... sorry.",ughed Xi Yuan awkwardly as he scratched the back of his head.

    Rong Xinghe couldn''t help butugh at the hrious scene unfolding in front of her. Was this how it was going to be like from now on ? The six men torturing him like this ? That would be so much fun to witness !

    "Fine. I agree with the privacy thing. But I won''t allow the media to hinder us from strolling around. I love to interact with the general public , Yuan. Moreover , we can''t keep hiding like this always. We will live our lives like no one is watching. Let people assume whatever they want. Ok ?", the girl came to the conclusion after few minutes of deep thoughts ,"And don''t you dare to think of staying away from me again. That was such a silly idea !"

    Xi Yuan smiled wryly at the girl before he nced at his phone and nodded his head ,"As you wish , darling."

    Rong Xinghe could obviously feel that the man was hiding something from her. But she couldn''t point out exactly what it was.

    "Is everything fine , Yuan ?", the girl asked.

    "Of course.", the man nodded his head and hugged the girl tightly before he nted a soft kiss against his forehead ,"I need to leave for the office now. Don''t worry about the breakfast. I will eat something there. Bye !"

    "Bye...", the girl smiled , pushing away her doubts at the back of her mind. Maybe she was the one thinking too much. There must be some important business matter upying him , she thought.

    __________________

    11:00 a.m. , Xi Corporations :

    "How is it going , Ms. Fei ?", as soon as he reached his office , Xi Yuan entered his project manager''s room , pulling off his suit.

    "No progress yet , Sir.", ady in neatly ironed grey skirt suit stood up from her chair , as she showed herptop screen to the man ,"But don''t worry. It is a normal problem. Business rivals often pull tricks like these."

    "This is the seventh caseing from Mexico , Ms. Fei.", Xi Yuan shook his head in denial ,"Xi Corporations has been funding these government schools for the past nine years now. Howe students are suffering through serious diseases like food poisoning and type two diabetes all of a sudden ? There must be something wrong with the food thepany has been providing , right ?"

    "Sir... as you said , it has been nine years since we are doing this. How can the problem arise suddenly ?", the project manager asked ,"Lets just ask the people over there to handle the matter."

    "It isn''t as easy as it looks. Every life counts , Ms. Fei. And who knows when the matter might get out of our hands. If anything happens on therger scale , the entire Xi Corporations will be affected adversely. Moreover , we can''t just let the kids die.", the man pinched the space between his brows.

    "Arrange for Mr. Wei to leave for Mexico by tomorrow morning. I would like for him to check the ground reality. We can''t figure out a quick solution from Country X itself.", said Xi Yuan as he rubbed his face , exhaustedly.

    "Rx , Sir.", at this time , the woman smiled genuinely at the man ,"I will exin the situation to Third master Wei , right away."

    No matter how emotionless this man seemed to the outer world , he was a very thoughtful andpassionate person. He was simply beautiful , inside out. Had it been the loss of millions of dors , he wouldn''t have stressed out so much about it. But just because this matter involved the health of a few students , he was trying his best to solve the issue.

    "Nope. You rx.", Xi Yuan shook his head , pointing his chin towards Ms. Fei''s lower stomach ,"A five month pregnantdy shouldn''t be even working. Yet , you keep insisting."

    "Sir... I am a divorcee. So I have no one to go home to. And I have to earn for my family. Most importantly , I love working under your guidance.", the woman smiled as she ced her palm over her protruding belly.

    "Not under me.", smiled the man ,"Alongside me. We are a team , Ms. Fei. And I really can''t do anything of your stubborness. Anyway , I have already ordered the architects to shape the fourth floor of our headquarters into a childcare floor. Just go and tell them where you want to ce the crib for the ''new little employee'' of the Xi Corporations."

    No wonder the entire staff of the Xi Corporations worshipped this man... He was worth it !

 Chapter 284: The informer to her Sister-in-laws

    Chapter 284: The informer to her Sister-inws

    "Where is your boss ?"

    As soon as she was done with her work in the Military Chief Office , Rong Xinghe headed inside Lu Corporations'' headquarters , in order to meet her brother. But she wasn''t able to find him in his office. So she directly approached a random employee , racking his brains in his cubicle.

    "M... Ma''am...", the moment the employee saw the Military Chief of the country walk up to him just like that , he started stammering nervously ,"I... don''t know..."

    Rong Xinghe couldn''t help but smile at the young man''s actions as she raised her brows at him ,"You don''t know ? His office is literally facing your cubicle. You must''ve noticed. Try to remember. Come on !"

    By this time , almost entire office staff had noticed the presence of their boss''s beloved sister into the office. They exchanged nces among themselves with surprise. After all , it was rare for Rong Xinghe to step into their brothers'' workces. Not to mention , this person was the closest to Lu Wei''s heart. Impressing her was no different than impressing their boss.

    So every staff member surrounded the girl , trying to impress thedy luck of the six men. But who would''ve thought that it wasn''t too difficult to get along with this girl...

    __________

    7:00 p.m. :

    Zhi Xi and Lu Wei finally got out of the meeting room after a five hour long meeting with the Lu Corporations'' shareholders. Although Zhi Xi wasn''t a member of the Lu business empire , he was one of the prime advisors in thepany. Same was Lu Wei''s status in Zhi Corporations. Most importantly , none of the shareholders had any problem with the two men interfering in each other''s business. Superfamily , after all , was nothing but a group of skilled and talented intellectuals and it was beneficial for theirpanies to recieve advices from them.

    But the moment the two men stepped out of the meeting room , they saw the ''least expected'' scene unfolding in front of them. Rong Xinghe was sitting on the ground , surrounded by Lu Wei''s office staff , as she distributed two decks of cards among them. It seemed like the littledy devil was enjoying her favorite game of ''Bluff'' very well again !

    Lu Wei and Zhi Xi looked at each other with an expression of disbelief , as they stood patiently , at their respective positions , closely observing their silly sister. Just what was she trying to do ?

    "So Mr. Guang ! Do you really enjoy working here ? I mean... isn''t Mr. Lu pretty strict with his employees ?", the girl yfully poked one of the employees sitting beside her.

    "No Ma''am ! Absolutely not. President Lu has been treating each of us finely , without any form of partiality.", themiddle aged manughed awkwardly.

    "Yes Ma''am.", another young employee , named Twinkle , nodded her head excitedly ,"He provides equal opportunities to everyone. There are times when we have a lot of work to handle , but he never forgets to make us feelfortable."

    "You seem to be pretty close to him , youngdy ?", Rong Xinghe raised her brows ever so slightly as she pulled out her phone , pretending to check her e-mails. Instead , the girl opened her Weibo chats and browsed her Sister-inw Nongtao''s name.

    "Um...", the young employee''s cheeks started turning reddish as she nodded her head shyly ,"Actually , President Lu was my senior in university days. I even had a crush on him back then. But didn''t had the courage to confess to him.

    The moment Twinkle blurted out those words , the entire office erupted into cheers and hoots , while a text message was directly sent to Ningtao ,"Twinkle. Cubicle 27. Bro Lu was her crush during graduation days. Stay alert !"

    On the other hand , Zhi Xi turned his head to look at the man beside him ,"You are cheating on Ningtao ? Seriously ?!"

    "Are you crazy ? This is the first time I have noticed this woman in my office. Moreover , I have eyes only for Tao.", Lu Wei nced at Zhi Xi with a frown.

    "HAHAHA. Of course , I know that ! Xinghe was ina when we were university. Her recovery was our only priority then. But you should know it better than anyone that Ningtao must''ve been informed about this girl by now. Kiddo loves her sister-inws more than her brothers , after all.", Zhi Xi chuckled.

    "Why is she like this ?", Lu Wei sighed as he looked at Rong Xinghe clicking Twinkle''s photo secretly and sending it to a ''certain someone''.

    "This is her way of being beautiful ,Wei.", Zhi Xi smiled ,"Lets just let her do it."

    At this time , Rong Xinghe smirked at few other female employees with an extrayer of meaning ,"And what about President Zhi ? How many of you find him appealing ?"

    "Or maybe not...", Zhi Xi rolled his eyes with a sigh.

    Lu Wei couldn''t help butugh at the Zhi Xi''s actions ,"Let us handle this girl now. Else , our wives will definitely divorce us today."

    "I couldn''t agree more.", Zhi Xi shook his head with a helpless smile.

    ___________

    "So you like President Zhi too ? What''s your name ?", just when the girl was about to text a message to Songyan , the two men approached her , from behind and started tapping their shoes impatiently. Naturally , the employees didn''t dared to utter a single word , as they saw the two imposing personalities standing in front of them. They could clearly tell that it was oficially over for the Rong Xinghe today !

    "How is the Bluff going , Xinghe ?", asked Lu Wei , as he gestured his staff to keep sitting with the girl , on the ground.

    "Amazing , Bro Lu !", replied the girl excitedly before she came to the frightening realization ,"Damn !"

    The girl stood up hastily as she smiled at her brothers , as if nothing had happened ,"Hello..."

    "Hi !", Zhi Xi smiled back at the girl as he pulled her nose forcefully ,"How do you n to get punished today ?"

    "Aah ! Sorry !", the girl screamed in pain as the office staff broke outughing. They had never witnessed this side of the two men ever before , after all.

    "Give me your phone.", said Lu Wei , stretching his hands towards the girl.

    Rong Xinghe , unwillingly , had to pass her phone to the man. Out of all the members in the Superfamily , she wasn''t going to y tricks upon these two men. They were just too intimidating !

    Lu Wei simply looked through the girl''s chats with his wife before he made a phone call.

    "This Twinkle really works in his office , Xinghe ?", a soft yet slightly worried voice came through the other end.

    "Is Mrs. Lu jealous of a mere employee ?", asked the man , as a surprised smile crept across his lips.

    Ningtao was taken aback by the familiar voice of her husband , initially. But few secondster , she took a deep breath and answered back to the man ,"Isn''t it Mr. Lu''s fault to look so handsome and approachable ?"

    The man nced at his sister before he said in a serious tone ,"But it is true that my heart beats for someone else , Tao. There is a girl whom I love , more than I have ever loved you."

    "Who ?", Ningtao furrowed her brows , confusedly.

 Chapter 285: "I dare her to lay a finger upon my wife !"

    Chapter 285: "I dare her toy a finger upon my wife !"

    "Our daughter , Sweetheart. Our Alix.", the man rested his case ,"For me , she is the most beautiful woman in this world. More than my wife and more than my sisters."

    Ningtao and Rong Xinghe couldn''t help but smile at the man''s words. He was literally the best father they had ever seen. No matter how busy he was , he would always spend time with his precious daughter every day.

    "I don''t mind this love rival though , Mr. Lu.",ughed Ningtao ,"Anyway , I''ve got to do some shooting. Talk to youter ?"

    "Alright."

    ____________

    The man disconnected the call and red at the littledy devil standing in front of him as he passed the phone back to her ,"Are you done with this crap ?"

    "Crap ? Brother , I have respect here ! Can you not make me look like a jerk ?", the girl pouted , displeased.

    "You have respect ?", Zhi Xiughed , raising his brows curiously ,"Since when ?"

    "Hey ! Shouldn''t we deal with this at home ?", Rong Xinghe suddested awkwardly. The entire office staff wasughing at her by now. These two men surely knew how to teach her a lesson. Just because she was bantering them earlier , they were teasing her like this in front of so many people. So cruel !

    "So... how was your short break ?", few momentster , Lu Wei turned around to face his staff , who were enjoying the little squabble between him and his sister , with utmost interest.

    As soon as the employees realized that their boss was ring at them sternly , they felt a chill run down their spine. Subconsciously , they bowed down to the man and started rushing towards their respective department areas , akin to a flock of chickens.

    "Woah bro Lu ! That was one hell of a FEAR...", the girl sped her hands excitedly , as she looked at the staff running around in the office ,"I am impressed !"

    "Get out of my office right now !", the man pinched the space between his brows with a sigh ,"I still have some paperwork to do. Go and sit in my car with Zhi Xi while I wind that all up. Alright ?"

    He couldn''t possibly allow this littledy devil to stay in his workce for a any other minute now. It would be too troublesome for him. She had walked into his office after so many days. Yet , she was able to disorganize his work environment so easily. He didn''t dared to let her interact with his staff anymore.

    "Brother... are you really kicking out your sweet little Kiddo ? And that too , so ruthlesslessly ?", the girl raised her brows at her two brothers with disbelief.

    "How about I take you to your favorite ice-cream parlour , by the time he signs all those documents ?", Zhi Xi suggested as he saw tears welling up into the girl''s eyes. Of course he knew that she was simply putting on an act. But it was still too difficult to see their sister like that.

    "Vani and strawberry scoops.", the girl returned back to her normal self next second , as she held onto her bro Zhi''s hand and dragged him out of the Lu Corporations'' headquarters. Lu Wei couldn''t help but chuckle at the funny scenario taking ce in front of him. It was just awfully hrious to look at the CEO of Zhi Corporations being hauled out like that !

    At this time , Lu Wei recieved a phone call from Ningtao''s assistant Little Six.

    "What happened ?", the man asked as he turned around to rush towards his office.

    "Big Boss , Sis Ningtao''s life might be in danger !", the girl in her early twenties reported worriedly.

    "What ?!", the man stopped in his tracks , shocked ,"I had a chat with Tao just now. She didn''t mentioned anything like that. What is going on over there ?"

    "Actually , that actress Qui Chen is the second female lead of sister Ningtao''s new film. And you know howpetitive she is. Moreover , she had been eyeing on Sis Ningtao''s role in this movie since the beginning , Boss. Although she knew that she stood no chance against Sis Ningtao , she had already assumed that you won''t allow Sis Ningtao to join back entertainment industry after Little Alix''s birth. She thought that Sis Ningtao''s pregnancy was the end of her career.", Little Six exined in an extremely inaudible voice , as if she was hiding somewhere ,"And Sis Ningtao didn''t told you about this matter because she didn''t wanted to bother you about it. She doesn''t want you and Sis Xinghe to stress about such a trivial situation. But... I thought it was better for you to know about this , Big Boss."

    "Little Six...", Lu Wei took a deep breath before he told his manager that he would finish his work the next day , as he rushed towards the private lift in his office ,"Did something happen today ?"

    "Sir...I...", hesitated Little Six.

    "Tell me.", the man said , more assertively this time.

    "Well... Today , I found out that Sis Ningtao''s pencil heels were tampered with , before her shoot. The worst part was that Sis Ningtao had to shoot for an action sequence today on a very rocky surface.

    "One of the make up artistster told me that they noticed Qui Chen''s asistant sneaking out of Sis Ningtao''s vanity van earlier.", Little Six replied.

    "Is Tao alright , Little Six ?", the man asked , his voiceced with anxiety.

    "Sis Ningtao is perfectly fine , Sir. In fact , I didn''t let her know about this as she was already missing you and Little Alix. I didn''t wanted to spoil her mood any further. But this could''ve been pretty risky for her. I... am really scared , Big Boss.", Little Alix sighed.

    "I am sending my security staff there. And keep an eye on this Qui Chen. I dare her toy a finger upon my wife !", Lu Wei said as he approached Rong Xinghe and Zhi Xi , who were sitting in his car. The girl was enjoying her favorite ice cream bucket as she helped Zhi Xi select a photo for his social media handles.

    "So how is your boyfriend ?", asked Zhi Xi to the girl , after Lu Wei joined them in the car.

    "I don''t know. He has been slightly worried... and tired , since the past few days. Something must''vee up in hispany.", the girl replied nkly , as she thought of how the man had been working for long hourstely.

    Zhi Xi and Lu Wei exchanged nces among themselves silently. They obviously knew what was happening in the Xi Corporations. They were , after all , businessmen themselves. It was impossible for them to not see the smoke caused by the fire. But they trusted Xi Yuan and his principles more than anything. He would never intentionally harm the innocent children.

    "He will be fine , Kiddo.", Lu Wei smiled as he rubbed his sister''s head lovingly before he hugged her tightly.

    "Hopefully...", the girl smiled. It pained her heart to see her darling suffer like that.

 Chapter 286: "He is a man in love."

    Chapter 286: "He is a man in love."

    "Do you want me to cook for you , Kiddo ?", as they entered the Elite Diamond Penthouse , Lu Wei unbuttoned his suit and threw it on the couch , rushing towards the girl''s kitchen.

    "I don''t mind pasta , bro Lu. But why do you seem so upset ?", the girl asked as she followed behind the man into the kitchen ,"You have been awfully silent throughout the entire drive to home. Just what has happened ? Is everything alright ?"

    "Kiddo... just let it be.", Lu Wei smiled wryly at the girl.

    "It is about Sis-inw Ningtao , right ?", said Rong Xinghe ,"Is she alright there ? Or did you guys argued about something ? I know it is rare for you both to disagree on something , but still."

    Lu Wei remained silent for sometime before he took a deep breath and looked straight into his sister''s eyes ,"Is it right for her to hide her problems from me , even after spending all these years together ?"

    Lu Wei then spent the next few minutes telling the girl about how Qui Chen''s entry was affecting Ningtao adversely and how that actress had tampered with Ningtao''s heels. Rong Xinghe was obviously worked up after she got to know about what had been happening with her lovely sister-inw for the past few days.

    "Entertainment industry is surely messed up , brother !", the girl clenched her teeth as she started roaming around in the kitchen angrily.

    "Seriously ?! Is this actuallying from someone , who is dealing with the world of terrorism almost everyday ?", Lu Wei chuckled at the girl''s reaction.

    "Well... you are right.", the girl rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly ,"It isn''t really that messed up. Anyway , should I send security for her ?"

    "No need. I have sent my security team already.", the man shook his head.

    "Brother...", the girl sighed and stood behind the man , as she started massaging his tensed shoulders ,"You need to understand that your wife is a strong woman , who has experienced all the ups and downs in this entertainment industry. She doesn''t necessarily need her billionaire husband to protect her. Just let her deal with this matter the way she wants."

    "I trust Tao and you more than anyone , Kiddo.", the manughed ,"Its just that I can''t let go of this feeling taking birth inside me."

    "What is it ?", the girl furrowed her brows , confused.

    "I feel that the sudden arrival of this Qui Chen is very well nned and that it has something to do with my business rivals or your enemies. I don''t know if I am making any sense but I just can''t push this feeling behind.", the man exined.

    Rong Xinghe thought about the man''s words silently , for few seconds before she finally nodded her head in agreement. This was definitely a possibility. Most of her enemies were no less than psychos : the terrorists and the militants. Simrly, Lu Wei''s business rivals were pretty treacherous by nature too. Who knew if Qui Chen was nted by one of them. But then again , there were hell lot of foes , when it came to the Superfamily.

    "I will look into it , bro Lu.", the girl said ,"Just give me one day to figure it out."

    "Are you sure you have that much time ? I mean I can hire some investigators for the same. You don''t need to exhaust yourself for that.", Lu Wei said , as he chopped the onions in front of him while Rong Xinghe grabbed a chair for herself.

    "Don''t worry. I will manage."

    "Alright. And where is Yuan ?", Lu Wei decided to change the topic as he looked at the wall clock. It was already twelve. Just what was thatd upto ?

    "Maybe still in the office...", the girl frowned as she opened her WeChat , expecting a message from the man. Sigh ! Not a single text.

    "Why don''t you just call him ?", Lu Wei asked.

    "Umm... What if I disturb him ?", the girl asked , unsure.

    "He is a man in love , Xinghe. I was in the same boat once. A call from the woman you love , after all those tiring meetings , is the best form of relief from every and any kind of stress. Trust me. He will love to hear your voice.", Lu Wei advised.

    __________________

    Xi Corporations ; 12:15 a.m.

    "Boss , just get some rest. You haven''t even had two hours of sleep since thest thirty six hours.", Xi Yuan''s assistant , Bei Ming sighed as he looked at the man signing the documents in his office ,"Sir , you have received roughly forty calls from Second Master Fang , Third Master Wei and Lady Ying. Your family is worried for you. Could you , at least , talk to them ?"

    Xi Yuan stopped his actions and nced at the middle aged man in front of him before he continued to check through the stack of papers in front of him ,"Tell them to not worry about it and that I will be fine."

    "Sir... Should I adjust the temperature of your private longue ? You can rest for an hour or two. It will be much better for your health.", suggested Bei Ming.

    "Don''t you understand the meaning of a ''no'' ?", scowled Xi Yuan , agitated.

    "Boss... I apologize.", the man finally gave up.

    But at this time , Xi Yuan''s phone rang up. As Bei Ming was holding onto the man''s phone , he peeped at the screen and the phone almost slipped down his finger. It was... hisdy boss !

    The man walked around Xi Yuan''s table , as he ced the phone in front of the man.

    "What is it , Darling ?", asked Xi Yuan , as he brought the phone to his ears.

    "How was your day , Sweetheart ?", a soft and serene voice came through the other end ,"When will you being home ? I really miss you."

    As expected , the man''s lips curled up into an amazed smile. Xi Yuan always wondered , as to how was this woman able to bring sce to him and make him forget all his pain and grief , without even being physically present in front of him. Of course , it was due to the strength in her love ! Next second , the man closed the documents he was signing and stood up from his seat.

    "I will be reaching home in the next twenty five minutes , Honey."

    "I love you !", the girl smiled.

 Chapter 287: Wasnt it too late to do that ?

    Chapter 287: Wasn''t it toote to do that ?

    Lu Wei and Zhi Xi prepared the dinner for the girl and left the penthouse shortly after. Although she wanted to spend more time with her brothers , Rong Xinghe very well understood that they had a pretty exhausting day and that they needed a proper rest. Just what was wrong with the men in her life ?! Why were they all obsessed with long business meetings ? First , Xi Yuan , and now these two men.

    The girl rolled her eyes and strode towards the washroom to take a rxing shower after the day she had. She had been busy training the sharpshooters of the armed forces all day. She was literally standing under the sun throughout the entire day , without even consuming a single bite of bread. Yet , she wished to wait for her darling. Because she knew that he hadn''t had anything for the whole day as well. She , after all , had her informers nted there.

    ______________

    12:30 a.m.

    Xi Yuan reached the girl''s ce and entered the living room as he lied down on the couch , rxing his aching back. At this time , he heard some noicesing from the kitchen. It seemed like a ''certain someone'' was searching for something , and that too , in the dark. How smart ! The man pinched the space between his brows as he let out a helpless sigh.

    "What did I told you about ''not stepping into the kitchen'' , in my or your brothers'' absence , Xinghe ? Come out right now !", the man raised his voice , so that the littledy devil could hear him.

    "Oh ! You are home ?", the girl screamed excitedly, as shejumped out of the kitchen and walked into the living room ,pletely fergetting about what she was wearing. As soon as Xi Yuan saw the dark blue bathrobe wrapped around his woman''s fair and slightly pinkish skin , he couldn''t help but stare at her wide-eyed.

    The girl had washed her hair and wasn''t wearing any make up , yet she could put all the actresses and models out there , to shame. She was... simply beautiful. Gorgeous and alluring. The way she smiled , as she saw him made his heart flutter with soothe as well as excitement. Just what was this woman doing to him ? The way those little drops of water dripped down her hair locks and travelled across her cheeks , neck and chest , made Xi Yuan feel as if something inside him was on fire.

    As she noticed the man''s intense gaze upon her , Rong Xinghe finally came to the realization. The girl quickly crossed her arms and squeezed her eyes shut. What the hell was she thinking when she walked out like that ?! The girl cursed herself silently for few seconds before she turned around to run towards her bedroom to change her clothes. But wasn''t it toote to do that ?

    Before the girl could even leave the living room , a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her against a firm and strong chest. Rong Xinghe was so shocked that she didn''t dared to make a single movement. Her back was facing the man''s front , such that she could clearly sense his warm breath touching the nape of her neck. Next second , a soft yet sensual kiss was ced on the girl''s neck , just below her right ear.

    After few seconds of silence , Xi Yuan''s deep maizing sound resonated throughout the silent living room ,"What kind of dinner have you panned for me , Sweetheart ?"

    The girl tried her best to form words , but her voice betrayed her. It just couldn''te out. The ck mole on her right earlobe had always been her sensitive spot and this man knew it very well. As a result , he was deliberately nibbing onto it , making herpletely helpless.

    "I... umm... I wi.. will go change.", the girl finally said , gathering all her strength. His every touch was sending electric sensations down her spine. This man was making her go numb , dazed as if she was drugged. She couldn''t move , or even breathe. What the hell was happening to her ?!

    Although Xi Yuan had listened to the girl''s words clearly , he decided to pretend otherwise. The man turned the girl around and made her face him , their lips inches apart. The man didn''t wasted anymore time and erased the distance between them , pressing his passion against her lips. The kiss wasn''t rough , but intense. Initially , the girl was taken aback by the man''s actions but she ended up giving in soon. Both the man and the woman had lost their ability to think rationally at this point of time. For them , they were the only two people alive in this world , breathing , moving and kissing.

    Xi Yuan''s hands started roaming across the girl''s body , over the bathrobe , akin to a paint brush against the canvas. His strong hand started stroking her back , her waist , her hands and her hair , gently , as if she was made of ss , too fragile and delicate.

    After standing like that for roughly twenty minutes , Xi Yuan bent down and lifted the girl up into his arms and ced her upon the couch carefully , making herfortable. But the man didn''t touched the girl after that. Instead , he simply looked into her eyes and smiled. His gaze looked like he had seen some magic , an angel.

    "You are the best thing that has ever happened to me , Xinghe.", the man smiled , pecking the girl onto her lips ,"I love you more than my life. Never forget that. Never."

    "I won''t.", the girl smiled back ,"And I love you too ! But I... can''t..."

    "I know what you want to say.", said Xi Yuan , as he ced his index against the girl''s cherry red lips.

    Xi Yuan took a deep breath and sat down on the edge of the couch. He then adjusted the girl''s bathrobe and tightened its belt , which had loosened due to his intense actions , not too long ago. After that , the man covered the girl''s bare shoulders with his suit and nted a soft kiss against her forehead. He also wrapped the girl''s cold feet with his scarf tenderly , so that she wouldn''t catch cold.

    "You are not mentally prepared for this yet , Xinghe. I understand that. And I won''t cross my limits without your consent. Yourfort and will can never be overpowered by my momentary pleasures and my desires. Don''t worry. This is a big step but not the only step in a rtionship. I will always love you and I aim to promise you a rtionship ,ced and adorned with trust , respect and liberty , not lust. Take your time , love."

 Chapter 288: It is as important to you as it is to me

    Chapter 288: It is as important to you as it is to me

    As she listened to the man''s words , tears involuntarily slid down Rong Xinghe''s cheeks and she cupped his face with both her hands. The girl then brought the man''s face to her lips and nted a series of soft kisses against the man''s forehead , nose and both the cheeks.

    "How can someone love a person to this extent , Mr. Xi ?", said the girl , amid her sobs.

    He had always been an amazing friend and a perfect boyfriend to her. He understood her like the back of his hand. Xi Yuan not only loved her , but also respected and trusted her. Most importantly , he showed immense amount of patience , when it came to her. He waited for her to open up about her past and became her friend , her ''partner in crime''. He won her trust and respect first. Only after he was convinced that she felt safe andfortable by his side did he confessed his feelings to her , in front of the Statue of Liberty in New York.

    He waited for her... even after her blunt and ruthless rejection. He waited. He waited for her simple ''Yes'' for an entire damned year. He waited for her to fight back her fears and her past patiently. And through all those months of his one-sided love , he never forced , pushed or pressirized her to do anything. Without anyints and without any expectations , he chose to stand by her side , through thick and through thin.

    And he was still willing to wait for her consent. He could''ve easily insisted to take their rtionship one step further. Instead , he decided against that. He aimed to wait for her yet again. He wished for her to pepare herself mentally. He wanted her to reveal her body to him only when she trusted him with thest bit of her soul. For him , this rtionship had never been a mere fling , but a matter of two hearts. And ording to him , it was important for both the hearts to beat equally before submitting to each other.

    Xi Yuan raised his brows ever so slightly at the girl''s question. How could a bold and fierce woman such as herself feel touched by his simple words ? But then again , her ze was just a pretense. Deep down , his Xinghe was very soft and pure , leaving no ce for impurities. Only love had the strrength to melt this woman down...

    "I have loved a woman who is much more passionate than me. No matter what she does , she does it with all her heart. I just can''t help but put my everything into loving such a woman ?", the man replied with a smile.

    "You are just impossible , Yuan.", the girl let out a softugh amid her tears as she buried her face into the man''s chest ,"I feel like I don''t justify your love , that I can''t love you as much as you love me. Isn''t this injustice to you ?"

    "Love can never bepared , Xinghe. The moment you walked into my life , I knew that I would never be your first priority. That position has always belonged to Country X. You won''t even think about me or your brothers for once , before jumping into the fire , if the matter concerns this nation and its security. But isn''t this the consequence of loving a soldier ? I was always prepared for that.

    "Nevertheless , it doesn''t mean you don''t love me. You share your pain and your happiness with me. My day starts with your hugs and ends with your kisses. You make sure I get my meals on time in the office. And you are the one nning our dates most of the time. Maybe you don''t even realize it , but you have been putting in a lot of efforts into our rtionship too ! It is as important to you as it is to me. Trust me when I say that I have never felt this loved before. And I am not the only one doting upon their partner here.", the manughed as he separated the girl from himself and wiped her tears with the pad of his thumb gently.

    "Will you ever point out one bad thing about me in this lifetime , Yuan ?", the girl rolled her eyes ,"Its like you are my die hard fan. The one who can never ept any fault in their inspiration. I am clearly a bad girlfriend."

    "That I agree with...", the man smirked at the woman , willing to lighten her mood ,"Since you feel that you aren''t perfect for me , can we discuss about how loud you snore while sleeping ? Or lets talk about your choice of music. Your taste in music really sucks , Sweetheart !"

    Rong Xinghe red at the man for sometime angrily before she grabbed onto his cor and pulled him towards her tightly ,"Firstly , I don''t snore. Secondly , don''t you dare judge my taste in music. You know what ? Just get out ! I don''t want such toxic people in my life."

    "Seriously ?! Toxic ?", Xi Yuan chuckled ,"Wait ! Have I told you about how you look when you enjoy your midnight snacks in the kitchen ? Just like a vampire or... maybe a feral."

    "CEO Xi Yuan , can I suggest you something ?", the girl smiled at the man , devilishly ,"Just run for your life. Because I would love to show you how vampires drink human blood. Wait a second. Isn''t today full moon as well ? Time for feast ! Come here , my prey."

    "Okay okay. I am sorry.", Xi Yuan smiled as he stood up from the couch. But Rong Xinghe was still the same littledy devil. Just because she was being modest to him didn''t meant she couldn''t bring the devil down to his knees. She was determined to teach him a lesson tonight.

    ___________________

    Next morning , 8:00 a.m.

    Rong Xinghe was woken up by a call from her assistant Shou Wu. The girl stretched her hand to grab the phone , which was kept on the sidetable but found it difficult to do so , as she was locked tightly into her darling''s warm embrace. Thankfully , the phone was just vibrating , else it could''ve disrupted his sleep. With few more attempts , the girl was finally able to bring the phone to her ears.

    "What is it , Assistant Shou ?", the girl asked sleepily.

    "Ma''am ! Could you please check the news headlines ? It is about your sister-inw , Mrs. Lu.", the old man reported with urgency and anxiety evident in his tone.

 Chapter 289: "It is still my business !"

    Chapter 289: "It is still my business !"

    The girl furrowed her brows as she listened to Shou Wu''s words and tried to digest thempletely. Just what had happened ? The girl carefully moved Xi Yuan''s hand away , which was ced upon her waist and separated herself from him. She then quickly got off the bed and exited her bedroom , rushing into the living room as she switched on the TV.

    "The famous ''Spotlight'' movie diva , Ningtao , was found unconscious in the pool of her own blood in her hotel roomst night. Apparently , the actress was stabbed thrice into her lower abdomen by a field knife.

    "The actress''s assistant was the first one to find her , early this morning at 7:00 a.m. She was taken to the Elite Multi-Speciality Hospital by the crew members of her uing movie. She is still under surgery and a massive crowd of fans have surrounded the hospital building , showing their support to their inspiration.

    "Her husband , President Lu Wei of Lu Corporations has been informed about the situation as well and he is already on his way to City M , sources report. Stay tuned with us to get thetest updates on the matter !", the female journalist reported.

    The moment the reporter''s words reached Rong Xinghe''s ears , the TV remote slipped down her hand as she stood frozen , registering the sudden turn of events. Her sister-inw was attackedst night... Hadn''t she spoken to her just yesterday ? Then how could something like this happen so suddenly ? And why ? Who the f*cking hell did it ?! As all those questions stormed inside her mind , Rong Xinghe''s eyes turned a few shades darker and she clenched her fists tightly , rage overtaking every other emotion in her mind. It was time for the satan inside her to wake up ! It was time for destruction !

    The girl wiped her tears , which had slipped down her eyes subconsciously , without her realizing and started searching for her phone throughout the living room. At this time , a pair of strong arms rested against the girl''s waist and pulled her into a tight yet warm embrace , allowing her to calm down her mind slightly.

    "Xinghe... I will arrange for my chopper. Don''t worry about getting there. Just talk to your brother first. I can''t imagine what he is going through right now. Alright ?", the man said after sometime ,"And let me know if you need something else."

    As usual , Xi Yuan''s voice was no less than any hypnotism for the girl , during situations as strenous and sore as these. Rong Xinghe took a deep breath before she parted herself from the man and nodded her head at him , obediently. She needed to stayposed , for her brother and baby Alix. Her family needed her at this point of time , more than anything.

    "I will take a shower first , else my head will explode with anger.", the girl said in a shaky and weak tone , looking into the man''s eyes ,"I will call bro Lu after that. Just be quick with the arrangements , Yuan. We don''t have time. Three... stabs can be... really dangerous."

    The man nodded his head and pulled out his phone as he made a phone call to Xi Fang. Meanwhile , Rong Xinghe rushed inside her bedroom and instructed Shou Wu to prepare her security team as she loaded her Glock .45 GAP gun.

    "Would it be proper for the Military Chief of the nation to get involved into a case of attempted murder , Ma''am ?", Shou Wu asked , wiping the beads of sweat covering his forehead. He already had a bad feeling about this. Rong Xinghe''sposed tone was more scary and frightening than her anger right now. It was definitely the silence before the storm , he concluded.

    "Depends on the mastermind. If it is that Diablos guys or any other terrorist , then it is the Military Chief''s business. And if it doesn''t concern the armed forces , it is still my business.", the girl disconnected the call with her simple words , making her intentionspletely clear to the old man.

    Shou Wu was in a state of utter shock for few minutes , even after the call was cut. It was oficially over for whoever had nned all of this. Rong Xinghe''s calm tone was the indication that she was nning a barbaric destruction. Although she hated bringing her family into work , she didn''t showed an ounce of mercy to those who harmed or defamed her family. She would use all her strength , whether shady or professional , in order to ensure a ruthless end of her enemy. The mastermind behind this attack was definitely doomed this time.

    _______________

    Elite Multi-Speciality Hospital , City M :

    Lu Wei finally reached the hospital entrance at 8:45 a.m. , followed by Zhi Xi and Zhi Bo , who were already there with him when he had recieved the call from Ningtao''s assistant. But before the men could even walk into the hospital , they were surrounded by the paparazzis , who started attacking them with all the questions they had.

    "Mr. Lu ! What are your views about the incident ?!"

    "President Lu ! Could you tell us if Mrs. Lu was going through any form of rivalry in the industry that you know of ?"

    "Mr. Lu ! Howe the Superfamily was unable to provide proper security to one of their member ? Or is this a case of internal family battle ?"

    "Does Military Chief Rong has any idea about Mrs. Lu''s situation ? Where is she ?"

    "Any updates on Mrs. Ningtao''s situation , President Lu ?"

    Although the questions were directed towards Lu Wei , Zhi Xi and Zhi Bo were trying their best to keep the journalists away from the man. Just what was wrong with them ? Could they not see what the man was going through ?! His wife was struggling for her life inside and yet , they were so insensitive to ask him such questions. Most importantly , he was still unsure of what had actually happened in a mere time span of roughly ten hours.

    "Silence !", at this time , Lu Wei''s voice resonated across the entire hospital entrance , forcing the journalists take a few steps back involuntarily. Zhi Xi and Zhi Bo nced at the man''s zing gaze staring off into the crowd , sending chills down everyone''s spine and nodded at each other.

    "Wei... Just go in first.", Zhi Xi squeezed the man''s shoulders ,"We will handle this. Your Tao needs you right now."

    "Don''t let me hear them again ! They should know the consequences of getting on my nerves very well. Bloody idiots !", said Lu Wei , in a tone high enough for every reporter to listen clearly. The man then pinched the space between his brows and strode inside the hospital building directly , as none of the paparazzis dared to hinder his path. This man was way too imposing and intimidating to get into his bad books !

 Chapter 290: "I have seen Yuan in vegetative state for four consecutive months , brother !"

    Chapter 290: "I have seen Yuan in vegetative state for four consecutive months , brother !"

    "President Lu !", the resident surgeon of the hospital rushed towards Lu Wei as soon as he saw the man rush towards the operation theatre ,"Mrs. Lu is still under the knife. The surgeons are working upon her."

    The man nced at the operation theatre''s door before he turned around to face the old man speaking to him ,"Name ?"

    "I am Dr. Li Yong and I am the head of this hospital.", the man introduced himself courteously.

    "Dr. Li , What...", Lu Wei adjusted his trembling and heavy voice as he found it difficult to even form words ,"What has happened to her ? I mean... can you brief me about her injuries ?"

    "Sir... you have all my sympathies firstly.", the old man sighed ,"Actually , Mrs. Lu was stabbed into her lower abdomen thrice , but that isn''t the only injury found upon her body. She was hit by some hard metallic surface against her right leg. And the attacker had also attempted to strangle her to death by tightly tying a fabric scarf around her neck.

    "She was in a very awful state when she was brought here. She could barely breathe initially. The medical team has stabilized the other wounds for now and are currently focussing upon her abdomen injury , which is the prior concern here. I am sorry but I won''t be able say anything about her chances of survival right now."

    Lu Wei remained silent for sometime before he sat down on the cold hospital bench beside him and covered his face with both his palms. Few secondster , the hospital staff and crew members standing outside the operation theatre noticed that Lu Wei''s shoulders were shaking. Was the man crying ? As they looked at Lu Wei breaking down like that , they couldn''t help but feel as if their hearts were being pierced by thousands of needles , all at once. Damn ! This was too painful to watch...

    "Brother !"

    After roughly fifteen minutes of silence , a soft yet concerned voice resonated throughout the entire hospital corridor and the group of people watching Lu Wei turned around to search for the source of the voice. And to their shock , it was none other than the Military Chief and Business King of the Country X , standing at the end of the corridor. Of course ! Other than Rong Xinghe , who else had the right to address the almighty businessman Lu Wei as her brother ?

    Lu Wei was obviously in no state to face his sister at this point of time. How could he be weak in front of his Kidoo ? But contrary to his thoughts , Rong Xinghe was already expecting him to weaken up. She understood what he was going through more than anyone. The girl simply sat down beside the man and wrapped her arms around him tightly , pulling him into a hug.

    "Calm down , brother.", the girl said ,"Just believe in your woman''s strength and fighting spirit. She is way more courageous than all of us. Even more than me. She will fight it , all of it. Trust me."

    "Kiddo...", Lu Wei finally responded to the girl''s efforts by cing a soft kiss against her forehead before hugging her back ,"She wasn''t attacked , Xinghe. She was tortured. They... they didn''t wanted her to live. They tried everything they could , in order to make sure she dies. Just what did my wife do ? What was her fault ?! You have no id... idea how I feel right now."

    Rong Xinghe kept rubbing the man''s shoulders before she looked at Xi Yuan standing opposite to her ,"I have seen Yuan in vegetative state for four consecutive months , brother. I have seen him lying unconscious while blood flowed down his body , after being shot twice by those attackers. I know exactly how you feel like. It is painful , very painful. Like someone is burning you down alive , or as if you are breaking into millions of pieces. It is suffocating. I know."

    The moment the Rong Xinghe''s words left her mouth , Xi Yuan looked straight into her eyes and realized that tears were already flowing down his woman''s cheeks. So this was how she felt during all those months. Helpless , lonely , suffocated and frightened. He never realized how difficult those four months had been for his Xinghe.

    Subconsciously , the man clenched his fists and cursed himself under the breath. It was all his fault. At a time when he was supposed to be her biggest strength , he was bing her weakness. At a time when she was supposed to console her brother , she was weakening up because of him. Just what was he to do now ?

    Lu Wei could obviously feel the warm tear drops soaking his shirt , so he gently parted from the girl and wiped her tears , covering her with his suit ,"Women are more emotionally stronger than men , Kiddo. Back then , you were courageous enough to handle the entire Xi Corporations and Country X''s armed forces altogether , simultaneously taking care of Yuan. I am not as strong as you. Without Tao , I might not be able to even live. I can''t survive without her , Kiddo. I need my Tao. I really do."

    "You have a daughter too , bro Lu.", Rong Xinghe remarked ,"Firstly , I hate it when you behave so negatively. Can''t you think optimistically ? My sister-inw will definitely fight back her death. She might have some internal injuries and she might face some difficulty in standing back on her feet again , but she willbat all of that like a warrior with a smile across her lips. Got it ?

    "Secondly , I am heading to her hotel room for investigating this matter. I believe there is something more to it and that this matter requires my personal involvement. So you better stay strong , while I am not here. Its my darling Ningtao we are talking about here , President Lu."

    As he listened to Rong Xinghe address Ningtao as her ''darling'' , a wry smile crept across Lu Wei''s mouth involuntarily ,"I promise. I will stay strong , for my littledy devil and for your darling. But..."

    "But you will deal with the culprit yourself. I know.", Rong Xinghe smiled ,"Don''t worry. You will be the one deciding the fate of whoever was behind all of this."

    "And just stay with Yuan thoughout your investigation.", said Lu Wei as he fixed his gaze upon the man beside him , "I trust him with your security and mental strength. This matter concerns Ningtao , so your emotions aren''tpletely stable right now , obviously. Let him be with you. Alright ?"

 Chapter 291: Their protocol

    Chapter 291: Their protocol

    The girl nced at the man standing beside Lu Wei before nodding her head at her brother and took a deep breath in. Although she wanted to keep him away from danger , she knew that her brother was also making some sense. Ningtao was her family and there was a possibility of her acting impulsively or emotianally , in this case. Most importanly , she understood that Xi Yuan was too worried about her to let her out of his sight for even a nanosecond. So it was better for her darling to stay with her.

    "Alright.", the girl smiled ,"By the way , where is bro Bo and bro Xi ?"

    "They are handling the paparazzis out there.", replied Lu Wei before he pointed his index finger towards the hospital entrance ,"Could you just take care of those journalists , Kiddo ? Its just too much for me to..."

    But before the man could continue any further , Xi Yuan squeezed his left shoulder and smiled at him ,"Senior Lu , don''t worry about any of this. All you need to do is focus on Mrs. Lu. I and Xinghe will take care of everything else."

    Lu Wei stared at the man silently for sometime before he spoke up ,"Didn''t I told you to address me as your brother ?"

    Xi Yuan blinked at the man with a perplexed expression before realization finally struck him. Oh right ! They were a family now. The six men had already given him the right to treat them like his own brothers. It was just that he was finding it difficult to get used to all of that. Anyhow , it wasn''t the right time for him to think about all of that. Things more important than these were waiting for him and Rong Xinghe.

    "Um... We will take our leave now , bro... Lu ?", the man said , as he scratched his neck hesitantly.

    Lu Wei simply passed a smile to his sister before he sat back down on the hospital bench , waiting for the surgery to get over. Right now , his wife was his first priority. As far as the identity of the mastermind was concerned , he knew he could trust his sister and Xi Yuan with that. One was his sister , while the other one had been his student. He knew how efficient and influential both of them were , more than anyone.

    __________________

    After the couple dealt with the team of journalists standing outside the hospital and ensured a proper security for the girl''s family , they headed straight towards the hotel Ningtao had been staying in.

    Xi Yuan was driving the SUV while the girl was sitting in the passenger seat looking through her e-mails , as six military jeeps followed behind them. The man stayed silent for sometime , trying his best to not bring the topic up. Yet , he felt like it was important for them to discuss about it.

    "I am sorry.", the man ended up whispering to himself.

    "What are you apologizing for ?", the girl turned her head to look at Xi Yuan with a muddled expression.

    Xi Yuan was taken aback by the girl''s reaction as he didn''t thought she would''ve actually heard him. But then again , this was none other than the mighty Military Chief of Country X. A woman with extraordinarily sharp and alert senses was whom he was in love with.

    "For the four months of pain I gave you , Xinghe.", the man sighed ,"I never realized how difficult it had been for you."

    The girl closed her eyes as the memories of those four months started floating in front of her eyes ,"That wasn''t your fault , Yuan. You were attacked that day , and you couldn''t possibly do anything about it. Everything was just... so beyond our control. Most importantly , my pain was burdened by my... regrets."

    "Regrets ?", the man frowned.

    "The regret of not expressing my... true feelings to you. The regret of not telling you how much I... love you before all of that happened to you. Yuan.. I was really scared when I saw you like that. Unconscious and motionless. You weren''t responding to my confession... and to my pleas. You weren''t waking up to... wipe my tears , like you usually did. And that scared me. I realized how much I had gotten dependent on you. I was... so addicted to you by then.

    "I never got tired of taking care of Xi Corporations for you , despite the fact that I had a nation''s security to manage. It just... hurt to not feel your arms wrapped around me , hun. That was really... painful for me. I just want you to know one thing , Yuan. I can fight the entire world for you , but... I can''t do that wihout you. I love you so damn much !", the girl exined.

    Xi Yuan''s grip over the stearing wheel tightened as he listened to the girl''s words. He never thought that his every touch , every hug and his every word meant so much to her. Most importantly , she had fallen for him long before she had confessed to him in the hospital. She was hiding her feelings inside her heart throughout the time she was with him , before he was attacked.

    "Exactly when did you realized your feelings for me , Xinghe ?", the man asked after sometime.

    "When you opened up... to me about the death of your grandparents.", the girl replied ,"When you revealed that frightening... chapter of your dark past to me , even though it was breaking you from the inside , I realized how important I was for you. You didn''t... wanted to keep me in the dark , no matter how difficult it was for you. You trusted me with such an excruciating memory , Yuan. And that was very brave of you , darling !

    "When you told me about your childhood autism and how your grandparents were killed , I felt as if thousands of needles were pierced into my heart. How can a person.... as amazing as you be destined for something like that ? You deserve the world , Yuan. And that was when I realized how much I loved you. I had fallen for you , Mr. Xi ! Hard..."

    A genuine smile appeared across the man''s lips as he caressed the girl''s hair ,"Thanks for telling me about it. I really love you , honey."

    "I love you too.", the girl smiled back ,"But lets focus on the person I am going to kill now."

    As he looked at the girl''s eyes turning few shades darker and smile converting into a devilish smirk , Xi Yuan couldn''t help but sigh helplessly. It was one hell of a transformation from love to hatred ! Anyway , no matter what she wanted to do , he was already her partner in crime by default. This was what he had promised her when they had started their rtionship with a simple friendship. She was to kill and he was to bury the body. That had always been the protocol.Their protocol !

 Chapter 292: "Its your and mine birthdays , Kiddo."

    Chapter 292: "Its your and mine birthdays , Kiddo."

    Xinguan soon reached the hotel Marvel where the girl''s Sister-inw was attacked. The man and the woman walked into the VIP suite which was booked for Ningtao. Roughly ten police officers were already present there , performing their respective duties. As soon as the officers saw the Military Chief of the nation making an appearance at the scene of crime , they stood up straight and saluted her in unison.

    "Long live Country X , Military Chief !", the Chief Officer greeted.

    "Long live the nation , Officer.", Rong Xinghe responded back with a slight nod as she shook hands with the officer ,"Found anything suspicious ?"

    "Actually... yes , Ma''am.", the man nodded ,"Um... could you tell us if Mrs. Ningtao enjoyed drug consumption ? Or if she was involved with any sort of drug smuggling ?"

    The moment the girl listened to the old man''s words , her eyes opened wide and she exchanged nces with Xi Yuan , who was equally shocked by the officer''s statement. They could roughly guess what was happening , but couldn''t exactly point out what that was.

    "Of course not. She has never encouraged any form of addiction. Neither has she ever came in contact with the business of drug smuggling.", Rong Xinghe denied ,"What are you talking about , officer ?"

    "Military Chief , three packets of Fantanyl drug and four samples of Heroin have been collected from Mrs. Lu''s bedroom , exactly where she was stabbed. As you hail from the Miltary forces , I believe you know how dangerous both of these drugs can be. Moreover , it ispletely normal in the entertainment industry. So , I thought..."

    "It might be normal in entertainment industry , but that in not the case with the Superfamily.", the woman red at the Chief Officer , sending the chills down his spine ,"Firstly , send the samples to forensicboratory right now. Secondly , keep the media away from this matter. I hope you know how to protect the privacy of an individual , as a police officer."

    "Now move aside. I will be investigating this matter personally. Here are the permissions from the President of the nation.", said , Rong Xinghe as she passed a sealed brown envelope to the police officer , stamped by the first highest authority of the nation ,"Hope the Police department co-operates with the Military here."

    "Does this case concern the Armed forces , Military Chief ?!", the Chief Officer asked , shocked.

    "Does the name Yang Bolin a.k.a. Diablos ring a bell , Officer ?", the girl asked , raising her brows ever so slightly.

    The moment the officer heard Rong Xinghe''s words , he was struck dumb as he took a few steps back. Yang Bolin.... Wasn''t he one of those underworld figures who had association with almost every terrorist group out there ? Damn ! If this matter really involved him , then it was best for Rong Xinghe to work on the case. Although he couldn''t find any rtion between an industry actress and an underworld gang leader , the Chief Police Officer didn''t dared to question the Military Chief of the nation. Most importantly , she had the legal consent from the President himself.

    ______________

    Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan rushed inside Ningtao''s bed and found the fur carpet , beside the King-sized bed , soaked in blood. It... was obviously Ningtao''s blood. Xi Yuan subconsciously pulled the girl towards him and rubbed her back worriedly.

    "Are you alright , Xinghe ?", the man asked.

    "I... I am fine.", the girl smiled as she tried to sound as calm as she could ,"Rx."

    "Xinghe...''

    "Lets see what happened with the victimst night.", said Rong Xinghe , cing her hands over the man''s both shoulders , as if she was trying to gather courage and strength from him. The girl then turned around and walked towards Ningtao''s bed. It was now that she noticed Ningtao''s phone beneath the nkets. The girl furrowed her brows and pulled out her gloves and put them on before she picked the phone up.

    "Howe none of you collected this ?", the woman asked as she turned around to re at the police officers standing behind her silently. She then pulled out her phone from her pocket and made a phone call to Lu Wei.

    "Is everything alright Kiddo ?", the call finally got through after roughly seven rings.

    "Any updates on her situation ?", the girl asked.

    "Not exactly. None of the surgeons have shown up yet.", the man sighed ,"They are saying that she has lost a lot of blood."

    "Oh. I recieved a call from bro Rogguang while I was on the way to hotel. He will be arriving their in half an hour. He will take it from there then.", Rong Xinghe said ,"Brother... Could you tell me what Sis-inw''s password is ? I have her phone."

    "Its your and mine birthdays , Kiddo.", Lu Wei said ,"09-10-12-03"

    9th of October was her birthday and 12th of March was her brother''s birthday. Ningtao used to always say that she and Lu Wei were the most important people of her life. ording to her , they had given her a new life. They had given her a family. But the same Ningtao was in such a pitiful state today. Involuntarily , tears welled up into Rong Xinghe''s eyes as she clinged onto Ningtao''s phone in her hands tightly. Why did all of this had to happen to her ? Out of all the people , why her ?!

    Xi Yuan noticed Rong Xinghe''s reaction and it didn''t take him long to understand what pain his woman was going through. It was never easy to find a battle between heart and mind. The man turned around and gestured the police and military officers to walk out , leaving only the two of them into the room.

    The man then strode towards the girl and wiped her tears away , taking her phone from her hand , bringing it to his ears.

    "Are you crying , Kiddo ?", Lu Wei''s concerned voice came through the other end.

    "She is , bro Lu.", the man replied on the girl''s behalf ,"I will call you backter. Alright ?"

    "Hmm. She is too fragile to stay strong currently , Yuan. Yet , she is pushing herself to get to the bottom of this matter. She will be needing you more than anything right now. Just be by her side. Thats all she needs."

 Chapter 293: "She is so going to regret her very existence !"

    Chapter 293: "She is so going to regret her very existence !"

    "Why did it had to be her ? Why... her ?", the girl broke down the moment she felt the warmth of the familiar arms around her. Xi Yuan held the girl tightly in his embrace as he nted a tender and assuring kiss against her forehead.

    "Xinghe... let someone else handle this. Please. Don''t torture yourself like that.", said the man after sometime ,"Your brothers are as worried about you right now as they are for Mrs. Lu. Do you really have to put yourself and your family and me through this ? It is killing me to see you like this."

    As she listened to the man''s words , Rong Xinghe went silent for few seconds before she raised her head and looked straight into the man''s eyes.

    "So it''s a no ?", a smile crept across the man''s lips subconsciously as he shook his head helplessly.

    "Indeed a ''no'' , President Xi.", the girl smiled back wryly.

    "But..."

    "Yuan... I want to do this.", the girl sighed as she nibbed onto her man''s right earlobe. Xi Yuan simply stood there in silence , allowing the girl to do whatever she wanted to do to him. He knew that the girl was trying to calm herself down. And that was exactly why he was there in the first ce. To be her strength. Her courage.

    Most importantly , as long as Rong Xinghe wanted something , Xi Yuan would be thest person to stand in her way. He had always loved standing beside her and fighting the entire world , rather than arguing with her.

    "What can I say then ? Just don''t be too hard on yourself. You are allowed to fall , cry and weaken up , Military Chief. Always keep that in mind. Okay ?", the man smiled as he rubbed the girl''s head lovingly , earning a determined nod from her.

    ___________

    Elite Multi-Speciality Hospital :

    While the Superfamily was waiting for a word from the Surgeons operating upon Ningtao , Xi family made an entrance into the hospital along with Lu Wei''s parents and little baby Alix.

    "We were in the middle of a get together when we recieved the news. So we had to rush to the hospital from there directly.", exied Lu Wei''s father , as he noticed the six men''s confused gazes upon them ,"Where is my daughter-inw ? And how is she ?"

    Lu Wei shook is head before he pinched the space between his brows ,"She is still in the surgery , Dad. And why did you brought Alix here ? Although , she is too young to understand all of this , seeing her mother like this can surely affect her adversely. She is just a child , afterall. And Tao wouldn''t want her daughter to see her in this state too. Mom..."

    "Calm down , Wei.", sighed Lu Wei''s mother ,"I won''t obviously bring Alix in front of Tao , especially when she is so weak. But we are family and I need to be there for my daughter. There is no way I will sit at home , while Ningtao struggles to recover here."

    Lu Wei let out a helpless sigh before he nced at the Xi family elders ,"And may I know why are we troubling the Xi family ?"

    At this time , Xi Yuan''s father , Xi Chongkun shook his head in denial ,"Its no trouble , Wei. The Lu and the Xi family have been close acquaintances for ages now. So Ningtao''s health is a matter of concern for us as well. Rest assured , if you require any kind of help , we are there for you."

    Lu Wei and Zhi Xi exhanged nces among themselves before they nodded with a wry smile. "That means a lot , Mr. Xi.", said Lu Wei.

    "By the way , where is Yuan ?", Xi Chonglin spoke up after sometime.

    "He is with Xinghe right now. She wanted to investigate the case personally and he was worried about her emotional stability , so he decided to apany her throughout the investigation.", exined Ruo Cy.

    "He is at a crime scene ? Wouldn''t that be too risky ?", Xi Yuan''s mother , Li Jungah asked worriedly.

    "Don''t worry , Mrs. Xi.", feng Mian smiled as she handed a cup of tea to thedy ,"Firstly , he is carrying his licensed revolver along with him. And trust me when I say that his reflexes are as strong as Xinghe. Secondly , he is currently with the Military Chief of the nation. The woman who can protect millions of citizens of Country X can definitely safeguard her man."

    At this time , Feng Mian''s phone rang up and she pulled it out before bringing it to her ears ,"What is it ?

    "Oh alright , I will get there in fifteen minutes. Let me just change into my uniform.

    "Yeah ! Inform the Military Chief about it quickly."

    The woman then disconnected the call and looked at Zhi Al ,"Can you get my uniform from our car , honey ?"

    Zhi Al took a deep breath before he nodded his head and rushed towards the exit of the hospital. Meanwhile , Feng Mian turned around to look at Lu Wei.

    "It seems like Xinghe has figured out the identity of the attacker.", the woman said.

    "Really ?", Zhi Bo raised his brows with surprise while Lu Wei simply looked up at Feng Mian.

    "Yeah. Apparently , she recognized the attacker just by the shade of the nail polish upon the bathroom towel in Sister-inw Ningtao''s room. The officer was also saying something about the beads of a bracelet. Anyway , she wants to interrogate the attacker. She beleives that the mastermind is someone else. So I need to make some arrangements.", stated Feng Mian.

    "Who is the attacker ?", Lu Wei frowned.

    "The name is Qui Chin."

    The moment the wordsnded upon Lu Wei''s ears , he closed his eyes and buried his head in his palms. Only if he had taken some severe action against that woman when he was warned about her by Ningtao''s assistant earlier , all of this might have never happened. Why did he just sent his security team ? The pain suffered by Ningtao was nothing but the results of his negligence towards the matter. Damn it !

    Although he wanted to squish the actress akin to an ant , he had more impoertant priorities. The man rubbed his face before he nced at Feng Mian ,"Ensure Yuan and Kidddo''s security over there."

    "Of course.", nodded Feng Mian.

    "Bo , call my manager in. I want every single detail about this Qui Chin in next two hours. After Xinghe is done with her interrogation , she is so going to regret her very existence !"

 Chapter 294: Prancing into the game of revenge

    Chapter 294: Prancing into the game of revenge

    City M Military Base , 1:00 p.m. :

    "Ah ! I have no idea about all those drugs !", a yell resounded throughout the interrogation room the moment a handful of salt was sprinkled over the wounds covering her right hand , which were obviously , one of the presents from Rong Xinghe.

    The girl simply raised her brows at the ''delicate'' actress sitting opposite her and leaned back in her chair , while an amused smile crept across her lips. On the other hand , Xi Yuan was sitting in the observation room next to the interrogation room , sipping his coffee patiently. Rong Xinghe had been interrogating Qui Chin for three consecutive hours now. The girl hadn''t even had a bite of her afternoon meal ! Although the man was pissed at the girl for taking her health for granted , he couln''t deny that he was also enjoying his woman''s bold and fierce personality more than anything.

    He knew that as the highest Military authority of the nation , Rong Xinghe was bound to be brutal with her enemies. But this was the first time that he had witnessed her interrogating someone. This was the first time he was looking at the woman he loved , do the work she loved to do the most. Fighting for justice. And damn ! He waspletely allured by her. Yet again. The girl''s bossy and ferocious aura was more appealing to him whenpared to her cheeky and adorable self. But that was how she prefered to act around him and her brothers. She loved to be coaxed and spoiled by them. Only when it came to her work would she bother to put on her mature , decisive and intimidating personality. Sigh ! He wished he could see more of this personality more frequently...

    Meanwhile inside the interogation room , Rong Xinghe was ring at Qui Chen sitting opposite her.

    "You stabbed Mrs. Ningtao , didn''t you ?", asked Rong Xinghe after sometime ,"Don''t irritate me , Ms. Qui. I don''t deal with people as insignificant as you on daily basis. So you might suffer more than what you deserve for the crime you have peformed. Who knows if you will ever walk out of here alive ? Tell me what were you doing in her room. Quick !"

    "I don''t know anything , Military Chief ! And where the hell is the evidence of what you are saying ?! You can''t torture people just because of your pointless assumptions !", the woman yelled at Rong Xinghe , her eyes had turned bloodshot with the intent to tear down the woman in front of her into thousands of pieces.

    "CCTV cameras in the hotel. They clearly show you walking into my Mrs. Lu''s VIP Suite before she entered into it. It also shows you exiting hurriedly out of the room , as if you are running away from something. Your face was surely drained off every damned colour , fright and anxiety evident across it. Now shut the evidence crap up and answer my questions.", the girl said as she looked straight into Qui Chen''s eyes , sending chills down her spine.

    "You can''t... Aah !", at this time , a tight pnded across the woman''s face and she lifted her head up to look at Feng Mian with disbelief ,"How dare you ?!"

    "No one is allowed to raise their voice at the highest Military authority of the nation. Who the f*ck do you think you are ?! B*tch !", saying this , Feng Mian pped Qui Chen once again and turned around to face Rong Xinghe ,"Should I , Military Chief ?"

    Rong Xinghe waved her hand at the woman before she smiled at her ,"I will handle it , Mian. Is Yuanfortable over here ? He can rest in my office if he wants to , you know ?"

    "Not really.", Feng Mian smiled ,"All he has asked for , ever since he walked in here , is a cup of Frappe and yourptop. Its like this is his ce. He is too calm , unexpectedly. I mean a civilian never adjusts to the Military environment so easily like him."

    "Firstly , when is he not calm ? And secondly , he is hopeless. Enjoying the show and all.", the girl rolled her eyes with a gentleugh ,"Anyway , just tell him to get some rest in my private lounge while I get over with this. Okay ?"

    Feng Mian soon left the room with a nod , leaving Rong Xinghe with some documents. The girl opened the sealed envelope before she started reading through them patiently.

    "Qui Chen. 26 years old. Born in Chicago. Parents divorced when six. Killed own mother when she attempted to stop you from smoking. Lost virginity at the age of 15. Mistress to President Quing , a 66 year old businessman. Never recieved a single role without sleeping with the produce or director of the show. Given birth to a baby boy at the age of 21 , but never imed it and ran away from the hospital after the delivery. Short-tempered. A Morphine addict. ....And the list doesn''t seem to end here , Ms. Qui .", the girl chuckled coldly ,"With the Media Ma Mo Zixuan being my brother , how much time do you think would it take for me to leak this information to the media ?"

    "Y...You ! This is invasion of privacy...", Qui Chen started stammering as sweat covered her forehead. She , of course , knew better than anyone that this information could destroy her career to the point of no revival.

    "Speak !", this time , Rong Xinghe raised her voice ,pletely agitated by the woman''s tantrums. She was supposed to be with her darling and her family by now. But this actress was clearly blocking her way to that.

    "If I tell you , will you not leak all of this to the media ?", the woman said after thinking for few seconds.

    "I won''t.", Rong Xinghe shrugged her shoulders nonchntly ,"As I said before , you are too insignificant to me."

    Most importantly , Qui Chen''s destruction was her brother''s right. Lu Wei had already instructed her to bring his wife''s attacker into light. And now that Rong Xinghe had gotten the name , the world was going to witness the rage of the eldest member of the Superfamily. No matter how calm andposed Lu Wei seemed , his bottom line was better untouched. Just like Xi Yuan. And unfortunately , Qui Chen had crossed that very bottom line this time.

    Even if Rong Xinghe was to let go off her , Qui Chen''s destruction was inevitable. And it was going to be an awful one for sure. Because this time , it would be the Six tigers prancing into the game of revenge themselves !

 Chapter 295: The blaze in their eyes

    Chapter 295: The ze in their eyes

    Only when Rong Xinghe confirmed that she wasn''t nning to haunt her with the information she had , did Qui Chen took a deep breath and started answering the girl''s questions.

    "I was really pissed at Ningtao. She decided to step into the entertainment industry , even after having given birth just a few months back. Couldn''t she just sit at home ? And even if she wanted toe back , she could''ve started with some small advertisement or something. Bu no ! She has had been given many of the roles I was supposed to y before this. But when she was selected for this movie , I had this urge to burn down her entire damned career.

    "Unfortunately , her husband is just too influential and he knows very well how to protect her. So few days after we started shooting for this new movie , I recieved a call from an unknown number. They asked me to do as they said. In return , they promised me the role of the main female lead in this very movie."

    "How much amount did they provide ?", Rong Xinghe cut in while checking her call history in her phone , expecting a call from her family.

    "Huh ?", Qui Chin''s jaw dropped the moment she listened to Rong Xinghe''s urate guess. One thing was for sure. The woman was going to get all the information she wanted , whether she disclosed it or not ,"Um... One... one million dors."

    Rong Xinghe nced at the woman with a surprised expression and switched off her phone before a smile crept across her lips ,"Did you get the amount ?"

    Qui Chen nodded her head slightly and cleared her throat.

    "Continue.", said Rong Xinghe.

    "So the amount and benefits offered were already worth the shot. Not to mention , their conditions could easily ruin Ningtao. Hence , I just epted the offer.", sighed Qui Chen ,"Only if I had been more cautious."

    "I would like to agree on that.", smiled Rong Xinghe ,"nting drugs in a VIP suite of a seven star hotel owned by the brother-inw of Mrs. Lu was definitely a risky n. But no doubt , it was surely a terrific plot. It could easily defame my sister-inw , provided how famous she is across the nation. I admire your guts , Ms. Qui.

    "But you know what , there would''ve been discussions about her in the town , but we could''ve still revived her career anyway. Medical proof of her never consuming drugs would''ve been the best evidence , don''t you think ?"

    "And don''t you think Sir must''ve thought about it ?", Qui Chen smiled back at the girl.

    "Let me tell you one thing. Your ''Sir'' isn''t as smart as he thinks he is.", Rong Xinghe smirked.

    "What do you mean ?"

    "You really think I woudn''t have noticed the Heroin drug powder in my Sister-inw''s nails and the same drug sample around the ss of water kept upon the coffee table in the living room of her suite ?", chuckled Rong Xinghe coldly ,"Childish !"

    "You... How did you do it ?!", Qui Chen''s eyes flew wide open as she kept staring at Rong Xinghe for roughly two minutes ,pletely bbergasted by the woman''s observational skills.

    "I am quite a Sherlock Holmes myself , Ms. Qui.", stated Rong Xinghe indifferently ,"But that less amount of Heroin in the body is ignored by the medical teams pretty easily. Trust me. Anyway , surgeons operating upon my Sister-inw have been informed about the drug already. So she is going to be safe , whether you want it or not."

    Qui Chen looked at the girl as if she was a monster. Was it even possible ? How could someone be so observant ? It was literally a negligible amount of powder ! Was she crazy or something ?

    "Next question. Who is this ''Sir'' of yours ?", Rong Xinghe''s voice interrupted the woman''s thoughts.

    "Huh ? Sir ?", Qui Chen followed the girl''s train of thoughts few secondster ,"Uh... I never really saw him. There were only phone calls. His voice was kind of shrill. And people around him addressed him as Iftaar."

    "Hmm. Last question. Did you or did you not stabbed my Sister-inw twice ?", Rong Xinghe asked , looking straight into the woman''s eyes.

    "I... I did.", Qui Chen sighed ,"I am so sorry. But I never intended to do it. I was just told to ce the drug samples into her bedroom. And since her shooting was still going on , I never expected her to return back so quickly. She just walked into the room when I was about to leave it. And as soon as she saw me , she threw her phone on the bed and scanned her entire bedroom. When she noticed the drugs'' packets on her side table , she rushed towards the hotel phone and started dialling for security.

    "I got panicked and snatched the phone away from her. I didn''t knew what to do at that time. I had no experience of anything like that. I had never dealt with something like that before , damn it ! I started threatening her to keep her mouth shut about everything that happened.

    "Ha ! As if she would ever do that ! She is , after all , Sister-inw to the great and righteous Military Chief Rong Xinghe. Eventually , things got violent and I... I..."

    "And you ended up stabbing her with the knife ced in the fruit basket.", said Rong Xinghe through gritted teeth ,"You have no idea what you have gotten yourself into , woman ! I won''t share any of your information. That would be too merciful to you. Now that government isn''t involved in this case , the six tigers will exact their revenge themselves , in their own way. And trust me when I say , things are going to get very ugly for you. All the best."

    The world admired the Superfamily for their bonding , harmony and unity. But how many people had actually witnessed the ze in their eyes ? Each one of them were no less than the walking devil , when enraged. And soon enough , the world was going to get a reason to fear this family as well.

    But it was necessary in a way , though. The family couldn''t just keep allowing its enemies to walk all over them , with the confidence of never being attacked back. With the confidence that they would never fight back. Oh they would definitely fight back this time ! Strongly and mercilessly !

 Chapter 296: "Dont ever talk ill of my girlfriend !"

    Chapter 296: "Don''t ever talk ill of my girlfriend !"

    After she was done with her interrogation , Rong Xinghe walked out of the interrogation room and approached Feng Mian ,"I want to see her phone records , including the ones she recieved on herndline in the hotel room she was staying in. Every single call. The mastermind is damn sharp ! So tell me everything you find suspicious , even if that seems trivial or insignificant to you. This case will be a tough one to crack. Yeah ?"

    "Okay. I get it.", nodded Feng Mian.

    "Also , freeze her every bank ount. I don''t want to see a single transaction on her part. Okay ? She has recieved an amount of one million dor from a foreign ount few days ago. Trace that ount. Am I clear , Mian ?", the girl asked as she stretched her arms , tired by the long interrogation session.

    "Yeah. That will be done too. Do you need anything else , Xinghe ?", Feng Mian asked , seriously.

    "Yeah. A boyfriend."

    "Huh ?", Feng Mian lifted her head up and looked at Rong Xinghe , slightly taken aback.

    Rong Xinghe let out a gentleugh before she pinched the space between her brows ,"I mean where is Yuan ?"

    "You scared me there , Xinghe !", Feng Mian punched the girl''s right arm lightly ,"He is in your office. Go check on him while I handle the work here."

    "Fine. Ping me if you get any update on Sister-inw''s situation. Yeah ?"

    "Done."

    _____________

    Rong Xinghe walked into her office to look at Xi Yuan dozing off on the couch in the corner of the room. The girl''s lips curled up to form a tired yet helpless smile and she tilted her head slightly before she walked towards him , making sure he wouldn''t wake up by the sound of her footsteps. This man... So hopeless !

    "Thank you Sweetie. I really needed you today.", the girl smiled as she ced a soft kiss against the man''s perfectly carved lips.

    The woman was about to get up when a hand suddenly intertwined with hers and a raspy hoarse voice resounded across the room ,"Why would you thank me for that , Honey ? Isn''t it only natural for me to be by my woman''s side when she and her family needs me the most? You do that for my brothers and Ying all the time. But that is how we are supposed to be. Our rtionship is far above all these formalities."

    The man ced his other hand around the girl''s waist and pulled her into his embrace. The girl looked into the man''s sleep deprived eyes and messy hair and that made her heart ache for him even more.

    "You don''t have to do all of this , Yuan. I mean I am such a horrible girlfriend. Don''t you feel that I don''t love you as much as you do ? I don''t deserve this , Yuan. I really don''t. In this rtionship , it is always you putting in all the efforts , emotionally , patiently. Yuan , I...", next second , the girl was silenced by a pair of perfect lips crashing against hers , making her mind freeze for few seconds.

    The man had never been this fierce or passionate with her before. But this time , it was like he was venting his exhaustion upon her. As if he was upset over something. The girl was , naturally , clueless about the things running in the man''s brain. So all she could do was to allow the man to do whatever he wanted to do. The man finally stopped kissing the woman after , roughly two intense minutes and looked straight into her eyes , silently.

    "Yuan..."

    "Don''t ever talk ill of my girlfriend !", the man said , his expression earnest ,"I love doing all of this. I love every second I spend with you. Most importantly , I have the best girlfriend in the world. She is a woman of courage , intellect and grace. She is a woman every man dreams of. Yet , none can have her."

    Subconsiously , a blush crept across Rong Xinghe''s cheeks and she quicly looked away from the man. She just didn''t knew what to say. Why did he had to be so good with words , she thought. Thosepliments were totally unforeseen. Simrly , she hadn''t expected that he couldn''t hear a word against her. Even if it came from her. Crazy man , concluded the girl.

    "Only I have been so lucky to have her.", smiled Xi Yuan as he looked at the adorable woman in his arms ,"And it isn''t like you don''t love me at all. Xinghe , I know who arranges for my meals amid all those meetings. I know who calls Fang and Wei continuously when I am busy , in order to check on me. I know who cares for my family more than me. Despite how busy you are , you do all of that as well. Never keep count of who loves whom more. That might put our rtionship at risk. And none of us want that."

    Rong Xinghe nodded after thinking for sometime and cupped the man''s face with both her hands ,"I promise. I will stop overthinking about this. But you should know that it hurts me when I see you like this. Your pain hurts me more than any wound ever can. Just get some sleep , okay ?"

    "Sleep with me.", mumbled the man , pulling the girl over him.

    "Huh ?", Rong Xinghe looked at the man , shocked.

    "Please ? Your presence helps me sleep morefortably.", the man requested , his voice soft yet deep.

    "Okay.", the girl sighed and rested her head against the man''s shoulders , burying her face into his neck , allowing him to feel her breath. As the girl lied upon him , a smile appeared across Xi Yuan''s lips. It wasn''t that he wanted to have afortable sleep. He just wished for his girl to get a small nap after the tiring day she had. Such a wife-doting demon !

    _________________

    15 minutester ,

    Feng Mian walked into Rong Xinghe''s office to witness an extremely brutal disy of affection. Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan sleeping on one couch wasn''t something she had ever expected to see. But damn they looked perfect together !

    "Bring me a nket. Quick !", Feng Mian ordered one of her subordinates.

    The woman then covered the couple with a navy Blue nket and let out a deep sigh.

    "Only if time could stop here. Only if they could stay like that forever.", smiled Feng Mian before she pulled out her walkie-talkie ,"Do not disturb the Military Chief for anything right now. While she gets some rest , the progress of the investigation should be reported to me and Assistant Shou Wu directly. Are we clear , Team Alpha ? Over."

    "Understood , Officer Mian. Over and out."

 Chapter 297: "That girl is the best thing that has ever happened to us Xis."

    Chapter 297: "That girl is the best thing that has ever happened to us Xis."

    Elite Multi-Speciality Hospital , City M :

    While Xinguan were spending some quality time together in the Military base , the Superfamily was in a state of utter anxiousness. There was not a single word from the surgeons operating upon Ningtao , including Su Rogguang.

    Most importantly , Lu Wei''s silence was too overbearing to get through. The man wasn''t really doing anything , but the simplest of his actions like rubbing his nape was sending chills down the hospital staff''s spine. He was just too imposing for them ! But the Superfamily was already used to this Lu Wei and same was the case with the Xi family , since Xi Yuan was too similiar to Lu Wei , by nature.

    ...

    Zhi Al recieved a call from Feng Mian few minutester and he picked it up after walking away from the two families ,"Is Kiddo alright , Mian ?"

    "She is. In fact , Yuan has put her to sleep. What is going on over there ? Any updates from the surgeons ?", Feng Mian asked.

    "Not yet. But how was Kiddo able to sleep exactly ?", asked Zhi Al , slightly taken aback ,"Because no matter how hard we six try , she doesn''t even bother to blink for once whenever any of us is involved or harmed , let alone getting a proper sleep. Then what miracle happened this time ?!",

    "Yuan happened.", smiled Feng Mian ,"She has Yuan , Al. That man is capable of convincing her to do the impossible. Your Kiddo has had a rough day. I could see it. The girl who deals with hundreds of terrorists and Sleeper cells every day , couldn''t bear to even look at the simple stain of blood on the carpet in Sister Ningtao''s room. Yet , she was continuously pushing herself to act calm andposed. But she doesn''t have to be so strong always , you know ?

    "And Yuan understands that very well. I can''t even describe how delicately he has been taking care of her since this morning. Al , he is just as stubborn as your little sister. She keeps on trying to bottle up her fears inside her , but he eventually ends up making her cry it all out. Honestly speaking , he is her best therapist."

    Zhi Al remained silent for sometime before his lips curled up involuntarily ,"Love is , indeed , the best therapy. Anyway , try to let her have some rest. Bro Wei and Bro Zixuan have been worried about her just as much as they are worried for Sister-inw Ningtao."

    "I get it. But she will be alright. Just handle the situation over there. Okay ?", the woman sighed.

    Just when Zhi Al was talking to Feng Mian , Lu Wei''s assistant walked into the hospital corridor and approached the man who was looking through the small door window into the Operation Theater , trying to figure out his woman''s condition.

    "Sir , here is all the information about the actress Qui Chin.", the old man said as he passed a stack of documents to Lu Wei.

    "That was quick.", said the man , stunned.

    "President Xi mailed me this information , Sir.", replied the assistant , Gu Bojing.

    "Yuan ?", Zhi Bo scrunched his brows , exchanging a nce with Lu Wei and Mo Zixuan , who were equally muddled.

    Simrly , as soon as Xi Yuan was mentioned , the Xi family focussed their attention towards the assistant. The fact that Xi Yuan was investing his finest efforts into this family was already , the very firm proof of how important Rong Xinghe was for him ! And they hadn''t actually expected this rtionship to progress with such amendable pace.

    "Yes , Sir.", nodded Gu Bojing ,"President Xi hired his private investigators the moment Military Chief Rong started investigating the actress. He knew you would be wanting proper information regarding her. So he mailed the information he recieved after Military Chief was done interrogating Qui Chin."

    Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah nced at Xi Fang and Xi Wei standing in the corner and let out a sigh. The couple gestured the two young men to join them in the corner of the corridor while Xi Ying stood beside the sobbing and anxious Ruo Cy , trying tofort her.

    "Since when has Xiao Yuan started to get involved with others'' families ? Fang , he has never been like this before.", Li Jungah asked , worry evident in her eyes.

    Xi Fang smiled before he patted thedy''s back softly ,"Auntie , brother is family to the six men now. He has gotten a lot closer to them , ever since Sister-inw agreed to be with him."

    "Are you trying to say that the President of Xi Corporations has been trying to impress them , all along ?", Xi Chongkun frowned ,"Doesn''t he have a reputation to uphold ?"

    "He cane down to his knees for Xiao Xinghe , Uncle.", Xi Wei chuckled ,"When ites to each other , neither brother nor Sister-inw allows their ego to step in. They both are just so perfect !"

    "But...", Xi Chongkun was about to differ , but was cut in by his wife.

    "Will you not , Mr. Xi ?", Li Jungah mumbled ,"Yuan has never been this happy before. That girl is the best thing that has ever happened to us Xis. In fact , we should try to get to know our to be daughter-inw , rather than forcing our opinions upon Yuan. The six guys have epted them wholeheartedly , already."

    "Do you know what you are saying , Mrs. Xi ?", Xi Chongkun asked.

    "And have you ever seen the spark in your son''s eyes when he speaks about Xiao Xinghe ?", Li Jungah asked back.

    Xi Chongkun looked at his wife silently for sometime before he took a deep breath and nodded slightly ,"Call the girl at the old family mansion , once all of this is over. I would like to know more about her. Alright ?"

    "Really ?!", Li Jungah chirped as Xi Wei and Xi Fang looked at each other , surprised.

    "Its high time we search for a suitable woman for him , anyway.", Xi Chongkun shrugged nonchntly ,"And now that he has been in headlines with this girl constantly , there must be something very special about her. Right ?"

    Meanwhile , a smile appeared across Lu Wei''s lips as he pulled out his cellphone and made a phone call.

    "Qui Tong. Actress Qui Chin''s two year old daughter. Pick her up fom the y school today. Take good care of the child. I n to y some mind games first. Got it ?", the man said as soon as the call got through.

    "Alright Sir. Anything else ?"

    "Keep tabs on Qui Chin. Her entire life should by under my scrutiny , here onwards.", ordered Lu Wei.

    "Will be done , Sir."

    As the call got disconnected , Mo Zixuan and Zhi Xi rushed towards Lu Wei ,"Do you want us to get involved , Wei ?"

    "Not just yet , guys.", the man chuckled coldly , his eyes zing with fury ,"That bi*ch is too insignificant for our entire family to sweat about it."

 Chapter 298: "I just recieved a call from the Lu Corporations."

    Chapter 298: "I just recieved a call from the Lu Corporations."

    City M , Military Base :

    The girl opened her eyes after roughy an hour of sleep and found herself locked into a pair of two strong arms. Involuntarily , a smile appeared across the woman''s mouth. Now that he had a proper nap , her darling looked more rxed and better now. Else , she was more than sure of him catching a fever.

    Sometimes she wondered , why did he had to exhaust himself so much for everyone around him ? It wasn''t just her. Xi Yuan was the type of person who would stay awake for an entire night to coax a crying kid in the NGO. Or the person who''d cancel his meetings just to apany his sister Ying and Rong Xiao to shopping. s ! What could he do of this man ?!

    The girl ced a small pek against the man''s forehead before she tried to move away the man''s hand , ced upon the small of her back. But instead of loosening his grip , the man tightened it further and furrowed his brows , pulling the girl even more closer to him than she already was.

    "Don''t !", the man groaned.

    The girl chuckled and brought her lips to the man''s ears ,"Rong Xinghe wants to stay. Military Chief of the nation doesn''t."

    "Ughh ! Don''t really like the Military Chief sometimes.", the man muttered under his breath , making the girlugh.

    _________________

    Meanwhile , Qui Chin was finally released after a thorough interrogation. The first thing the woman did after she got out was to head towards the bank to withdraw some cash , so that she could leave Country X for few weeks. But the moment she was informed that all of her ounts were frozen by the bank authorities , the woman flipped out at the bank manager.

    "Who the hell gave you the right to do that ? How can you freeze both my private and government bank ounts ? I want a damn answer to that.",ined Qui Chin.

    "Keep your tone down , Ma''am.", the bank manager replied back , his voice stern ,"We have recieved orders directly from the Home Minister of the nation. We couldn''t obviously disobey him. And as long as your private ounts are concerned , it was amand from the owner of the Elite Banks'' Chain , Mr. Zhi Bo himself. We aren''t too sure of the reason , though."

    The moment one of the six tigers were mentioned , a chill ran down Qui Chin''s spine and the document folder she was holding slipped down her hands. Wh..what did this mean ? Her intuition told her that this was not even the start of it.

    Just when the woman was trying to calm her shaking hands , she recieved a call. The woman stared at the phone screen for few seconds as she broke into a cold sweat , before she finally picked up the call.

    "Hello ?"

    "Where is my daughter ?", a deep yet daunting voice came through the other end.

    "A..at home , Mr. Sun.", Qui Chin replied , her entire body shaking now.

    "I think you would like to confirm that , babe.", the man said after few seconds passed , his tone more assertive this time.

    It was now that Qui Chin realized that something wasn''t right. "Is there some problem , President Sun ?"

    "I just recieved a call from the CEO of Lu Corporations."

    CLASH !

    "Are you alright , Ma''am ?!", as he saw Qui Chin stumble and fall down upon the floor , the manager of the bank rushed towards her hurriedly and offered her his hand ,"Should I call a doctor ?"

    But Qui Chin wasn''t clearly in the state to absorb anything else , especially after what she had just learnt. Lu Wei ? Mr. Sun''s daughter ? If it was what she assuming , then she was definitely done for this time !

    "N.. no , Sir. I can..."

    "You fu*king can''t exin this !", the man on the other side yelled at the woman , making her flinch her eyes tightly with fear ,"That is my daughter ! My daughter ! Do you get that ?! You had all the independence to do whatever you wanted to do with your damned career. But my only condition was to keep my daughter away from that filthy industry of yours.

    "Yet , you not only screwed up by messing with the woman of Lu Wei , now my child is under his brutal scrutiny too. Remember one thing , Chin , I allowed you to keep my daughter because you are her birth mother. But now that I think of it , this might''ve been the worst decision of my life.

    "Now you listen to me carefully. I don''t care if you slit your wrist or sell your body , I want my child safe. Else , you know how capable I am !"

    "B..but , Sir , h..how will I deal wi..with President Lu al..alone by.."

    "Just like how you got the guts to touch his wife."

    The call got disconnected after the man was done speaking. Qui Chin kept sitting on the floor , staring into space for a while before she gathered some courage and rushed out of the bank manager''s office. If Lu Wei was a mighty tiger , then this man was no less than a cunning wolf. In both the cases , no matter where she went , her death was inevitable. At this point of time , all she could do was to try her best to save her daughter , Qui Tong from Lu Wei''s ws.

    _____________________

    At this time , Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan were on their way to the suburbs of City M. It was basically a shabby location , where the phone of the frequent caller on Qui Chin''s call records , was tracked recently. This was a minor direction to the case , at least. So the girl was nning a normal field inspection , travelling along with her five most trusted special forces officers.

    Xi Yuan was looking outside the window when his phone beeped with a message from Mo Zixuan. Before Xi Yuan could pick up his phone , Rong Xinghe had already snuck a peek into it. Naturally , the girl grabbed the phone and started reading the message notification out of curiosity. As she read the message , a smile crept across the girl''s soft reddish lips , soon turning into a devillish smirk.

    "What is it , Xinghe ?", the man pinched the space between his brows , letting out a helpless sigh. What was going on now ?

    The girl passed the phone to the man beside her before she leaned against him , their lips inches apart ,"Revenge is on , President Xi. Apparently , I should not know about it. And also , you are supposed to take care of Media Ma Mo''s kiddo sister."

    Xi Yuan''s pupils dted as he realized how close the girl was to him and how her every word had a pinch of challenge and seduction dissolved into them. It was almost like her eyes were interrogating his soul , with a question he wasn''t able to figure out clearly. But how , in the world , was he supposed to think of anything with the girl so close to him ?!

    What a shameless girl , the man thought. There were five soldiers with them in the Military Jeep. Yet , she had the audacity to mess around !

 Chapter 299: "Arent you my home ?"

    Chapter 299: "Aren''t you my home ?"

    The man took sometime to digest the girl''s wordspletely before realization struck him and he quickly diverted his eyes away from hers , trying to move away from her hastily.

    "I will just check my phone.", the man cleared his throat.

    "Since when have you been so close to Bro Mo ?", the girl asked , her tone more casual this time as she distanced herself from the man , fixing her gaze on the road in front of her.

    "Huh ?", the man looked at the girl after he was done reading the text from Mo Zixuan ,"Nothing like that. They just don''t want to trouble you with a matter as insignificant as this. Moreover , they are worried about you , since you are working on your Sister-inw''s case."

    "Hmm. But I love Bro Lu''s spicy revenge ns.", the girlughed , winking at the man.

    "You are crazy !", Xi Yuan red at the girl with disbelief ,"He is targetting a kid here , Xinghe. Aren''t you supposed to get upset over that ?"

    "The six men have brought me up , Yuan. My personality is thebination of all of thembined. I know them like the back of my hand. Bro Lu can be the most frightening person , if provoked. But he would never exact his revenge upon a child. I repeat , never. The child must be ying somewhere there in his apartment , trust me.", the girl smiled.

    "Superfamily for a reason , I guess.", smiled back Xi Yuan ,"The trust you have for your brothers is justmendable Xinghe."

    "Xi family is no different.", said the girl , squeezing the man''s hand tightly ,"Have you talked to your Uncle about his connection with ''The Werewolf Crew'' yet ?"

    Xi Yuan sighed before he shook his head in denial ,"I can''t. The thought itself scares me. What if it is all true ? What if..."

    "Stop overthinking for once ,Yuan.", the girl sighed ,"Just talk to him. I know it is scary. I know that night , those memories starts floating in front of you eyes , the moment it is mentioned. But aren''t they already haunting you ? Has there been a single night with you not having a nightmare of that incident ?

    "You need answers to all your unanswered questions , Honey. Most importantly , we need to fix the cold war between Fang and Uncle Chonglin , if he wasn''t at fault. Your brother isn''t even talking to his own father. He still mes him for your grandparents'' death and for the attack on you. Yuan , can you..."

    "Why do you think so much for my family ?", the man asked , looking into the girl''s eyes.

    "Aren''t you my home ?", the girl replied with a question instead.

    ___________________

    Meanwhile , City M , Elite Multi-Speciality Hospital :

    Su Rogguang finally walked out of the Operation Theatre and the five men quickly surrounded him followed by the Xi Family , Ruo Cy , Cheng Tai and Songyan.

    "How is she ?", Zhi Xi asked worriedly as Lu Wei simply looked at the man with hopes in his eyes.

    "She is stable now. Although she has lost a lot of blood , she will eventually recover from that. But remember one thing Wei , she has been hurt pretty rashly. The knife she was stabbed with was sharp and blunt. As a result , she won''t be able to move around for a while. You will have to be there for her round the clock. So figure out a way. Okay ?", Su Rogguang exined.

    Lu Wei took a deep breath before he pulled the man into a tight hug as a drop of tear escaped his right eye ,"Thank you , Rogguang."

    "Hey bro ! Are you crying ?!", Su Rogguang asked ,pletely taken aback by the man''s weak tone.

    "Exactly , Wei !", Zhi Xi smiled as he wiped away the tears threatening to slip down his eyes ,"Your woman is a fighter. She loves you too much to leave you."

    "Now stop crying , Bro Wei.", said Zhi Al ,"Let''s inform Kiddo about this first. She must be worried."

    "Okay.", Lu Wei finally let out a genuineugh , after twelve excruciating hours , before he looked back at Su Rogguang ,"Can I see her ?"

    "Not yet. She is too weak right now. You will be allowed to visit her after I run some more tests on her. Will that be fine ?"

    "Of course.", Lu Wei nodded , before he pulled out his phone.

    ________________

    The girl was talking to Xi Yuan when her phone rang up and Shou Wu passed it to her. The girl turned the speaker of the phone on so that the her darling could listen too before she greeted her brother.

    "Hello , Kiddo ?"

    The moment the man''s voice reached the girl''s ears , her eyes widened as she bounced in her seat excitedly ,"Oh my god ! Is Sister-inw really out of danger ?!"

    "Y..yeah. But how did you...?", the man asked , confused.

    "Damn ! Your tone is clearly back to its usual calmness. Congrattions , Brother !", the girlughed as she exined the obvious , while Xi Yuan looked at his woman with a totally surprised expression. Could she be any more observant ?! Just two words from her bro Lu''s mouth and she knew what was going on.

    "When will youe back , Kiddo ?", asked Lu Wei as a smile crept across his lips. The man obviously knew how well his sister understood him , so it wasn''t difficult for him to ept her exnation.

    "I will try toe as soon as possible , brother.", the girl assured.

    "Take your time. And just stay safe , Okay ?", Lu Wei said.

    "OK."

    "By the way , where is Yuan ?", the man asked.

    "Congrats , Bro Lu.", Xi Yuan spoke up ,"What is it ?"

    "Thabks. Umm..nothing serious. I might be requiring your penthouse here in City M for few days. Can I just..."

    "I will send you the keys , brother.", the man cut in ,"Also , that should''ve been amand and not a request. What''s mine has always been yours. Being with Xinghe hasn''t changed anything , bro Lu."

    Rong Xinghe furrowed her brows before she startedining to her brother ,"Why are you guys bonding so much with him ? Its like he is your brother and I am his girlfriend you have been trying to ept , not the other way around !"

    As the two men listened to the girl expressing her displeasure like a child , they couldn''t help but break outughing. Just what could they do of her ?! Other women wished for their families to get along with their love interest. But for Rong Xinghe , she craved for family dramas more than anything. Presenting Rong Xinghe ,dies and gentlemen !

 Chapter 300: The truth about her parents

    Chapter 300: The truth about her parents

    Lu Wei was just talking to Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan when Su Rogguang approached him from behind and patted his shoulder lightly ,"Ningtao has just got back her consciousness. Do you want to see her ?"

    "Yeah.", the man replied back instantly , before he realized something ,"But how bad are her wounds ?"

    "I can''t really describe them , Wei. She isn''t even in the position to sit up straight. I know it will be difficult for you , but just try to act normal in front of her. Alright ? With her physical injuries , we can''t afford to let her mental strength get affected."

    "I.. I get it.", Lu Wei nodded his head in agreement as he brought his phone to his ears ,"Kiddo , can I call youter ?"

    "Go get your woman , young man !", Rong Xingheughed.

    "Shut up , youngdy.", Lu Wei rolled his eyes , as he passed his phone to Su Rogguang before he walked into Ningtao''s room.

    "How is my Kiddo doing ?", Su Rogguang asked as he looked at the man disappearing behind the closed hospital ward door with a sigh.

    "I am fine , bro. Is Sister-inw really so weak ?", the girl asked , concern evident in her soft tone.

    Xi Yuan realized that the girl''s hands were turning cold , so he held onto them tightly with his one hand while he took the phone from her in his another hand.

    "She is going to be fine eventually. But right now , it is too difficult to even look at her. That woman Qui Chin showed no mercy , when she was attacking Ningtao. No doubt Lu Wei is so adamant to make her entire life hell. Ningtao was stabbed thrice in her lower abdomen and was attacked by what I believe , is an Iron rod , upon her right leg. Throughout the attack , her spinal cord was injured as well. As a result , she might not be able to even move for few days , let alone walk or act. Her other injuries are not that severe , but they will be troubling her for the next two months for sure.", Su Roggunag answered the girl''s question , taking note of his choice of words. He knew how sensitive of an issue their family was for his sister , after all.

    "Are you alright ?", Xi Yuan asked the girl as he noticed the girl closing her eyes and digging her nails into the skin of his palm , her usual habit of hiding her pain.

    Rong Xinghe simply nodded and buried her head inside the man''s chest next second , as few warm drops soaked the man''s shirt.

    "I will call youter , Bro Rogguang.", Xi Yuan brought the phone to his ears and disconnected the call after he was done speaking. His Xinghe was his only priority right now. After all , he couldn''t just let his girl cry like that.

    Su Rogguang obviously understood Xi Yuan''s intentions and didn''t took the man''s words to heart. Instead , he felt bad for his little sister. Poor child , he thought.

    ___________________

    Meanwhile , the Xi family and the rest of the Superfamily didn''t wanted to intrude the couple''s private space , so they decided to wait outside the ward.

    So Lu Wei walked into his wife''s room with soft steps , trying his best to not disturb the woman if she had fallen asleep. Nevertheless , the woman heard him , and sensed his presence as she turned her head to nce at the door. As she saw Lu Wei walk towards her , the woman began to cry , unable to see an end to her pain. She wasn''t sure if the pain was due to her injuries or due to the realization that her husband was in pain because of her. But she was more inclined towards thetter part , though.

    As Lu Wei saw the woman he loved the most in this world breakdown like that in front of him , he rushed towards her worriedly and wiped her tears away.

    "Stop it. Stop it. Please.", the man begged ,"Don''t do this to me. Your tears hurt me more than anything ever can. Please , Tao ? You are strong. You are Xinghe''s strong Sister-inw , right ? Don''t cry. I will take care of you from now onwards. You will be fine in no time , I promise. Just don''t cry."

    Ningtao let out a painedugh as she listened to the man coaxing her like she was a small child and shook her head helplessly. The woman then tried to form sentences amid her sobs ,"Ok.. okay. I..I won''t cry. S..sit down."

    Lu Wei took a deep breath before he sat down on the stool beside the bed , following his woman''s orders. He then took Ningtao''s right hand into his and brought it to his lips , cing a soft kiss against the back of it.

    "You scared me this time , Tao.", Lu Wei said in a heavy voice , after few seconds of silence finally passed between the couple.

    "I...I scared my..myself too , Wei.", chuckled Ningtao ,"H..how is Xi..xinghe ? Don''t tell me sh..she saw me li..like this. She ca..can''t..."

    "Your Sister-inw is working on this case. She wants to get to the bottom of this. Your attacker has already been found. That Qui Chin will definitely face a tragic end. You have my word. But Xinghe thinks there is more to it. So she hasn''t seen you yet. She will being here soon , though. You don''t have to worry about all of that , okay ? You just rest.", Lu Wei answered the woman''s questions calmly.

    But the moment Ningtao listened to Lu Wei''s words , her eyes widened and she started trying to sit up straight as she shook her head violently ,"N..no no , she ca..can''t ! Xinghe can''t wor..work on this case. I ha..have to stop her !"

    As he looked at his woman''s situation getting more unstable , Lu Wei furrowed his brows and pinned Ningtao against the bed , pushing her by her shoulders carefully ,"Tao ! Calm down. What is it ? Just say it to me. How does this concern Xinghe in any way ? Isn''t it someone from the entertainment industry ?"

    Ningtao was silenced by Lu Wei''s sudden closeness , as the man was almost above her. She could literally feel his breath against her lips , which was giving her a strange form of rxation and peace. It was as if his eyes were trying to say that everything was going to be fine. Hence , the woman finally calmed down after roughly two minutes before she answered the man''s question , making his mind go numb for seconds , as if he had been hit by something very hard.

    "Th..there is someone else , oth..other than the two of us , wh..who knows about Xin..Xinghe''s parents. This en...entire attack wa..was nned by him. If sh..she gets to kno..know the truth about her par..parents , Wei , she will break do..downpletely. And this pe..person wants her to know it all ! Just stop her. Don''t let her in..investigate further."

 Chapter 301: "Good enough to protect the Military Chief of this nation."

    Chapter 301: "Good enough to protect the Military Chief of this nation."

    "What ?!", Lu Wei stared at the woman for few seconds before he quickly got down the bed and ran his fingers through his hair worriedly ,"How is that even possible ? How do you know it ?"

    Ningtao sighed as she tried to remember the time day when she was attacked ,"I s..still remember that when I entered my bedroom , a me..message was sent into my voicemail , which was resounding in the room on speaker. The message was di..directed towards Qui Chin , but it clearly men..mentioned Xinghe''s parents."

    "What was the message , Tao ?", asked Lu Wei , trying to calm himself down.

    "It..it said that after she was do..done nting the drugs in my room , she was supposed to se..search for any documents that involved Xinghe''s parents in m..my suitcase. It said that Lu Wei is too smart to keep those documents in his house or office. So , it was only nat...natural that his wife would be carrying them and that it wo..would be fun sharing them with Xinghe. Especially , about what happened when her parents were re..returning back to meet their twin daughters. We..wei , that person knows it all.", the woman said , as the pain in her lower abdomen increased severely. The woman shut down her eyes and started to groan in pain as she tried to form more words , amid her pain.

    Lu Wei called for the nurses and doctors before he caressed his woman''s hair and nted a soft kiss against her forehead , reassuring her that he would handle everything himself. Only when she recieved the confirmation from her man did Ningtao decided to let go off her worries and allowed the medical staff to help her with her injuries.

    The man left the private ward only after Ningtao''s situation was stabilized. It was now that he took a deep breath and sat down on a hospital bench nearby. As they saw Lu Wei drowned in his own thoughts , the remaining five brothers approached him and surrounded him worriedly.

    "What is it , Wei ?", asked Zhi Xi.

    "Is Sister-inw Tao alright ?", Zhi Al questioned anxiously.

    Lu Wei finally stood up after he realized that there was no other choice left for him ,"Tao is fine , Al. But there is something I need to tell you guys. This concerns Xinghe and Xiao. Its about Uncle and Aunty Rong , Xi."

    The moment the five men listened to Lu Wei''s words , they exchanged confused nces among themselves. Why would Lu Wei mention the girls'' parents all of a sudden , they wondered. Anyway , they were going to know about it soon.

    Only if the six men knew that this truth would be revealed to Rong Xinghe before they could even figure out a way to tell her about it...

    And that this truth would leave the girl with a painful scar , a dark emptiness in her heart , forever.

    _____________

    While Lu Wei was telling the five men about Rong twins'' parents , Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan had already reached the location they were heading towards. The couple got down the Military Jeep along with the five Special Forces officers following behind them. As they walked through the grasses , longer than them ,they realized that the entire area consisted of only one single house of bricks , which had its roof formed by steel. The house had a shabby and dark appearance , as if it had been burnt years ago. Naturally , the ce was able to intrigue Rong Xinghe''s inquisitive and observant mind. As a result , the girl started walking into the direction of the house , leaving Xi Yuan with no option but to follow her. Meanwhile , the five Special Forcesmandos decided to spread around the local grasnds , so that they could cover maximumnd , for the sake of Rong Xinghe''s security.

    "Xinghe , stay alert !", Xi Yuan warned the woman as she was about to step upon a bush of thorns.

    The woman nced at the thorns before she turned to look at the man locking her in his protective arms ,"Isn''t this supposed to be my dialogue , President Xi ? I am the Military Chief , right ?"

    "Stop joking around here. This is an uncertain field. As a soldier , you should be anticipating an attack anytime and from anywhere.", the man frowned.

    "Smart !", the girl chuckled before she freed herself from the man''s strong embrace , as she ced her right ear against the closed door of the house , attempting to hear some movements or sounds from inside.

    As she wasn''t able to hear any suspicious distubance from the other side of the door , the girl concluded that there was no one inside. Even so , she pulled out her Walther P-38 Gun and checked the amount of bullets loaded in it before she knocked the door lightly. The girl waited for roughly ten seconds as her eyes kept turning a few shades darker with every passing second. The girl then took a deep breath and gestured Xi Yuan to step back before she faced the locked wooden door and maintained a distance of exactly four metres from it.

    BANG !

    In a matter of less than three seconds , the wooden door was kicked down by the girl as it got disconnected from its nails by the sudden impact applied over it. Xi Yuan stared at the girl with an expression of disbelief , which soon turned into that of admiration and appreciation. Now , this was his woman ! Strong. Skilled. Smart.

    Rong Xinghe simply smirked at the man before she winked at him and stepped inside the house , which had nothing but a flickering projector screen and a broken cell phone. The girl took a quick scan of the ce''s insides and furrowed her brows , finding nothing useful to her.

    But as silently observed the ce for few more seconds , the girl realized that something was extremely wrong about it.

    Next second , she quickly turned around and rushed towards Xi Yuan , holding onto his arms tightly ,"You have been trained into the armed forces before , right ?"

    The man looked at the girl with a muddled expression before he nodded his head in agreement.

    "How are you now at sharpshooting , Honey ?", the woman asked anxiously.

    "Good enough to protect the Military Chief of this nation.", the man smiled , lifting his right hand up in the mid air.

    Rong Xinghe squinted her eyes at the man before she pulled out another Model 1911 Gun from her jacket along with its Ammo pack box and ced them in the man''s hand ,"I just hate the fact that you know me more than I know myself !"

 Chapter 302: "They never made it back"

    Chapter 302: "They never made it back"

    The moment the girl was done talking to the man , she turned around and pointed her gun towards the open edge of the roof of the house and whispered to the man ,"The attacker must have guessed that we woulde here. And if this guy had the guts to attack the wife of Business tycoon Lu Wei in the seven star hotel owned by Bro Zhi himself , the person doesn''tck guts at all. Running away is not his style. In fact , he is more of an opportunist. He would never leave the chance to kill , if the prey was to walk straight into his cave. I am assuming his men are hiding somewhere here nearby."

    Xi Yuan nodded at the girl as he pointed his chin towards the walkie-talkie in the girl''s jacket ,"You would like to inform the officers about this , darling."

    The girl raised her brows at the man before she pulled out the device from her pocket , bringing it closer to her mouth ,"After we are done with this , you better get back to your unfinished Military training. This profession seems to suit you more than business , Mr. Xi."

    "You want all the forces to witness our disy of affection 24/7 , sweetie ?", the man asked as a smirk spread across his lips.

    Rong Xinghe : "..."

    Such a romantic dork , the girl sighed internally.

    BANG !

    Suddenly , a sound of a gunshot resounded throughout the ce as the couple took cover behind the two broad cement pirs inside the house , as they tried to search for their targets.

    BAM !

    Roughly fifteen secondster , another shot was fired from Xi Yuan''s gun , the bullet prating straight through the forehead of the attacker , as the body copsed like a deck of cards on the ground.

    As if on cue , the other attackers started to jump down the roof shelf with their MG-42 rifles , bombarding the couple with continuous heavy gunfire. There were exactly 20 of them. But it wasn''t an issue for Rong Xinghe , neither was it a matter of trouble for Xi Yuan. So Xinguan simply focussed on the task at hand ,pletely diregarding the fact that they were a couple. While dealing with those animals , they were nothing but fellowrades to each other. Just two soldiers fighting shoulder to shoulder.

    ___________________

    Meanwhile , the five men had no idea about what Lu Wei wanted to tell them. All they knew was that it involved Rong twins'' parents and that it was a pretty serious concern for the man. Hence , they were mostly confused by the man''s hesitant actions. Same was the case with the Xi family , as they were standing just behind the six men.

    "What is going on over here , Wei ?", Zhi Xi rubbed his right shoulder tiredly as he questioned the man ,"Firstly , how do you know anything about Kiddo''s parents ? I mean.. weren''t they on a confidential mission ,pletely under the government''s scrutiny ?"

    "What exactly happened , Wei ?!", asked Mo Zixuan , as he looked straight into Lu Wei''s eyes ,"How do you and Sister-inw Ningtao know about whatever it is ?"

    Lu Wei nced at his wife''s closed hospital ward door before he took a deep breath and started exining everything to the men ,"Xinghe''s parents , Uncle and Auntie Rong , were already one of the most famous scientists across the globe , even before they had left for theirst mission , which was two years after giving birth to Xinghe and Xiao.

    "The mission was extremely confidential , and no one other than the Prime Minister had any idea about their location during that time. As it involved the country''s defence ministry''s decision , neither my Mom and Dad nor me , ever tried to search for them.

    "But everything turned upside down , when Rong Xinghe''s train incident in Country I took ce."

    The five men looked at Lu Wei with a stunned expression , as the dark memories of the eleven year old incident started floating in front of their eyes. That time was the most dreadful part of the Six men''s past. That wasn''t something they liked to discuss among themselves even today. Nothing rted to that incident brought them slightest bit of delight. Nothing. So the moment Lu Wei mentioned the frightening train incident , the five men just knew that this entire conversation was going to end into something even worse.

    "W..what is the connection between the train incident and Kiddo''s parents ?", Zhi Bo asked after sometime.

    "Umm... After the doctors concluded that Kiddo was in vegetative state for an uncertain time period , I was really scared. Scared to lose her , just like all of you. At that time , when we were all trying to figure out every possible way to get her out of that , I realized that maybe her parents'' presence or even the mention of their name would help her in some way. But for that , I needed to know at least something about them first.

    "We have all seen Xinghe since her childhood guys. Other than us , no one has seen Kiddo cry for her mother''s hug and father''s pat on the back. Back then , for me , Uncle and Auntie Rong were myst sliver of hope. As a result , I hired the premium team of Private Investigators from Lu Corporations to get a word about their whereabouts. But if I''d known that they would bring me Xinghe''s worst nightmare in the form of information to me , I would''ve never attempted to know about them in the first ce."

    As they saw Lu Wei close his eyes and clench his both fists tightly , an unknown fear crept across the five men''s hearts. This definitely wasn''t good. Xinghe''s worst nightmare could only mean one thing. And that was a possibility they didn''t even wanted to consider.

    "Wei , what is it ?", Su Rogguang asked worriedly.

    "Apparently , Uncle and Auntie Rong were done with their research five years after they had left the girls into the Rong family. Which means , they were returning back to Country X when Kiddo and Xiao were seven. But in their way , they...", Lu Wei paused to gather all his strength before he brushed his gaze over the five men , finally stopping at Zhi Xi.

    "Their flight had undergone a terrifying , a destructive st. My men told me that it was a well-nned murder. But anyway , they never made it back. The parents our Kiddo has been searching for all her life , had left her long ago guys."

 Chapter 303: The life of Mystery

    Chapter 303: The life of Mystery

    The six men looked at Lu Wei with shocked expressions as they found it difficult to digest his words. Initially , they thought that they had heard Lu Wei wrongly. But as Lu Wei shared the pictures of the flight explosion that had taken ce years ago , the six men realized how serious the matter was.

    "So you are telling us that Xinghe and Xiao are orphans and you''ve known about it all these years ? Yet , you never bothered to tell any of us about it ? Unbelievable , Wei !", Zhi Xi looked at the man with an expression of disbelief across his eyes ,"Although Xinghe is the source of the rtionship between us , the six of us are no less than real brothers now. Most importantly , this involved Xinghe and Xiao. How could you keep us in dark ?!"

    "That''s right , Xi.", Zhi Bo nodded his head in agreement as he nced at Zhi Xi before he directed his gaze towards Lu Wei ,"And not just us , I feel the two girls deserved to know about this truth too. Why would you do this to them , Wei ?! Just why ? They are our sisters , for god''s sake !"

    Lu Wei smiled wryly at the five brothers of his looking at him with questioning gazes before he took a deep breath and replied,"Xinghe was just thirteen years old then. Not to mention , she was ina for four months. She couldn''t stand on her own feet for an entire damned year. How can you expect me to tell Kiddo that her parents were dead , when she was already going through the unbearable pain given to her by her own blood family ?

    "How was I ever supposed to do that ? Would it be any different than shattering her already broken heart , her wounded soul and herst bit of remaining willpower to fight back , for the sake of herself ? I just couldn''t do it , guys."

    The five men thought about the dilemma the man must''ve gone through back then and realized how difficult it must''ve been for him to make that decision at that time , on his own. Theypletely understood the reason behind Lu Wei''s decisions. Because at that time , Rong Xinghe was so weak that she couldn''t be left alone for even a second. She was , after all , pushed down a running train by her own brother that night. That one night. It had changed everything for the girl and for the six men.

    Aftering out of thea , the girl had simply stopped living , she was simply existing. Like a living corpse. The Rong family wasn''t a topic they dared to discuss in front of her back then. There were times when she used to tremble with fear just by the mention of their name. Naturally , telling her about her parents'' death would have resulted into something even worse then. They couldn''t really me Lu Wei for what he did.

    "Alright. We get it.", Mo Zixuan nodded his head ,"But what about not involving us into this ? Wei , we six have taken decisions for Xinghe together from the beginning. How could you take this decision on your own then ?"

    "There was a sound recording left by Uncle and Aunty Rong for my dad , when they realized that their flight was hijacked way before they boarded it and that six electromaic bombs were detected inside every sensitiveponent of the aircraft. They knew it was toote to use their parachutes as they were already tampered with. So they had no choice but to leave a message for their daughters.

    "It said that dad wasn''t supposed to tell anyone about their death , as that would risk the mission they both were working upon. They wanted my dad to tell Xinghe and Xiao that their parents loved them dearly.", said Lu Wei , as he tried to remember the details of the recording clearly ,"There was more to that recording. But I wasn''t able to retrieve itpletely as it was destroyed beyond repair during the st. Anyway , this was why I never told you guys about the st. I don''t know what their mission was , but all I knew was that it was theirst wish. I couldn''t bring myself to disrespect that."

    "Can I have a look at the recording ?", at this time , the silent Zhi Al spoke up as he looked at Lu Wei earnestly.

    "Yeah , sure.", Lu Wei replied ,"My manager has stored every detail of that investigation safely. It can be arranged. Do you think you can retrieve it , Al ?"

    "I will try. I just hope that this recoding isn''t decoded by someone else before us.", said Zhi Al worriedly.

    "Why would you say that ?", Zhi Bo asked , looking at his younger brother with a muddled gaze.

    "Uncle and Aunty Rong have lived a life of mystery. And the biggest mystery was their mission. It was a matter of discussion for the entire nation for years , till date. What if the recording has some information about their research ? It should be kept away from the reach of dangerous terrorist groups and apt diplomats , in that case.", the man said.

    _________________

    Meanwhile , in the old house in the suburbs of City M , Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe had dealt with most of the attackers. Rong Xinghe had realized by now that her man was an amazing soldier as well. She had read many of Xi Yuan''s interviews before and knew that being in the Armed Forces had always been his first upational preference , ever since he was a child. But he had to shoulder his responsibilities as the eldest son of the family and take over the position of the CEO of Xi Corporations at the age of eighteen. So although he was a trained Army Officer , he couldn''t serve the Military.

    But even if he couldn''t join the army , he never really forgot it. He was still perfectly skilled at bothbat and defence. Rong Xinghe , of course , knew how well Xi Yuan enjoyed the game of numbers too. Military was once his dream , but business was his habit now. So she was simply amazed by her darling''s fighting skills , and felt at ease that he could protect himself , if met with some unforeseen danger someday.

    Just when the girl was upied in her own thoughts , a soft melodious voice resounded throughout the house ,"Xiao Xinghe , Xiao Xiao. How are you both ? It is me. Your mom."

 Chapter 304: "I am sorry that we couldnt make it."

    Chapter 304: "I am sorry that we couldn''t make it."

    The moment the woman''s voicended upon the girl''s ears , her eyes widened as her fingers around the trigger of the revolver froze. Suddenly , she felt her legs shaking as her grip over the grenade in her jacket loosened. She didn''t knew how , but her throat turned heavy , making her unable to utter a single word.

    Xi Yuan , of course listened to the woman''s voice as well. And although he wasn''t expecting something like this to unfold at the ce , his eyes started searching for his woman the second he heard the contents of the message. He knew that the girl had no memory of her parents , neither did she knew where they were till date. For an unknown reason, he knew that the girl''s reaction was bound to be extreme.

    And as expected , the man''s eyesnded upon apletely frozen Rong Xinghe , tears clouding her eyes. The man was about to rush towards the girl when he realized that one of the attackers was already standing behind the girl , pointing his revolver towards her head. Xi Yuan , subconsciously lifted his hand up in mid air and pulled the trigger of his gun. But the gun had ran out of the bullets unfortunately. The man scrunched his brows and sweared under his breath before he ran towards the girl as he didn''t had enough time to refill the bullets into the gun at that time.

    "Ughh !"

    The girl was lost in her thoughts when she was distracted by Xi Yuan''s suppressed groan. The girl shook her head to brush away her series of thoughts , fixing her attention upon her surroundings. It was now that she felt Xi Yuan breathing sharply against the nape of her neck silently. The girl turned around as her eyesnded upon the man''s right arm , the cloth over it soaked in blood !

    "Yuan !", the girl screamed worriedly as the man leaned against her even further and buried his face into her neck.

    Next second , three more gunshots resounded across the house as all the remaining attackers were killed at once , by the girl. Someone had to bring this to an end , after all.

    "Are you fine , sweetie ?", the girl asked anxiously to the man.

    "I am fine , Xinghe.", the man cleared his throat before he pulled out his handkerchief and passed it to the girl ,"You aren''t hurt , right ?"

    "You''ve got to be kidding me , Yuan. You took the shot for me , yet you are asking me this question. You shouldn''t have done it , bub,", the girlined , tying the handkerhief tightly around the man''s arm in order to stop the bleeding to some extent.

    Xi Yuan simply smiled at the woman in front of him. Was this girl really expecting him to see her get shot just like that ? Was that even possible ? Silly ! He was here to protect her in the first ce. There was no way he was going to let her suffer the pain of even a thorn , let alone a bullet.

    "Xinghe , about that recording...",the man hesitated ,"Do you want to look into it further ? I mean , if it makes you ufortable..."

    "I want to know about it.", the girl said ,"But let me take you to the hospital first. The officers will collect the recordingter."

    The girl was about to leave with the man , when the recording resumed automatically , making them stop in their tracks. The recording was addressed to Lu Wei''s parents , Lu Hogguang and Zheng Keer.

    "Tell my daughters this when they are old enough to understand it , Keer. Tell them that their mother and father loved them dearly. Although we never got enough time to spend with them , they were the two pieces of my heart."

    Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan turned around to look at the screen in the empty house. It wasn''t flickering anymore. Instead , it was showing a video clip. A woman in herte 20''s with dark brown hair , simr to that of Rong Xinghe was smiling at the camera as tears flowed down her eyes. Her eyes were almond brown in color , just like Rong Xiao. One look at thedy and anyone could tell that she was none other than the Rong twins'' mother !

    Xi Yuan , subconsciously intertwined his fingers with the girl''s , pulling her close to his chest by her shoulders ,"Xinghe..."

    "Let me listen.", the girl murmured softly in a shaky voice.

    Xi Yuan let out a sigh before he looked at the video clip in front of him. Rong Xinghe''s mother was clearly sitting in a flight , her father sitting beside his wife. This was the first time that Xi Yuan had seen this infamous couple. So he was also looking forward to what the video was actually about.

    "Hugguang , Keer. Last time I remember , Xinghe and Xiao were in Lu Wei and Zhi Xi''s arms , when we left for the mission. Our two angels , were sleeping so peacefully in their brothers'' safe embraces. It is a pity we both won''t be able to see them walk down the altar.

    "Look , we have very less time left. So please convey my messages to my daughters. Tell them that like every mother , I also dreamt to see them go to school. We also wanted to see them getting graduated. And we also wanted to see them both fall in love and get married. But clearly, destiny... had other ns for us.

    "I never thought that our goodbye would be so soon. To be honest , we never wanted a goodbye from our babies."

    As thedy broke down while speaking , the twins'' father , Rong Anguo rubbed her shoulder and spoke up ,"Show this to Xinghe and Xiao someday , Hogguang. As a father , I just don''t know what to say and how to say. I am sorry I wasn''t there to shield you both from all the harms. Normally , it is said that , unlike mothers , fathers find it difficult to express themselves to their children.

    "But in our case , I never got to know what kind of dad I am. Maybe the worst dad ever , for I was never there for you both. I was not there when you were learning to ride bicycle or when you were building a snow-man during winter''s first snow fall. I am a bad father. Maybe a ranked scientist , but a very disappointing father. I just have one thing to say to you girls. I am sorry. I am sorry that we couldn''t make it."

 Chapter 305: "I will leave my woman to you then."

    Chapter 305: "I will leave my woman to you then."

    As the girl listened to her father''s helpless tone , tears flowed down her eyes involuntarily. The girl buried her head in Xi Yuan''s arms and held onto his cor tightly. The man also wrapped his hands around the girl''s waist and hugged her back , trying to calm her down.

    At this time , another voice resounded throughout the house. It didn''t belonged to Rong Xinghe''s parents , but to Diablos. Xi Yuan scrunched his brows the moment the man''s face appeared in front of him. He could , of course recognize Diablos at one nce. The man has had caused quite a trouble not too long ago , after all.

    "Ms. Rong ! How are you doing ?", the man smiled slyly ,"I could recover this video clip just this much. But I am leaving its fragments in the pen drive kept in the bex beside the projector , okay ? Anyway , I am sorry for the loss you have suffered. I simply felt that you deserved to know about your parents'' death. And clearly , your brother Lu Wei had other opinions about it."

    Rong Xinghe lifted her head up and nced at the projector screen with her eyes widened. Her bro Lu knew about it ? Didn''t it meant that he had this video all along ? Damn ! He was hiding it from her. Her own brother...

    Suddenly , a sharp stabbing shock-like pain rushed through her head and the girl squeezed her eyes close strongly , as her grip around Xi Yuan''s cor tightened even further. The girl opened her eyes after sometime and looked at the man holding her tightly. But gradually , darkness started blocking her view and she closed her eyes again.

    "Xinghe !", the man yelled as he looked at the unconscious girl lying in his arms. He then quickly bent down and picked her up bridal style as he started to rush towards the military jeep parked few metres away hurriedly.

    ___________________

    City M , Multi-Speciality Hospital , 5:00 p.m.

    "Bro Su ! Please take a look at Xinghe.", Xi Yuan walked through the hospital''s main entrance , his eyes searching for Su Rogguang.

    The six men turned around to look at the man carrying their kiddo in his arms carefully. Without wasting another second , the men ran towards the man as the hospital staff brought a stretcher for the girl. Xi Yuan lied the girl down upon the stretcher delicately before he held onto her right hand tightly. The six men surrounded the girl worriedly , followed by the Xi family.

    "What happened to her , Yuan ?!", Mo Zixuan asked ,"Wasn''t she just fine few hours ago ?"

    Instead of replying to Mo Zixuan , Xi Yuan nced at Lu Wei with slight fright clearly evident in his eyes ,"She knows about her parents'' death , Bro Lu."

    "Wh..what ?", Lu Wei furrowed his brows.

    "Wait a second !", Su Rogguang yelled at the two men , gesturing them to stay silent as he checked the girl''s pulse ,"Her pulse rate is too low. How did she faint exactly ?"

    "I do..don''t know. When she got to know that Bro Lu knew about her parents'' death , she closed her eyes tightly and then after sometime , she just fell unconscious in my arms.", Xi Yuan exined calmly.

    "Fu*k ! It might be a Migraine Stroke.", Su Rogguang cursed under his breath ,"Shift her to the observation ward. Quick !"

    "Is it serious ?", Zhi Al asked anxiously.

    "Migraine strokes can be fatal , Al. I will check first before dering anything , okay ?", the man patted Zhi Al''s shoulder before he left the five men , Xi Yuan and the Xi family to themselves.

    ____________________

    While Su Rogguang was working on stabilising the girl''s situation , Xi Yuan recalled everything to the family in details in Ningtao''s ward. Listening to every word the man said , the six men felt as if thousands of needles had been pierced through their hearts.

    "I screwed up ! I ended up hurting Kiddo. I am literally the worst brother anyone can ever asked for. I can''t imagine how hurt she must''ve been when she got to know that her Bro Lu knew everything , all these years.", Lu Wei clenched his fists as tears formed in his eyes ,"She wouldn''t even want to see me. This is all so messed up."

    "Stop it , Wei.", Ningtao tried to pacify her husband ,"Xinghe can be angry upon you. But she would never want to not see you ever again. That would be too extreme. The bond between you guys is stronger than that."

    "Sister-inw is right , Wei.", Zhi Bo spoke up ,"Although you made that decision alone years ago , we can''t say that we don''t support you with it. In fact , we would have also made the same decision back then. So we are in this together. If she wants to punish us , she can. If she wants to not talk to us , we will all apologize together. Okay ? You are not doing this alone."

    "Exactly.", smiled Mo Zixuan ,"One for all and all for one."

    "The Superfamily can''t be split apart just like that , brother. Don''t worry.", Zhi Xi said.

    "Xinghe must be very hurt. After all , ''we'' kept her in dark regarding such a sensitive matter. Nevertheless , we will convince her together. I am positive that our Kiddo can''t stay angry with us for too long. Let''s handle this calmly.", Zhi Al smiled.

    As he looked at the four men risking their rtionship with their sister for his sake , Lu Wei couldn''t help but smile wryly ,"You guys are crazy. Come here."

    The five men hugged each other as Ningtao , Songyan , Feng Mian and Ruo Cy smiled at them. When it came to harmony and unity , this family was just unbeatable and utterly hopeless !

    At this time , Xi Fang noticed a zoned out Xi Yuan looking down at the ground , from the corner of his eyes. The man made his way to his brother and nced at his wound ,"Are you alright, brother ?"

    Xi Yuan looked at the man before he sighed ,"I will be fine , Fang. Once I see her in good shape and smiling again , I will be perfectly fine."

    The five men turned around to look at Xi Yuan and exchanged nces among themselves. They then approached him as Lu Wei squeezed his shoulders ,"Thanks for being by her side today , Yuan. Really. This means a lot to us. And trust me when I say that we will bring her smile back.

    "But before that , go and get that bullet out of your arm right now , or else it will end up bing more harmful. Okay ?"

    Xi Yuan smiled at the man before he nodded his head ,"I will leave my woman to you then."

    "We will try our best to entertain the Queen , your majesty.", Lu Wei replied courteously with a chuckle , as the family broke utughing.

 Chapter 306: "It has never been a gamble."

    Chapter 306: "It has never been a gamble."

    While the six men were having a conversation among themselves , Su Rogguang walked into Ningtao''s ward and pulled his gloves out. Zhi Xi noticed the man approaching them and asked him worriedly ,"How is she ?"

    Su Rogguang dumped the gloves into the bin under Ningtao''s bed and took a deep breath before he spoke up ,"The situation was... quite terrifying. Of all the migraine patients I have managed before , this has been the mostplicated case for me. It was a Severe Migraine Stroke , which was possibly the result of the trauma she faced today. I had to give her some really strong sedatives and drugs , just to keep her situation stable physically.

    "A migraine usuallysts from four to 72 hours , if untreated. She will be going through a throbbing pain in her head for at least a week. And she isn''t getting back her consciousness till tomorrow evening. So we have no other option , but to wait.

    "All I can say is that this was a near death experience for our Kiddo. Thankfully , Yuan reached here on time , and he drove really carefully en route , else we would''ve lost our angel today."

    As they listened to Su Rogguang''s diagnosis , the five men clenched their fists as their hearts felt the unbearable fear of losing their sister. Zhi Bo asked about theplications the girl was possibly going to face in near future due to the Migraine attack after sometime.

    "Nightmares will be verymon. Every now and then , she might go through a sudden pulse or throb-like pain in her head , so she shouldn''t be left alone for the next one month at least. And she needs a damn break from her work. I will have to ren her diet n all over again. She will also have to follow a proper antibiotics course. That is all for now.", the man answered , his expression serious.

    "Fang , go and inform about all of this to Yuan.", Mo Zixuan turned to fix his gaze upon the Xi siblings ,"He will obviously want to know every detail about her situation. After all , when ites toforting and coaxing her , that gentleman beats all the six of us."

    "Sure , Bro Mo.", Xi Fang nodded his head with a smile and rushed out of the ward.

    "What about her work ?", Zhi Al sighed ,"Provided how much she likes her job , she would never sit idle at home."

    "Don''t worry about it.", Su Rogguang shook his head ,"I am the Head Surgeon to the parliamentary ministers. Prime Minister and President won''t give a second thought before approving my appeal for her short retirement , along with the three Military heads of the nation. Not to mention , Bo is the Chief Advisor to the President. She will have to get a proper rest this time , whether she wants it or not."

    -----

    While all of this was happening , the Xi family was noticing everything silently. And they were surprised by the trust the six tigers had on Xi Yuan. With how much the six men were protective for their Kiddo sister , it was totally unbelievable that they were trusting an outsider with her safety to this extent.

    "What is the matter , Mrs. Xi ?", Ruo Cy asked , as she handed a cup of coffee to Li Jungah with a smile.

    Li Jungah hesitated for few seconds before she finally decided to speak directly to the woman ,"You guys seem to have a lot of trust on Yuan , don''t you ? The world clearly has a different opinion about the six men and their personalities , I guess."

    The six men fixed their gazes upon the four Xi family elders and simply exchanged nces among themselves. Since the conversation was between Ruo Cy and Li Jungah , they were simply going to let thedy solve it. Moreover , they knew how diplomatic and sly the six sister-inws of the girl were.

    "Why ? Is your son not trustworthy enough ?", Ruo Cy smiled as she turned around and picked up the tray kept on Ningtao''s side-table and started collecting the used coffee cups by the family members gracefully , rendering the Xi family elders speechless.

    "N..No. That wasn''t what I meant...", Li Jungah tried to exin. She knew that her son''s reaction won''t be any good if the six men were to form any negative opinion about him , because of her. She , after all had seen the man putting in all his efforts in order to maintain his reputation in front of the girl''s family from the past few days.

    But Ruo Cy had no intentions to make things difficult for thedy. So she simply winked at her husband standing beside Zhi Al and spoke up ,"Of course I understand , Auntie. But your Yuan waited for months to confess his feelings to our Xinghe. Not only that , he waited for an entire year to hear the girl say yes to him. He has been nothing , but patient with Xinghe throughout this time. Most importantly , he never forced her for anything.

    "Gradually , we understood how pure his love was. Xinghe was no different. The girl is head over heels for him. And no matter how cold and intimidating the six men seems to the outer world , they have nothing but warmth and love for their sisters. So they ultimately epted Yuan."

    At this time , Ningtao took over from Ruo Cy ,"But don''t assume that they are stupid to let in an outsider. The Xi family must know the consequences of getting into the bad books of the Superfamily. We can make life a living hell for anyone who hurts the Rong twins.

    "The six men opened their arms for Yuan just because they knew that they could easily destroy the Xi empire , if he was to give any mental , emotional or physical pain to their angel. So it has never been a gamble. Actually , Xinghe''s life can never be a gamble for her brothers. She is their everything , after all. Their strength , their weakness , their reason for existence."

    The six men simply smiled silently at thedies defending them and exining their sisters'' importance in their lives to the Xi family. No doubt they were known as a Superfamily across the entire nation. Thedies here were just as opinionated , smart , intellectual and fierce as the six men.

    ____________________

    While the families were having their share of discussions , Xi Yuan was standing outside Rong Xinghe''s ward , looking at the weak girl lying delicately upon the bed. It was almost like life had been sucked out of her body , leaving no ce for will or strength to struggle.

 Chapter 307: A ruthless husband indeed !

    Chapter 307: A ruthless husband indeed !

    The man kept staring at the woman through the small ss window for sometime before he took a deep breath and decided to walk into the ICU Ward. The man silently sat down on a stool beside the girl''s bed and started observing the oxygen mask and every IV drip connected to her. In order to not hurt her , the man restrained himself from touching her. Instead , he simply ced his right hand over the girl''s torso , which was under theyer of a thick nket.

    "You have really suffered a lot , Bub.", Xi Yuan managed to finally speak after clearing his heavy throat , tears slowly clouding his eyes.

    "But why did you had to be so hard on yourself ? I can''t even imagine how you felt when you got to know about your parents'' death. I saw a ray of hope in your eyes when the video started to y suddenly. I knew you were wishing for them to be safe and sound. But as the video came to its end , your expression turned into that of fright , disappointment and uncertainty. I saw your heart breaking into thousands of pieces , Sweetheart.

    "I just... want you to be happy. Just a smile on you face is what I breath for. And that is the only thing which is a rare sight for me. One after another , all you have been facing are problems and constant setbacks. And you know what is he worst part ? I can''t do one damned thing to shield you from any of that.

    "For the world , I am the CEO of the biggest business dynasty of the world. Yet , I can''t protect you , the most important person in my life. Every string to your pain is attached with your past. And unfortunately , I wasn''t there beside you back then.

    "I wasn''t there for you when your blood family used to physically abuse you when you were merely four years old. I wasn''t there for you when you were pushed down a running train by your elder cousin. Neither was I there for you when you were struggling to step down that wheelchair for an entire year. And I wasn''t there for you when you used to miss your mom and dad as a little kid. I wasn''t there whenever you needed me.

    "I am sorry. I am so sorry."

    The man couldn''t say anything further as tears threatened to flow down his eyes. Gradually , he started feeling difficult to even form words as his throat choked up. The man squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face into both his hands , his elbows resting on the edge of the bed.

    ...

    Shortly after , Xi Fang walked into the ICU ward , searching for the man.

    "Brother...", Xi Fang furrowed his brows , as he realized that his shoulders were shaking ,"Are you... crying ?"

    When he heard the man''s worried voice , Xi Yuan quickly wiped his tears away and stood up hastily to turn around and rush towards the restroom ,"I will just freshen up. Wait here for me , Fang."

    As the man disappeared from his line of sight , Xi Fang nced at the unconscious woman lying in the hospital bed and let out a helpless sigh. Only if she knew that her life was not hers alone anymore and that she was the living proof that his brother was alive. He always feared that if something was to ever happen to Rong Xinghe , his brother would simply exist like a living corpse. Nothing more. Nothing less.

    ________________________

    "Are you okay , brother ?", asked Xi Fang , as Xi Yuan stepped out of the washroom after washing his face ,"Here. I ordered a cappino for you."

    "You didn''t had to do it. I am fine.", Xi Yuan smiled wryly , as he picked up the cup ced upon the side table.

    "Brother , please tell me what is going on inside you.", asked Xi Fang again ,"Stop bottling up your feelings inside yourself , for the love of god."

    Xi Yuan looked at Xi Fang before he took a sharp breath and fixed his gaze upon his woman ,"I just feel like I can''t protect her from her pain , no matter what. I am simply incapable and helpless , when ites to her. I..."

    "You need to stop doing this to yourself , brother. Seriously.", Xi Fang sighed ,"You have no idea what your mere presence means to Sister-inw. When she will get her consciousness back , she will be wanting you beside her the most. Most importantly , her misery is the result of the incidents that urred in her past. The time you had no control over. So you shouldn''t be ming yourself for it."

    "I guess.", Xi Yuan smiled , his eyes holding an undescribable amount of pain in them ,"Anyway , what''s the update upon that woman''s situation who attacked Sister-inw Ningtao that day ?"

    "Are you seriously concerned about all those revenge ns ? Do they even matter anymore ?", Xi Fang asked ,pletely taken aback by the sudden change of topic.

    Xi Yuan nodded his head before he passed his coat to the man and ced a soft kiss against the girl''s forehead. He then ced her right hand into his warm ones and grabbed the stool beside the girl''s bed calmly , his eyes fixed at his brother ,"She wanted to witness that woman''s destruction."

    The moment the man''s wordsnded upon Xi Fang''s ears , he stared at him as if he was looking at some monster. PDA at it peak ! For this man , his woman''s every desire , every wish mattered more than anything. He could do literally anything for her single smile. Just because Rong Xinghe wanted to see Lu Wei deal with Qui Chin , Xi Yuan expected the revenge to be executed as soon as possible. Even if there was a slight chance of that distracting Rong Xinghe from her pain , he was going to make sure that it happened. For him , Qui Chin was nothing but a source of entertainment for his girl. Indeed , a ruthless husband !

    "You are back , brother.", Xi Fangughed.

    "What do you mean ?", the man furrowed his brows as he nced at the man with a muddled expression.

    "From a depressed man to a wife-doting devil."

    "When did I stopped doting on her exactly ?", Xi Yuan raised his brows ever so slightly.

    Well...This was not what he had signed up for. Sigh !

 Chapter 308: Getting ahead of oneself

    Chapter 308: Getting ahead of oneself

    Xi Yuan and Xi Fang walked out of the girl''s ward , discussing her health situation , as they ran into Li Jungah and Xi Chongkun. The man nced at the couple and then at Xi Chonglin and Luo Youyou approaching them.

    "Why don''t you go back home ? I will visit youter. Probably after Xinghe gets her consciousness back.", suggested Xi Yuan , rubbing the back of his neck.

    Li Jungah shook her head helplessly before she gently massaged the young man''s left shoulder ,"You... So hopeless. How is your injury now ? Does it still hurt ? Look at yourself. You seem so worn out. So tired."

    Xi Chongkun nodded his head before he looked at his son ,"How do you feel now ?"

    "I am fine. Don''t worry about it. It was just a small bullet.", Xi Yuan replied ,"Anyway , I insist you all return back. Let''s not trouble her family. Shall we ? I can take care of her by myself."

    "Look at him all grown up.", Luo Youyou smiled mockingly ,"That girl matters to him more than his parents now. He cares about her more than himself. You need to be more cautious here onwards , Sister Jungah. That girl might snatch him away from you."

    Xi Yuan red at Luo Youyou and Xi Chonglin before he turned to look at his mother with a warm smile ,"Do you have any problem with Xiao Xinghe snatching me away from you , Mom ?"

    Li Jungah was taken aback by how sweetly the man was addressing her. He had never acted like that around her before. For the first time , she felt like he wasn''t a mighty business king , but her son. Her dearest Yuan. Naturally , Li Jungah''s mood was instantly elevated up.

    She smiled back at the man and ced her both hands over his shoulders ,"Not at all. But what will I get in exchange ?"

    "A daughter.", replied Xi Yuan earnestly.

    "Huh ?"

    "Mom.", the man took a deep breath before he looked at Xi Chongkun and then , back at thedy ,"Ever since I was a child , I never really felt the parental love. You and dad were too busy with managing the business back then. All I had were gandma and grandfather."

    "Yuan...", Li Jungah furrowed her brows as she cupped her son''s face softly. She didn''t knew how to react to her son''s sudden robotic and distant tone. It was indeed the truth that they hadn''t been the best parents to Xi Yuan. Although they knew that their child was an Autism patient , they never gave him the time and attention he deserved.

    Meanwhile , the six men also entered the hospital corridor , intending to check on their Kiddo. They weren''t expecting all the Xis to be there though. As they listened to Xi Yuan , they stopped in their tracks subconsciously. They simply stood at a distance , in order to not make the family ufortable. But they could hear the man clearly from where they were standing.

    "No. I am not trying to make you feel guilty about the past. Trust me.", Xi Yuan shook his head ,"I just have one request for you both. If you ever feel like making up for that lost time to me , just shower all your love upon Xinghe."

    The moment the wordsnded upon Li Jungah''s ears , she turned to look at Xi Chongkun , who was equally stunned. The six tigers were no different. They couldn''t understand as to why would Xi Yuan say something like that.

    "What do you mean ?", Xi Chonglin questioned the man.

    Xi Yuan kept looking at his mother as he spoke ,"At least , I have a memory of my parents. At least , I know that they were there. I was treated like a prince ever since I was born. But what about her ? She was the daughter of the great industrialist , Rong Anguo. Didn''t she deserved the same ?

    "Instead , my girl was tortured as child , physically , mentally , emotionally. Even a group of illiterate people knows better than that. But the Rongs ? Huh ! When were they humans to begin with ?", the man ridiculed , his expression frightening.

    "I don''t intend to beat around the bush.", the man said calmly ,"All I want to say is that she deserves parental love , at least. I know you both can''t really rece her parents. But I would still appreciate it if you can treat her like your own daughter. Is that too much to ask ?"

    Li Jungah was so touched by the young man''s exnation that her eyes started to cloud with tears. Involuntarily , she hugged the man and started sobbing in his arms ,"You really love her. So much so that you can share your parents with her. Don''t you ?"

    Xi Yuan wasn''t that much of an expressive person. It was only in front of Rong Xinghe that he showed his real and emotional side. So he didn''t knew how to react to the hug. He awkwardly wrapped his hands around his mother''s shoulders and patted them lightly.

    "I really do.", the man mumbled.

    "Alright then.", Li Jungah wiped her tears away and smiled at Xi Yuan ,"From today onwards , she will be my daughter. You are right. The to-be daughter-inw of the Xi family deserves the world. Xiao Yuan , bring her home as soon as she recovers. Okay ? She needs to be introduced to us properly."

    A genuine smile crept across Xi Yuan''s lips , as he nodded his head at the woman. He then lifted his head up to look at his father , who was standing behind Li Jungah , expressionless. And his silence was an indication of eptance and agreement.

    Soon after , the Xi family elders left the hospital , leaving with Xi Yuan , Xi Fang and the six tigers into the empty corridor. After few seconds of awkward silence between the men , Zhi Bo cleared his throat to speak.

    "That... um... was thoughtful.", the man smiled.

    "Are you showing pity upon my sister , young man ?", Lu Wei raised his brows ever so slightly , ring at Xi Yuan.

    "What ? No !", Xi Fang shook his head fretfully ,"Its not like that. Brother simply wants to see sister-inw happy. I can..."

    "Don''t , Fang.", Xi Yuan patted his brother''s back calmly as he nced at all the six men with a smirk ,"Is a husband not allowed to take care of his wife , gentlemen ? My mother is going to be Xinghe''s mother-inw eventually. Its only fair for her to treat your Kiddo as her daughter. Right ?"

    "Aren''t you getting too ahead of yourself ? We might''ve consented the rtionship , but who said a word about marriage ?", Zhi Xi rolled his eyes.

    "That''s my ultimate goal , brother.", Xi Yuan replied as he turned to look at the unconscious girl through the ss window , his lips curling upwards ,"I n to steal your sister away from you. I n to wed her. I n to make her mine."

 Chapter 309: "I want you."

    Chapter 309: "I want you."

    While the six men were having a chat with Xi Yuan , the girl inside the cold hospital ward was going through a battle of her own. It was a dream. A memory. A terrifying one. The one where she was merely four years old. She was holding her twin sister''s hand. Tightly. They were in an amusement park. Zhi Bo and Zhi Al had brought them there.

    She remembered that there was an ident. They were in a cabin on a ferris wheel. Something had gone wrong with it. Something about the giant wheel''s centre support. Only kids her age were there. A girl in the cabin beside that of hers and Rong Xiao''s , was crying hysterically. The girl was scared. Every kid was. Rong Xinghe wasn''t. She was vigntly searching for her brothers through the crowd of people on the ground below them. She knew they woulde and save her and Rong Xiao. They always did. Her six knights in shining armours.

    But it was then that she had seen a man climb up. Police was trying to stop him. But he wouldn''t stop , no matter what. He was not used to asions such as those. His grip wasn''t that strong. He was falling again and again. Losing his bnce. But he kept on climbing till he reached the top of the wheel.

    "Dad !"

    Rong Xinghe turned to look at the girl in the cabin left to hers. The one who was crying hysterically. She was crying and smiling at the same time , as she looked at the man mbering towards her.

    "I am here honey.", the man had smiled at the little girl , despite the troubles he was facing ,"Stay there."

    "Xinghe , is that how a father is ?", Rong Xiao had asked her back then.

    She''d simply patted her twin''s head with a shrug. She didn''t had any idea as well. She didn''t knew anything about parental love. But maybe that was how it was. Having a father. Someone who would shield you , protect you unconditionally. Someone , for whom , your safety and well-being mattered more than anything.

    She remembered how that man had carried his little girl down the ride after tying her to his back by a scarf. She saw the man carrying his daughter to his wife. She remembered how the mother had covered the girl''s entire face with her kisses and how she had hugged the girl tightly.

    BAM !

    A sudden jolt in the ferris wheel , she remembered. And with that , the girl''s eyes flew wide open , her both hands clutching onto the the nket covering her tightly. Then , a wrenching , throbbing , sharp sensation rushed across her brain , forcing her to shut her eyes back again. She started finding it difficult to breath , even though her face was covered up with an oxygen mask. With her eyes closed and brows furrowed , the girl''s hands started to tremble as her toes turned cold gradually.

    Naturally , the nurse taking care of the girl noticed it and quickly checked the IV drip and the medication dosage provided to the girl. She then ran out of the ward hastily , calling out for the doctors working upon the girl.

    "What is going on ?", Su Rogguang asked as he rushed inside the hospital ward , Xi Yuan , Xi Fang and the other five men following behind him.

    "Mili...Military Chief seems to be facing someplications , Sir.", the nurse managed to speak , her voice shaky.

    "Get me a Sumatriptan. Quick !", Su Rogguang shouted as he checked the girl''s pulse.

    "Sir... Won''t that be too strong ?", the young woman hesitated.

    "She has gone through a Migraine stroke not too long ago. Its the only chemical that can suit her immunity now. It would be an honour if you wouldn''t question my medical skills at such a crucial time. Get the damned injection to me ! RIGHT NOW !", Su Rogguang yelled furiously this time.

    "Al... alright sir.", the nurse nodded , terrified by the man''s tone.

    _________________________

    Soon , Rong Xinghe''s situation was stabilised and she was dered out of danger by the team of doctors diagnosing her condition. The girl was conscious , her face giving away no expression as she stared at the roof of the ward nkly. No matter what Xi Fang or Zhi Al said to her , not a word came out of her mouth.

    Xi Yuan stood beside Lu Wei and Zhi Xi , taking in the slightest bit of movements she made. Silently , he observed the girl''s fists clenching , her toes curling in , beads of sweat dripping down her forehead , the corners of her eyes glistening with tears. He knew that she was still trying to digest what had happened. To be honest , that was totally normal. She was an orphan , ever since she was 7.

    Something she never imagined would happen to her , was actually happening now. It was only normal for her to be in a state of shock. Sigh ! His woman was really suffering a lot.

    He then nced at the hospital staff surrounding his woman''s bed ,"Get out.", the man said calmly as he approached Rong Xinghe''s bed.

    "Let them do their work , Yuan.", Mo Zhixuan frowned.

    "They are making her ufortable , bro Mo.", Xi Yuan looked at the man ,"She wants to be alone with her brothers. She only wants her family. Its better for the outsiders to leave."

    The six men fixed their gazes upon the girl , noticing the tears in her eyes. At that time , they felt as if they were being stabbed by some dagger , straight into their heart. After all , they knew that they were the reason behind her misery , her distress. Although unknowingly , but they had brought those tears in her eyes.

    After the hospital staff left the private ward , Xi Yuan lifted his head up to look at Xi Fang and gestured him to leave as well. The man then picked up his coat and turned to face the door of the room.

    At this time , a pair of two weak soft hands wrapped around Xi Yuan''s right hand tightly.

    "And you."

    "Huh ?", the man turned to face the girl.

    "I want you. Please ?"

 Chapter 310: "They had always been our Dad and they had always been our Mom."

    Chapter 310: "They had always been our Dad and they had always been our Mom."

    "Are you sure ? I mean it is your family.", Xi Yuan pinched the space between his brows as he inhaled sharply.

    "Please ?", the girl requested in a whisper-like weak voice.

    The man smiled at the girl and ced a soft kiss against her forehead , promising her his warmth and assurance , before he sat down beside the girl on the edge of her bed. He understood how scared she was. How uncertain , how unsettled her heart was. After all , she''d never imagined that she would have to confront her brothers like that someday. Her six tigers.

    "Bro Lu.", the girl spoke up after sometime ,"You.. knew about the crash , right ?"

    Lu Wei approached the girl and stood silently beside her bed. As he was finding it to difficult to even form words , the man just nodded.

    When she looked at the man looking down at the floor with guilt , and then at the other five men with simr expressions , the girl held onto Xi Yuan''s right hand tightly , her eyes shut ,"So... I am an orphan. All these years , I have been an orphan."

    "Xinghe..."

    "Why did you had to lie to me , Brother ?", the girl sobbed ,"How could you ? Everytime I asked about Mom and Dad , you used tofort me , tell me that they''d be back. All of them were lies , weren''t they ? All of them."

    "Kiddo. Calm down.", Lu Wei sighed and pulled the girl in an affectionate hug , her fingers still intertwined with those of Xi Yuan''s , as he noticed that her hands were starting to tremble again ,"We had no other option left , Kid. Just like today , your condition was pretty serious back then as well. I got to know about the crash few months after the train incident with the Rongs. You were still in aa. I couldn''t give you a shock like that when you were so frail. I thought..."

    "Tr...train incident ?!", the girl cut it ,"More than ten years. I was kept in the dark for more than ten years. Don''t tell me you never got a chance to tell me."

    "I am sorry. I just thought that you wouldn''t be able to move on from that.", Lu Wei hugged the girl even more tightly ,"I am so sorry , princess. I guess your brother wasn''t as strong as you thought he was."

    Rong Xinghe then pulled away from the man and looked at the other five men.

    "No. We didn''t knew about it until now.", Zhi Bo understood the girl''s expression and shook his head ,"But that doesn''t mean we despise Brother Lu Wei for what he did."

    Zhi Xi nodded his head in agreement ,"Exactly. In fact , we support him. We would''ve done the same if we would have been in his shoes back then."

    "We are sorry Kiddo.", Mo Zhixuan added.

    By that time , the girl was staring into the nk space. Not a single word came out of her mouth. Her mind was elsewhere. The silence in the room grew so much that the six men couldn''t stand it for one second more. The quietness was eating them up. It was as if they were waiting for their death sentence.

    "Yuan...", after roughly fifteen minutes , the girl murmured faintly , her eyes fixed upon her darling.

    Xi Yuan , who had been sitting silently throughout the entire duration , turned his head around to observe his woman''s expression , to hear her unsaid words. Next second , the man wrapped his strong arms around her shoulders as he pulled her into his embrace , her face buried into his chest.

    No other man could understand Rong Xinghe the way he did. One look at her and he could tell what she wanted. He never required to exchange words with her to interpret her feelings. He knew her like the back of his hands.

    The man remained silent as his fingers caressed the girl''s hair gently. He simply looked at the hospital monitor screen intensely , taking note of every little change in the girl''s situation. He could feel her smelling him. He could tell she was melting into her own little world in his arms. That was her habit. Her way of calming herself down. So he didn''t bothered interfering with the process and allowed the girl to do whatever she wished to do.

    Meanwhile , the six men were amazed by the scene unfolding in front of them. They were surprised to witness the understanding between the couple. Not only did their sister trusted this man with all her secrets , the man doted on her equally too. He understood her , treated her like his queen. It was great , the six thought. She had found the right man for her , they felt as a smile appeared upon their lips involuntarily.

    "Yuan. Before I woke up , I had a dream.", said the girl , interrupting their train of thoughts.

    "What was it ?", asked Xi Yuan in his deep maizing voice.

    "It was a memory from the childhood. I and Xiao were in an amusement ride. And an ident had happened. But back then , there was a man who was trying to save his daughter , who was stuck in a cabin in the ferris wheel. He had climbed all the way up there by himself , just to protect her.

    "At that time , I and Xiao had wondered if that was how a dad was like. Protective. Selfless. Caring. We had no idea what it felt like to have parents , after all.

    "But just after the girl had gotten down the ride , there was a sudden petrifying jolt in the ferris wheel. And do you know how we were saved ?"

    "How ?", the man smiled.

    "Bro Mo and Bro Bo had already informed Bro Lu about the incident. And by the time we reached down , more than ten rescue air cushions were covering the ground below the ride. There wasn''t even a single scratch on our bodies then , you know ?

    "How can I me them , Yuan ? How can I ? They had always been our Dad and they had always been our Mom. They were the ones who brought me up , the ones who tought me to ride the bicycle , to walk. When I or Xiao used to have viral fevers , they were the ones who used to stay awake throughout the nights , checking our temperatures , wiping our hands with cold wet towels.

    "I just can''t. All along , these six have been the definition , the meaning of parents to me and Xiao. Now , I can''t bear to punish these parents of mine , for the ones I never even met. "

 Chapter 311: "I am not normal. Neither is my family."

    Chapter 311: "I am not normal. Neither is my family."

    "They used to cook and they used to earn. They made a home for us.

    "I still remeber how Bro Zhi Xi used to stretch his neck , pull his sleeves up and rush into the kitchen , as soon as he reached home , after the long tiring day he had had at the office. I still remember how Bro Zhi Bo used to calmly separate us from his paintings after we would ruin it with ck inks. He never once cared about his artwork upon which , he used to work for hours. Instead , he used to ensure that me and Xiao wouldn''t consume the harmful ink.

    "I remember how Bro Mo used to tell us bedtime stories and how Bro Su used to take care of our academics. I can''t forget how we used to pull pranks upon the other brothers along with Bro Zhi Al. And how can I forget how Bro Lu used to protect and shield us from outsiders , no matter what we did ?", the girl said , her face still buried into the man''s chest.

    Xi Yuan and the six men listened to the girl silently , none of them uttering a single word. There wasn''t really anything for them to say.

    What could they possible say ?The six men could barely believe that after everything that had happened , she was still choosing to forgive them. Without any second thought, without anyints. And that made them feel even more guilty.

    After few minutes passed by , Lu Wei couldn''t take it and spoke up ,"How could you forgive me just like that , Kiddo ?"

    The girl separated herself from Xi Yuan and smiled at her brother wryly ,"But that is what you want , don''t you ? My forgiveness."

    "I do. I really do. But not like this. Not so easily. I want you to punish me. I want you to give me a hard time , Xinghe. I kept you in the dark about the one thing that you deserved to know the most. You deserved to know about it from someone you were close to. Not like this. Not from an outsider.

    "Xinghe , I could''ve lost you today ! Because of my stupidity and my selfish decisions. No one but I am to be med for your current situation. These five shouldn''t be shouldering the responsibilities for what I did back then.", said Lu Wei as he looked at the five men standing beside him.

    "But instead of yelling at me , hitting me , you decide to forgive me ? This is not fair , Kiddo. My mistakes almost costed you your life. You shouldn''t be going easy on me. I don''t deserve an angel like you.

    "If it wasn''t for Yuan''s quick reflexes , god knows what would''ve happened to you today. Please don''t forgive me so easily. That''s what I deserve. It will make me feel more bad if you won''t say a word to me."

    By this time , Lu Wei was holding onto Rong Xinghe''s both hands tightly , as if he was afraid of loosing her. Yet , the girl was still smiling at him. How could she possible punish this man ? He was already tormenting himself. He was already torturing himself. Although she had herself gone through a huge blow herself , she still felt her heart ache for him.

    "Brother...", the girl sighed ,"You did what you felt was right for me and Xiao back then. And honestly , you have that right. All the six of you have that much say in our life. You have every right to take decisions for us.

    "I don''t know if what you did was right or wrong. All I know is that you never wished ill for me. You could never. Don''t be so hard on yourself , Bro Lu. Its alright. Really."

    "Xinghe , don''t do this.", Lu Wei shook his head , his hands shaking.

    "Bro Lu. You need to understand that I don''t even remeber my parents. I never met Mom or Dad. I don''t have a memory with them to remember. So its not that much of a loss for me , you know ?

    "I just had thisst sliver of hope. That someday , they would reallye back. That I would have a small ideal family. I just never saw thising. And you know what ? I feel that you were right to hide this truth from me back then. Because today , I have you six , my six sister-inws and I have my Yuan. I feel warmth and safety flood through my heart when I think about you guys. I finally have a family.

    "But back then , I wasn''t sure of whom to trust. After being stabbed by my own family , I was too weak to trust anyone. If the fact that I am an orphan would''ve been told to me at that time , I would''ve surely broken down mentally , emotionally. I was indeed too insensate then.

    "By hiding it from me , you did the right thing Bro Lu."

    "But the Migraine Stroke.... I am responsible for it , Kiddo. I put your life at risk.", Lu Wei managed to speak.

    "Shut up. I told you that I never saw thising. It was because fo the shock. What are the chances that it wouldn''t have happened if you would''ve told me the truth earlier ?

    "I can''t even imagine how difficult it must''ve been for you to make that decision. It must''ve been so hard for you , Bro Lu. I am so sorry.", the girl whispered softly.

    "Now stop ming yourself , will you ? So what ? I have the most unique family in this world ! Big deal.", the girl tried to cheer up her brothers'' mood as she smiled vibrantly at them ,"Who cares if I don''t have Mom and Dad , I have six amazing and handsome brothers and six super hot Sister-inws. I am Rong Xinghe ! Nothing in my life should be normal. I am not normal , neither is my family. What matters is that I am happy. And I really am. I mean it."

    The six men couldn''t help but feel as if a heavy load was pulled off their heart and mind. They had never expected that the girl would look at the situation through their perspective. They never thought she would manage the situation with so much rationality. No doubt she was choosen to be the Military Chief of the entire country. She always knew how to bnce her emotions in situations such as these.

    Nevertheless , the six men were going to make it up to her for this incident , all their life. They were going to treat her like the princess she was , till theirst breath.

 Chapter 312: I am tired of fighting

    Chapter 312: I am tired of fighting

    At this time , Zhi Bo noticed that the girl''s eyes had turned blotchy , her eyelids puffy. Her face looked awfully pale. Anyone could tell that she was tired after all the crying and talking , provided her current condition.

    "Yuan , could you put her to bed ? She is clearly tired.", Zhi Bo turned his gaze to look at the man sitting silently at the edge of the girl''s bed.

    "He is right. She needs to get some rest. We can check on her tomorrow. Let''s just leave for now.", Su Rogguang nodded in agreement ,"Are you fine staying by her side for tonight , Yuan ?"

    "I don''t mind , Bro Su.", Xi Yuan replied as he shook his head.

    "Get some rest , Kiddo. I will see you in the morning. Okay?", said Lu Wei , as he patted the girl''s head affectionately.

    The girl simply nodded. She wasn''t even left with the energy to speak by this point of time.

    __________________

    "You can mourn now , Xinghe."

    As soon as the six men left the private hospital ward , Xi Yuan turned around and looked straight into the girl''s eyes.

    "Huh ?", the girl looked at the man , slightly taken aback.

    "Do you really think you can fool me , Honey ?", the man smiled at the girl ,"I know you didn''t wanted to weaken up in front of your brothers. You didn''t wanted them to feel more guilty. That''s why you were holding those tears in. But in front of me , you can mourn , you can cry , you can stop being stronger."

    As the man''s wordsnded upon the girl''s ears , tears started flowing down her eyes involuntarily and she rested her head on Xi Yuan''sp. The man became silent again , his finger smoothly running through her hair. As much as her pain hurt him , he knew she needed this. She needed to let go off her worries , and grieve for the loss of her parents. She needed to mourn for them.

    "Yuan...", the girl sobbed ,"I am really tired. Really... sick of staying strong. Acting all... mighty and confident. I am tired of... fighting. I can''t do this anymore. Why does... this have to happen to me ? Why ? What... wrong have I done ? Tell me.

    "Why were Mom and Dad... killed ? Why was I... pushed down that running train ? Why ? Like other children , why couldn''t I... have a normal life ? When will... I get answers to all these questions ? When ?"

    Sounds of the girl''s sobs resounded throughout the hospital ward , making it seem even more colder than it already was. Xi Yuan didn''t said anything for few seconds. Instead , he stretched his right hand and pulled the nket stuffed at the end of the bed and covered the girl up with it gently , his other hand still caressing her jet ck hair.

    Only after he ensured that the girl was warm did he spoke ,"It was never your fault , Bub. How could it be ? What sin could a thirteen year old possiblymit to deserve this ? You didn''t deserved any of this , Xinghe. Life was so unfair to you. I am sorry that you had to go through all of it alone. But I promise. I promise you that I will be by your side , always , hereafter. I can''t bear to see you fight alone anymore."

    As the man was speaking , he realized that the girl''s tight grip over his right hand had loosened. Her eyes were closed and brows furrowed , which indicated her tiredness and exhaustion.

    The man couldn''t help but smile at the angelic sight. Oh damn , he loved her ! She was just like a little cat. Sleeping on hisp. He loved everything about her. He loved how she smelled. And he even cherished those soft snores of hers.Those faintly audible sounds , which were no less than music to him.

    "Yuan...", the girl mumbled sleepily , interrupting Xi Yuan''s train of thoughts.

    "Hmm ?"

    "I love... you."

    "I know , Wifey.", the man''s smile widened even more ,"And I love you too."

    ____________

    Next morning , the girl was woken up by the sound of a phone call. With a frown , the girl opened her eyes to find herself caged tightly in her darling''s embrace. Subconsciously , the girl''s lips curled up as she picked the phone up from the side table and brought it to her ears , not bothering to check whose phone it was.

    "Hello President Xi.", it was Bei Ming , Xi Yuan''s assistant ,"About the Mexico issue , it is really getting out of our hands. Last night , Manager Lawrence called me to inform that all the students admitted in the hospitals after being diagnosed by food poisoning and type two diabetes , couldn''t make it. Sir , the problem seems to be pretty serious. Even our Project Managers are finding it difficult to resolve the issue. Worst of all , the business is declining at a frightening rate over there in Mexico. The public , the clients , they are furious. In this situation , there is only one option left for us , Sir."

    The moment the girl listened to Bei Ming''s proposal , the smile stered upon her lips started to fade away. She lifted her head up to look at her boyfriend sound asleep ,pletely unknown to the havoc that had taken ce , his arms wrapped around her waist tightly.

    Sigh ! It looked like the God wasn''t done with putting her through hell , just yet.

    After roughly fifteen minutes , Xi Yuan woke up as the sunlighting through the hospital window created disturbance in his sleep.

    "What are you doing ?", the man asked as he looked at the girl staring at him from his arms.

    "Checking you out , Love.", the girl chuckled lightly.

    "How inappropriate , Ms. Rong !", the man pulled the girl''s cheeks yfully.

    "When will you be leaving for office today , by the way ?", the girl asked after sometime.

    "I won''t. I am going to be there with you for the entire day , Xinghe. Work can wait.", the man replied.

    "It shouldn''t.", the girl smiled ,"You should go. Its anyway not possible for you to be around me 24 X 7 , right ?"

    "What do you mean ?", Xi Yuan frowned as he fixed his doubtful gaze upon the girl in his arms. For some unknown reason , he felt that there was some hidden meaning behind her words.

    "Nothing. Just go.", Rong Xinghe shook her head ,"I will be with my brothers. So don''t worry about me. You''ve already ignored your work for the past two days , Yuan. I think you should not take it for granted."

    "Alright. If you think so.", the man let go off his worries and pecked the girl on her lips ,"But I will be back to you soon."

    "I know.", the girl smiled and buried her face in Xi Yuan''s chest , tears threatening to slip down her eyes.

 Chapter 313: Perfect blend of temptation and classiness !

    Chapter 313: Perfect blend of temptation and ssiness !

    As noticed the time on the clock , the man got down the girl''s bed and pressed the call button attached to the side table. Few secondster , two nurses walked inside the private observation ward and looked at the man worriedly ,"Is everything alright , Sir ?"

    "Tell me about her current condition properly.", the man pointed his chin at Rong Xinghe ,"Everything. Do you get it ?"

    "Y... yes , President Xi.", nodded the two women , nervous.

    Xi Yuan then averted his eyes away from them and approached Xi Wei , who had already followed behind the nurses ,"Bring me another pair of shoes and fresh clothes. The formal ones. Also , get my chopper ready in next one hour. I shall be leaving for City A by then. Okay ?"

    "Huh ?", the man seemed lost in his thoughts , his eyes on his phone ,"Sure. Wait ! Are you really leaving her alone ?"

    "She insisted.", Xi Yuan shook his head.

    "Oh , alright.", the man muttered ,"Anyway , did you have a word with him ? What did he say ?"

    "Who ?", the man raised his brows as he looked at Xi Wei confusedly.

    "Uncle Bei , brother."

    "He called ?", the man questioned Xi Wei.

    "Yeah.", Xi Wei shrugged his shoulders ,"He even told me you picked up."

    "I must be sleeping when he called.", Xi Yuan picked his phone up from the sidetable beside the girl''s bed and started checking his call logs. The man furrowed his brows before he turned around to look at his girl ,"You picked Assistant Bei''s call , Xinghe ?"

    Rong Xinghe had the rough idea about the two brothers'' discussion , so she was ready with her exnation ,"Yeah , I did. But I couldn''t hear him clearly. I had just woken up then and my head was aching. So I disconnected the call after sometime. I didn''t knew it was him. I am sorry I didn''t asked you first."

    "Its alright.", the man smiled ,"I am sure it was just some usual update about one of my business deals. I will talk to himter."

    "But brother...", Xi Wei was about to speak , but decided against it as he noticed Rong Xinghe looking at the two of them. He was more than sure that his brother didn''t wanted the girl to know about it.

    "Wei , could you please focus on the work I just assigned you ?", Xi Yuan snapped his fingers at the man , bringing him back to reality.

    "Yeah. I will handle it.", Xi Wei sighed. What was he so worried about ? Xi Yuan was nning to visit the Xi Corporations'' headquarters the same day. He was going to know about the issue in Mexico anyway. He simply had to be patient about it. He couldn''t let his sister-inw know about it , no matter what. She was going through so much already.

    _____

    Xi Wei soon returned back with a set of newly bought clothes , those of thetest collections from Ralph Lauren , a pair of Anchor Grey trousers and waistcoat perfectly matchng with a Tiffany Blue id office shirt and a standard Grey tie with the shade same as that of the coat.

    "I got them from the first mens fashion outlet I could find , Bro.", Xi Wei walked in hurriedly ,"But this one goes with your personality the most. ssy enough. Also , I have passed on the orders about the chopper. It should be ready in roughly half an hour."

    "Alright.", Xi Yuan stood up from the couch and pulled off his already loosened tie and then , unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt , as he stretched his neck tiredly ,"I will change first then."

    He hadn''t had time to freshen up ever since Rong Xinghe had came across the truth about her parents death. He himself wasn''t in the state to think about anything else. He was concerned about her the most , after all. When it came to his priorities , Rong Xinghe had always been the first.

    But other than Xi Wei and Rong Xinghe , there were two more pair of eyes , glued upon the man. Initially , when Xi Wei had walked in with those from Ralph Lauren so casually , the two nurses had exchanged astounded , bewildered gazes among themselves. Although they knew that the two men were no less than some royal princes themselves , it was still pretty unusual for them.

    But even so , that wasn''t as noteworthy as Xi Yuan simply unbuttoning his shirt. The moment the man''s toned , built physique was revealed to them , they didn''t even bothered to look at anything , but him. His long neck. His carved , sharp jawline. His broad shoulders , more noticeable now than before. His perfect corbone.

    This man was just so dreamy ! Everything about him , every angle , every curve , was perfect. He could put almost every model out there to shame. Without even putting in the efforts of lifting his single finger up. So alluring , so captivating , they thought. Literally , the perfect blend of temptation and ssiness. The deadlybination of seduction and propriety.

    While the two women were busy drooling over the man , a pair of prating hawk-like eyes were ring at them from behind. All of a sudden , the two nurses felt the temperature of the room drop down a few degrees. So did Xi Yuan and Xi Wei. The two men turned their heads around to look at the girl on the bed. She looked so harmless , yet so lethal. It was scary. Terrifying.

    Rong Xinghe then nced at her darling with a meaningful smile ,"Go and change in the restroom , Love."

    Xi Yuan couldn''t help but chuckle at the girl as she looked at the two nurses. She was like a lioness. Sharpening her ws. Ready to attack. Brutally. Mirthlessly. Ruthlessly. She was jealous. Irritated that someone else was looking at something that belonged to her. She wasn''t insecure. He knew she trusted him. More than her life. She just hated sharing her favourite person.

    And he had no problems with that. In fact he liked this version of his Xinghe. The one who wouldn''t let go off him. Not easily , at least. The one who would fight for him. Because that was how he was. Intending to protect her. This rtionship. Till the end.

    As far as the two women were concerned , that was a matter for the Missus to take care of. So the man ended up giving a gentle obedient nod to the girl before he walked into the restroom connected to the girl''s ward , with the Blue id shirt and Anchor Grey trousers in his hand.

    "So...", the girl waited for the restroom''s door to close before she sped her hands with a smirk across her lips ,"How did you two liked my boyfriend ?! He is just so stunning. Hot , isn''t he ?"

    "..."

    What could they possibly dare to utter ? They had already felt chills run down their spines , when the girl had asked the man to get changed in the restroom instead , minutes ago.

 Chapter 314: She knew about it all along !

    Chapter 314: She knew about it all along !

    Xi Yuan got changed soon and stepped out of the restroom. Lu Wei and Mo Zixuan had already arrived there by then. One was feeding her fruits , while the other brother was briefing her about the Prime Minister''s decision of giving her a temporary leave from work.

    "I can''t stop working , Bro Mo.", the girlined ,"I am perfectly fine. Come on ! Don''t do this."

    "Shut up.", Mo Zixuan pinched the girl''s nose ,"Not only have you gone through a fatal Migraine stroke , you have been over exerting yourself since the past few months too. No one is telling you to leave the Military. All we want is for you take it easy. The President can substitute for you till then."

    "Don''t you think that you guys are practically influencing the Central Government''s decision ? This isn''t the Prime Minister. This has the Six tigers written all over it. Don''t you dare try to fool me. I know you all.", the girl sighed.

    "We can''t help it. It is just not possible for us to see you suffer like this.", Lu Wei smiled ,"Now stop crying over it. And be obedient for once. Try to rx for some days. Alright ?"

    "Brother...."

    At this time , from the corner of her eyes , the girl noticed a tall figure approaching her. Subconsciously , the girl turnd her head to look at the man , his one hand in his right pocket as the other scrolled through the newsfeed in his tablet.

    "Damn the hotness !", the girl''s tongue slipped.

    Xi Yuan was taken aback by the girl''s choice of words , as he red at her with disbelief. The two men were no different. Their eyes were fixed upon him , their eyesbrows raised ever so slightly.

    "Hotness ?", Mo Zixuan cleared his throat , pulling the girl''s attention to him.

    "From what angle ?", Lu Wei questioned.

    Rong Xinghe covered her wide open mouth with the palms of her both hands before she lifted her head up to look at her darling. The man wasn''t even a tad bit intimidated by her brothers , though. He was standing as calmly as ever. He was simply giving her a ''Such a troublemaker'' look.

    The girl then brought both her hands to her ears and mouthed ''Sorry'' to the man. As a reply to it , Xi Yuan simply smiled , softly. Why would he mind apliment in the first ce ? He was just helpless around her. She always said the right thing at the wrong timing , was all.

    "Moving on...", Xi Yuan looked back at the two men , as he passed his tablet to Xi Wei ,"Can we talk about that woman ? Qui Chin. Are you really nning to let go off the matter , Bro Lu ?"

    "Getting smooth with switching the topics , aren''t we ?", Lu Wei smirked at the man before he stood up from the edge of the bed and walked towards the coffee table ,"Do you seriously think I would go easy on that woman ?"

    The man ced the fruit bowl upon the small table and stared into the distance , his eyes turning few shades darker ,"Tao almost lost her life because of her. I don''t care who was the Mastermind. All I know is that she was the one who was holding the knife. She was the one who stabbed my woman. She was the one who hit her. And she was the one who had tried to strangle her to death. That Qui Chin''s destruction is inevitable."

    "It was just postponed for sometime.", added Mo Zixuan , as he looked at Rong Xinghe affectionately ,"After all , Xinghe needed us."

    As he looked at the siblings'' bond strengthening even more , after the revtion of the truth , Xi Yuan couldn''t help but feel relieved. Deep down , he was extremely proud of his girl. The entire incident was clearly nned , in order to break apart the Superfamily. Had it not been for the girl handling everything maturely , things could''ve gotten pretty worse. She didn''t allowed her emotions to blind her. Not once. And that was purely impressive.

    "Why would you ask about it , though ?", Lu Wei asked , interrupting the man''s train of thoughts ,"Out of nowhere."

    Xi Yuan shrugged his shoulders nonchntly ,"Xinghe was pretty excited about it. Seeing you in action again and stuff. And since she is taking off from work for the next few days , why not let her enjoy a little ?"

    Lu Wei stared at the man as if he was looking at some monster ,"Are you trying to say that me executing revenge upon someone is her favourite past time ? And are you seriously trying to ensure that your woman gets entertained , while you are at work ? That''s absurd !"

    "I never said that.", the man grinned as he connected his bluetooth headset to his phone ,"But yeah. She was looking forward to it. Weren''t you , Bub ?"

    The girl smiled and nodded her head. But before her lips could part to form words , the man leaned down and kissed her. The kiss wasn''t too intimate. But passionate. Warm. Fierce. Deep.

    "I have to leave now. Take care of yourself. Okay ?", the manughed as the girl had wrapped her arms around his neck tightly , unwilling let him go. She hated the separation of his touch , of his smell.

    Few secondster , the girl finally loosened her grip around the man''s cor and fixed his tie ,"Okay. Safe journey."

    "I love you.", the man whispered in her ears , his voice deep.

    "Me too.", the girl answered back ,"Now go."

    __________

    "Hello , Assistant Bei.", Xi Yuan called Bei Ming as soon as he got into his car , as it drove towards the Xi Corporations'' private helipad ,"Why did you called me earlier this morning ?"

    "Wait... So it wasn''t you who picked up the call ? Anyways , the issue in Mexico is getting out of control Sir. None of the students admitted , could make it out alive. The public , the clients , the shareholders and the Mexican government , they are all furious.", the man reported again anxiously.

    "You might have to leave for Mexico right away. As the CEO of Xi Corporations , the diplomats over there have been asking for you. And we are waiting for your orders , Boss."

    "Earlier when you called , what exactly did you said about me moving to Mexico ?", Xi Yuan cut in , as his heart skipped a beat the moment Bei Ming''s wordsnded upon his ears.

    "Well... I said that it would take you at least one to two years to resolve the issue and return back to Country X. I know it..."

    Xi Yuan couldn''t hear anything after that clearly. The only thing he could think of was her. How she had said that he couldn''t be by her side 24 X 7. And how she was unwilling to let him go earlier. How she was trying to lock him in her embrace. It was now that the reality struck him.

    She knew about it. She knew about it all along !

 Chapter 315: A new Chapter for Xinguan

    Chapter 315: A new Chapter for Xinguan

    "Turn the car around. Right now !", Xi Yuan clenched his fists and looked out of the the window. The sky was covered by the dark clouds all of a sudden , indicating that it was going to rain soon. Out there , gradually , arose a powerful storm of wind.

    There was one more. The storm. Inside him. Inside his mind and his heart. A destructive storm.

    Xi Yuan felt a heavy wave of fear , of uncertainty , hit him hard. It was petrifying. He didn''t knew what to do ? How to do ? He didn''t even wanted to consider Bei Ming''s proposal. All he knew was that he wanted her. In front of his eyes. Locked in his embrace.

    "But Bro...", Xi Fang looked at his brother , startled by his suddenmand ,"The emergency in Mexico. What about it ?"

    Xi Yuan kept staring outside the window as his sound resounded in the silent car ,"She knows."

    __________

    City M , Multi-Speciality Hospital , 9:00 a.m. ;

    "Why didn''t you told us about it earlier , Kiddo ? We would''ve talked to him.", Lu Wei sighed as he pulled the girl into a warm hug.

    "Why didn''t you told Yuan about it , Xinghe ?", Mo Zixuan questioned , as he patted the sobbing girl , on her head , helplessly.

    "What was there for us to talk about ? I couldn''t. I couldn''t listen to him tell me that he was going far away from me. I didn''t had the courage to hear it.", the girl whispered weakly ,"I was in no ce to try to stop him either. I can just watch him go.

    "Most importantly , he is already so concerned about me. It would''ve broken him to see me weaken up for him. He would''ve felt so guilty. He would have definitely med himself for leaving me when I needed him the most.

    "I didn''t had the strength to say goodbye to him on his face , brother. I couldn''t bear to see him go through that regret , that guilt. I..."

    "So you decide to not even say a goodbye to me ?"

    A familiar deep , maizing yet distant voice resonated across the private ward , making the girl freeze in her brother''s arms , her eyes staring at the door. He was standing right there. Her Yuan. It seemed like he knew about it and that he was upset with her. Angry maybe. That she hid it from him. Maybe it was better that way. Maybe an arguement could make it easy on him.

    "Tell me , Xinghe.", the man strode towards the girl''s bed , his fists still clenched ,"You decide to not even talk about it to me ? You do realize that we share this , right ? This rtionship."

    "Yuan , listen to me.", the girl seperated herself from her Bro Lu and sat up straight.

    "What do you want me to listen. That you didn''t wanted me to see you break apart ? Honey , I have seen that side of you. Not once. Not twice. Multiple times. And never have I ever , ever despised that vulnerable ''you''. Why would I ? Instead , it makes me wonder how strong you''ve been to hold on to that much pain inside you. I admire you because of that.

    "But do you think what happened today was fair to me ? You knew that I might not return back from City A. That there was a possibility that I would''ve went to Mexico diectly. So you lived your every moment with me. You cherished the kiss we had before I left. To the fullest. While I didn''t even knew that it could be thest one.

    "Was it , in any way , fair to me ? To your Yuan ?"

    As Xi Yuan''s every word reached the girl''s ears , the feeling of guilt made its way through her heart. Her hands started to tremble , her eyes stinging with tears. He was right. She was being too insensitive towards him. Unintentionally , but she was hurting him.

    "Okay , Xinghe. Calm down first.", as he looked at the girl''s condition worsening , Xi Yuan couldn''t bother saying anything else to her and sat down on the edge of her bed , taking her into his arms ,"I am sorry. I am so sorry. I made you feel like that. I didn''t mean it , baby. Please calm down."

    "Stop being so good to me , Yuan.", the girl cried ,"I don''t deserve it. I don''t. And I am sorry. I thought.. that it would be more painful for you... to see me break down when you leave. So I.... But that was wrong. I am really sorry."

    Xi Yuan waited for the girl to stop crying before he ced a soft kiss against her forehead ,"Xinghe... I don''t know what will happen next. I don''t want to go. I am afraid. Scared. To leave you. To leave us. And I was really hoping that we could talk about it. I wanted to be by your side throughout this time. "

    "But you will go anyway , won''t you ?", the girl smiled amid her tears ,"You are my Yuan. I know you. You won''t feel at ease , until and unless you make the murderers of those children pay back. If it was about money , you wouldn''t have bothered to even pay heed to it. But this involves life and health of thousands of students. I know you will have to go.

    "And look at the irony. I can''t be demanding or unreasonable here. I know what life means , more than anything. I have seen wars and deaths , more than anyone , after all."

    "But I don''t want...", Xi Yuan protested.

    "Its alright , baby.", the girl wiped her tears away and pecked the man upon his lips tenderly ,"Let''s not give false hopes to ourselves. There really is no other option left.

    "Just promise me one thing. You will help me protect this rtionship. No matter how difficult it is. No matter how challenging it is. Promise me , Yuan."

    Xi Yuan stared at the girl with an expression of astonishment , surprise. He couldn''t believe she was the same girl who had rejected him once. She was the same woman who had taken one entire year to say ''Yes'' to him.

    He couldn''t believe that the same girl was so determined , so hopeful about their future , about them.

    "I promise.", the man replied , without any second thought.

    It was still so surreal. <em><strong>The two of them</strong></em>. One , the Military Chief of the Country. Other , the Ruling King of the Business World. Walking onto the most difficult stage of their life together. <em><strong>Into a long-distance rtionship.</strong></em>

 Chapter 316: "How lucky am I to have someone who makes saying goodbye so difficult."

    Chapter 316: "How lucky am I to have someone who makes saying goodbye so difficult."

    "I think we should leave them alone.", Mo Zixuan sighed as he looked at the couple hugging each other tightly.

    Lu Wei , Xi Fang and Xi Wei nodded at the man before they left the two in the hospital room , alone.

    "People say that long distance rtionships usually never work.", the girl managed to speak after sometime.

    "I don''t think so. Yeah , they must be difficult to handle for ordinary people. But we have never been ordinary , Xinghe.", Xi Yuan shook his head ,"Yeah. There will be time when we won''t be able to talk to each other for days. There will be days when we would want to leave everything ande back to each other. It won''t be easy. But we will manage. Our love is stronger than we think it is. And no matter what happens , you know that I will be there for you , always."

    "What if we run out of love ?", the girl asked.

    Xi Yuan became silent as he thought about something , seriously ,"Maybe. But in a rtionship , is that the only thing ? I have never just loved you , baby. I have always been one of those crazy fans of yours. I respect you. I worship you. I have faith in you.

    "And those things never fade , do they ? We never run out of them."

    "What if someone else walks in your life ? What will I do then ?", the girl asked as her hands clutched onto the man''s Anchor Grey waistcoat protectively.

    "Of all the women in this world , there hasn''t been a single woman who was able to captivate me , bewitch me , the way you were able to.", the manughed softly ,"I refuse to believe that a third person can ever ruin ''us''. I would never let that happen."

    "Is this really your first rtionship ?", the girl pouted ,"You seem so experienced. I hate it."

    "I am sorry.", the man raised his hands up , surrendering to the girl ,"Its just that I can''t bear to see you go away from me. I just can''t. So..."

    "I know.", the girl pressed the index finger of her right hand against her darling''s lips , shutting him down ,"Now hush."

    It was now that the man noticed that Rong Xinghe was biting her lower lip , trying to hide her nervousness. Her hazel brown eyes taking in every little facial detail of his. His perfectly carved symmetric lips. His deep dark grey eyes. His long darkshes. His sharp jawline. As if she was recording it. All of it. In her mind. Forever.

    And that was too alluring for him to handle.

    Next second , without any hesitation , his lips brushed against hers , softly , delicately , just long enough that she could inhale his breath, feel the warmth of his skin against hers. Gradually , his kiss turned instense , passioanate. It was soft and moist and hot and breathy. Not trying to win a battle but seeking closeness. The sharing of one breath, one sensation, one timeless and passionate moment couldn''t be simply described. And although the two were out of breath already , none of them dared to part from the other.

    But the moment the girl''s hands reached the hem of Xi Yuan''s shirt , he pulled away abruptly ,"What... what are you trying to do , exactly ?"

    "Can''t we ?", the girl looked down , upset.

    "No. Xinghe , its not the right time.", the man cupped the girl''s face with both his hands and looked at her lovingly.

    "Yuan..."

    "You are getting carried away by emotions right now. And I don''t want you to do anything , for which , you might regretter. Do you get it ?", the man cut in ,"This is your body. I don''t want you to reveal it to me in a meaningless ''heat of the moment''. I am not worth it. Alright ?

    "I want your first time with me to be perfect. Not like this. Please ?"

    The girl couldn''t help but bury her face in his shoulders as tears flowed down her eyes ,"How lucky am I to have someone who makes saying goodbye so difficult."

    "Hey , hey. Don''t cry. You know I can''t see you like this.", the man tried to coax the girl , as he felt a burning sensation in the corner of his eyes.

    "Can Ie to City A with you , bub ?", the girl asked.

    "You are still so weak. Why would you.."

    "Let me , Yuan. Onest time.", the girl begged ,"Let me wave you goodbye , till the end."

    ______________

    City A , Xi Corporations'' Headquarters ;

    "Look , look ! President Xi is finally here. And wait , who is that girl with him ?"

    "Wait a second , isn''t that President Lu and CEO Zhi following behind him ? The heads of the Superfamily themselves !"

    "Hey ! She is Military Chief Rong Xinghe. The one who took over the Rong Corporations just recently."

    "Boss Yuan is holding onto her hand ! Is there something going on between them ? There must be. Otherwise , this has never happened before. Boss has never looked at any woman all his life , let alone holding someone''s hand so intimately."

    "Who knows ? Hadn''t she confessed that she was trying to pursue him a few days ago ?"

    "But she looks so weak and delicate , doesn''t she ? Its hard to believe that she is the incharge of our county''s external security."

    "Hey ! Watch your words. President is clearly protective about her. You will be in great trouble if he happens to listen what you just said."

    "She is so beautiful , though. Look at her figure. So modest and ssy."

    As the couple disappeared into Xi Yuan''s office along with the girl''s two brothers , Xi Fang and Xi Wei approached the crowd , which was busy gossiping. Such a headache , they thought.

    "Yeah. Yeah. She is the to be daughter-inw of the Xi family , people. Anything else ?", Xi Wei announced to the group of people.

    Xi Fang red at the man angrily before he turned to look at the employees ,"You guys do realize that you aren''t allowed to gossip in Xi Corporations , right ? Also , in case the word about President Xi and Military Chief Rong gets out , you know the consequences that you will have to face. Dismiss now."

    "Are you here to cause more trouble , you idiot ?!", the man smacked Xi Wei hard , in the head , furiously.

    "Sorry , Bro."

    _________

 Chapter 317: "I have more love rivals than you , Ms. Rong."

    Chapter 317: "I have more love rivals than you , Ms. Rong."

    As Xi Yuan''s car headed towards the airport , the girl sitting beside him held onto his hands tightly. She didn''t uttered a single word. Just stared at his long fingers silently.

    X Yuan was no different. The girl''s head was resting on his shoulders. He knew that she was tired. She was too weak to even walk after the migraine stroke. Yet , she had insisted oning along with him. It was better for her to get some sleep , he thought. So the man lifted his hand up and started massaging the girl''s head gently.

    "Video call me every day. Okay ?", the girl said after sometime ,"I might not pick up , sometimes. You know ? Military missions , military drills , military stuff. But I will surely call you back."

    "Okay."

    "And don''t skip your meals over there. I don''t want you to be thin."

    "Okay."

    "Get proper rest everyday , too. It is important for you.", the girl added.

    "OK."

    The girl then lifted her head up to look at the man ,"You don''t have anything to tell me ?"

    "I don''t.", the man shook his head ,"Why do you think I am leaving behind Ying and Wei ?"

    The girl couldn''t help butugh at the man''s words. He really had no respect for his siblings. For him , they had only one purpose in life. To entertain and look after her. How inconsiderate ! But she loved spending time with Xi Wei and Xi Ying. So she didn''t really mind them.

    "I just have one request , Xinghe ?", the man pulled the girl''s attention towards him.

    "What is it ?", the girl smiled.

    "Could you please go and visit my parents someday ? Of course , only if you arefortable with it. Don''t worry about the awkwardness. Wei and Ying will be there with you. They were asking me about you. I would really appreciate it if you guys try to know each other."

    The girl thought for sometime before she nodded her head lightly ,"Sure. But what if the Xi family troubles me ?"

    Xi Yuan became silent as he rubbed his thumb against the girl''s delicate soft lips , absent-mindedly. The girl could see the man''s eyes turn a few shades darker , his jaws clenching. For the first time , the man''s silence was intimidating her. Damn ! He could be frightening too.

    "You have all the liberty to teach them the lesson , then.", the man finally said after few seconds passed by ,"I don''t care who is up against you. But as my woman , you are not allowed to hold back. Neither are you allowed to ept defeat.

    "You are permitted to throw as many tantrums as you want. You can cause as much trouble as you want. The Xi family has no other option but to deal with it. And in case you are mistreated over there , I will deal with them personally. No one is allowed to hurt my Xinghe. Do you get it ?"

    "Oh god , Yuan !", the girl gasped , her eyes wide open ,"You do realize that you are talking about your own family , right ?"

    The man simply gazed down at his girl before he kissed her upon the tip of her nose ,"I know."

    ___________________

    Soon , the couple reached the airport as their car made a direct entrance into the airfield , where Xi Yuan''s private jet was already waiting for him. As the car came to a halt , the couple got down the car and turned to face each other.

    "Bye you !", the girl smiled , tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

    Xi Yuan sighed and held the girl''s hands into hisrge warm ones ,"I am so sorry I am leaving you like this."

    "That''s the reason I hid it from you. You always me yourself.", the girl frowned ,"You are not at fault. The situation we are in , is. Now go.

    "Also , just because I won''t be there , don''t assume that you can flirt around with any woman. I have my spies over there.", the girl raised her brows at Xi Fang , who was standing behind the man. Xi Fang smiled and saluted the girl , as if he had just been assigned an immensely important mission.

    "I have more love rivals than you , Ms. Rong.", the man chuckled as he pinched the girl''s cheeks ,"What should I do about it ?"

    "Come back soon then.", the girlughed.

    "I will.", Xi Yuan said as he pulled Rong Xinghe into his embrace ,"I promise."

    The man pulled away after roughly two minutes , and looked down at the ground , not intending to show Rong Xinghe his bloodshot unwilling eyes. He knew that would make her heart ache for him.

    Neither did the girl said anything , for she knew her voice would crack and that she would breakdown in front of him. She knew that would make his heart ache for her.

    This was the kind of bond this couple shared. No one could read him better than her and no one could see through her like he did. And no matter how weak, how scared one of the two would be , that one would still prefer to stay strong for the sake of the other one. That was how they loved each other.

    Without exchanging any other word , the man turned around and strode towards the private jet. He knew he couldn''t hold those tears in any longer. And he didn''t wanted Rong Xinghe to see him like that.

    As the girl listened to the silent ''Goodbye'' from the man , she shook her head helplessly and turned to face Xi Fang , tears flowing down her eyes.

    "Take care of him. Please ?"

    "Don''t cry , Sister-inw.", Xi Fang sighed as he pulled his handkerchief out and passed it to the girl ,"You are the strongest woman I have ever seen. We are sorry that he has to leave you like this. But please stand strong while we try to wind up everything over there. Alright ?"

    "I have my family over here to keep me strong , Fang. I have Ying and Wei. But my Yuan. He is all alone. Please help him get through this.", requested Rong Xinghe.

    "You have my word , Sister-inw. I will be there for him, 24X7. Okay ?"

    "Hmm.", the girl smiled , patting the man''s shoulders lightly ,"And you too. Come back soon. How long will you make Jiang Yue wait, before you marry her , huh ?"

 Chapter 318: Their hearts intertwined , their minds inseparable

    Chapter 318: Their hearts intertwined , their minds inseparable

    Xi Fang stared at Rong Xinghe for sometime nkly before a smile spread across his lips ,"Take care of yourself , Sister-inw." And the girl nodded , with a smile , a lump forming in her throat.

    Xi Fang took a step forward and pulled the girl in a hug , for he knew no words could console her. It was time. To leave. With a thought in his mind.

    The Xi family was indeed lucky to have this woman as their to be daughter-inw. She was the perfect match for his brother. She was the only one , who could understand him, love him the way he deserved to be loved.

    The man then turned around and climbed up the stairs of the jet. He waved a final goodbye to his sister-inw before he stepped inside the ne , only to find out that Xi Yuan had locked himself in his private suite. And Xi Fang just knew what was his brother upto. The man was torturing himself. ming himself. For leaving her like that.

    Subconsciously , the man peeked out of the flight''s window. And as expected , Rong Xinghe had buried her face into both her hands , her whole body shaking. Sigh ! Long-distance rtionships had never been easy. For anyone.

    The man took a deep breath and gestured the two pilots to get started with their work with a nod , before he pulled his phone out of his pocket, and called Lu Wei.

    "Sister-inw is crying , Bro Lu.", the man reported ,"Drive straight into the airfield. I have already informed the guards about your arrival."

    "Alright.", Lu Wei''s deep voice resounded through the other end ,"Take care of that brat over there , too. My sister loves him too much to lose him."

    "Understood.", replied Xi Fang and disconnected the call , as he headed towards the man''s private suite.

    __________________

    Lu Wei brought the girl back to Lu family home soon , where the Superfamily was already waiting for her. Ningtao was resting in her bedroom upstairs while the girl''s other five sister-inws were looking after Lu Alix and Zhi Taio. The girl was sitting on the couch as the six men sat on the ground , surrounding her.

    "Kiddo , do you want us to take a few days off from work ? I mean we can manage that much for you. You know that.", Mo Zixuan suggested.

    The girl shook her head as she smiled at them wryly ,"We have just parted. We haven''t lost each other , Bro Mo."

    "And I am missing him already. But I also knew this was going to be difficult. From the start. For me. And for him.

    "But we can''t trouble you guys because of that. We will have to go through it ourselves. So don''t worry too much about it.

    "In fact , let''s focus on that bi*ch ! Qui Chin.", the girl sped her hands as her eyes shone and a smirk appeared across her mouth.

    "You are crazy !", Zhi Al sighed as he pinched the girl''s right ear lightly ,"How can you think about revenge when you clearly need to focus on your health ? Shut up and go get some sleep."

    "No !", the girl pouted ,"I am jobless for the next few days. Thanks to you guys ! You owe this revenge to me. I need something to rack my brain upon. Or I will really go crazy."

    As the six men listened to the girlining , they couldn''t help but break outughing. No matter what she was going through , she was still their wild little kitten. The one who enjoyed causing trouble and pulling off pranks. And since she had nothing to do for the next few days , why not let her have some fun ? Just as Xi Yuan had requested them.

    "Alright then. You can deal with that woman however you want.", Lu Wei stood up from the ground and ced a warm kiss against the girl''s forehead ,"Be as brutal , insensitive and cruel as you want. I don''t want her to be left with any hope to start her life over , at the end. Do you get it ?"

    "Yes , boss !"

    "So I will handle the media then.", Mo Zixuan got up as well as he buttoned his suit up ,"And in case you want get the reporters involved , mail me the leads."

    "Done.", the girl nodded her head like a rattle drum.

    "You know how to use me too.", Zhi Al smiled as he pointed his chin towards theptop kept upon the table.

    Rong Xinghe smiled back as she winked ,"I certainly do."

    _____________________

    Meanwhile , Lu Corporations'' Private Jet , 2:00 p.m.

    "Brother !", Xi Fang rushed towards Xi Yuan impatiently , as he stepped out of his suite cabin after locking himself up, for more than 4 hours ,"Thank god you came out ! I was really worried about you. How are you feeling now ?"

    "Could you get me some coffee ?", the man sighed , and rubbed his fatigued face with both his hands as he grabbed a seat for himself on the flight couch.

    "Huh ? Yeah. Sure."

    "Was she crying ?", asked Xi Yuan as Xi Fang handed him the cup of coffee.

    "Yes. She was.", the man nodded ,"But Bro Lu came to pick her up shortly after. She should be fine and having her sleep by now. I am sure."

    "You really think so ?", Xi Yuan raised his brows ever so slightly ,"She must be nning a terrific revenge n for that Qui Chin by now. I know her , Fang. That''s the most suitable way for her to distract her mind from me. Revenge. Retribution. Retaliation. Vangeance."

    No wonder this man was the only person who had the potential to stand beside Rong Xinghe. To hold her hands. To have the intent to wed her. Not only were their hearts intertwined , their minds were inseparable too. It wasn''t difficult for one to figure out what was going on in the brain of the other one. They could literally read each other.

    "Anyway , brief me about the Mexico issue in detail.", the man said as he ced his coffee cup on the table in front of him ,"Get me all the documents rted to it."

    "So soon ? Can''t we wait to reach there first ?", the man asked , taken aback by the man''s suddenmand.

    "I want to go back to her.", the man red at his younger brother ,"So let''s get done with this crap, as soon as possible."

 Chapter 319: This wasnt Lu Wei. This was HER.

    Chapter 319: This wasn''t Lu Wei. This was HER.

    Meanwhile , City M :

    "Oh god ! Please don''t. I will get her back. She is my daughter as well !", the woman screamed and covered her head with her hands , as the man bashed the floor-to-ceiling mirror with his fists.

    Before she had even stepped in , he had already smashed everything in the house to smithereens. He was angry. Furious , in fact. She knew he wanted to kill her. Choke her to death. She could tell it by the way he was ring at her with his bloodshot eyes.

    "As if you hadn''t done enough.", the man hissed when he heard Qui Chin''s voice and strode towards her , grabbing her by her arms , his nails digging into her flesh ,"Why did you have to bring my daughter into all of this ?! Tell me !"

    "I...I...", Qui Chin found it difficult to form words as she winced in pain. His grip around her arms was getting stronger and firmer with each passing second.

    Next second , the man , who was in histe twenties , pushed the woman away down on the couch. He then clenched his fists and looked out of the open window , trying to contain his anger.

    "Had it been not for your greed to rece Ningtao in that crappy movie , my daughter would''ve been safe here. So don''t try to me this upon anyone else. No one , but you , are at the fault here.", the man stated the obvious , his tone much calmer than earlier ,"It wasn''t like you were hypnotized into doing any of this. You did it all , willingly.

    "I just can''t believe I handed my daughter over to someone as stupid as you. You were dumb enough to cross the Superfamily and dared to stab Lu Wei''s woman. Yet , you thought you would reach the throne of the entertainment industry after that. How naive !"

    The man chuckled coldly. And that frightened Qui Chin even more. She couldn''t tell what was going on in his mind. But then again , she was never able to understand him. He was too aloof. Too reserved. That was why she had fallen for him in the first ce. You could say , he was just too ''hard-to-get''.

    But there was someone else , whose moves and mind , Qui Chin could never read.

    The doorbell to the house rang , making the man straighten his back. He turned his head at Qui Chin questioningly as he walked towards the door.

    "I di..didn''t.", the woman shook her head ,"I am not ex..expecting anyone , Mr. Sun."

    Sun Cheng looked through the peephole only to find an empty corridor. He then , carefully , rotated the knob and opened the door.

    A wooden chest was ced on the floor , exactly in front of the door , with a phone ced above it. Assuming it to be a message from Lu Wei , Sun Cheng picked up the box and brought it inside.

    "Well...", the manughed ,"Never thought that he would be a shady man. The boxes and all."

    "Anyway...", the man then lifted his head up to look at Qui Chin ,"Should I or would you ?"

    The woman looked at Sun Cheng''s demanding gaze and swallowed the lump in her throat. It was like his eyes were telling her to deal with the mess she had created on her own. She fixed her eyes upon the ground and stood up from the couch before she walked towards the wooden chest. She then bent down and with trembling hands , opened the chest cautiously.

    "Aaaaah !", screamed Qui Chin as she covered her wide open mouth and took a few step backwards. It was head. A man''s head. Blood frozen below the neck , beneath the hair. This man. She knew him. Not from a long time. But she knew him.

    And she was scared. Terrified. Petrified. She couldn''t help but squeeze her eyes shut. Her entire body was shivering by now. Her lips quivering. She couldn''t utter even a single word.

    On the other hand , Sun Cheng simply frowned as he looked at the head , and the blood. He could imagine the brutality with which the man was killed just by looking at the wounds on his face. He wasn''t scared , though. Unlike Qui Chin , he was thinking. Trying to figure things out. And it didn''t took him more than five seconds toe to the conclusion. This wasn''t Lu Wei. This was HER.

    Next second , the phone in Sun Cheng''s left hand , the one he had picked up from the wooden chest earlier , rang up. The man checked its screen. It was a private number. The one that could be traced easily. Which meant only one thing. The caller was going to destroy their SIM Card as soon as the call would be disconnected. That was the amount smartness he expected the Superfamily , at least.

    The man didn''t bothered contemting and picked up the call without wasting a single second. He brought the phone to his ears ,"Where is my daughter ?"

    "Well...", an alluring yet cunning voice resounded through the other end ,"That''s one way to greet the Military Chief of the country. Hello to you too , President Sun."

    Indeed , it was HER. The one and only. The princess to the six tigers. The highest Military authority of Country X. Rong Xinghe.

    "My apologies , Ms. Rong.", the man said , his tone humble now,"I was just..."

    "Worried for your daughter.", Rong Xinghe cut in ,"I understand. We will get back to you about thatter , Mr. Sun. But for now , could you please turn your Smart TV on. I would like to have a word with that bit*h first."

    Sun Cheng raised his brows as his gaze shifted to the crying Qui Chin. She had really pissed them off. Hadn''t she ?

    "Sure.", the man replied as he rushed over to the end of the hall before he stretched his hand to switch on the TV.

    A momentter , the device flickered and Rong Xinghe appeared across the screen. There was a ss of wine in her right hand a phone in her other one. She was sitting on her bro Lu''s chair. In the headquarters of Lu Corporations. The logo of the Lu Empire behind her gave that away. And there was a cold chilling smile stered upon her lips.

    The girl simply tilted her head and looked at Qui Chen. The woman was sitting few metres away from the box , hugging her knees , hiding her face , crying. So much misery , so awful.

    As she looked at the traumatized woman , the girl''s smile widened further , turning into a smirk ,"It isn''t even the beginnig , Honey ! Come on. Cheer up."

 Chapter 320: "It wont be a murder. It will be a suicide. A real one."

    Chapter 320: "It won''t be a murder. It will be a suicide. A real one."

    "Wh.. why are you doi..doing this to me ?!", Qui Chin yelled as she looked up , tears flowing down her eyes.

    "He gave you the drugs , didn''t he ? To ce it in my Sister-inw''s suite.", the girl said with a grin upon her lips ,"He had to die eventually. Military has its own ways to deal with drug smugglings , after all.

    "But let''s talk about you. How have you been taking care of your daughter ? Oh sorry ! She was kidnapped , right ?"

    "You..", Qui Chin pointed her index finger at the TV screen as she gritted her teeth angrily.

    "Yes. Me. Back in the business.", the girl smiled viciously while taking a sip from her ss ,"Any problem ?"

    "Just kill me , for hell''s sake !", Qui Chin barked again ,"Give me my daughter back and do whatever you want to do to me."

    "Rule one.", Rong Xinghe shook her head ,"Never yell at me. That is a suicidal tendency. You are too trivial for me , Ms. Qui. Wouldn''t take me long to feed you to some of my military dogs.

    "Rule two. Everything. I repeat , everything goes my way. You will never have a say in what I do. So don''t bother trying to negotiate with me.

    "And Rule three. When you have Rong Xinghe against you , be ready for surprises like these round the the clock. I have very odd timings."

    The girl then leaned back in her brother''sfortable chair before she winked at Qui Chin. Then , she diverted her gaze to Sun Cheng standing in the corner.The TV screen turned nk the next second and the phone in the man''s hand rang up again.

    "Walk out of the house , Mr. Sun. A private chat is preferred.", the girl said as soon as the call got through. Paying heed to the girl''s words , Sun Cheng opened the door and stepped out of the hallway and then the four-floor building.

    "What is it , Ms. Rong ?", the man spoke up only after he was far enough from the house ,"Tell me the amount and return my child to me please. She is the only reason I am alive for. The only one my heart is still beating for."

    "Just consider that she is on some school vacation , Mr. Sun.", Rong Xinghe sighed.

    "What ?", Sun Cheng furrowed his brows.

    "Well... Do you remember Xi Yuan ?", the girl asked after sometime.

    "More than anyone. He has been a close friend to me. My only friend , in fact. I know him since the University days. How do you..."

    "I am his girlfriend , Mr. Sun.", Rong Xingheughed softly ,"So its true. You being least concerned about the social media , and the virtual media."

    "W..what ?!", Sun Cheng''s eyes flew wide open by the revtion ,"Yuan and you..."

    "I know. Long story. But let''s talk about it over dinner sometime.", the girl smiled ,"And as far as your daughter is concerned , Little Biyu is totally safe with us here. Trust me on this one , President Sun. I would never hurt a child.

    "Not to mention , harming her is equal to tormenting you , which is no less than turturing Yuan. And I would never do that. Not with someone so young , so clueless.

    "Its just that I nned to frighten her , which required your natural reaction. Your rage. The fury. Sorry for keeping you in dark , though. I have heard a lot about you from Yuan.

    "And he said that you would understand."

    The girl stopped talking after that. She wanted to listen to Sun Cheng''s opinions. She wished to know if he was even trusting her.

    "He really found the one for him , didn''t he ?", Sun Cheng finally said after sometime , no trace of anger in his tone ,"Ruthless enough to rip off one''s head, from their body. Butpassionate enough to show mercy upon the innocent. Well , well. What can I say ? Wee to the family, I guess.

    "And yes. I would love to have that dinner with you sometime. I want to know how you pursued him."

    Relief flooded across the girl''s body as she sat up straight and spoke up again , more softly this time ,"I know about what Qui Chin did to you. How she drugged you and slept with you. And how she portrayed it to your wife. Making it look like you were having an affair with her , willingly. I can''t imagine how distressed Elena must have been. Else , she would have never done that.

    "She would''ve never attempted suicide. Yuan told me about it. I am sorry for your loss , Mr. Sun."

    Sun Cheng remained silent for sometime as the memories of the past started floating in front of his eyes. How could he ever forget that ? How could he ever forget the only girl he ever loved ? Had it not been for Qui Chin getting pregnant after that night , he would''ve dealt with that woman years ago. But that child in her womb. He couldn''t bring himself to hurt it. It was his only way to survive through the unending pain.

    "Water.", the man muttered.

    "Huh ?"

    "Elena. She was found in water. She had slit her wrist and the blood had changed the color of the water to red. I had returned back home after I got my consciousness back in the hotel. But before I could exin anything to her , she...", the man sighed ,"Her body was floating in the pool behind my house."

    "Ms. Rong , promise me. You will kill her. You will kill Qui Chin. I want to see her dead , just like how my Elena..."

    Rong Xinghe shook her head ,"I will not kill her , Cheng. I won''t.

    "She will do it herself. I will torture her to the extent that death will be the easiest option for her. I will make her life worse than death , worse than hell. So much so , that in the end , she would want to embrace death instead. You have my word.

    "It won''t be a murder. It will be a suicide. A real one."

    Sun Cheng smiled genuinely , for the first time in a while. So , that bastard had really found the one , huh ? Of all the women he had came across , Rong Xinghe''s personality had been the most suitable to Xi Yuan so far. And something told him that they were going to hang in there. And that they were meant to be.

    "Mr. Sun. I will text you a phone numberter. It belongs to my Sister-inw Songyan. She is taking care of Little Biyu these days. You are free to video call or voice call her , anytime you want. But just don''t call today. Okay ?", the girl slipped in the main point of the conversation.

    "Why not ''today'' ?"

    "Because Little Biyu has been taken to City A''s biggest amusement park today. As I said earlier , consider that she is on a vacation. And rx. Alright ?", the girl smiled.

    "Oh alright. Thanks for letting me know , Ms. Rong. I..."

    "Call me Xinghe. Don''t do the formalities , Cheng. You are supposed to tell me Yuan''s dark secrets next time we meet. It can''t go on like this, you know ?", the girl pointed.

    Sun Cheng was surprised for a bit before he nodded in agreement ,"Sure. Sure. And apologies for the formalities , Xinghe. We must meet someday."

    And with that being said , the call was disconnected.

 Chapter 321: My position is for her to access. Anytime.

    Chapter 321: My position is for her to ess. Anytime.

    By the time the girl was done chatting with Sun Cheng , it was already evening. The girl was tired. Throughout the day , Lu Wei had been sending waiters with fruits , medicines and oats to her.

    Actually , it was a win-win for all. She got to do her nning and plotting and he could take care of her at the same time. The six men knew that her health had never been in her list of priorities , since forever. So they had no choice , but to put her under their scrutiny , until she would recoverpletely.

    But the girl hated this. Pampering. Caring. As much as she appreciated it , she disliked being a burden to them. And to her darling. So this round the clock service was making her even more upset. More grumpy.

    "How''s my Kiddo been doing ?", the girl was scribbling with her pencil on a in sheet of paper when Lu Wei stepped into the office , few of his shareholders following behind him.

    The girl lifted her head up and squinted her eyes at the man before she nodded her head at the three men standing behind her brother , gesturing her acknowledgement. The three middle-aged men nodded back , an expression of disapproval across their faces. They were clearly not pleased by the fact that the girl was upying the throne of the Lu Corporations. ording to them , it belonged to no one but Lu Wei. Not even his so-called ''sister''. It wasn''t something one could simply y around with , they believed.

    Meanwhile , Lu Wei simply smiled at the girl''s ignorance and approached her calmly. He then nced at the sheet the girl was experimenting with , as a short helplessugh slipped his lips. The girl was cartooning him and the other five. They were begging her for forgiveness. She had sketched herself as some furious mighty monster. How adorable !

    "Can I buy this one ?", the man rubbed the girl''s head lovingly ,"Please ?"

    "Nope !", the girl pouted , earning anotherugh from her brother ,"Its priceless. I will have to teach the significance of this divine artwork to your daughter someday."

    "Alright. Fine.", Lu Wei raised his hands in surrender before he ced a soft kiss against the girl''s forehead ,"Just onest meeting. Okay ?"

    "Whatever.", scoffed the dy devil''.

    The man then gestured the three men to grab a seat for themselves before he unbuttoned his coat and removed it , cing it upon the office table.

    The three men surrounded the table as Lu Wei started exining them about his proposal. Lu Wei had to bend over and elucidate the map of their next hotel project , as the girl was sitting upon his chair.

    The girl had a set of headphones plugged in , so it was the perfect opportunity for the three shareholders to speak up. What if Lu Wei would actually end up agreeing with them !

    "Mr. Lu , I would suggest you to get a seat first. You seem ufortable.", one of the three , named Su Wang , said.

    Lu Wei red at the man before he shook his head ,"Not required. Its not like I am doing this for the first time."

    "You shouldn''t be so much of a benefactor , Mr. Lu. Not everyone is trustworthy.", another man said.

    "What are you trying to imply exactly , Mr. Zheng ?"

    "You have sworn her as your sister , President. She is not even your family.", the third oneughed ,"Who knows what her intentions are ?"

    "Oh I see. So you guys fear that she has her eyes fixed upon my position.", Lu Wei raised his brows and closed the files in front of him ,"Maybe you are right. Tell me more. What are your opinions about her ?"

    The way Lu Wei was reacting to their words , the three men were more than convinced that the man was doubtful about the girl himself. In the end , they let their guards down and weren''t too cautious of him anymore.

    "President. Even if we believe that you and the other five masters have brought her up , we can''t deny the truth that she hails from the Rong family. Those people are more viscious than the wolves. As the only son of the Lu family , you shouldn''t let her get too close to yourself.", Su Wangmented.

    "Exactly , Mr. Lu. We can make use of her , provided her position. But don''t give her the opportunity to stab you in the back. She should be nothing but a puppet to you. A doll you can control."

    "I guess I wasn''t as far-sighted as you guys. How silly of me.", smiled Lu Wei , as he pulled out a stack of documents from one of his drawers ,"I would love to know how many such well wishers have been surrounding me all these years. The ones I could never notice."

    "Its just us , President.", Su Wang''s eyes gleamed with excitement as Lu Wei signed the documents. He could practically read the word ''promotion'' written all over it. The promotion from the General Panel to the Elite Panel of shareholders in Lu Corporations. The ones with the highest amount of shares in thepany.

    "That''s praiseworty. Your courage toe up to me with this...", Lu Wei said ,"Its worth this."

    The man then passed three eight-page documents to the men sitting opposite him. And soon enough , the smile stered across their mouths faded away. They stared at the man with shocked expressions , but didn''t dared to question him back. What could they even say ? Their words had brought them into this in the first ce , after all. Their shares had been bought by the man , just like that. In a snap ! It was like the world had turned upside down. In an instant. For them.

    But that wasn''t just it. For some unknown reason , they knew something worse was waiting for them. They had known Lu Wei for that long. They could literally see the birth of a storm in Lu Wei''s eyes.

    "You are lucky, she didn''t hear what you just said.", the man said as he looked at the girl sleeping , her head resting against the palm of her hand , affectionately ,"With everything that she has been going through , thest thing I want her to face is this. Someone telling her that her Bro Lu isn''t her family. That she deserves to be treated like a puppet by her own brothers. The brothers she trusted more than herself , the ones she loved more than her own blood. That they could hurt her.

    "Because that will never happen. Not until I am alive. And as far as the Lu Corporations is concerned , thepany''s very existence means nothing without her to begin with. I gave her the right to exercise all my powers however she wants , long ago. My position is for her to ess. Anytime. Everything that belongs to Lu Wei , belongs to her. Even my life."

 Chapter 322: A call from her Darling

    Chapter 322: A call from her Darling

    "Who the hell do you think you are ?!", the man hissed at the three , his tone high ,"You have no idea what she is capable of and yet , you dare to judge her. She can chop you into pieces and not even blink once. You really think she is some charity case for us ? How naive !

    "She is far from that , you idiots. Its not that she needs us. Its the other way around. We can create and destroy thousand such Lu Corporations , if it means that we can keep this girl by our side. She would''ve achieved what she wanted anyway. With or without us. So never assume Xinghe to be someone who is weak or helpless. Those words are insults to her. And to me.

    "You guys had the nerves to disrespect the Military Chief of the country. In front of her brother. How do you think the Central Judiciary would treat you ? And don''t even get me started on the Armed Forces.", the man framed his question nonchntly , as if it was something normal.

    But the moment the Army was mentioned by the man , the three shareholders exchanged shocked nces among themselves as panic flooded their eyes. Defamation of the highest Military authority of the nation had only one punishment in Country X''s constitution. Death. They''d never expected a normal conversation to convert into something so scary.

    "I am a man with family , President Lu ! My wife is pregnant. Please show some mercy.", Su Wang stood up from his chair , followed by the other two , and started to apologise.

    "We are extremely sorry Sir. We shouldn''t have said what we did. Ms. Rong could never wish ill for you. She loves you all too dearly to do that. I am so sorry sir. Let me go.", Mr. Zheng pleaded.

    As the three men begged to him for his forgiveness , Lu Wei''s expression turned even more stern , like that of the devil. The man clenched his fists and red at the men before he turned his head to look at the girl. Her brows were furrowed and her lips were quivering. Either the medicines were affecting her , or her sleep was being disturbed by the three douchebags sucking up to him. And that was just not eptable. It was better to wind all of this up as soon as possible.

    The man raised his hand in mid-air , bringing the office cabin back to its pin drop silence. He then waited for the girl''s features to soften before he looked back at the three men.

    "Then get out. From the Lu Corporations. From the country. If these orders aren''t followed in the time span of one week , I will simply hand you over to the Military. They will handle you by themselves then.", the man shrugged.

    The three men had no option but to ept Lu Wei''s conditions. It wasn''t like he had shown mercy to them. It was just a ''less'' brutal sentence. He was asking them to leave their already established business over here and start from the scratch in foreign countries. That was practically impossible. They were already in their fourties. Not to mention , it wasn''t easy to lure foreigners into any business without an impressive contact range. And to their dismay , they had literally no connections outside Country X. So the punishment Lu Wei had given them was no less than death sentence. But... it wasn''t death. Thankfully. So before he could consider changing his mind , the three bowed down to him and rushed out of the office premises like chickens.

    Lu Wei let out a sigh before he stretched his long neck towards the ceiling and closed his eyes. A lot had happened in thest few days. His wife was attacked by a maniac , crazy woman. His sister had gone through a fatal migraine stroke. His business had suffered quite the losses due to his absence. Nothing good seemed to be happening recently. With him. With his sister. With the Superfamily.

    Sigh ! He could only wish for these testing times to pass soon...

    "You could just tell me to stand up , you know ?", the man''s train of thoughts was suddenly interrupted by a soft low voice.

    The man opened his eyes and turned to look at the girl smiling weakly at him.

    "People are bound to question our rtionship , brother.", said the girl ,"You didn''t had to fire them for that. You might''ve not realized , but you just made three more enemies.

    "And just for the record , its alright. I didn''t mind that. Don''t worry."

    "So you listened to all of it ?", the man raised his brows at the girl.

    The girlughed as she pulled her headphones off ,"They were never even connected to start with. I wanted to eavesdrop. And god ! That was entertaining."

    "Xinghe..", the man sat on his knees and looked into the girl''s eyes earnestly ,"Kid , are you okay ? After what they said about..."

    "Brother , I told you I am fine. I know you more than you know yourself. I know you six like the back of my hand. In fact , the personality of you six is reflected in mine. They say that I am abination of you six. So I know how amazing you are. I would never be so stupid as to misunderstand you. Okay ?", the girl squeezed the man''s huge hands assuringly ,"I know how much you six love me and I know how much you respect me. I keep reminding myself of that everyday."

    "Ok.", the man nodded his head as relief streamed through his heart ,"Never ever forget that. Because I can fight the world. Not you."

    "I know.", the girl smirked , triumphantly.

    "Enough with the overacting , Kiddo !", Lu Weiughed out ,"So tell me. What Ice Cream would you like en route to home ?"

    "I am allowed to have Ice Cream ?", the girl jumped up , looking at her brother with a spark in her gaze.

    "Jeez ! How old are you , Rong Xinghe ?", Lu Wei shook his head with disbelief.

    "Five scoops ! Each scoop of different vour. And I want bucket. No cone.", the girl started borating her ''Ice Cream'' specifications like some professional.

    "Four years old. Definitely.", answered the man his own question , with a helpless sigh.

    _____________________

    2 a.m. , Lu Family Home ;

    The girl was fast asleep when her phone rang up. Subconsciously , the girl''s hand reached the edge of the side table and she picked it up with a groan.

    "What is it , Assistant Shou ? Last time I checked , I was jobless.", the girl''s raspy voice resounded across the room.

    "I am so sorry , Honey.", the man''s tired yet apologetic voice came through the other end and in a sh , the girl''s eyes flew wide awake ,"I should have checked the time difference before I called you. Please go back to sleep. We will talk tomorrow. Good night , Baby. I love you."

    "No, no, no !", the girl sat up straight and shook her head violently ,"Video call me. Now !"

    "Its okay , Xinghe.",ughed Xi Yuan ,"We can..."

    "No ! No tomorrow. Right now.", the girl scowled.

    "Okay. Alright.", the man agreed finally ,"ept the video call request."

    The man couldn''t help but feel his heart ache for her. It was his fault to dy so much. He could tell that she had been waiting patiently for this. For him. For her Yuan.For a call from her Darling.

 Chapter 323: Planned to prove all such notions wrong

    Chapter 323: nned to prove all such notions wrong

    "So that was your first step of revenge. Presenting her with a blood-stricken head. That was damn savage , woman !", said Xi Yuan as he stared at the girl with an amazed expression ,"And you handled Sun Weng just fine too. He wouldn''t cause trouble for you , I am sure of that. He hates that woman more than anyone else in this world. By the way , how did he react when you told him about us ?"

    One hour had passed since the two had been talking to each other over the video call. Their conversation didn''t seemed toe to an end today. It was just the usual. The girl was doing all the talking while Xi Yuan listened to her every word with utmost interest and attention. She told him everything that had happened ever since he had gone and he told her about the situation in Mexico. He said he was still trying to figure things out there.

    When the girl slipped in about what the three shareholders had said about her to Lu Wei , Xi Yuan was extremely furious. He was displeased and felt that Lu Wei had gone too easy on them. The man believed that no one had the right toment or judge her because of her past or the Rongs. And that no one had the right to disrespect , to insult his woman. The girl had justughed at the man then. The way he imed his stake upon her , it was too adorable. She loved how he had already dered that she was his. For this lifetime , at least.

    "He wants to meet me over dinner. To know me better.", the girl answered.

    "Oh. Don''t meet him just yet. Not without me.", the man said after sometime.

    "Why ?", the girl frowned.

    "I know how charming he can be , Xinghe.", the man smiled meaningfully at the woman ,"And I know how appealing , how templting you can be , Baby."

    "Is President Xi jealous ?", the girl raised her brows as a softugh left her lips.

    "If that keeps you away from other men , definitely ! Very jealous.", the man replied back , no hint of shame in his tone.

    "I can''t believe I have fallen for such a hopeless man.", smiled Rong Xinghe.

    "Hmm. So why are you at your brother''s ce ?", Xi Yuan changed the subject as he stretched his free hand and opened the window of his hotel suite , letting in a wave of cool breeze.

    "He was worried that I would have nightmares. About the train incident. About my childhood. I used to have a lot of them. The nightmares. After I got out of thea ten years ago. He didn''t wanted me to be alone if that was to happen again.", the girl said , her voice more of a whisper.

    "So those nightmares. Are they... um , memories ?", asked Xi Yuan ,"Do they-"

    "Remind me of my past ? Yeah. Mostly. Its like I am reliving those days. How they used to assault me. Physically. Emotionally. Mentally. And how I used to be cautious of everything. Even the movement of a dry leaf ; the sound of footsteps.", the girl answered with a wry smile.

    The man couldn''t express his regret at that time. He felt miserable. For not being their by her side. For not being able to hug her. Kiss her. Coax her to sleep. He hated this. The distance separating them. More than anything.

    "You are my strong girl , aren''t you ?", the man tried to cheer up the girl ,"Promise me you will try to fight it. Till the end. Alright ?"

    "Yeah."

    "And Xinghe , if you ever want to talk to me , even if its just to hear my voice , call me right away. Regardless of the time or situation. I am not saying this just for the sake of it. Okay ? I mean it."

    "I understand.", the girl nodded her head ,"Hey ! Umm... Is it okay if I visit your parents tomorrow ? Can you ask someone to check upon their schedule ?"

    "Wow.", the man was taken aback for a moment ,"Are you sure you want to do this so soon ? You can take more time if you want , you know ?"

    "I want to do this Yuan.", the girl stated with certainty ,"Don''t make me contemte things."

    "As you wish , then. I will text you the detailster.", smiled Xi Yuan ,"Take Ying and Wei with you. They won''t let things get awkward. Hmm ?"

    "Done."

    At this time , the door behind Xi Yuan opened up and Xi Fang walked into the room with two briefcases in both his hands. He nced at the girl on the screen of his brother''s phone and smiled at her before he ced the cases upon the table beside him.

    "So I will have to let you off then , right ?", Rong Xinghe sighed , dejectedly ,"I love you , Yuan. Good night."

    The man felt his heart drop as he looked at the girl''s dull expression. He couldn''t possibly let her sleep like that. So before the girl could disconnect the call , the man spoke up ,"Keep the phone on the side table."

    "Huh ?"

    "You can watch me work while you drift off to sleep , Xinghe.", the man exined ,"And my heart will be at ease , knowing that you are safe and fine. With no nightmares. It will be like I am there. Its more convenient this way. Please ?"

    The girl shook her head helplessly as she followed the man''s orders and ced her phone beside themp on her side table , and lied down on the bed. As she looked at the man flipping the pages of the documents , concentrating upon the affairs at hand , her heart fluttered rapidly. This was a rare sight for her. In fact , this was the first time , that she''d seen him indulged in his work. And damn ! This Yuan was more alluring. More stunning. Gradually , the girl fell asleep with a smile stered across her lips.

    Few hourster , Xi Yuan lifted his head up to look at the girl. Her body enveloped by the nket , her hands clutching at end of it. He soft red lips curled up in a sweet little smile , which meant that she was dreaming. He was sure it was a dream. And not a nightmare. That relieved his heart , and his mind.

    The man then folded his hands and rested his elbows against the table in front of him. He couldn''t bring himself to disconnect the call. He was still unsure of what could happen if he was to let her out of his sight for even a minute. At least , with the phone still on , his voice could guide her out of it. Out of her fears. Out of those dark memories.

    With that thought , the man leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes , falling asleep almost instantly. The day had been pretty tiring for him too , after all.

    Who said long distance rtionshipsprised only of pain and longing ? And that love just faded with time in such rtionships. Clearly , Xinguan nned to prove all such notions wrong. Their love and their chemistry had always been an exception.

 Chapter 324: "Whats with the formalities , Xinghe ?"

    Chapter 324: "What''s with the formalities , Xinghe ?"

    Next morning , 9:00 a.m. :

    Rong Xinghe woke up with the rays of the sun hitting her eyes and almost instantly , turned to look at her phone ced on the side table. The man was still working , a cup of coffee and a dish of scone ced in front of him.

    "Good morning...", the girl whispered with a frown ,"Did you stay awake all night ?"

    "Of course not. I took a nap of three hours. Took a shower after that. Made coffee and cookies then.", the man exined with a smile ,"And good morning , Wifey."

    "Well. Impressive , I must say.", the girl giggled ,"And you didn''t disconnected the call because..."

    "Because my girlfriend looks super hot when she''s asleep. Is it a crime to just look at her , my lord ?!", the man imitated awyer ; one of those frustated by the judiciary.

    "Right.", Rong Xinghe could feel the heat growing in her cheeks ,"But I need to go shower now."

    "So take the phone to the washroom , Honey.", Xi Yuan winked , a smirk spreading across his lips.

    "Shameless ! What''s gotten into you so early in the morning ?!", the girl red at the man ,"I am hanging up. Got to meet your Mom and Dad. Bye !"

    Xi Yuan squinted his eyes at the girl ,"Bye ? Just like that ?" He was enjoying how her ears and lips were turning red. She was totally blushing. He could do this all day. Messing with her like this. For hours.

    "I love you.", the girl gritted her teeth and stared back at the man.

    "So much sincerity can kill me someday , woman.",ughed Xi Yuan ,"I love you too. And don''t let them look down on you. My girl is as mighty and fiesty as a lioness. Remember that. Alright ?"

    "Got it.", the girl smiled.

    As the call got disconnected , Xi Yuan picked his cup of coffee and turned around to look at Xi Fang , already standing at the door ,"You sure you took the shower ?"

    "Are you kidding ? I am all messed up.", Xi Yuanughed ,"Could you tell the butler to arrange a bath for me ? I haven''t even selected my clothes yet."

    "Then why did you lie to Sister-inw ?", Xi Fang was confused.

    "You have no idea how much I worry her. If I was to tell her that I slept here , on a chair , all night and that I didn''t even had a bite sincest night , it would''ve stressed her out like nothing. She would''ve been more worried about me than herself. And that''s thest thing I want for her. Not now that she needs to focus on her own health more than anything else.", the man exined as he pinched the space between his brows.

    "Not to mention , the six tigers would have killed me for troubling their sister. And suicide isn''t exactly one of my ns right now , Fang."

    "True.", Xi Fang nodded his head. Earlier , he couldn''t understood as to why would his brother want a T-shirt in the middle of the night. But things seemed to be pretty clear now.

    It turned out , President Xi was just looking out for his wife. Damn ! This couple was going to be the death of him someday. Their PDA alone could stab him thrice , straight in the heart !

    ____________________

    Lu Wei and Ningtao soon woke up to the sound of pop music and couldn''t help but cover their heads with the pillows beside them. God ! Thedy devil was up. But what was she upto this time ?

    "Wei , please have a look. What if she needs something ? Its just eight in the morning.", Ningtao requested as she ced a soft kiss against her husband''s forehead.

    "She is going to get quite a lecture today !", glowered Lu Wei as he took in the sight of Ningtao''s swollen eyes. How could she trouble his wife ?!

    "Hey ! Don''t you dare. I don''t want you yelling at my baby Xinghe. Okay ?", Ningtao warned the man ,"This is her home too , you know ? She can do whatever she wants to do. All you are supposed to do is help her. Go and make yourself useful."

    "How the hell am I stuck between you two ?!", the man groaned as he strode towards the bedroom door.

    "But you love us even so , don''t you ?", the woman smirked.

    "That I do.", mumbled Lu Wei as he closed the door.

    The man then climbed down the stairs and followed the direction from which the sound of music wasing.

    "Seriously ? Cooking ?!", the man folded his arms as he leaned against the kitchen entrance , ring at the girl chopping tomatoes ,"Exactly how many times have we had this discussion ?"

    The girl was so taken aback by the man''s sudden appearance , the knife almost slipped down her hand.

    "What the... Wait ! Were the speakers too loud ? Did I-"

    "Woke up your Sister-inw ? Yeah. You kind of did.", Lu Wei mocked and snatched the knife away from the girl ,"Why the sudden motivation to cook , though ?"

    "Just bored.", the girl shrugged and minimized the volume of the music ,"So came over here to grab a bite. But the refrigerator was empty. Couldn''t wake you up as well. Then I thought why not prepare some noodles !"

    "Firstly , what did you mean by ''couldn''t wake you up'' ?!", Lu Wei rebuked , trying his best to keep his voice low ,"Since when have you started acting all courteous and polite anddylike in front of your brothers. What''s with the formalities , Xinghe ? Let me get this straight , I am not liking this , youngdy.

    "And secondly , noodles ? Really ?! That''s your idea for a healthy breakfast ? Unbelievable !"

    "Sorry.", the girl whispered , looking down at the ground guiltily.

    As he looked at his Kiddo sister''s awful expression , Lu Wei shook his head and relented his rage the next second ,"Its alright , Xinghe. Come here." He said , as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and rubbed her back lightly.

    "Maybe I came off too strong a while ago. And I apologise for that. Its just that.. I want you to know that just because your brothers have family , doesn''t and shouldn''t change the beauty of our rtionship. Of <em>''u</em><em>s</em>''.

    "I want you to know that you can still cause trouble in the middle of the night , and we will be there to clean up the mess after you. I don''t want you to forget that. Ever."

 Chapter 325: "I would never compromise my self-repect."

    Chapter 325: "I would neverpromise my self-repect."

    "I know.", smiled Rong Xinghe ,"Its just that Sister-inw isn''t even able to walk by herself after the attack. With so much going on in your life , I felt that it was inappropriate to burden you with matters such as these. The trivial ones."

    "Nothing rted to you is ''trivial'' , Xinghe. You should know that.", Lu Wei said , his tone earnest ,"Moreover , your Sister-inw might divorce me if I stop looking after you for even a second. Do you understand my dilemma now? I am also trying to save my marriage here"

    "I get it.", the girl nodded her head as she let out augh ,"Totally."

    "Then how would you like your morning breakfast , Military Chief ?", Zhi Bo''s voice resounded across the hall as he stepped inside the kitchen with a notepad in his hand ,"We , at ''The Superfam Cafe'' , intend to impress our lovely customers !"

    Rong Xinghe couldn''t help but giggle at the man''s impersonation. ssic. Professional chef , this time , she concluded. The girl then pulled out a chair and grabbed a seat for herself before she started to think of what she could ''order''.

    "Alright. An Americano , grilled sandwich and Blueberry muffin along with some custard and a to-go Latte would be just fine."

    Zhi Bo and Lu Wei simply smiled at the dy devil'' before they put on their aprons. This was what they loved. Catering to her wishes. Taking care of her. Following her orders.

    "By the way , Bro Bo , why did you visited so early ?", the girl asked after sometime , as she browsed through her mails ,"Something important today ?"

    "Just the usual. A conference with the sponsors. About the art exhibitions.", the man replied ,"So thought of checking up on you before leaving."

    "Oh."

    "What do you n to do today ?", Lu Wei questioned the girl after sometime ,"How are you going to deal with that Qui Chin today ?"

    "Already taken care of that. The bi*ch is going to have quite a humiliating day. With all her contracts being cancelled one after another , she would want to dig a hole for herself and hide in it forever.", the girl smirked.

    "So then what are you going to do today ?", it was Zhi Bo this time.

    "Visit Mr. and Mrs. Xi."

    The two men stopped whatever they were doing and turned to stare at the girl with an expression of shock stered across their faces. Had she hit her head somewhere in the early morning , they wondered.

    "You are going to visit the Xis'' ? I mean have you even thought it through ?", Lu Wei asked.

    "Exactly , Kiddo. Why would you want to meet them all of a sudden ? Did Yuan asked you to do it ?", Zhi Bo added.

    "No. He didn''t. Its my decision.", Rong Xinghe emphasized ,"I believe it is just fair. You guys are already fine with mine and Yuan''s rtionship. In fact , you''ve epted this way better than I could''ve ever imagined.

    "But the Xis'' haven''t even met me officially yet. Not as their son''s girlfriend. I feel that they have every right to know me and to acknowledge me."

    "You do realize that they might try to humiliate you there , right ?", Zhi Bo raised his brows at the girl ,"Out there , there are thousands of women , who can kill to marry your boyfriend , Xinghe. Everydy hailing from all those upperss socialite families have been dreaming to be the daughter-inw of the Xis'' since the day they were sensible enough.

    "There is a possibility that the Xi family would prioritize those girls over you. And this might be just just an attempt to denigrate you. So that you leave Yuan yourself."

    "That''s true.", Lu Wei agreed ,"It would be better if we apany you there."

    Rong Xinghe giggled as she stood up and tucked the phone in her jeans pocket ,"None of you areing with me there. Its not like the possibility never crossed my mind.

    "But do you really think that I would allow just anyone to walk all over me ? If I feel even a tad bit of hostility from their side , I will have to show them what it means to mess with the Military Chief of the country. I would neverpromise my self-respect for the sake of getting into their good books. Not for anyone. Not even Yuan.

    "I am Rong Xinghe. I don''t suck up to people ; neither do I lick other''s boots to get what I want. I fight for it. Now its upto them to ept the real me or not. Else , they might as well think of another way to separate me and Yuan.

    "I won''t change myself for anyone. And I won''t leave Yuan just because his family wants it. He didn''t do it. He didn''t left me when you six were so unwilling to ept him , did he ? So it would be immensely unfair to him if I do so. Right ?"

    The two men couldn''t help but smile at the girl''s words. This was their Xinghe. Fierce. Bold. Determined. It would be stupid of them to not trust this confident woman. The one standing right in front of them.

    "Until and unless you promise us to return back with your pride intact...", Lu Wei pinched the girl''s nose ,"We will not bother to join you."

    "You have my word.", nodded Rong Xinghe , her expression firm , her gaze poised.

    _______________

    Meanwhile , Xi Family Home ;

    "What are you doing , Butler Liu ?", a sharp yet elegant voice resounded across the dining hall ,"We won''t be using our usual cutlery today. My daughter-inw is visiting the family ce for the first time. Get the set of new , silver cutlery from the out house right away. The one with tinum and gold carved at its exterior. She should feel special and weed , no matter what."

    "I understand , Ma''am.", the old butler bowed down and rushed out of the room hurriedly. Ever since the Young Master had called yesterday to inform about the arrival of the Young Lady , the family elders had been on cloud nine. It was more like the Xi family was celebrating an auspicious event. Every corner of the house had been cleaned overnight. The Young Lady''s favourite cuisines were prepared as well. Even the Old Xi hadn''t slept for a second throughout the night.

    And why not ? This was something that concerned Young Master Yuan. There were high chances that the Young Lady would be the Queen to the Xi Corporations. She was , after all , Young Master''s first and only choice, till date.

    "What are you doing over there , Mr. Xi ?!", asked Li Jungah as she saw her husband experimenting in the kitchen , from the corner of her eyes.

    "Don''t interrupt me , Mrs. Xi.", the old man frowned as he searched for something in the shelves above him ,"Its been ages since I walked into this kitchen. Since little Xinghe will be visiting us today , I might as well prepare some tea for her. Many people have praised me for how splendid my tea tastes. They say that there is magic in my hands. I just need to sharpen up my skills."

    "Are you trying to impress our daughter-inw , Old man ?!", Li Jungah was astonished. Astounded could be the word too.

    "Nothing like that.", Xi Chongkun scrunched up his nose , gesturing his agitation ,"Will you tell me where have you hid the sugar now ? Stop speaking nonsense and help me over here."

    "Why would I hide the jar of sugar ? Such a stubborn man !", Li Jungah raised her brows with disbelief , as she stepped into the kitchen ,"Like son , like father. Stand still now. Let me get it for you."

 Chapter 326: A competition to Rong Xinghe ?

    Chapter 326: Apetition to Rong Xinghe ?

    "Hello Uncle! How are you doing Aunty ?", Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah''s squabble was interrupted suddenly, as a woman walked inside the kitchen and hugged Li Jungah from behind.

    The instant they recognized the girl, the Xi elders'' faces turned as pale as a sheet and they exchanged nervous nces among themselves.

    The girl came from an indescribably noble background. Her reputation in the international business world was just next to Xi Yuan.

    She answered to the name Huang Biu and hailed from the only Royal family in Country X. Although her ancestors had once been rulers to the south side of the nation, they had given away theirnds to transform the country into a sessful democracy, long ago. Now, the Huangs were one of the most established Business families in the entirety of the Asian continent, let alone Country X.

    From the world of fashion to cybersecurity, almost every industry came under the reigns of the Huang Business Empire. Although they were nopetition to the Xi Family yet, they were still one of the best. And no matter how many years had passed since their monarchy hade to an end, the Huangs were considered Royals in many cities and towns across the nation, even today.

    Huang Biu was the eldest daughter of the family, mostly known for her intellect and talents. She was pretty ssy and confident as well. Not to mention, she had the personality of a model and a monk, at the same time. She was gorgeous. A perfect socialitedy, one could tell.

    "When did you return back from Ennd, Biu ?", Li Jungah cleared her throat as soon as she came out of her daze.

    "Just yesterday.", smiled Huang Biu, gently, "I thought I could meet President Xi today. But I just got to know about the Mexico issue. I am so sorry to hear about that."

    "Such a lovely girl.", Li Jungah patted the girl''s back lightly, "We shall definitely talk over dinner someday. That time, we will call the Huang elders too."

    "Definitely , Auntie.", the woman nodded her head, "By the way, is someone specialing over today? Even the gardener outside seemed to be in a pleasant mood, so early in the morning."

    "Actually...", before Li Jungah could exin anything to the girl, Luo Youyou walked in and pulled Huang Biu in a tight hug.

    "What a surprise , Biu !", Luo Youyouughed ,"Ying should be arriving soon. You girls can then chat for as long as you want. But till then , why don''t you enjoy some coffee with Auntie Youyou ?"

    "Sure , Auntie.", Huang Biu agreed, "But who is visiting exactly? It is more of like a festival in here."

    Luo Youyou smirked at Li Jungah as she held onto the girl''s both hands sympathetically, "Biu , a-"

    "-client of Yuan''s ising over. An important client.", Xi Chongkun cut in as he red at the woman.

    "Oh , I see. I shall head up to Autie Youyou''s room then.", Huang Biu''s cheeks flushed red just by the mention of the man''s name.

    Li Jungah waited for the girl to disappear before she held onto Luo Youyou''s arms firmly, "What were you trying to do just now ?"

    "I don''t believe we should keep her in the dark , Sister.", the woman shrugged her shoulders ,"She deserves to know the truth about Rong Xinghe."

    "She will get to know about it anyway. Eventually, she will.", Xi Chongkun stated the matter-of-factly, "But it would be appreciated if there is no drama when Xinghe arrives here. Huang Biu likes that brat too much. And I won''t allow anyone to humiliate or nder Xinghe recklessly. Not in absence of Yuan. Do you get it ?"

    "But-"

    "We never received the chance to talk about your husband''s involvement with the ''Werewolf Crew'' , did we?", Li Jungah threatened, "You will keep your mouth shut if you don''t want that topicing up. Okay?"

    Luo Youyou gritted her teeth as she looked down at the ground and nodded her head unwillingly. Even though Xi Chongkun was not the CEO of the Xi Corps., he was still not someone she dared to mess with. Not now that Xi Chonglin''s connection with a shady underworld gang, was like a sword hanging over their heads.

    She could only wait for Xi Yuan to make a final decision regarding the matter. However, the man had been avoiding the topic ever since it was revealed, months ago. And the worst part was, she couldn''t even push the man too much into it. It was a sensitive issue for Xi Yuan, after all. One blow to him and she knew she would lose her son, her Xi Fang, forever.

    ____________

    10:00 a.m., Xi Family Residence ;

    A ck SUV stopped right in front of the main gate and Xi Wei got out of the car before he pulled open the passenger seat''s door, "Don''t be too anxious, Sister-inw. You will be fine."

    "Hopefully.", said Rong Xinghe, looking at the house observantly.

    "Are you expecting me to show chivalry to you too ?", Xi Wei raised his brows at Xi Ying, who was still sitting in the driver''s seat, "Get over yourself already !"

    "Dork !", the girl squinted her eyes at the man before she unlocked her side of the door.

    At this time , Li Jungah and Xi Chongkun rushed outside the house, intending to wee the girl in.

    "Look at how thin you have be. Come on in !", Li Jungah frowned as she held onto the girl''s hands in hers, "I have cooked a lot of nutritious food for you. Come."

    "Thank you, Mrs. Xi.", nodded Rong Xinghe as she followed behind the old couple.

    "So how have you been? Doesn''t look like you have recoveredpletely since the migraine attack.", Li Jungah initiated the conversation as Xi Chongkun started preparing the tea for them.

    "I am still following the course of medications, Mrs. Xi. But it won''t take me too long to get back into my element.", smiled the girl. She had specifically dressed into an off-shoulder wrap front mesh ovey Maroon dress today. Her light makeup and choice of clothing radiated an aura of sophistication and propriety. If Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah were to say that they weren''t impressed by the girl''s personality, it would be a lie.

    "Mr. Xi doesn''t have to put in so much efforts. Really.", Rong Xinghe felt as if she wasmitting a sin when she looked at the old man brewing tea for her ,"At least , let me help you, Sir."

    "Don''t be so formal , darling.", Li Jungah waved her hand, "He rarely does any household work. Let him do this much."

    "Could you show a little respect to your own husband , Mrs. Xi ?", Xi Chongkun sighed.

    "Of course.", Li Jungah said before she turned to hold Rong Xinghe''s hands, a smile spreading across thedy''s lips, "But don''t worry. Yuan is not like that. He will take care of you. Always. I can see that in his eyes, whenever he talks about you."

 Chapter 327: " I remember how he never smiled again."

    Chapter 327: " I remember how he never smiled again."

    "He talks about me ?", the girl was surprised as her brows raised up, involuntarily.

    "I can''t say that he speaks to us a lot.", Li Jungah nodded as she smiled wryly, "But you see, your uncle and I had a love marriage. I can naturally sense love. And no matter how less time I spent with Yuan, he is still my son. I know him.

    "I could tell he was in love. And when I asked him about it, he wouldn''t stop talking about the girl he liked. About you. You were our first conversation, Xinghe. I had a real conversation with my son, after what, more than ten years, because of you. About you."

    "I''ve never seen Yuan so happy, so carefree before this, honey. And I can only thank you for that."

    Soon, the girl realized that the Xi elders had no ill intention behind this meeting and that they wanted to genuinely meet her. Not once had they tried to make her feel ufortable. They felt close. They felt.. like family. Most importantly, they seemed to care about Xi Yuan a lot. They had his best interests at heart, she could tell. Thankfully.

    At least, they had one thing inmon with her. They cared about the same person she did. She could see that they loved Xi Yuan; cared about him dearly. But mostly, they ''missed'' him. They missed their only son. She could see that longing and the pain in their eyes.

    Xi Chongkun soon handed over two cups of tea to the twodies before he sat down beside Li Jungah, "Try it.", he said, trying to act as ''least nervous'' as he could. That, made Rong Xinghe smile.

    "It is amazing, Mr. Xi.", the girl was really impressed, "You used the Ancient technique to brew the tea, didn''t you? It is rarely used nowadays, though. That''s a shame."

    Xi Chongkun was taken aback by the girl''s knowledge as he smiled at her with a slight nod, "It is even rarer for the younger generation to have such deep knowledge about the Ancient times. How do you know about it ?"

    Rong Xinghe let out a smallugh, "Well, it was during one of the Military missions that I had to stay in a remote vige in China for one month. So I learned about this technique from there."

    "Ah, I see. The Military.", muttered Xi Chongkun, "Isn''t it difficult? The profession. Your position. It is a risky and dangerous one, right ?"

    "Yes.", the girl didn''t deny, "It is. Leading the three major forces of the Army all by yourself isn''t exactly easy. But then again, I love my work."

    "That''s good.", Xi Chongkun smiled at the girl appreciatively, "Always enjoy what you do."

    For a moment, Rong Xinghe thought that the old man would oppose her decisions. The older generation always did. People were still used to see ''men'' serving the armies. Even today. Very few people approved of a woman as young as her controlling the exterior security of their country.

    But he didn''t. He respected her choice, instead. No wonder Xi Yuan was his son. Looking down on women wasn''t something the Xis'' did. They were far above such narrow-minded beliefs.

    A few minutester, Li Jungah got up from her seat and ced her cup on the table in front of her. She then nced down at Rong Xinghe with a warm smile, "Can I speak to you alone ?"

    Xi Wei, who had been silent all this while, spoke up at this time, "Auntie, can''t you just-"

    "It is alright, Wei. Don''t worry.", Rong Xinghe waved her hands at the man and stood up as well. She then followed behind Li Jungah in the backyard of the house silently.

    "What is going on ?", Xi Wei turned to Xi Chongkun, worried.

    "I have no idea.", the old man shrugged, "Let women handle it themselves."

    _____________

    "Yes, Mrs. Xi ?"

    "Xinghe," the woman turned to face the girl and inhaled sharply, "Just listen to me first, okay? I need to let it out."

    "Go ahead.", Rong Xinghe smiled.

    "Initially, when Yuan told me about his feelings for you, I was extremely delighted. I have shared the same University with your parents, after all. You are just the reflection of them.

    "But then, I heard about your past. About the train incident. And about your struggles. You''ve had spent five years of your life with unknown people, getting trained for such a frightening position. I wouldn''t lie to you, Xinghe. I had my doubts about you since then.

    "As noble and selfless they are, we can''t forget that soldiers are soldiers. They are trained to--"

    "Kill? To die?", Rong Xinghe finished the woman''s sentence.

    "Yes.", Li Jungah sighed, "Yuan has lost the people he has loved the most before. And he was just fifteen then. I still remember how he never spoke of that night again. I remember how he never smiled again.

    "So when I got to know about you, I was scared. Frightened. I couldn''t imagine the consequences of anything happening to you. I couldn''t watch him break down again, Xinghe. As a result, I wasn''t really supportive of this rtionship after that.

    "But then-", the olddy smiled, "Yuan was attacked after the International Business Summit. By those monsters from the ''Werewolf Crew''. My child was struggling between life and death for four months. And I couldn''t do anything. Neither could his father. We both could just sit helplessly, in a corner of that hospital.

    "That''s when I realized how much you loved him. I could see how you were managing the Xi Corporations and the Military, altogether. All alone. I could see how you used to visit Yuan daily and how used to talk to him for hours. You never gave up on him. No one, even his family, even us, were as stubborn as you then."

    "So you epted the idea of ''us'' after that ?", asked Rong Xinghe.

    "No. I gained respect for you after that incident.", Li Jungah corrected the girl, "I acknowledged it just a few days ago. After you underwent that migraine stroke."

    "Sorry, I didn''t--", the girl looked at the woman, muddled. Confused.

    "When you were going through the surgery, Yuan approached me and his father. And he made a request to us ."

 Chapter 328: "Can I call you Mom?"

    Chapter 328: "Can I call you Mom?"

    "What kind of request ?", Rong Xinghe furrowed her brows.

    "He said that if we wished to make it up to him for his dreadful childhood, he could give us a chance.

    "He requested us to treat his Xinghe with all the parental love, that he deserved. That young man wanted to trade his parents for you. For a single smile of yours. He said that he was used to living like that. Without parents.

    "But it was impossible for him to see you like that. Falling apart. Breaking down. He wished that maybe, just maybe, his Mom and Dad could fill up the void, the emptiness in your life.

    "That was when I realized how important you were to him. He is in love with you, Xinghe. Like no one ever could be. You are the reason he is living for. You are the reason he is breathing for. Wounds might be yours, but the pain is felt by him too.

    "You both are inseparable, girl. Xinguan are inseparable. We can only give our blessings to you two. And don''t worry, you have all our supports."

    As she listened to Li Jungah''s words, a lump formed in Rong Xinghe''s throat and tears clouded her gaze gradually. How could someone love a person this much? How could he love her so much?

    "Don''t cry, Xinghe.", Li Jungah smiled, pulling the girl in her embrace, "Look. I know that I can''t rece your Mom. I wouldn''t even try to rece her. But I would love to upy the position next to her. In your life.

    "Don''t misunderstand me, okay? This is not sympathy. And I am not pitying you. Having a daughter like you is an honor. Whenever I look at you, I regret not having given birth to a girl. I love Yuan more than my life. I do.

    "But... I always wanted a girl. A mini-me. And whenever I look at you, I feel that my daughter would''ve been just like this. I would''ve brought her up just like this. Like you. Bold. Fierce. Empowered. Gorgeous, inside out.

    "I see my daughter in you. So I know its a lot to ask... but, can I-"

    "M..Mom.", the girl cut in as she stammered to pronounce the word, "Can I call you... Mom?"

    Li Jungah was so surprised that her grip around the girl''s shoulders tightened subconsciously as the corners of her eyes started to sting, tears threatening to flow down, "Of course, dear. A son such as Yuan and a daughter-inw like you. I must be the luckiest woman in this world to have this."

    ________________

    Shortly after, Xi Wei and Xi Ying were showing the girl around. Their brother had informed them to keep his woman entertained throughout the entire time she would be there. Only if they knew that she woulde across Huang Biu during the process, they wouldn''t have toured her towards the pool arena.

    "Do you really think you can win over Xi Yuan?", Rong Xinghe stopped in her tracks the moment these words fell upon her ears. So did the two Xi siblings following behind her. What the hell was going on?

    Rong Xinghe raised her brows and tilted her head just slightly to take a look at her supposed ''love rival''. And indeed, she saw a woman sitting on a ck lounge chair, her back facing Rong Xinghe. She was speaking to someone over the phone, apparently, and cleaning her nails, which justified why the phone was on speaker.

    The girl then turned to pat Xi Wei''s right arm, a smirk across her lips, "Get me some juice and a chair, little Panda. This should be an interesting show to watch."

    "Sister-inw, we should just--", Xi Ying tried to haul the girl away, desperately. She could tell that the woman on the lounge chair was Huang Biu. A person who had been crushing upon her Brother Yuan for more than ten years now. This wasn''t good. Rong Xinghe and Huang Biu. The two of them against each other. Not good.

    "Hush. It''s okay. I won''t kill her.", Rong Xinghe cut-off the girl. In the end, Xi Wei ended up following his Sister-inw''s orders.

    "I mean, just think it through, Biu.", the person on the other end of the phone said, "You''ve known him for years, and yet, he hasn''t exchanged ''real'' words with you. Your conversations have mostly been ''Hellos'', ''Byes'', and et Cetra. Do you really believe you have a chance with him ?"

    "Come on. He likes me. I know it.", Huang Biu mumbled.

    For some unknown reason, Rong Xinghe found the woman''s words so hrious, she almost choked on her drink. She really wanted to know the reasoning behind those words now. After being emotionally exhausted for so long, this was really refreshing. Very rxing, actually.

    "I remember how he had smiled at me once, during the Conference in Shanghai. And how he had passed me his ss of wine during Mr. Charles''s engagement ceremony. And there have been more. I just don''t like to unt.

    "He has fancied me all these years, Bik. We''ve been friends since the High School days, after all. It''spletely natural. He is just too shy to confess by himself. And I don''t really mind that, you know? I love him, whatsoever.", Huang Biu giggled, still cleaning her nails.

    Shy? Him? When? Was she really talking about the same man who had confessed to her in front of the Statue of Liberty? Damn! That was grand. That was everything, but <em>shy</em>. Sometimes, she regretted having rejected him then, just because of all those preparations and efforts he had put in. Into that confession.

    But speaking of the smile in Shanghai and the ''handing over the wine sses'' and the ''mores'', President Xi was going to have quite a conversation tonight, the girl grinned. Her mind was giving birth to thousands of ideas right now. Ideas to torture him.

    Of course she trusted him. However, couldn''t a girl pull off some pranks and have a little fun, every now and then? It was healthy for rtionships too, her Sister-inws had told her once.

    "What if he finds a woman in Mexico ?", the voice came from the other side of the phone.

    "What if he finds a woman in Mexico ?", Rong Xinghe repeated, whispered doubtfully, turning to stare at Xi Ying.

    The girl gulped and shook her head fearfully, "He wouldn''t. He has you, Sister-inw."

    "He better not.", the girl nodded, "Just a quick question, though. This woman is Huang Biu, isn''t it? The heiress to the Noble Huangs? My darling''s admirer."

 Chapter 329: "Having no proof is the only proof, in your case."

    Chapter 329: "Having no proof is the only proof, in your case."

    "Yes. She is.", Xi Ying nodded, "You know her, Sister-inw?"

    "I might not be well-informed about the Business world. But I keep tabs on every individual who can be a threat or an ally to my family. And Huangs, have been neutral. Neither friend, nor foe.", the girl shrugged, "Let me listen now."

    "You are already twenty-four now, Biu. You should try to speed up the process. You might not be pressurized for a wedding yet. But the Xi family must have started to force the idea upon President Xi. He is twenty-six. The ideal age to settle down. What if they...", the girl, Bik, said.

    "You are right. It doesn''t really matter who makes the first move, you know.", Huang Biu inhaled sharply and closed her eyes, "What matters is that we belong together. I will talk to him when he returns back. Okay?"

    "Oh shut up !", Xi Wei hissed, but his voice came out too loud. It was loud enough to reach Huang Biu''s ears. As a result, the woman quickly disconnected the call and turned around, swiftly. She then followed the source of the voice and reached the back entrance of the house. Rong Xinghe and Xi Ying were nowhere to be seen. Just Xi Wei.

    Xi Wei soon realized that the woman was ring at her and that he had nowhere to run to now. Involuntarily, the man brought his hand up and tapped the edge of his Bluetooth earpiece lightly, "I said shut up! We are not going to close the deal until it reaches the mark of a hundred, at least. Alright ?"

    Huang Biu stared at the man for a few seconds more before she shook her head and smiled at him. Only when he was sure that the woman had believed him did Xi Wei pretended to ''hang up''. If there was something the Third Master of the Xi family was impressive at, it was the way he could put on a pretense. He could fool anyone, literally. Anyone, but his brother and Rong Xinghe. Those two were too smart to fall for his acts.

    "How have you been, Wei?", Huang Biu asked, her tone polite, "It has been so long since we met."

    "Yeah.", Xi Wei nodded, as he took the woman''s right hand and kissed the back of it, akin to a gentleman, "I have been perfectly fine, Ms. Biu. What about you?"

    "Look at your manners! I am ttered.",ughed Huang Biu.

    By the time Xi Wei was done distracting the woman, the two girls had already said their goodbyes to Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah. Rong Xinghe promised to visit them again. She wanted to.

    "Should we really leave him there?", Xi Ying asked when the womanmanded her to drive and told her to not wait for the man stuck inside.

    Rong Xinghe nodded, "That will be his punishment for being so reckless."

    __________

    3:00 p.m., Zhi Corporations'' Headquarters ;

    Rong Xinghe had something to discuss with Zhi Al. About Qui Chin. And her social media history. She wanted to dig some dirt on her, obviously. So en route to his apartment, the girl had texted him about her arrival.

    "I am in the office.", he had messaged back, "Another lecture from Bro Zhi Xi." There was a crying emoji at the end of the text.

    Eventually, the girl had to turn the car around and head towards the Zhi Corps'' main office. It didn''t really look like she needed his help. She was the one helping here, instead. And this was more of a rescue operation.

    The girl stepped into the office and nodded lightly at the staff, gesturing them to sit back down, as she rushed towards Zhi Xi''s office hurriedly.

    "I don''t know what to do with you, Al. Seriously.", she heard her brother yelling, "Just for the sake of fun, how could you hack into our rivals'' official websites? I can''t believe you would act so immaturely. This move of yours could put you behind the bars, you know? I mean, grow up for once, Al."

    "You don''t even have the proof of me hacking into their systems, brother!", Zhi Al sighed.

    "That is the proof, Zhi Al !", the man narrowed his eyes at his brother, "Having no proof is the only proof, in your case, Mr. Smartass ! Do you really think you can fool me, Al? I have watched you vandalizing websites and creating them since you were four, for your information. So don''t even try that with me."

    "Okay. I am sorry. I was just bored.", Zhi Al raised his hands up in surrender, "Can I leave now? I have a date with Mian."

    It was a straight no. Rong Xinghe could tell Zhi Xi''s reply just by one nce at him. He really nned to teach the man a lesson this time. He seemed pissed, too infuriated to let go of the matter. Hence, it was her cue, the girl concluded, to save her bro Al.

    "Brother !", Rong Xinghe strode in, "I need some coffee. Now."

    Zhi Xi was taken aback by the sudden appearance of the girl, "When did youe? Wait... you went to visit the Xis''. Right?How was it?"

    "It was... peaceful. Well, they were sweet. His parents don''t seem to have any objections. Regarding me. Or ''us''.", the girl answered, "Can we talk about the rest of it over coffee. Please? My head is aching real bad."

    "What ?! Did you forget to take the medicines today ?", Zhi Xi furrowed his brows and cupped the girl''s face, trying to feel the temperature of her body, "Is it too severe? Do you need medical attention? Al, give me my phone. I will just--"

    "Bro, no!", the girl shook her head violently. She should''ve thought it through before faking a headache, in front of them. It''s a sin, the girl noted down mentally. To lie about headaches, just after you''ve gone through a migraine stroke.

    "I need coffee. That is it. I didn''t miss any pill. And no, I don''t need doctors.", the girl smiled, "I want coffee. in, simple coffee. Okay?"

    "Oh, okay. Just coffee.", the man took a deep breath, "Do you want me to prepare it for you myself?"

    "Of course! A Tripple Mocha.", nodded the girl.

    "Let''s go to the office canteen. I can prepare some snacks too, then.", the man smiled back, then turning to look at Zhi Al, "What happened today should never happen again. Do you understand? You can leave now. For your date."

    "But I want to listen about the Xis'' too!", Zhi Al muttered.

    "You''ve lost the chance.", Zhi Xi chuckled, knowing very well how gossipy his brother was, "It''s just me and Xinghe and the food now. Shoo!"

    Rong Xinghe couldn''t help butugh out at the two men. Fighting to spend time with her and her twin. It used to happen a lot, when they were kids. It was as if that part of them never really grew up. As if the kids inside them were eternal. And she loved it like that. She preferred it like that.

 Chapter 330: "I hate it when we fight. Even if its fake."

    Chapter 330: "I hate it when we fight. Even if it''s fake."

    "So the Xis'' weren''t hostile towards you? That''s odd.", Zhi Xi furrowed his brows when the girl told him about her visit to the Xi Family Mansion, "I mean, as far as I know, Xi Chonglin and Luo Youyou would''ve definitely tried to stir up some trouble."

    "I didn''t really have the chance to meet them.", the girl said, nonchntly.

    "Oh. So there were just his parents.", the man started boiling the water in a kettle, "They are fine. Not cunning at all."

    "Yeah. I figured that."

    "So tell me more about that Huang Biu. Do you think she will make a move on Yuan?", the man asked.

    "Do you think I should ignore her? I mean I do trust Yuan. I know he wouldn''t hurt me, intentionally at least. But still, should I be cautious of her?", the girl asked back.

    "I think you should keep an eye on her. She is one of the Huangs. Trust me, with her skills and her potentials, she can cage any man''s heart. Or his mind.

    "Although I expect Yuan to be smarter than that, I would still suggest that you observe her. Silently. From a safe distance.", the man stated.

    "I understand.", Rong Xinghe agreed, "But what did you say about her skills?"

    "Well, she is an amazing businesswoman. Real Estate, Business administration, ounting, Human Resource Management. She has her quirks in all of those. She was trained along with her elder brother, who is believed to be inheriting the position of the President soon. Next month, probably. They say that the guy is ten times smarter than his sister."

    "How can Yuan not be attracted to someone as talented as her?", Rong Xinghe was beyond shocked, her eyes wide-open, "Just wow. She has been an admirer of him ever since they were students. What more, they''ve had so many opportunities to walk into each other. It''s hard to believe he never considered dating her."

    "What kind of a girlfriend are you, Kiddo?!", Zhi Xi scoffed, pinching the girl''s nose, "Shipping your man with some other woman. Useless!"

    "Hey!", the girl cried out, "It''s a genuine doubt. Come on, it isn''t like she isn''t hot."

    "If Xi Yuan chooses ''hot'' over you, he might as well stop calling me his mentor. You are more than hot. You are beautiful. And smart, and brave. Men would kill to be with a woman like you. And if that brat can''t see that, he is just a stupid moron."

    "Woah. Never knew you thought so highly of me.", the girl grinned, "Love you!"

    "Love you too, Kid.", the man grinned back, passing her a cup and a te, "Here. Your Triple Mocha. And the grilled sandwich."

    _________

    9:00 p.m., Lu Family Mansion ;

    "How was your day today?", Xi Yuan called again, after winding up his work, "Ying told me that you visited my parents today. How did it--"

    "Right. Like you care!", the girl rolled her eyes. It was time for some ''leg-pulling'', baby, the girl chuckled internally.

    The man was obviously not expecting something like that, "What happened?"

    "Nothing much. Just ran into your lover today.", the girl red at the man, infuriated, "You still love her, don''t you?"

    "What?!", Xi Yuan frowned, "Whom did you meet today? Emma ?"

    "Wow ! So there is an Emma too?!", the girl crossed her arms and raised her brows.

    "No! She is more of like an acquaintance. I was just trying to figure, who has ess to my family residence.", the man shook his head, "You tell me. Who wronged you today?"

    "Huang Biu."

    "Oh."

    "What ''oh'' ?!", the girl was enraged. What kind of reaction was that? Wasn''t he supposed to be, well, more reactive? Nervous? Surprised?

    "I got to know about all the smiles exchanged at the conference in Shanghai. And about all the ''handing over'' of wine sses during Mr. Charles'' engagement. How could you do this to me, Yuan? She even said that she was more than sure about your feelings for her. That''s betrayal, you know?", the girl acted downheartedly, as if she was in despair.

    The man sighed, "Okay. Listen to me. I smiled at her during that conference because she had just received an award, and she was constantly looking at me. I had to show some courtesy there. Not to mention, I genuinely appreciated her talent.

    "About the incident at Mr. Charles'' engagement, I had handed her the ss just casually. I had to attend to the Mayor of the state, who had just walked in. I didn''t even bother to check who had taken the ss from me then."

    "So... what about your feelings for her?"

    "She must have misunderstood those gestures, I am assuming.", the man shrugged, "Now, could you stop putting on that act of yours? Please?

    "As much as I''d like to y along with you, I still hate it when we fight. Even if it is fake."

    "You knew about it?", the girl was amused.

    "Of course. You have the habit of ying with your hair, whenever you pull off something like that. I know you, Sweetheart.", the man smiled, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

    "Right. Mr. Xi is not someone you fool.", the girl smiled wryly, her eyes fixed to the ground.

    Xi Yuan could tell she was upset. She looked upset. Dull. "What is it, Xinghe? Look at me."

    The girl looked at him. Definitely upset, he confirmed.

    "Tell me."

    "I was just wondering that do I even have the right to question you like that? I mean, I have had someone else. Before you. In my life. While you never even dated anyone. I am your first. Your first kiss. Your first love. Everything firsts. You''ve never given me a single reason to feel insecure.

    "Instead, it should be you. Questioning me. About my past. About him. Zhou Che. I''ve always been the ''messed up'' one in our rtionship. The one with history.", she could feel her palms covering with sweat.

    Xi Yuan remained silent for sometime before he spoke up finally, "Isn''t being ''messed up'' beautiful too? I fell for that very ''messed up'' you, you know? I''ve loved that girl."

 Chapter 331: The ultimate form of revenge

    Chapter 331: The ultimate form of revenge

    "Xinghe, you should stop doing this to yourself. Having a past is not a crime.", the man said, loosening his tie, "You had a rtionship before me. Big deal? You were emotionally attached to him. You were brave enough to love. As long as your past doesn''t affect your present, I won''t say a word. And what kind of a boyfriend would I be if I keep poking you about it? About your past rtionships.

    "Yourfort, your smiles and your safety. I am responsible for all of that. Not your sorrows. Or the tears.

    "I have one task. To love you. Like no one ever could. And I believe I am fulfilling that responsibility of mine pretty well?", the man raised his brows with a grin across his lips.

    "You are.", the girl could feel a lump forming in her throat, tears already flowing down her eyes, "Mom told me about your silly request at the hospital. How could you, Yuan?"

    "Wait... You are already addressing her as ''Mom''?"

    "Thank you, Baby.", the girl bit her lower lip, "For this. For asking me to visit them. I might sound crazy to you, but I felt like I found a home today."

    "There is nothing crazy about it, Xinghe.", the manughed his deep maizingugh, "You deserve this. You deserve a home. And I am d you liked them."

    "They love you too, Yuan. And they miss you. Can''t you just forgive them?", the girl asked, her voice more of a whisper. She knew she was stepping into his personal territory. "Can''t you just talk to them?"

    "I talk to them."

    "Not like a son. You don''t talk. You conversate. There is a difference.", the girl corrected, "You are the President of Xi Corporations when you are with them. You are not... you."

    Xi Yuan stared at the girl for some time silently, before he shook his head, "You won''t understand."

    "Is it even possible for your Xinghe to not understand you?", the girl asked, "Tell me, Bub. What is troubling you? What is pulling you back?"

    "Well...", the man inhaled, "I can''t talk to them. I want to. But I can''t. Although they had no involvement in my grandparents'' death, a part of me still mes them for it. The fifteen-year-old child still mes them for it.

    "Xinghe, they died with grief and pain in their eyes. Instead of their two sons, and daughters-inw, and grandkids, they were surrounded by some bloody assassins when they breathed theirst. They never deserved such a cruel death. And I could only me my parents and my Uncle-Aunt for it. I still me them.

    "I know my Mom and Dad weren''t at fault. It''s just that--"

    "You are afraid that you met end up hurting them. That you would say something you aren''t supposed to say. And that you would drift apart from them even more. Right?", she knew it. The only reason behind his contemtions could be his fear. Fear of messing up everything. Fear of not being able to fix it back.

    Unable to say anything, the man simply nodded.

    "Yuan... you will be fine. You won''t ruin it. They are your parents. They will understand even if you me them. They know you me them."

    "I am not ready, Xinghe. For this. For any of this.", the man shook his head, "Don''t. Just don''t even try."

    "Okay. I won''t push you to do anything.", the girl sighed, "Take all the time you need. Just remember one thing. I am there for you, whenever you need someone to talk to."

    "I know.", the man smiled, "Should we talk about something else now?"

    "Yeah.", the girl nodded, "Let''s talk about Sherlock Holmes."

    "What is your obsession with Sherlock Holmes?!"

    "I love him !"

    "Excuse me?"

    "Okay, not more than you. But I like the Holmes'' stories!"

    "We might be the only crazy couple reading detective stories. Others just watch ''Titanic'' or ''The Kissing Booth''."

    "We are not ''others''. We are Xinguan. We read ''The Hound of Baskervilles''. We watch hot detectives.", the girl countered. If not for Huang Biu, there was definitely going to be a fight for Sherlock Holmes tonight. It seemed like it.

    ___________________

    Meanwhile, City M;

    Sun Cheng had already left Qui Chin in the big house. Alone. Helpless. He wanted her to self-reflect and figure out a way to ''free'' his daughter from Lu Wei. He had already decided to divorce her.

    "The only reason I married you was that I thought you could protect my child. But clearly, you proved me wrong. There''s no point to keep you around. You will get the divorce papers soon. When that timees, sign them.", he had said before he had left.

    Nothing seemed to happen good to hertely. Everything! Every little thing was like a dagger being staked right through her heart. Her child had been kidnapped. Her husband was divorcing her. Every project she had been working on had been called off. No one was ready to help her. Her friends, her agency, or even the directors she had slept with, in order to get to where she was today.

    As she thought of the head covered in blood, packed in that wooden box, a chill ran down her spine. For the thousandth time now. In a single day. Every time she used to hear the sound of a Police siren, she would hide behind the couch or in the washroom of the huge empty house. She was really scared. Petrified, to be exact.

    This was HER n. Rong Xinghe''s n. She loved to y with her prey, before she killed it. She enjoyed ying with one''s mind, their brain. It was the ultimate form of revenge, she believed. The fright. The thrill of knowing that the very thought of you can terrify someone to their core. This was the kind of revenge she preferred.

    She simply asked Xi Wei to cklist Qui Chin. She was well aware of his influence in the entertainment industry, after all. Xi Corporations ruled over almost every important business sector in Country X. Frontline Illumination was one of Xi Corporations'' subsidiarypanies. It was the mightiest entertainment agency in Country X currently. Xi Yuan didn''t care about the agency even a bit. So he had trusted Xi Wei with it, instead of just shutting it off. And surprisingly, the young man was a born talent at it. He had developed it so well that the majority of the entertainment industry bowed down to the Xis'' today.

    As a result, when the Frontline Illumination cklisted Qui Chin, no one dared to work with her. This was Rong Xinghe''s n for her that day. A mere exchange of words with her to be brother-inw, and the woman was jobless.

    And yet, this was just the beginning of her destruction.

 Chapter 332: "Not the same, Honey."

    Chapter 332: "Not the same, Honey."

    Next morning, 8:30 a.m. ;

    "Aniii... Bii... bii..."

    Rong Xinghe woke up to the sound of a child beside her. The girl adjusted her eyes to the lighting from the window before she sat up straight and looked at the baby. It was her lovely niece. Lu Alix.

    The little girl was holding onto her index finger with her whole of the hand, her eyes beaming with exuberance. It looked like only the two of them were awake then so early in the morning. Wait... her bro Lu used to workout in the gym during this time as well.

    "Where is Dadda, Sweetie?", the girl asked the baby, pulling her up on herp.

    Lu Alix couldn''t speak. She was merely eleven months old, after all. But she was still Lu Wei and Ningtao''s daughter. She was smart enough to understand what her Aunt was saying. In response, the child simply turned her head to fix her gaze upon the window of the room.

    Rong Xinghe read the earnest expression upon the girl''s face and raised her brows, "So Dadda has gone out for jogging? Interesting."

    Little Alix pped her hands, and thenughed, and then pped some more.

    "What should we do then? Dance? No. No dance. Nothing that requires music. Mom will wake up. And we shouldn''t disturb her sleep.", the girl exined the kid, "Cooking? No. Dadda will kill your Aunt then. Yes ! I know exactly what we should do."

    _____________

    Lu Wei returned back after running 15 rounds around the stadium ground behind his Mansion, by 9:00 a.m. The man ced the carton of milk he bought on his way back on the dining table and turned to head towards the baby room. He had a habit of checking up on his princess every morning, after returning from exercise. Most of the time, both Lu Alix and Ningtao would be found asleep by this time. They only wake up after 10 a.m.

    But to his horror, Little Alix''s crib was empty today! He knew that Lu Alix had started to crawl now. She could even jump down the crib, so he had ced cotton mattresses around the wooden cot. He was sure that the child wasn''t hurt. But where did she go?! The man''s eyes wandered around the room, but the child was nowhere to be seen. His brain started to think of every possible ce in the house where Lu Alix could hide and he checked each one of it.

    The man was about to rush out of the house when he heard the sounds ofughter resounding through the other end of the living hall. The man turned around and furrowed his brows. He was more than sure that it was Rong Xinghe. The man followed the sound before he stopped right outside the Tech room. Lu Alix was sitting beside Rong Xinghe and a VR headset was covering both the girls'' eyes. The moment the man took in the sight of his daughter, safe and sound, he let out the breath he was holding, for who knows how long, and relief flooded through his heart.

    Apparently, the two girls were watching some cartoon movie. A hrious motion picture, which justified their giggles andughter. No matter how much he wished to twist their ears for almost giving him a heart attack, he couldn''t deny that this was an adorable sight to witness. How cute!

    "Damn! My precious babies.", a soft voice came from behind Lu Wei.

    The man was so shocked that he didn''t even turn aroundpletely before he clutched his T-shirt above his chest, "Everyone needs to stop giving me heart attacks, for god''s sake!"

    Ningtao couldn''t help butugh out at the man''s expression, "You were really worried earlier, weren''t you? I am so sorry, Mr. Lu. Come here."

    The man squinted his eyes at the woman and pulled her in a tight hug. "Do you want to join me in the kitchen?", he askedter, "I am going to make breakfast for all of you."

    "I would never miss the chance to check you out, Hubby.", the woman winked mischievously. Lu Wei shook his head and leaned down, picked her up from the wheelchair and then carried her to the kitchen carefully.

    "How long do you think it would take for you to start walking again?", he asked.

    "Is Mr. Lu trying to tell that I am too heavy to carry around?", the woman asked back with a pout.

    "Of course not. I would never get tired of carrying you around.", the man argued, "I just hate to see you on that wheelchair."

    __________________

    2:30 p.m., City M ;

    "Yes.", the woman''s voice resounded through the house weakly, "I want... to book the next flight avable for City A."

    She had called the airlines. She had to do it. She couldn''t sit by idly, while her world and her carrier crumbled around her. As she stared at the stack of documents in her hands, she couldn''t help but feel vengeful and betrayed. He had really sent the Divorce papers!

    It wasn''t like this had happened for the first time in the entertainment industry. Many celebrities had been used of wrongly and many had been killed before; and people had moved on from that. Then what was the issue with the Superfamily? How was Ningtao any different from those celebrities? Why did Rong Xinghe wish to destroy her so desperately?!

    She couldn''t sit here, waiting for death. She had to get the answers to her questions. And she had to fight. For herself. For her child.

    Only if she knew she was making things easier for Rong Xinghe...

    ____________________

    4:00 p.m., Lu Family Mansion;

    "May we see Military Chief, President Lu ?", an army officer, someone important, maybe a Lieutenant, asked as soon as Lu Wei opened the door.

    "Sure.", the man nodded, allowing the man in, "But isn''t she--"

    "Off duty? Yes. She still is.", the man in his early thirties cut-in, "Actually, we were working on a mission before the Prime Minister issued the orders regarding her leave. I needed to get some information about it."

    "I will get her. Please wait."

    "What is going on?", Rong Xinghe walked in before the man could ring her room. Her eyes thennded upon the soldier standing beside the couch.

    "Long live Country X, Military Chief!", the man saluted.

    "You are..."

    "Lieutenant Feng. President promoted me two days after you were given the leave. I am just here for some documents, Ma''am."

    The girl thought for sometime before she smiled gently, "Sure. Have a seat. I will get them for you."

    Lu Wei returned back with two cups of coffee and passed a cup to the Officer, "So how is it like? Working with her?"

    "Oh. The Military Chief?", the man smiled, "All the forces look up to her. She is an amazing leader. The way she can predict the next move of her enemies is just incredible."

    "So how many missions have you worked upon?", the man questioned, sipping his coffee.

    "I hail from the Naval Forces, Sir. It''s mostly a half-year duty. But I have been working for more than ten years in-- urgh!"

    At this time, a sharp metal surface pierced through the man''s chest and went on right through the man''s heart, blood covering the cold knife. The man''s eyes widened as he grabbed onto the killer''s hand with a strong grip. He then lifted his head up to look at his attacker.

    "Imic State. Country X''s Naval Forces. Not the same, Honey.", Rong Xinghe twisted the knife, her expression cold and solemn, "Brave of you to think you could pull this one-off. My memory is too sharp to forget the face of a terrorist."

 Chapter 333: "Arent you done playing with her yet?"

    Chapter 333: "Aren''t you done ying with her yet?"

    "What the hell?!", Lu Wei stood up, cing the cup over the table in front of him, pulling his phone out from the pocket of his trousers, "Tao, don''t bring Alix out of the bedroom until I tell you. Okay?"

    "What is going on?"

    "I will exinter.", said the man before he disconnected the call.

    He then stared at the dead body lying over the couch. And then at the girl in front of him. This was the first time Lu Wei had seen his sister as a Military authority. Although it was hard to take in, he knew who she was. He knew what she was. Eventually, after roughly three minutes of silence, he had to shake off his thoughts.

    "How did you know he wasn''t an officer?", he asked the girl.

    "Well, for starters, it''s the Military protocol. In the absence of the Military Chief, the President isn''t supposed to change the people working on any running operation.", the girl replied, leaving the dagger in the man''s chest, "Secondly, soldiers aren''t allowed to bring their guns in front of the Military Chief of the country. Yet, he had the nerves toe here, fully equipped. Andstly, I recognized his face. One of the best in ISI."

    "That was... observant.", the man raised his brows, then cleared his throat, "And how are we going to dispose of the body?"

    "You would help me do it?", the girl was stupefied for a moment, "I mean, I just created a mess. For you."

    "Does that change the fact that you are my sister?", the man frowned, "I can''t just let you exhaust yourself over something this trivial. My men will do it. You just rest."

    "It won''t be necessary.", the girl smiled and lifted her right hand up in the air, clicking her fingers thrice. Next second, five men appeared at the doorsteps of the house.

    "Everything alright, Military Chief?", one of them asked, their tone robotic. Clearly, they were trained soldiers, wearing civilian clothes.

    "Mostly. Could you get rid of the body?", the girl asked, turning around, checking her wristwatch, "I will give you all, fifteen minutes to clear the dirt."

    "On it, Ma''am.", the men saluted and rushed inside the house, towards the body.

    "They..."

    "I am off-duty. I am not fired, brother.", the girlughed, "Of course, the Forces would protect their head."

    Lu Wei followed behind the girl silently. He simply didn''t know what to say.

    "What? Hated this, didn''t you? Me killing people.", the girl asked.

    "No.", the man replied, "I would never hate you, Kiddo. It''s just that... I don''t know how to express how proud I am of you. Of what you have be. They aren''t people, Xinghe. They are monsters. I couldn''t care less about them.

    "You are doing it the right way, Kid. Don''t worry about what I think, Okay? We knew this from the very beginning. The moment you decided to step into the Combat Services, we knew this was bound to happen. You are fighting against the darkest faces of crime, after all.

    "If anything, I am astounded. And relieved, knowing that my sister is capable of protecting herself. I love you. Always remember that. Alright?"

    "I love you too, bro Lu.", the girl smiled.

    At this time, Rong Xinghe received a call and she picked it up without checking the number. As she listened to the message, a smirk appeared across her lips subconsciously and she nced at her brother. The girl then ended the call and turned to head towards the dining room.

    "Guess who just booked a flight to City A?"

    "Qui Chin.", the man smiled.

    "My brother, indeed!", the girl chuckled.

    "Aren''t you done ying with her yet?", the man sighed, "Just get over with it."

    "Maybe you are right. I am getting bored now. She is not even capable of putting up a fight. It''s like squashing an ant.", the girl agreed.

    "Where are you going now?", the man looked at the girl quizzically as she picked up her sling bag and rested it around her shoulder, walking towards the main door.

    "Shopping."

    "You? And shopping? Who are you kidding?"

    "I am going with Ying. She is all crazy about the new collection of cosmetics. And I need to get a new set of novels. Since I am jobless for the next few days, I might as well read something.", the dy devil'' informed, closing the door behind her.

    ______________________

    6:00 p.m., Sunrise tinum Mall, City A ;

    "You are amazing, Sister-inw! You could recognize the enemy at one nce. Brilliant! No doubt my brother is in love with you. You are truly thebination of Beauty, Brains, and Bravery, altogether.", Xi Ying sped her hands excitedly when the girl told her about the incident at her brother''s ce.

    "Stop it, Ying. Don''t tter me too much. And could you keep your voice down, please?", the girl requested helplessly. She was wearing a mask, trying her best to conceal her identity. But Xi Ying was making it difficult for her to do so. Almost every person present in the bookstore had their gazes fixed upon them.

    "Okay. I get it.", Xi Ying nodded, adjusting her own mask, "But don''t you think it was to easy for him to get into the house? What if--"

    "It won''t happen again.", the girl cut her off, "It was my fault. I should''ve seen thising already. But with Yuan leaving for Mexico, and my migraine pain, I didn''t get enough time to think about my brothers'' security.

    "Anyway, I have had word with the Prime Minister a few hours ago. Everyone associated with me is in the ''risk'' loop, whether they want it or not. So appropriate security measures will be taken obviously."

    "That''s good.", Xi Ying nodded.

    While the twodies explored their favorite genres of books, an unexpected figure appeared behind them. Behind Rong Xinghe, specifically. Wearing a long ck coat. And heeled shoes. His hands stuffed in both his pockets.

    He was one of the staff in the mall. His in blue shirt gave that away. But his eyes said otherwise. Those dark glinting barbaric eyes could only reflect one thing. Danger. Peril.

    The assumption could be further confirmed by theElite fixed debat knife in his right fist, held tightly, skillfully. Akin to a professional.

    There was no way his intentions were, in any sense, harmless. For the girl.

 Chapter 334: This was the old him.

    Chapter 334: This was the ''old'' him.

    Xi Ying was obviously unknown to the threat standing right behind her Sister-inw. Neither was Rong Xinghe expecting an attack. At least, not in a crowded mall, with thousands of people, and the CCTV cameras. And even if she knew, she was not that physically strong yet, as to fight a professionally trained assassin. It hadn''t even been a week since she had gone through the migraine stroke. And although it was mostly a neurological disorder, it affected the strength of the human body as well.

    Earlier, she was able to execute the terrorist just because she took him by surprise. He hadn''t seen iting. Otherwise, even the three Military Forces knew that the girl needed to retrain before she took over the position of the Military Chief again.

    A few secondster, the man pulled out thebat knife and stretched his wrist, for the sake of ease. He then took a step back and charged towards the girl with horrifying swiftness.

    URGH!

    A groan resounded throughout the silent bookstore, rming almost every individual. Even Xi Ying. And Rong Xinghe. The two women turned around. To look at the man lying on the floor, blood trickling down his lower abdomen. And then at the man standing above, ring down at the beast. His fists were clenched, his eyes aze with rage.

    "Che...", his name slipped Rong Xinghe''s lips, reflexively.

    The man then lifted his head up and fixed his gaze at her. The woman who once, was his. Ever since he had known about the truth behind Zhou Zhichen''s death, he had been trying to contact her. He used to call the Military headquarters almost every day, and he used to dial her family too. But it was literally impossible to reach her. Until she wished to see him, or it was a coincidence. And indeed a coincidence this was. She would never want to meet him willingly. She hated him and he knew that.

    "Are you alright, Xinghe?", the man asked. His bodyguards had surrounded the ce by then and were trying to pacify the panicked public.

    Xi Ying raised her eyebrows slightly. How dare this man address her Sister-inw so intimately? And how did he knew that it was Rong Xinghe? She was clearly wearing the mask. Unless he had been following them...

    "I am fine.", Rong Xinghe''s voice soon interrupted the girl''s thoughts, "What are you doing here?"

    Zhou Che smiled at the girl, "I wasn''t stalking you. Don''t worry. I had a meeting with one of my clients here. I was passing by when I saw this man, all prepared to stab you. I didn''t even know that you were the target."

    Rong Xinghe nodded her head and squatted down, got her revolver out from her sling bag and pointed it against the attacker''s forehead.

    "Who sent you?", she asked.

    "Spare yourself the trouble and kill me already.", the manughed, like a maniac.

    "Close your eyes, Ying.", Rong Xinghe ordered the girl, her tone stern. The girl, naturally, followed hermand and shut her eyes close quickly.

    BAM!

    Rong Xinghe then stood up and tucked the gun back into her bag and grabbed Xi Ying''s wrist. She then rushed out of the bookstore, gesturing the soldiers in civil uniforms to take care of the body. But before she could leave his line of sight, Zhou Che caught up to her.

    "I want to talk, Xinghe.", he stood in her way.

    "I think there is nothing to talk about.", the girl shook her head, "If this is about what happened today, don''t bother. I will keep you out of this. And yes, thank you. You did save my life."

    "It''s about Zhou Zhichen. I want to--"

    "me me again. For his death. I know it.", the girl waved her handzily, "But I am left with no strength to listen to all those usations again. Just let me go."

    "I won''t.", the man held onto the girl''s arms, his grip firm, "I can''t let you go. I was stupid to let you go years ago. I wouldn''t let that happen again.

    "I need to apologize to you, Xinghe! Today. No matter what."

    The moment she listened to Zhou Che''s words, the girl froze right where she was standing. Why was he talking like that? It wasn''t him. It wasn''t the person who had nothing but resentment and contempt for her, in his heart.

    She was no more sure of anything. This was the first time Zhou Che had been so polite and soft towards her. Unlike his usual cold, vengeful gaze; his eyes were filled with guilt and regrets today. This was the ''old'' him. What the hell was going on, she wondered.

    As he looked at the girl''s muddled expression, Zhou Che''s features softened gradually, "I know you were trying to help him. You were taking him to rehab. And that you wanted to tell me about his addiction as well. But he..."

    Rong Xinghe silently listened to the man before she cut in, calmly, "I don''t... I don''t have time for this. I should go, Che."

    "No please. Don''t.", the man resisted, his eyes bloodshot, tears already flowing down them, "Can''t things go back to how they were? I promise I will make it up to you. One chance. Just give me one chance."

    "There is no ''we'', Che.", the girl said, her tone robotic, "You killed ''we'' seven years ago. Do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound right now?! Stop being childish and back off. Now."

    "Xinghe, I... Alright, I will go. But just keep this.", the man sighed and handed over a piece of paper to the girl, "This was Zhichen''sst note. He left it for us. I believe you would want to read it.

    "Zhichen was someone we both cared about. He was my brother. And he was your friend. You deserve to know this. You deserve to know his thoughts, just a few minutes before he died.

    " So I am leaving this with you.

    "Xinghe, I will be leaving for Japan tomorrow. I will return back a weakter, probably. Before I go, I want you to know something.Our past. That one year. It was the best time of my life.

    "Take your time and give it some thought. Read this letter and consider the possibility of ''us'' again. If you ever have any questions to ask, doubts to clear, things to tell; I will be a phone call away. Okay?

    The man then took a few steps back, and smiled at the woman, "I still love you, Xinghe. I could never bring myself to stop doing that. It''s just too difficult to stop loving someone like you, you know?"

 Chapter 335: "What can I say? I tend to fall for my bartenders."

    Chapter 335: "What can I say? I tend to fall for my bartenders."

    "So are you going to read it?", the first thing Rong Xinghe did when she reached Lu Family Mansion was to call her darling, tell him all about it. The man was signing some documents when he picked up her call. But when he realized that the girl was anxious about something, he let go of the stack of papers and listened to her attentively. Although he didn''t like the idea of Zhou Che meeting his woman, he didn''t trouble the girl about it. Instead, he tried to calm the girl down.

    He knew she wasn''t interested in Zhou Che. He hoped she wasn''t. But as far as Zhou Zhichen was concerned, the girl used to still miss him. He was once her friend, after all.

    "I don''t know. Yuan, it''s Zhichen.", the girl held onto the letter tightly, her tone nervous, "He wrote this minutes before his death. I don''t think I will be able to read how he couldn''t control his urge to gulp down those damned pills. I can''t read how he couldn''t fight the drug cravings."

    "Hey, Xinghe. Honey, it''s okay.", Xi Yuan whispered, softly, "You don''t have to if you don''t want to. Okay? Take all the time you need."

    The girl just nodded at the man obediently and ced the letter in the drawer of her side table, and closed it. She then picked up theptop from the coffee table and sat down on the bed.

    "One hell of a day it was, wasn''t it?", the man quipped, after some time, "Two encounters. Qui Chin is in City A. A normal day for the Military Chief."

    "And... running into the ex-boyfriend.", the girl remarked.

    "What about him?", the man smiled, trying his best to not give away anything that was going on in his heart.

    "Come on, Yuan. You know you want to talk about it.", the girl rolled her eyes, "Do you really think I didn''t notice you clenching your jaws when I mentioned him earlier? What is it?"

    Xi Yuan stared at the girl with surprise before he let out an inaudible scowl, "Why do you know me so well?"

    "What is it, Bub?", the girl asked, her voice soft and mellow. She knew how to melt him just right!

    "Okay. I might be a tad bit jealous.", the man confessed.

    "I get it.", the girl smiled, "But there is nothing for you to feel jealous about. You have me. He doesn''t." And he never will have me, the girl pledged to herself. And to him.

    "What if he tries to impress you? I am not even there to put up a fair fight.", the manined.

    "He isn''t worthy, for you topete him."

    "What if he tries to win over your family?", the man posed another situation.

    "This rtionship requires my consent. Not my family''s."

    "So there is no chance for him.", the man grinned, his eyes ebullient.

    "In my heart? Nope. In my life? Never.", ensured Rong Xinghe.

    "I can''t believe I have made the most amazing woman in this world fall for me!", the manughed his small deepugh. Theugh that was music to her ears.

    "Well. What can I say? I tend to fall for my bartenders. A lot.", the girl winked.

    And then, the coupleughed some more. Next, they talked and discussed, about his work and her new book collection. About the lifestyle in Mexico, and about the girl''s ns for the next day. It was things like these that helped them feel close, even though they were miles apart from each other. They never used to get bored. And they never ran out of topics to talk about.

    Soon, as they talked for roughly two hours, the man realized that there was nothing for him to feel insecure about. Zhou Che was her past. And he was her present. He knew her. He knew the best version of her. Like no one ever could.

    She could hold onto her past for a long time, but once she let go of it, she would never turn around and look back at it. Just like what happened with Rongs. She never even talked about those monsters, those psychos, anymore.

    When it came to moving on from someone, his Xinghe was one ruthless and insensitive individual. She never bothered to make the same mistakes again.

    ______________

    Next Morning, 8:00 a.m. ;

    Rong Xinghe woke up in the early morning and changed into a tank top and yoga pants. Shortly after, she headed towards her brother''s private gym. She knew she had to start working out someday eventually. Not to mention, one week more and she had to take over as the Military Chief again. It was better to regain her lost physical strength as soon as possible, in that case.

    The girl plugged in her AirPods and climbed up on the treadmill. She adjusted the speed before she checked up on Qui Chin''s location. She had already asked Sun Cheng to nt a tracking chip in her phone.

    Apparently, the woman was staying put in a hotel near the Elite Premises. She seemed to have assumed that Rong Xinghe was living in the Elite Diamond Penthouse, her private residence.

    For some unknown reason, that impressed the girl. As she jogged, she couldn''t help but appreciate Qui Chin''s research skills. Not many people knew about Rong Xinghe''s personal properties. Yet, she was able to discover something like that. In such a short span of time. It was a shame she had to die so soon.

    At this time, the woman''s phone rang up and she tapped her right AirPod to get through, "Who is it?"

    "It''s me, Military Chief, Shou Wu.", the old man''s voice came through the other end.

    "Good Morning, Mr. Shou! Did you get to know anything about those two men? Who the hell were they?", the girl asked.

    "Yes. They weren''t terrorists, Military Chief. And none of them hailed from ISI. The one who attacked you at the Lus'' was indeed trained under the Imic State, but had escaped from there years ago. That''s why you were able to recognize him. You''ve had seen his photo from eleven years back.", the man reported.

    "I see.", the girl muttered, "So who were they exactly?"

    "I know this is odd, but they both had one thing inmon. They had their left ear pierced, twice. And there were three dots tattooed below the nape of their necks."

    "How is it even possible?", the girl furrowed her brows, "Didn''t the organization vanished years ago? And how are they rted to me?"

    "I don''t know about any of that, Chief. But I am afraid that this has the ''Bleeding Avenues'' written all over it. As unbelievable as this sounds, it''s clear they never vanished. They hid.", the man stated the matter-of-factly, "The real question is, why are they targetting you?"

 Chapter 336: A woman way too cunning

    Chapter 336: A woman way too cunning

    The ''Bleeding Avenues'' was one of the most dangerous, vicious underworld gangs out there. With a history of more than fifty years, this organization was known mostly for human trafficking and forgery. But roughly twenty years ago, the organization had started assassinating and kidnapping, and that was weird. Most importantly, they never asked for ransoms. Instead, they used to record the videos of their targets being tortured to death and send it to their families or their hirers, which was brutal enough. Anyhow, it wasn''t the only noteworthy thing about the ''Bleeding Avenues''. The gang was able to keep their anonymity intact, from beginning to the end, whatsoever. They were akin to wind, swift and smooth.

    Then, roughly ten years ago, the organization had disappeared, out of nowhere. All of a sudden, their activities hade to halt back then. During that duration, there were many underworld feuds going on, so almost everyone had concluded that the ''Bleeding Avenues'' wereunable to survive them.

    Naturally, no one could''ve imagined that they would reappear someday. What more, they intended to target the highest Military Authority of Country X, the moment they returned back. It wasn''t trivial. Rong Xinghe had many enemies. Many. Thousands, in fact. But not everyone had ess to her exact location and her schedule, the way they did.

    "What are we going to do, Military Chief?", Shou Wu asked, as he wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead away.

    "Dig more. Get all the information you can about them.", the girlmanded, her tone solemn, "Also, tighten the security around the Superfamily. And, the Xis'' too. Specifically, the Xi siblings."

    "What about President Xi, Chief? Do we need to activate our agents in Mexico too?", the old man asked.

    "That would be appreciated.", the girl nodded, "Keep me posted throughout the investigation. Alright?"

    "Understood."

    The girl then disconnected the call and stopped the treadmill, grabbed her hand towel and jumped down the machine. She then strode inside the Lu Family Mansion and grabbed a seat on a couch, in the living room. The more she thought about it, the more she felt something amiss. Something told her, this wasn''t going to be easy. Her instincts told her that something worse was about to happen. But she couldn''t point exactly what.

    At this time, a pair of warm hands squeezed the girl''s shoulders. Subconsciously, the girl rxed a little and closed her eyes, resting her head against the back of one of the two hands. She could sense the person standing behind her. He was safe. He was harmless. She knew it.

    "What are you doing so early in the morning?", Mo Zixuan asked, his voice more of a whisper.

    "Went to the gym. Could kill for a cup of coffee right now.", the girl replied back tiredly.

    "I can arrange that.", the manughed, "Come on,"

    ___________

    "How have you been, Bro Mo?", the girl asked, as she looked at her brother chopping vegetables while she sipped her coffee.

    "I have been fine, Kiddo. Just busy with work.", the man answered, "Hey, um I wanted to talk to you about something."

    "Sure.", the girl straightened her back when she noticed the man''s earnest expression.

    "Would it be too crazy if I propose to Cheng Tai now?"

    "Wait are we talking about", the girl''s eyes widened the moment the man nodded his head at her.

    "I want to marry her.", the man smiled and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

    Next second, the girl jumped off the dining table she was sitting on and hugged the man, as tightly as she could.

    "Oh okay. Let''s hug it out first.", Mo Zixuan let out a helplessugh, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

    "I can''t believe this. That''s a fantastic news!", the girl smiled, "I always thought you were afraid ofmitments."

    "I was. Actually, I was afraid of having a home and then the possibility of it getting snatched away from me. I never had Mom and Dad, you know? Some insecurities just stay, in your mind.", the man exined.

    "I understand."

    "But then Tai came. And everything changed. I guess I am not afraid anymore. At least, not that much."

    "That''s great. My fifth brother is going to get married!", the girl grinned at the man, "Let''s talk about your proposal first."

    "Ah! The proposal. Let''s keep it simple this time, Xinghe. Nothing grand, or huge. I want this to be about ''us''."

    "Okay. It''s important for you two, to befortable. We will just reveal it on social mediater. Like bro Su''s proposal.", the girl agreed, "Tell Xiao toe here, tonight. And the other five too. Sisters-inw as well. There is going to be quite a discussion about this, Mr. Mo."

    "As thedy''s wish."

    _____________________

    The Pacific Hotel, Elite Premises, 12:30 p.m. ;

    While Rong Xinghe and Rong Xiao were busy nning a proposal for their bro Mo, a certain someone''s life had just turned upside down. In the blink of an eye.

    It hadn''t been long since a young boy had knocked onto her door, handed her a sealed brown envelope and walked away. Maybe an hour or so. She was expecting some information about Rong Xinghe from her agents. Although she found the method of delivery slightly odd, she still opened it. She couldn''t believe it when the contents of the envelope were revealed to her eyes. This was horrifying. Frightening. Those pictures had the ability to destroy her career, her future, and her life. in one go. All at once.

    Those photos came with a note. A note from HER.

    "I am impressed, Ms. Qui. What an sl*t! Sleeping with your directors and producers and then ckmailing them for money, or a role. Well... I am guessing you wouldn''t want these pictures to get leaked to the journalists. Now, what if I tell you that Media Ma Mo Zixuan would love to dedicate a news bulletin to your past?

    "You have seen him, Chin. His sharp tongue. His cruel usations. His roasts. You wouldn''t want him to disclose your true face to the entire country, would you? Screw the public, the entertainment industry will gulp you down whole the moment they get to know about this.

    "So let me tell you what to do next. Reach the address given below by 4:00 p.m. sharp. There will be some people waiting for you there. I promise they will treat you the way you deserve to be treated"

    As for what those men intended to do to her, Rong Xinghe didn''t mention a word about it. This woman way too cunning!

 Chapter 337: Unlike Qui Chin, she wasnt a criminal

    Chapter 337: Unlike Qui Chin, she wasn''t a criminal

    Qui Chin had no other choice but to follow Rong Xinghe''s arrangements. She couldn''t risk those pictures getting leaked. Not to someone like Mo Zixuan. ''Casting Couch'' was a practice looked down upon the most, in Country X. Although it wasn''t a crime, it wasn''t something socially eptable too.

    As a result, the woman soon reached the location provided to her in the piece of paper. It was an alley. Eerie. Dark. Awful. And old. It was as if no one ever came here. Located at the edge of the city. The closest Police Station was 800 meters away from there. It wasn''t like she could contact the Police anyway. She was, after all, against the Military head of the entire country. She knew they would never believe her.

    A chill ran down her spine as a cold gust of wind hit her from behind. The woman rubbed her arms, trying topose herself. Then walked in, her legs shivering.

    She kept walking. It was like no one was even there. She was hoping no one was there. At a ce like this, no one ''decent'' could be there. She had been to such a ce earlier too. Many times. Willingly. With her own consent. But today was different. She was forced into this.

    "Why is that sl*t not here yet?!"

    A voice, clearly impatient, broke her from her reverie. Qui Chin''s back straightened and she stopped right where she was. At the end of the alley, there were three men. They had beer bottles in their hands. She couldn''t see their faces. It was too dark. Only their tall figures could be seen, from where she was.

    They were drunk. None of them in their senses. She couldn''t go in there. Who knew what they would do to her?

    But it was toote for that. The second the woman turned around, a strong hand wrapped around her waist with frightening speed, and pulled her against a built body. She could smell the alcohol of him. And she could hear themugh. He leaned against her just enough and licked her ear.

    "You arete.", he whispered, "Do you remember Marie Stewart? The woman you got drugged? The little actress you got raped?"

    Qui Chin froze the moment the name was mentioned. Her mind told her to run. Her legs didn''t dare respond. She knew she had done a lot of wrong deeds. She wasn''t exactly a nice person. But she never left behind the shreds of evidence of her crimes. She had always been good at that. Howe Just what was Rong Xinghe?!

    "Well. Fun fact. I am her brother. Robert Stewart.", the man smiled, "Marie was found dead. In an alley, just like this one."

    Next, she knew, something hard hit her. Against the back of her head. And everything turned dark. This was it. This was her end. She dered to herself before her eyes closed shut.

    Unfortunately, this was Rong Xinghe. This was her n. And unlike Qui Chin, she wasn''t a criminal. Her duty was to defend thew. Not to fabricate it.

    She wasn''t going to kill her, neither was she going to harm her honor. She was just ying. With her brain. Her mind.

    _____________

    2:00 a.m.

    "Urgh."

    Her entire body ached. Her heart was beating so rapidly, she could hear the sound of it. She opened her eyes slowly. It was still the alley. The lights still dim. No one wasughing. No one was drunk. Only she was there. Hardly breathing. But alive. It was miraculous, actually.

    She tried to sit. And after a lot of struggle, she could only manage to lean against the wall behind her. She knew she was drugged. It was painful. Like someone was stabbing her continuously, from the inside. She checked her arms. No wound. No blood. Not even a scratch.

    But she remembered. She had seen them. They had pped her. They had injected her. They had made her drink forcefully. Then they had unbuttoned her jeans. They had pulled it down.

    Subconsciously, the woman moved her legs. And damn! It hurt. This was it. She was not going to forgive Rong Xinghe for it. Qui Chin''s cries could be heard throughout the alley. Yet, no one came to help her. She was alone. She was all alone in this.

    What felt like an eternity of pain to her was merely two hours. The woman crawled out of the alley. She had lost her purse. She didn''t have her phone either. There was no one she could contact.

    But she saw someone as she stumbled out of the bushes. The man was smoking a cigarette. He was sitting on the hood of his car, reading some papers.

    "Excuse me, Sir.", Qui Chin walked hastily towards him.

    The man seemed taken aback for a minute when the woman appeared in front of him, out of nowhere. His gaze swept across her pale weak body before he looked at her with a warm smile.

    "What may I help you with, Ma''am?", he asked, his voice soft.

    Maybe he was a local. A loner. Not someone dangerous, at least. Thank god for that.

    "Police Station. Please drop me there."

    _____________________

    5:00 a.m., Police Headquarters, City A;

    "Keep yournguage in check, Madam!", the inspector warned the woman, "Do you even know who are you talking about? She is the Military Chief of the country. And you are using of her getting you sexually assaulted.

    "Do you even understand the consequences of defaming someone like Ms. Rong?"

    "I am not defaming her! I am telling the truth.", Qui Chin yelled back at the officer, "I am not afraid of her. She is a fu*king retard. Alright? And I know she was the one behind it."

    The young officer red at the woman before he inhaled sharply, "Alright. So you were harassed sexually. Right?"

    Qui Chin nodded.

    "Do you know the names of your rapists?"

    The woman clenched her fists and looked down at the ground, "Rob Robert Stewart.", her voice shook, tears flowing down her eyes.

    "What?!", the Police Inspector was shocked, "Are you sure?"

    The woman nodded, again.

    The officer named Cai Zhimin shook his head and let out a snort of disgust. He then typed something on the keyboard in front of him and turned the monitor screen around, so that Qui Chin could look at it clearly.

    "Robert Stewart, your rapist, has been dead for fifteen years now, Ms. Qui."

 Chapter 338: Much more ruthless than all six of them combined

    Chapter 338: Much more ruthless than all six of thembined

    Meanwhile, Lu Family Mansion ;

    "So you are telling me that you made Qui Chin believe that she was sexually abused. That she was defiled by your men.", Lu Wei asked the girl, his gaze incredulous.

    The Superfamily had gathered in the living room in order to discuss Mo Zixuan''s wedding arrangements not too long ago. It was only after they were done discussing it did Zhi Al enquired about the girl''s revenge against Qui Chin. Naturally, the girl updated them about everything, including Marie Stewart and Robert Stewart. It would''ve been an understatement to say that the six men weren''t surprised by their Kiddo''s ruthlessness. In fact, the girl''s Sisters-inw were beyond shocked.

    Rong Xinghe swept her gaze over her family and nodded indifferently. She then closed her eyes and leaned back, resting her head against her bro Mo''s shoulder.

    "But how?", Su Rogguang raised his brows, "How did you manage to do it?"

    "Psilocybin. Bullet ant venom. Crack Cocaine.", the girl''s lips curled up, "I informed my men to inject these three in her blood.

    "Psilocybin is a hallucinogen. They can produce hallucinations, panic attacks, and psychosis if consumed inrge doses. She was already frightened before she fainted. My men simply showed a movie scene where the female lead was being assaulted, while she was partially conscious.

    "Psilocybin numbed her sensespletely, restricting her to differentiate reality from fantasy. Hence, when she woke up, she assumed that everything that happened in that video clip had happened to ''her'' instead.

    "Bullet ant poison. An incredible and immense amount of pain must have surged through every single vein in her body due to its presence. After all, they are named the ''Bullet ant'' because their sting is so bad it ''feels like you were shot by a gun.''

    "The pain in between her legs would make her believe that she was, indeed, harassed by the men.

    "Lastly, Crack cocaine. She has been dosed with it highly. Its presence will eliminate the remaining venom and hallucinogen in her body. The Police will find nothing, but just the drug in her body, when she will undergo medical tests.

    "No ant poison. No male semen in her medical examinations. No evidence of rape. Just the drug. Eventually, they will dere her an addict. Not to mention, she will me Robert Stewart, who has been dead for years. That will make her look like a crazy retard even more."

    As the six men listened to the girl''s exnation, they couldn''t help but exchange bewildered gazes among themselves. This was something only she could pull off. ying with one''s mind.

    If they were the ones exacting this revenge, they would''ve directly targeted their prey''s willpower, its position, and fame.

    But their sister was clearly different. For her, vengeance was a part of her personality. She enjoyed holding onto her enemies. As if they were some puppets she owned. She liked taking control. Over them, their emotions, their thoughts, and even their fears. Her methods were much more merciless than all six of thembined!

    The girl then held onto her Sister-inw Ningtao''s hand and squeezed itfortingly, her eyes still closed.

    "Qui Chin''s physical pain has been fifty times more intense than the pain she gave to you, Sister-inw.", the girl said, "Are you satisfied?"

    So this was her revenge. Ningtao looked at her husband as her eyes pooled with tears. She then pulled the girl beside her in a strong tight hug, "Thank you, Baby." Just how much did this family loved her? Just what were these six men and their two Kiddos made up of? She couldn''t express how lucky she felt to have all of them.

    "As a sign of gratitude, you can always divorce bro Lu, and marry me then.", the girlughed, hugging her back.

    "Oh. He has been kept just for my entertainment, Honey.", Ningtao waved her hand, wiping her tears away, "I can divorce him anytime. But now, Xi Yuan is in the picture too."

    "Right", the girl grinned, "How about I get rid of him? We will then have our happily ever after!"

    "Deal?"

    "Deal it is."

    Lu Wei and the Superfamily : "."

    Could they be any more hopeless, they wondered.

    ___________________

    2:00 p.m., Police Headquarters, City A;

    "Not only are you an addict, but you are also a psycho.", Inspector Cai Zhimin threw Qui Chin''s medical reports upon the table in front of her, "Negative. You have never been sexually assaulted, Madam. And yet, you have been defaming the Military Chief ever since you came here. You''ve got some nerves!"

    "It is not possible. I know what happened.", Qui Chin felt an unknown fear rush through her heart the moment she looked into the officer''s eyes. With her cold trembling hands, she picked up the stack of documents and started flipping through the pages anxiously. Nothing. No evidence of the assault. No hint of hitting or scratching or struggling. But then how could she remember all of that happening to her? Had she really gone crazy?

    At this time, sounds of heavy firm footsteps resounded throughout the Police HQ as roughly thirty Armed Soldiers walked in into Cai Zhimin''s cabin.

    "Who dared to defame Military Chief Rong?", one of the soldiers asked, his gaze fixed upon the pale shivering Qui Chin.

    "I am sorry. I didn''t mean to"

    "Cut your crap!", another female soldier barked, pulling out her revolver, "Get up. The Special Forces will deal with you now. Yours is not a case for the Police to handle anymore."

    "N No.", Qui Chin had never been this terrified of death. Then again, she had never been this close to death before. The woman stood up and raised her hands in surrender. This was not even the Police. Or General Army. This was the Special Forces. The most mirthless unit of Country X''s Military. She couldn''t argue back with them. They controlled the life and death of the mightiest of Politicians, Businessmen, and Diplomats, after all. Who the hell was she then?!

    "Take her to the SF Base right away. Inform the other two heads about it too. And interrogate her.", another soldier, who seemed to regte the team of officers, ordered, "Do not trouble Military Chief, Okay? As for how to kill her, we will decide that until tomorrow."

    "Understood, Sir!", the officers saluted and hauled Qui Chin out.

    Just like that. She was a traitor now. And an ''informer to the enemies'', ording to the Military. The media was involved. And so were the Prime Minister and the President. In a matter of one hour, the entire nation was in a state of uproar.

    The public was furiously enraged, for the bi*ch had dared to nder their beloved Military Chief. No one. No living thing had even an ounce of sympathy for Qui Chin. The tables had turned. And all of a sudden, her situation was worse than a thousand deaths!

 Chapter 339: "I dont believe in the concept of ‘Karma. I become ‘Karma."

    Chapter 339: "I don''t believe in the concept of ��Karma''. I be ��Karma''."

    "Hey, did you hear about that woman? Qui Chin!"

    "Of course! Such a bi*ch. Going around ndering Military Chief Rong. What does she think of herself?"

    "From what I''ve heard, she had attempted to murder the ''Spotlight'' diva. Ningtao. I guess she held some grudges against the Superfamily since the beginning."

    "Pfft! Targeting the Superfam is no different thanmitting suicide. What, she is braindead or something?"

    "Trying to hurt Ningtao was already a blunder. Who told her to defame the highest Military authority of the nation? There is no way the army will let her off."

    "She is done for this time."

    "Honestly? I hated that sl*t. She even cheated on her husband so many times.

    "I know, right? President Sun Cheng was way out of her league anyway. He is so dashing and smart. So reserved.

    "God knows why did he even married her?"

    "Maybe because of his daughter. He must''ve done that to shield his child from societal judgments. After all, a child out of wedlock is never epted."

    "True. But he will eventuallye across someone worthy of being his woman. He doesn''t need to have her by his side."

    These were some of thements on Weibo two hours after the news about Qui Chin got out. If anything, she was aughingstock for the entire country. And why not? Who would believe a person using a dead man of her assault. It was much too hrious!

    Rong Xinghe had yet again proved the ferociousness of her brain. Ripping someone off of their mental stability and social standing at once, was ruthless in its own unique way. She had tortured Qui Chin not just physically, but emotionally as well. Without lifting her little finger. Nowyer, no diplomat bothered defending Qui Chin. And no journalist was merciful towards her as well as they dug into her past, leaking all the shameful things she did ages ago.

    As Sun Cheng looked at the TV screen broadcasting Qui Chin''s destruction, a smirk appeared across his lips. SHE was right! Her every promise was genuine. The girl wasn''t bluffing when she had told him the other day, ''Don''t worry, Cheng. By the time it will be all over, she will prefer death over life.'' Indeed, no one would want to live a life as dreadful as that.

    The man muted the TV before he pulled out his phone and ced his legs over his office table, crossing them at ankles, and leaned back in his chair. He then dialed a number.

    "Hello?", a deep enticing voice came through the other end.

    "How can someone like Rong Xinghe fall for you?", the man mocked.

    "Cheng?", Xi Yuan was surprised for a second before he nced at his phone screen. He was too busy to check the caller earlier.

    "What do you mean?", he asked then, pinching the space between his brows. What had the wild little kitten done now? Was she already done ying with Qui Chin?

    "Get back over here, idiot!", Sun Chengughed, "Else, I might try to steal her away from you."

    Definitely dealt with Qui Chin, Xi Yuan concluded. He had never heard Sun Cheng so rxed, so jolly for the past few years. Ever since his only love, his wife Elena had died, he had lost his spirit. He had lost himself. Always exhausted, always down. Xi Yuan was delighted, for his friend.

    But not appreciative of his statement seconds ago. "Try it. And I will thrust a knife right through your throat.", the man roared, akin to a lion. How dare he? No one was allowed to desire his woman!

    "Always possessive.", Sun Cheng shook his head, "Alright. I will back off."

    "Better."

    "So you are serious about her?", the man asked.

    "Yes."

    "nning on marrying her?"

    "Definitely."

    "Wow. You are really in love, aren''t you?"

    "Yep."

    __________

    6:00 p.m., Special Forces Base;

    Rong Xinghe walked straight into the interrogation room, where Qui Chin was kept. Her hands tied behind her back, sitting on a wooden chair, she looked awful. Miserable. If Rong Xinghe didn''t know her better, she would''ve had pitied her.

    "Free her hands.", the girlmanded the Officer standing beside her.

    "But Ma''am"

    "It''s alright.", Rong Xinghe assured.

    Left with no choice, the man stepped forward and carried out the orders given by the girl. Actually, there was nothing for him to worry about. Qui Chin was too weak to even stand up, let alone attack Rong Xinghe. She had been ''taken care of'' by the Special Force Officers for hours, after all. With more than eighty bruises and wounds across her entire body, she was left with barely any strength to put on a fight.

    Rong Xinghe looked at the woman in front of her coolly before she pulled out a knife and a revolver from the bag she brought along with her, cing them on the wooden table separating her and Qui Chin.

    The woman looked at the two weapons and tilted her head to fix her gaze upon Rong Xinghe, her eyes bloodshot. ''What do you want now?! Haven''t you done enough?'', her inner self screamed, cried. But she didn''t dare to provoke the girl by saying those words out aloud. By this time, even her soul was petrified of her. She was worse than the devil to her.

    "I will give you two options. Pick up the knife and slit your wrist apart. You ''self-reflection and guilt'' suicide note has already been prepared. Or I shall shoot you with that gun of mine. But hereafter, you will be hated, even after your death. Your daughter will grow up knowing you as a monster. It''s for you to decide now.", the girl said after some time, least affected by Qui Chin''s re.

    "I refuse to believe I deserve this!", the shabby, worn-out woman protested, "Ningtao is alive. She was able to survive those stabs. Yet, I have to die. Why?"

    Rong Xinghe squinted her eyes at the woman before she scoffed at her.

    "Marie Stewart. Elena. And my Sister-inw.", the girl smiled, "You are paying back for everything you did to them.

    "Sis-inw Ningtao was stabbed, so you had to go through the unbearable pain in the alley.

    "Marie Stewart was sexually assaulted because of you, so you had to feel the fear of being stripped off of your honor.

    "And Elenamitted suicide due to the misunderstandings you created between her and Sun Cheng, so how can I allow you to live? You deserve death. Nothing more. Nothing less."

    "Who are you? Satan?", Qui Chinughed manically.

    "You see, I don''t believe in the concept of ''Karma''. I be ''Karma''. I don''t wait. I punish and I kill. Of course, it depends on what one deserves.

    "And yes. I am Satan. For people like you? Always the Satan."

 Chapter 340: He would never get tired of that word.

    Chapter 340: He would never get tired of that word.

    She was indeed Satan. Qui Chin could see it. In her eyes, there wasn''t an ounce of mirth or contemtion. Rong Xinghe had been writing her destiny since the moment she had picked up that knife and stabbed Ningtao. Thrice. She should''ve known better than that. Rong Xinghe had two bottom lines. Her country. And her family. She had been stupid enough to cross thetter. Death was actually the only mercy for her. Otherwise, who knew what more had this woman nned for her.

    Qui Chin swallowed the lump in her throat as she reminisced all her memories, her hands stretching up towards the knife on the table. She thought of Sun Cheng. And of her daughter. But then of Elena. Maybe that was where it all started. Elena''s suicide. Now that she thought of it, this was more of Sun Cheng''s revenge than that of Rong Xinghe''s.

    "He knew about it, didn''t he? About your revenge. My husband.", Qui Chin cackled, as if demented.

    Rong Xinghe didn''t bother to lie either, "Elena''s husband, you mean? Yes. He did. It was his wish for this revenge to end into your death, to be honest."

    "I am the mother to his child!", Qui Chin gritted her teeth. She was on the verge of breaking down.

    "Qui Chin, let me tell you one thing.", Rong Xinghe folded her arms and leaned back in her chair, "Elena was pregnant when shemitted suicide."

    "W... What?!", the woman''s eyes widened, as she stuttered, "Sh... she couldn''t ha... have--"

    "Oh. I am very certain of her pregnancy. I have her original forensic reports, after all.", Rong Xinghe cut her off, "And you know what is the worst part? Elena was pregnant with twins. You have your hands stained with the blood of three lives, woman."

    Qui Chin was so shocked, she could barely keep her body from shaking violently. That wasn''t possible. She wasn''t regretting Elena''s death. Not even a bit. That whore had to die anyway, for her to be Sun Cheng''s wife and mistress to the Sun Family household. Good riddance! It was just that this was much too big of a revtion.

    "Now just imagine, Qui Chin. How would Sun Cheng react when he would get to know about this? That he didn''t just lose his beloved wife that night. But his kids as well. Because of you.

    "No one would want to kill you more than him. Forget me or SF. He would want to strangle you to death by himself.", the girl said the matter-of-factly, "I am just doing his part of the job."

    "He doesn''t know? Howe--"

    "That doesn''t matter anymore.", Rong Xinghe interrupted, "I don''t have much time to waste. Come on." She pointed her chin towards the revolver and the knife, lying on the wooden table.

    So this was it. All the questions were going to buried along with her. She knew couldn''t buy more time for herself. She wasn''t in any position to negotiate with Rong Xinghe. This was the end. Her end. Qui Chin closed her eyes and clenched her fists. As if she had any other choice. In the end, her grip around the body of the knife tightened.

    ___________

    A few minutester, the girl stood up from her seat and stepped out of the interrogation room. She then pulled out the phone from her jeans pocket and smiled at Shou Wu.

    "Dispose of the dead body after the post-mortem. Make it look like a suicide." It was suicide. Qui Chin had slit her wrist. She had chosen the knife.

    "It will be done, Military Chief.", Shou Wu smiled back.

    The girl then walked out of the Special Forces base and approached a ck SUV parked under the shadow of the white oak. Xi Wei was waiting for her.

    "What is it?", the girl raised her brows at the man. As far as she remembered, he was supposed to be in the Xi Corporations'' Headquarters. Why was he wandering around then?

    "Sister-inw, I lost a deal today. So Ying kicked me out of the office. She said I was useless.", the manined, clutching his floral ''beach-party'' kind of shirt above his chest. The girl couldn''t help but roll her eyes. ''You have to act professionally sometimes, young man. No wonder you couldn''t get the deal.'', the girl almost yelled.

    "And...?", the girl hopped onto the passenger seat and crossed her legs at the knees. She knew there was more.

    The man smiled and pulled out a checkbook, handing it over to the girl, before he drove off towards the highway.

    "Brother called me an hour ago. He wants you to write a check for One Million bucks. To some Baden Industries.", the man exined passing her a ballpoint pen, "Since you are Xi Corps'' emergency share transfer nominee, only you have the ability to sign the check on his behalf. He said it was urgent."

    Rong Xinghe furrowed her brows and browsed for Xi Yuan''s number in her call history. ''Bub''. His name was saved with a heart emoji at the end. She called him.

    "How is my girl doing?", a honey-like ebullient voice resounded through the other end.

    "I am fine, darling. Badens''. Aren''t they Mexican people?", the girl questioned with a smile, "Seems like my boyfriend caught a big fish over there. But why transfer money domestically?"

    "They want to expand in Country X. I have already forwarded you the bank details.", the man smiled. ''Boyfriend''. He would never get tired of that word. Not until she was the one addressing him that way.

    "Okay."

    "So I got a call from Sun Cheng today.", the man said after the girl was done signing the check.

    "Really? How did he sound?", the girl beamed with curiosity.

    "He seemed rxed. Untroubled and cheerful. Thanks to you.", the man smiled, "Well done, Military Chief."

    "That''s good.", the girl grinned, " By the way, Qui Chinmitted suicide."

    Xi Yuan shook his head as he let out a chuckle, "Of course, she did. She must''ve felt too guilty and helpless. And I am more than sure that you had nothing to do with her death. Right?"

    "Absolutely correct.", the girlughed back.

    As Xi Wei listened to the girl and her brotherughing on their ''internal'' jokes again, he felt like an idiot. What codenguage were the two speaking in now?! Crazy lovers, he announced to himself.

    "Yuan..."

    "Hmm?"

    "Will, you ever tell Sun Cheng about Elena''s pregnancy? About the twins?

    "You hid it from him then. And that was understandable. Elena''s death had already pushed him to the edge. God knows what he would''ve done if he were to know about the unborn babies. His babies.

    "But don''t you think he deserves to know about it? He was the father, after all."

 Chapter 341: He wasnt deaf

    Chapter 341: He wasn''t deaf

    Xi Yuan still remembered the day Elena had died. He was in coincidentally City M then. He had never seen Sun Cheng so distressed, so helpless before. He wasn''t stable. Neither emotionally, nor mentally. Elena and he had a love marriage three years after they had met in Chicago. The two were crazy for each other. So when the girl left him, Sun Cheng was beyond traumatized. He wasn''t in any state to deal with the hospital paperwork or the death rituals.

    At that time, Xi Yuan had managed Elena''s cremation, and her medical reports, and the hospital finances. All by himself. Sun Cheng had been a close friend to him, after all. It was then that he had found out about Elena''s pregnancy. He couldn''t imagine how his friend would''ve digested the news then. ''It is better for him to not know'', he had figured. Since then, he had kept the secret caged inside his heart.

    It was only when Rong Xinghe had asked him did he spoke of it. There was no point hiding it from her. She could read him anyway. Like the back of her hand. Most importantly, she was his woman. She knew what to do with his secrets, better than anyone. Even himself.

    "I don''t know, Xinghe.", the man sighed, "I am not sure about this. I mean, isn''t it all in the past now? He might not be able to handle the truth. You tell me. What do you think about it?"

    "I feel that he needs to know. I''ve been kept in the dark about Mom and Dad''s death for years, Yuan. And it hurts. It hurt that my brothers lied to me. More than the truth itself.

    "I understand their reasons. And I love them for looking out for me. But it still hurts. Even if the others have your best interests at heart.

    "Sun Cheng should know, Yuan. In fact, it would be better if you tell him personally. Others might fabricate the truth. And I won''t be able to see him hate you. You don''t have many friends, so hold onto the ones you have. They are worth being held onto, you know.", the girl answered after thinking for some time.

    "I get it.", the man nodded, "I will give him a callter. Or maybe a video call."

    "By the way, what would you have done if you were in his shoes?", the girl rested her head against the ck leather seat and closed her eyes, "If some other woman was to create differences between us, how would you handle it?"

    Xi Yuan became silent. He thought about it. He couldn''t imagine Rong Xinghe leaving him like that. He could ept her rage or even her dislike towards him. But the possibility of her nevering back, the possibility of her death... was frightening. And uneptable. He could never make peace with that.

    "Firstly, I do not allow you to even consider leaving me like how Elena left Cheng. No matter what happens Xinghe, you aren''t permitted to punish me like that.", the man took a deep breath, "You should know how important your every breath is, how important your life is. Your brothers and the public of this country look up to you. So do not think of suicide. Ever."

    "Okay, okay.", the girl''s smile faded. She could tell he was scared. The uncertainty in his voice gave that away. Although unintentionally, she had made him think of the worst. That must''ve made him feel horrible, she thought. Subconsciously, her heart ached for him. "I will never do it. I won''t end my life. I promise."

    As he listened to her soft voice reassuring him, the man finally let out the breath he was holding for who knows how long. As long as they were on the same page about that... it was all good.

    "Secondly...", he continued with a smile across his lips this time, "You should know how stubborn I am. I kept pursuing you, even after you rejected me in New York. Remember?

    "I would''ve done everything to win you back. I would''ve fought for you. And I wouldn''t have stopped until you listened to me. I wouldn''t have epted defeat. There was no way I would''ve allowed an outsider to just walk into our lives and ruin ''us''."

    Hearing that brought peace to her heart. Xi Yuan was one of the most sought-after businessmen across the globe. Naturally, he had self-esteem as high as that of the California redwoods. Even so, he didn''t care about his ego when it came to protecting their rtionship. He''d rather bow down to her than letting her go. That was why she loved him. Even if she was to give up on them someday, he would never do it.

    "Thirdly...", he resumed, "I would never let someone like Qui Chin carry my child. I would''ve had it aborted."

    "You... Don''t you think it would''ve been heartless? To hurt an innocent unborn?", the girl frowned.

    "An innocent unborn whose heart hadn''t started beating, and whose fingers wouldn''t have shaped by then. Xinghe, I have never allowed my emotions to control me. Not until I met you. In front of you, I lose control.

    "But I wouldn''t have destroyed the child''s life like that. Especially when I knew I could never give it the love a father was supposed to provide."

    "Got it.", the girl replied. That was understandable and rational. A loveless upbringing was worse than abortions, she could agree with her darling on that.

    "What is it?", the manughed, "I know you still have more questions." He could hear it. He knew it.

    Rong Xinghe smiled tiredly, looking out of the window, dazed, "I was just wondering if you would you abort our child too if I were pregnant right now?"

    Before Xi Yuan could reply to the question, he heard a loud screeching sound of the tires, and then of someone swearing and hitting onto the breaks. It didn''t take the couple too long to realize that Xi Wei had been listening to their conversation all along. Silently. Too focussed on his driving to pass anyments. But that didn''t, in any way implied, that he was deaf. Did it?

    Worse of all, he didn''t know that Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe hadn''t yet taken the ''step'' in their rtionship. That they hadn''t been sexually involved with each other yet, and that they were still taking it slow. Baby steps. One at a time.

    As the series of cars following behind the man''s SUV crashed into each other, the motorists and the passengers stepped down their vehicles, frustrated and enraged. They surrounded the man''s car and started banging onto the ''not so see-through'' window ss connected to the driver''s seat, cursing him.

    Paying no heed to the insensed public, Xi Wei turned to look at his Sister-inw, his eyes wide open. "You are pregnant?!", he gasped.

 Chapter 342: "We are far from achieving the goal, Swetheart."

    Chapter 342: "We are far from achieving the ''goal'', Swetheart."

    Rong Xinghe was so shocked by the sudden jolt that her grip around the phone tightened. Her arms rammed into the dashboard, and the pain was instant excruciating. And intense. The girl squeezed her eyes shut and let out a muffled groan, cupping her mouth with the palm of her other hand.

    "Pass the phone to Wei, Xinghe.", Xi Yuanmanded through the other end. He had pretty much figured out the situation by now. Rong Xinghe brought the phone to her ear and sighed. "No one''s hurt, Bub.", the girl cated, still recovering from the pain, "Some psycho, a moron, just crossed our car. I have noted the number from the car te. We will deal with himter. Rest assured, we are fine."

    "I said...", the man scowled, "Hand over the phone to Wei. Right now."

    "Yuan..."

    "Now, Xinghe.", the man failed to hide his rage and impatience. He didn''t bother to. Left with no choice, the girl consigned the phone to the man beside her. She then unlocked her side of the door and stepped out of the car, facing the ''riled up'' crowd of people enclosing their car.

    The moment the woman''s face was unveiled to the infuriated people, they stood right where they were, frozen. Never in their wildest dreams could they''ve ever imagined that they woulde across thedy herself. The person responsible for the external border security of their country. The woman next to the Prime Minister and President of the nation. It took them quite some time to register her identitypletely.

    Meanwhile, inside the car, another war was being fought.

    "Is she hurt?", Xi Yuan asked through the gritted teeth.

    "N... no Brother. Just a little shock.", Xi Wei shook his head,ing out of his trance, "I am sorry."

    "Don''t you dare hope that I will buy Xinghe''s story, young man.", the man snapped, "I heard you ask here the question, about her pregnancy, not too long ago.

    "Are you fu*king kidding me?! Recklessly driving like that. What the hell is wrong with you?!"

    "I know. I am so so sorry.", the man admitted as he felt guilt flood through his heart, "But is it true? Is Sister-inw really preg--"

    "No! She is NOT pregnant, Wei.", the man yelled this time. He had no idea what he would''ve done if this man was to be anywhere near him right now. "Take her to the hospital. Ensure there is no internal injury. Got it?"

    Xi Wei was disappointed. Slightly. More than ''slightly'', actually. But he didn''t dare to express that in front of his already furious brother. It would be suicidal, he convinced himself.

    "Yeah. I''ll send you the scanned medical reports to youter.", he gave in.

    On the other hand, Rong Xinghe walked past her car and inspected all the three cars that had crashed into each other. The damage wasn''t pernicious, just some deep lines of abrasion. At least, no one was physically harmed. The girl let out a sigh of relief and turned to address the silent, and evidently shocked crowd.

    "I am extremely apologetic to all of you.", she said softly, holding onto her aching arm, her tone calm andposed, "I know this ident costed you your precious time. But if it is of anypensation, I would love to help with the expenses. Let me make a few calls and that shall be arranged in no time."

    "No need, Military Chief.", a young girl waved her hand with an embarrassedugh, "At least, not mine. I will manage the expenses by myself. What kind of a person would I be to trouble a soldier for something so trivial?"

    "It is alright, Honey.", Rong Xinghe smiled sweetly. She was obliged topensate them. After all, it was her fault, to begin with.

    ____________

    Military Sanatorium, 8:00 p.m. ;

    "There''s nothing serious.", head doctor, Li Dong said as he applied an ointment against the girl''s arm carefully, "Just some minor bleeding into the muscles. You should be fine, Chief."

    "I will write to you some tablets and a relief spray. That will be sufficient."

    "Thank you, Doc.", the girl smiled. At this time, Xi Wei stepped into the doctor''s cabin and passed the girl her phone. "It''s brother.", he scratched the back of his head, bashful. Rong Xinghe nodded twice and walked out of the room after she asked the man to get the medicines and meet her directly in the parking lot.

    "How are you?", he asked, his voiceced with concern.

    "I am fine, Yuan.", as she consoled the man, she could hear him let out a suppressed breath. Literally.

    "Xinghe...", the man hesitated for a moment, "About the question you asked me earlier. I can answer it now."

    "Yuan, I was just being ridiculous. Don''t bother.", the girl felt the heat rise up to her cheeks. Now that she thought of it, that was stupid. Clearly, it was to soon to think about something like that.

    "Yes. It was ridiculous.", Xi Yuan admitted, "I would never let you abort our child, Baby. I would''ve prepared myself for all the uninvited, and unnned problems, instead. But abortion was an option way ''off the table'', you know. Are you understanding what I am trying to imply here, Honey?"

    "I do.", the girlughed softly.

    "What?"

    "I don''t know. It''s just the thought of ''us'' bing parents. Especially when none of us ever received parental love. It sounds... well, crazy. And a blur.", she said.

    "Don''t be silly.", the man cut in, "I don''t know about myself. But you, Ms. Rong. You will be the best mother to our kids. I can bet on that."

    "You seem to have a lot of trust in me, President Xi."

    "Of course, Love.", the man grinned, "But there is just one problem."

    "What?", the girl asked with a muddled expression across her face.

    "You see, we are yet to do what is required to be done in order to make babies."

    "Shameful!"

    "What shameful?", the man countered, "Look. We are in a rtionship. So intimacy is inevitable. It''s natural. And we do have that. Intimacy. But we are far from making babies. We are from achieving the ''goal'', Sweetheart."

    "Stop it, Yuan.", the girl bit her lower lip and curled her toes in, attempting hard to stifle her heavy breathing.

    "If you want to have a child or even twins, trust me, I am all yours. You have to say the word and by tonight, I will be there. By your side. In your bed. Do you know what I will do next? I will...", the man continued teasing the girl. He was enjoying it. Although it was a phone call and he couldn''t see her, he knew she was blushing. Even her voice was a soft whisper as if she was afraid of him reading her mind.

    "Don''t.", Rong Xinghe tried again. What had gotten into him all of a sudden, she wondered. What was it with all the flirting?

    "Then, I will...", he continued anyway, "...undress you, starting with your top and then your jeans. My hands will brush against your fingers, your waist and then your belly. I will make sure to kiss every curve, every inch of your body, Baby. Your lips. Your neck. Your corbone. After that, we will..."

    "Stop, stop, stop!", the girl shook her head violently, "I am hanging up. Bye!"

    As the girl disconnected the call hastily, Xi Yuan couldn''t help butugh out. So adorable! He was going to do this more often, from then on. It was fun troubling the wild little kitten sometimes.

 Chapter 343: Just acquaintances

    Chapter 343: Just acquaintances

    "Sister-inw!", the girl had just hung up when Xi Wei''s hurried footsteps approached her from behind. The girl turned around and smiled at the man, taking the medicines from his hands.

    "Could you drive me to the Lu Family Mansion, Sweetie?", the girl asked softly.

    "Of course.", the man nodded his head enthusiastically, as he opened the door to the passenger seat for her.

    The girl waited for the car to reach the main road before she spoke up, "Earlier, Yuan wasn''t too strict with you, was he?"

    "Slightly. I deserved that, though.", the manughed an awkwardugh, "Sorry, Sis-inw. I should have been more careful."

    "It''s alright.", Rong Xinghe shook her head, "I am trained to deal with situations such as these. Don''t worry. I am fine. And you don''t have to feel guilty about it.

    "Okay. Forget it now. Tell me more about what is going on in your life, Little Panda. Anything interesting?"

    Xi Wei thought for some time silently before he grinned at her, "Tomorrow. There is a party. In a new Nightclub. ''Blush''. I am invited there. So I was wondering if you would like toe along."

    "Xiao will be there too, right?", the girl raised her brows as a smirk crept across her lips. Why wouldn''t she? Xi Wei was dating the brat, after all. "Who else is going to be there?", she asked after a few seconds.

    "Well... for starters, almost the entire entertainment industry. Then all the ''princes and princesses'' from the most famous socialite families. Apparently, the main investors for this particr club chain would be showing up there too. Brother wants me to mingle with them. That''s one of the primary reasons I am attending the event, actually.", the man stated.

    "Does that mean that Huang Biu, my love, will be there too?", the girl''s lips curled upwards.

    Xi Wei gasped, "Sister-inw, she wants to wed your man, you know?"

    "Exactly. We share the same taste in men. Naturally, I love her.", Rong Xinghe blinked her eyes dreamily, "Shouldn''t I get to know more about my love rival?"

    "Yes, you do. She will be there tomorrow. One of my friends confirmed the news."

    "Then I will be there too.", Rong Xinghe announced, "Make the necessary arrangements. Finally, I get to have some alcohol. The past few days have been pretty exhausting. With all the revenge thinging to an end, I deserve a break. Hey! I could fool around and check out some guys as well, since Yuan isn''t here. So rxing!"

    "Put the phone back in, Little Panda.", the girlmanded the young man. She knew he was going to ''quick-text'' Xi Yuan about her intentions of flirting around, there and then. Such a traitor!

    "You better be in my team, Mister. Else, you will be dead meat. I can promise that. Rest assured, I am not going to cheat on your brother.", Rong Xinghe warned solemnly.

    "Got it, Chief.". the man smiled helplessly, tucking the phone back into his jeans. His Sister-inw would never hurt his brother, he knew that much. He was just going to inform him about the alcohol thing. But it would be smarter to stay in thedy devil''s good books. He''d rather stay her ''Little Panda'' than getting beaten up by her.

    ________________

    Next night, Blush Club, 10:00 p.m. ;

    The ce was lively and zestful. The arrangements, naturally extravagant and up-to-the-mark. With hundreds of actresses and actors and business tycoons crowding in, it was more of like a g. Not some usual party.The music was so loud that it made one''s skin tingle and their lungs feel like mush.Over the roar of music, a distant, hazy chatter could be heard. This was so Xi Wei''s ce, one could say. Partying. It was his style.

    Rong Xinghe was running a littlete. She had to sign some documents regarding Qui Chin''s ''suicide'', so she decided to stay back and take care of that first. Xi Wei and Rong Xiao had already reached the club when they had received the girl''s message. In the end, they were left with no choice but to join in by themselves.

    As they climbed onto the dance stage, the song that was ying got louder, pulling them into the vibrant atmosphere. Gradually, Rong Xiao''s hands reached Xi Wei''s shoulders, while his arms wrapped around her waist, helping her stand steadily. As their bodies moved in phenomenal and rtively sensual sync, their friends joined them over the stage, dancing, and drinking.

    "Ah! Look. Third Master Xi is here as well.", a young girl screamed with excitement.

    "He looks so hot tonight.", her friend cheered.

    "Of course he does! He has the genes of the Xi family, after all. They are all smokin'' tempting when ites to physical attractiveness.", another girl rolled her eyes.

    "But who is the girl with him?", the girl frowned, "I was going to ask him for the dance this time."

    "Who knows? She seems prettydy-like, though."

    Rong Xiao was a surgeon. A neurosurgeon, at that. Her busy schedule seldom allowed her to attend events as high-profile as these. Unlike Ningtao, Mo Zixuan or her twin, she rarely showed up in the public eye. So it wasn''t a surprise that the girls didn''t recognize her. She didn''t expect them to either. It was easier that way, she believed.

    Meanwhile, a pair of hawk-like eyes were scrutinizing the swaying, andughing couple upon the dance floor.

    "What is wrong, Biu?", another socialite girl, Zhao Chenhua asked, following the woman''s line of sight.

    "She is Rong Xiao, isn''t she? Rong Xinghe''s twin.", Huang Biu acted calmly, picking up her flute of Champaign from the bar table. Dressed in a whitece crop blouse and ck denim jeans, she looked stunning tonight. Her hair flowed down freely, touching her waist and the make-up was perfect. Trendy, ssy, alluring. These wordsplimented her just fine at the moment.

    "Yes. She is.", Zhao Chenhua nodded, her tone surprised, "Unbelievable! But maybe he is just ying her. Third Master Xi has a reputation for that, you know. I am sure he will get tired of her soon."

    But it didn''t look like a pastime to Huang Biu. She had seen Xi Wei kiss plenty of women before. And she could sense the difference here. Deep down, she hoped it had nothing to do with Rong Xinghe or Xi Yuan. They were just acquaintances, she consoled herself. ''in friends. Nothing much, Biu.'', she mumbled internally.

    But then again, how many women were as close to Xi Yuan as Rong Xinghe was? None. Not even her, and she was aware of the brutal fact. She was just too unwilling to acknowledge it. She wasn''t going to give up. Not so soon. He was hers. Only hers.

 Chapter 344: The arrival of the two unapproachable men

    Chapter 344: The arrival of the two unapproachable men

    ''Hey. Um... Is that the infamous Huang Biu over there?", Rong Xiao asked Xi Wei as she gulped down her ss of bourbon.

    "Yeah. She is. Why? What''s going on in that little head of yours?", the man smiled, caressing the girl''s hair.

    "I don''t know. I might be thinking of kicking some ass right now.", the girl smiled back smugly.

    "I wouldn''t stop you, you know?", the manughed, pulling the girl in a deep passionate kiss, "By the way, has Sister-inw talked to you about us?"

    "No. Wait. She knows?", Rong Xiao was stunned for a moment, eliciting a nod of confirmation from the man, "Well then, I should talk to her. We are twins, after all. I need to know what she thinks of this."

    At this time, Huang Biu ced her ss of wine upon an empty waiter''s tray before she got up and approached the couple, leisurely.

    "I never knew you two were together. That''s a surprise.", the woman said coolly, turning to fix her gaze upon Rong Xiao, her ''socialite'' friends following behind her, "d to meet you, Ms. Rong."

    "It is Dr. Rong, Ms. Huang.", Rong Xiao corrected, "You see, a neurosurgeon would prefer that one more. Nice to meet you too."

    "Apologies.", Huang Biu raised her hands in surrender, "So... are we expecting Military Chief Rong here tonight, too?"

    "Let''s hope.", Xi Wei replied on the girl''s behalf, crossing her fingers.

    At this time, amotion took ce at the entrance of the club, as the crowd broke out cheering and hooting. Involuntarily, Xi Wei and Rong Xiao glued their attention towards the main door, followed by Huang Biu and almost every individual present in the Nightclub. Last time they checked, almost every important guest had already shown up there. Then who exactly was left?

    A few secondster, there they were. Lu Wei and Zhi Xi. In all their glory. Radiating their usual cold, dignified aura. While Lu Wei wore a single-breastedthree-piece Jacquard Luxury Wine Red British Suit, Zhi Xi looked equally debonair and spruce in his Slim Masculino Emerald Suit. The two men seemed to discuss something important among themselves as a group of foreigners followed behind them. As the two men climbed up the stairs of the club, heading towards their private lounge, the crowd beneath them admired their dignified and noble aura silently.

    Damn! These unapproachable men. Although no one was sure as to why they were there, they couldn''t be more grateful to have been invited to a party as magnificent as this. It was so rare toe across the members of Superfamily, after all. Specifically, any of the Six tigers. Only being able to look at them was a matter of pride for many. As a result, almost everyone pulled out their phones and started clicking photos of the two men, putting them on as their Instagram stories, and Weibo posts. Showcasing their own connections and exquisite lifestyle.

    "Your brothers are here?!", Xi Wei questioned the girl beside him, baffled.

    "My brothers ARE here!", Rong Xiao almost jumped up excitedly. Clearly, she waspletely uninformed about their arrival. "Wei. I will go and greet them. I will be back in minutes. Okay?"

    "Sure, Baby.", Xi Wei smiled, nting a kiss against the girl''s forehead.

    Huang Biu waited for Rong Xiao to disappear from her line of sight before she nced back at Xi Wei. The young man was ''all smiles''. Love did cast spells over people, didn''t it?

    "So the Rong twins are indeed connected to the Lus'' and the Zhis'', aren''t they?", the woman said, her expression indignant.

    "They are siblings.", Xi Wei shrugged nonchntly, "Of course they are ''connected''."

    "Yes. But not the blood rtives, right?", Huang Biu''s friend, Zhao Chenhua used her silence as an opportunity to speak up, "Who knows if the two girls even matter to them?"

    Xi Wei red at the two women suspiciously, squinting his eyes at them. "What are you trying to imply, Miss Zhao?", he asked, indifferently.

    ______________

    Meanwhile, Private VIP Lounge, Blush Nightclub ;

    Lu Wei and Zhi Xi were in the middle of their meeting when Rong Xiao walked in on them from behind. The girl was about to ''scare'' them when she stumbled upon her own steps and fell down, her head hitting the edge of the door.

    "OW!", the girl groaned, "That really hurt..."

    Lu Wei and Zhi Xi turned around and looked at the girl lying on the floor, raising their brows up in surprise. What the hell was going on?! The two quickly rushed towards her and helped her stand steady.

    "Didn''t see that table over there. Sorry.", the girlughed.

    "What are you doing here, Kid?", Lu Wei asked, pinching the space between his brows.

    "Oh. Just chilling with some friends."

    Zhi Xi helped the girl sit upon the couch as Lu Wei offered his apologies for the ''interruption'' in their meeting, to the foreigners. "Please wait outside. We need to deal with this first.", he stated domineeringly.

    "So, Xinghe is going to be here as well?", Lu Wei waited for the men to step out of the lounge before he exacted his question towards the girl, who was now adjusting Zhi Xi''s already fixed tie.

    "Maybe. Maybe not.", the girl replied, "She has been busy.

    "By the way,dies are drooling all over you both down there. After you are done with all the professional things, do join us. They are all dying to talk to you."

    "We''ll see, Xiao.", Zhi Xi smiled affectionately, wrapping the girl''s cold hands into his warm ones, "You enjoy by yourself till then. Be safe. And don''t drink too much. Okay?"

    "I will try.", the girl winked mischievously.

    ____________

    At the same time, Xi Wei listened to Zhao Chenhua and her friends ramble about the Rong twins and the Superfamily. Thankfully, Huang Biu hadn''t really spoken anything. In fact, she had her eyes fixed upon the Private Lounge, where Zhi Xi and Lu Wei had just gone. As if she was searching for an opportunity. Regarding what, he was still unknown.

    "Just think about it, Third Master Xi.", Zhao Chenhua bbered on and on, "They are the Presidents of Zhi and Lu Corporations. Why would they need to look after those two ''charity cases''? I mean,e on, we all know who the Rong twins are. They are simply charity cases. Helpless. Weak. Fragile.

    "The only reason they helped them was that it improved their social reputation. Thousands of people respect them because of how amazing brothers they are. Don''t you see it, Xiao Wei? They couldn''t care less about the two girls. It is all just a pretense.

    "I think it''s better for you to distance yourself from them. Without the Zhi, Lu, Mo and Su family backing them, the Rong twins are nothing. They have no social standing, neither are they involved in the business circles. It would be disgraceful for the Xi family to stain themselves with stray dogs such as the Rong girls, you know."

    That was it. That was the end of Xi Wei''s patience. There was a limit to his tolerance. There was no way in hell that he was going to allow anyone to look down on his girlfriend. And definitely not, his Sister-inw.

    "So now, a whore like you will tell me what to do, Miss Zhao?", the man said bluntly, "Who the fuck do you think you are?!"

 Chapter 345: As if one evil twin wasnt enough

    Chapter 345: As if one evil twin wasn''t enough

    Xi Wei wasn''t Xi Yuan. Or Xi Fang. He was the youngest son of the Xi family. He wasn''t someone who thought of propriety, or of sophistication. He never assorted silence as an option to deal with a situation such as these. He spoke. Harshly. But even so, the young man rarely used abusivenguage.

    So when he snapped at Zhao Chenhua like that, almost everyone around him felt a chill run down their spine. Even Huang Biu was slightly taken aback by the man''s rage. She diverted her gaze from the lounge upstairs to the young man standing right beside her.

    The person humiliated by Xi Wei was Zhao Chenhua. A girl was used to having people jump to her orders and not the other way around. She was, after all, one of the Zhaos. The family under the shed of the Huangs. Not just anyone ordinary could suppress them. But then again, Xis had never been ''ordinary''. They were above everyone in this game of power and influence.

    "Wei. Chenhua didn''t mean it that way.", Huang Biu patted the man''s right shoulder with a smile, defending her friend.

    Xi Wei nced at the woman before he shook his head, letting out a scoff of disgust. Feathers of the same birds did flock together. Protecting their own. What a harmonious sight to witness?

    But did that mean he had to back off? Not necessarily. He was Xi Wei. Not someone they could walk all over.

    Paying no regard to Huang Biu''s words, the man focussed his attention back upon his prey, "So tell me. How would you like to apologize?"

    "Apologize for what?", Zhao Chenhua asked cautiously.

    "For displeasing one of the Xis.", Xi Wei smiled, "I might not be Xi Yuan or Xi Fang. But we share the same blood. You wouldn''t want to..."

    "That''s enough, Wei. She is my friend.", Huang Biu prayed he would stop. Zhao Chenhua was her confidant, so her derision affected her too.

    "Then tell her to get that sultry face of hers out of my line of sight right away.", the man yelled, "Before I end up doing something you wouldn''t like."

    "You do realize you are talking to me, right?", Huang Biu stared nkly at the man. She had never been yelled at before. Not by anyone from the Xi family. "I am a friend, Wei. Yours. And Yuan''s."

    "That is the only reason I am not forcing this woman to perform or cater as a bartender in this club, you know.", Xi Wei smiled devilishly, "You should know better, Ms. Huang. Get her away. Now."

    As the man''s words resounded throughout the silent Nightclub, the audience was in a state of shock as well as amazement. Xi Wei had always been the ''cool'' one, of all the Xi siblings. He never lost his temper. It was the first time someone was able to get under her skin. It was almost like his anger was so profound, it could not be controlled.

    But at this time, a pair of soft slender hands pressed against the man''s chest as the woman pushed him against the bar table. Gently.

    "There, there. No need to get so worked up.", Rong Xiao smiled, whispering into the man''s ears. "What is going on here?", the girl asked after ensuring the man''s pulse was back to normal.

    Huang Biu and the crowd were appalled. She was actually able to pacify the man in seconds while they thought it was nearly impossible! Zhao Chenhua was so furious at the sight she wanted to rip the girl''s head apart. But then, she couldn''t shake off the fear she had felt seconds ago. She had actually wronged Xi Wei tonight. Another word from her mouth and she knew she was dead.

    "I apologize for my behavior, Third Master Xi.", Zhao Chenhua bowed down to the man instead.

    Zhi Xi looked at the woman and then at Huang Biu''s helpless expression before he closed his eyes and rested his hands against Rong Xiao''s waist, hugging the girl from behind. "Do you want me to forgive her?", he asked.

    "She apologized to you, Wei.", the girl smiled dimly.

    "But she insulted you."

    "I don''t care. It would be a matter of concern is she''d disrespected my family, though.", Rong Xiaoughed.

    "Oh she did that too.", the man smiled.

    Rong Xiao turned around to look straight into the man''s eyes, a smirk appearing across her lips. "Then don''t forgive.", she shrugged nonchntly.

    Xi Weiughed out as he pulled the girl in a firm hug, "So brutal. Alright. I will take care of itter. I don''t want your night to be spoiled. Go and dance. Okay?"

    "Sure.", Rong Xiao nodded, turning to look at Huang Biu, "Would Miss Huang like to join me up there?"

    Huang Biu wasn''t expecting this. But she could read Rong Xiao''s provoking gaze. It had ''Or shall I deal with it myself?'' written all over it. She knew she had to take the bait. Although Rong Xiao was not someone she feared, it would be stupid to not try to know her enemies.

    "What is it?", Huang Biu asked calmly, sipping up on her drink, "I know you heard Chenhua talk about you and your family from up there. Why did you show mercy to her then?"

    "You are smart, and quite an observant, aren''t you?", the girl smiled. "You think she is worthy of my revenge? Seriously? Come on. She is an ant I can squash underneath my little finger. Too insignificant. Too boring."

    "Superfamily is indeed fiesty.", Huang Biuughed, "Anyhow, I apologize on her behalf. No hard feelings."

    "Apology epted.", Rong Xiao clinked her ss with the woman''s, "So I heard you have a pretty close rtionship with the President of Xi Corporations. What''s all that talk about?"

    Huang Biu was taken aback by the girl''s words. Her and Xi Yuan. It was a sensitive topic. But she couldn''t let go of the opportunity to unt her power and position, could she?

    "We are just friends, Dr. Rong.", the woman could feel the heat rush up to her ears, "Childhood friends."

    "Childhood, huh?", Rong Xiao winked, "Don''t tell me I am looking at the-to-be Mrs. Xi here! You are in a rtionship with him, right?! Please tell me you two are together."

    This was Rong Xiao. The devil twin. Messing up with people''s heads. Just like her sister did. This night was going to be a lot more fun than one could have ever imagined!

    ______________

    12:30 a.m., Blush Nightclub;

    A ck Porsche stopped in front of the main entrance of the nightclub as a tall figure stepped down the car, tossing the car keys to the valet approaching her. Wrapped in a Low Cut Bodycon Red Velvet Sheath dress, the girl looked alluring and sensual. When she walked through the main door, almost every person had their eyes glued upon her. Specifically, men. Anydy present there was nopetition for HER. Not a single one. Her dark sharp eyes. Her perfectly carved lips. Her thin nose. Her killin'' figure.

    It wasn''t possible to resist the temptation. They wanted her. They had to have her! And yet, the identity she owned made it difficult to even stand beside her.

    "Get me a drink, Third Master Wei.", the woman smiled as she ced her long fair hand over the man''s back, almost giving him a heart attack. The man didn''t even turn aroundpletely before he gasped at her, "You''ve got to be kidding me!"

    As if one evil twin wasn''t enough...

 Chapter 346: One drunk girl at a time

    Chapter 346: One drunk girl at a time

    "Is that my sister with my love rival?", Rong Xinghe askedter. She had already downed three shots of vodka by then. Although her alcohol tolerance was pretty high, she had started to feel a tad bit dizzy. She med it on the party-ish vibes surrounding her. And the fact that she was really tired. From all the work she had dealt with before showing up at this party.

    "Hey, hey! Go easy on the drinks.", Xi Wei pinched the space between her brows before he snatched the flute of champagne from the girl, "Why are you so grumpy tonight? What happened, Sister-inw?"

    Rong Xinghe squinted her eyes at the man before she extended her hand towards him in a domineering manner. "Give me the bottle, Little Panda!", she said, indignant.

    "No."

    "Wei. I had a very bad day. Give the damned bottle.", the girl scowled.

    "Then talk to me about it. Don''t drink too much.", the man shrugged his shoulders, "Tell me. Come on." He couldn''t let her get wasted. Not under the vignt scrutiny of her two brothers, at least.

    "Guess who showed up at my office today.", the girl smiled wryly, "My beloved grandfather. Rong Quiang."

    Xi Wei was stunned for a moment before he turned to look at the girl. And damn, she looked miserable. Even her light makeup couldn''t conceal the pain in her eyes. He knew she wasn''t up for dealing with Huang Biu tonight. She couldn''t care any less about her when her mind was trying to dispose of the dark memories floating in front of her eyes.

    "Sister-inw, I am so--"

    "Give me the bottle, Wei.", the girlmanded this time. She was here to drink. And she was going to drink, no matter what.

    __________

    It had been an hour since Huang Biu and Rong Xiao were ''mingling'' with one another. It was actually fun. Rong Xiao was genuinely enjoying this ''putting on a pretense'' drama. All of a sudden, she had a newfound respect for her twin. Getting into someone''s head wasn''t as easy as it looked like. She had been trying it for so long and yet she was only able to make Huang Biu fess up about her feelings for Xi Yuan.

    "I like him.", the woman said, draining thest drop of wine from her ss, "But I don''t know what''s on his mind."

    "Uh-huh.", the girl grinned, swaying her hips side-to-side gracefully, "So why do you think you have a chance with him? No offense but don''t you think he has thousands of women surrounding him already."

    "None taken.", Huang Biu smiled smugly, "For starters, we have been to the same school, so I have been the closest girl to him. Ever. Secondly, well... Huang family has connections with the Xis. Thirdly, my capabilities can''t be just underestimated, you know?"

    "I am sorry to break it to you, Ms. Huang...", Rong Xiao chuckled, "But as far as I can remember, you aren''t the one President Xi trusted with Xi Corporations'' emergency share transfers. It was-"

    "It was Rong Xinghe.", the woman''s eyes turned a few shades darker as she interrupted the girl. It was something she felt humiliated about. Even today. "But I wasn''t in Country X then, Dr. Rong.", she stated nevertheless, "Anyhow, I support him in each one of his decisions. I will see you around."

    As Huang Biu vanished through the crowd, Rong Xiao couldn''t help but giggle to herself. That was fun!

    Was she really counting upon the Xi family elders to pressure her Brother-inw to marry her? How stupid did she think Xi Yuan was? That man wasn''t someone who allowed his family to have ess over his life. He couldn''t be controlled. Not to mention, this had her sister involved. He would neverpromise his Xinghe for just anyone, that was something Rong Xiao was very sure of by now.

    At this time, a pair of strong hands snaked around the girl''s waist and pulled her against a firm chest. The girl lifted her head up to look at her boyfriend smiling at her. "What have you been up to all this time?", she asked, raising her brows ever so slightly.

    "Well. Taking care of your sister.", Xi Wei answered, handing her his ss of tequ.

    "She is here?", Rong Xiao turned her head to look towards the barside. There she was, drinking her beer, leaning her back against the ck leather armchair, waving at her, "I almost assumed she wouldn''t show up. But what is up with her? She looks... upset."

    "She is. Something about work.", Xi Wei decided to not ruin the mood of the other sister too. He could handle only one drunk girl at a time, after all. He would tell Rong Xiao about the old Rong''s appearanceter. After two-three days, maybe.

    "Ok. So there won''t be more drama with Huang Biu?", the girl was disappointed. She couldn''t deny that her sister was way better at face-pping than her. She was really looking forward to it.

    "Nope. But didn''t you have enough entertainment already?"

    "Oh no. I did! That was amazing. Let me tell you about all of it.", Xi Wei could see the girl''s eyes shine, even in the darkness. He didn''t know if it was because of the alcohol or the music, but he found himself capturing her lips with his, their bodies moving in unparalleled sensual sync. ''Oh, I love this doctor.'', he mumbled to himself.

    ______________

    2:00 a.m.

    Rong Xinghe looked at her sister and Xi Wei enjoying and dancing, hand-in-hand and a smile slipped her lips. They were so in love. And they did befit together.

    She could feel the earth rocking beneath her, her mind drifting in and out with each second passing. Her cheeks, her ears and even the tip of her nose, revealed a faint and feminine rosiness. Her lips seemed to have softened and reddened even more than they were before she''d walked in. She could feel the heaviness of her eyes. And she could feel the cold liquid oozing out the pain from her heart gradually. She knew, better than anyone, that she was drunk. That she was way out of her senses. But for this one night, she wanted to stop thinking or cursing her destiny. She just wanted to smile. Effortlessly.

    Unfortunately, not everyone appreciated her bliss, her tion. Not people like Huang Biu, at least.

    The girl had just stood up from her seat, intending to order another drink for herself when a huge mmy hand rested over her back, trailing down her waist, stopping at her right hip.

    "Shall we have some alone time, Darling?", a disgusting old voice resonated from her behind, pulling ''everyone nearby''s'' attention towards Rong Xinghe.

 Chapter 347: Off-limits

    Chapter 347: Off-limits

    The girl furrowed her brows and turned around hastily. He was taller than her, evidently in his early fifties. One could tell he was a regr. Drunk. Bully. Typical broker. Something like that. Few men were standing behind him, surrounding her at the same time. His partners, she thought. The girl sighed. It wasn''t going to be easy dealing with them, provided how drunk she was.

    "I don''t want anything to do with you, Mr.", the girl stared at the man, removing his hand from her waist, "Leave."

    She knew he wouldn''t. She could read him. His wicked, crooked smile gave that away.

    The man wasn''t ''supposed'' to stop. That was the deal. Most importantly, the fragile weak powerless girl in front of him was much too alluring to just let go. So instead of stepping back, he pushed the girl against the bar counter and started grinding her body with his. Softly, at first. Vigorously,ter.

    But this was Rong Xinghe he was dealing with. Even when down with two gallons of whiskey, the girl possessed an immensely horrifying amount of strength. Before he could register the changes in their positions, he felt a sharp pain surge through the junction of his thighs.The old guy''s eyes snapped wide open, as his mouth locked into a silent scream. He winced in pain and lost his bnce, falling down to the ground like a house of cards. The short disturbance and the unconscious man sessfully captured the attention of every individual present there, bringing the music to halt, yet again.

    Rong Xinghe''s gaze swept over every face in the crowd before they finally stopped at Huang Biu and her ''mates''. The girl tilted her head slightly and smiled. It was a careless smile. A pitiful one. Huang Biu could hear herugh, as if she was saying, ''Aw. You failed at this one too. How pathetic!''

    The girl then shook her head and turned back again, insisting on getting her drink. But how could the other men surrounding her resist her temptation? It wasn''t just Huang Biu who was paying them. The thrill of humiliating someone as fierce as Rong Xinghe was not something they came across every day. So what if she was a trained soldier? They would be more cautious than the stupid old man. It was as easy as that.

    Unfortunately, their hands never reached the girl. In a matter of seconds, their bodies were hit the wooden floor, as some built men pinned them to the ground. Two men walked up to the girl with hurried footsteps and stood behind her, protectively.

    "Oh my god! Isn''t that-"

    "President Lu and President Zhi!"

    "Fuck! They are actually here. Among us mortal creatures!"

    "Hey! Keep your tone down. They both seem to be infuriated."

    "Why won''t they be? Isn''t Military Chief their sister? Someone actually dared to harm her."

    "Oh. This is going to be interesting."

    As a wave of murmurs spread through the group of those high-ss people, the two men looked at the girl slowly downing her ss of liquor. What a mess! Zhi Xi turned around, his dark overbearing expression silencing the audience, before hemanded his security in-charge, "Keep punching them until every bone in their damned body breaks. And do not stop unless I tell you to do so."

    On the other hand, Lu Wei pulled out his phone and dialed Su Rogguang''s phone number. Three ringster, the man picked up the call, "Heading towards a surgery. Make it quick."

    "Is it safe for Xinghe to drink?", Lu Wei asked.

    "You mean alcohol?"

    "No. Juice.", the man rolled his eyes.

    "Yeah. It''s fine. It has almost been a week since the migraine stroke.", the manughed, "Her body is recovering fast. She can have alcohol, as long as she''s been taking her medicines." She was taking her medicines. Lu Wei was making sure of that personally. So there was nothing threatening her health then; relieving his heart and mind both.

    "Alright. Bye. Best wishes for the surgery."

    Lu Wei turned to look at the worried man beside him assuringly, seconds after disconnecting the call, "She will be fine, Xi."

    "Hey! You guys ''ere?", Rong Xingheughed as she listened to the familiar voices behind her.

    "Yes.", Lu Wei sighed, pulling the girl in his warm and safe embrace, "We are sorry. We werete. That guy wasn''t supposed to touch you in the first ce."

    "It''shh okaaay.", the girl peeped up from his arms, "I fight."

    "She is high.", Zhi Xi shook his head, "Let''s just get her seated somewhere. We have an entire night to y with these douchebags."

    "You are right.", the man nodded, helping the girl to adjust into a leather armchair beside him.

    Next, Zhi Xi passed her a ss of green apple drink then, cupping her face softly, "No more alcohol. Okay? Mocktails only."

    "Got it, Bosss", the girl nodded obediently.

    ______________

    As she looked at the scene unfolding in front of her, Huang Biu could feel a chill run down her spine. "You said that Lu and Zhi family were least concerned about the Rong twins. Then what the hell is this?", she whispered to Zhao Chenhua worriedly.

    "I don''t know. This doesn''t make any sense.", the woman whispered back, fidgeting with the ss in her hand. How could sworn siblings share a strong bond like that? This was surreal. Impossible, in fact.

    "You have been making assumptions all this time? Are you kidding me?", Huang Biu gritted her teeth. If Lu Wei and Zhi Xi were to ever know that she was the one who had bribed those men to defile their sister, she would be dead meat. No matter how influential the Huang family was, they were nothingpared to the Zhis and Lusbined. Not even the Xi family couldbat that.

    The two men ensured that their sister wasfortable before they finally decided to deal with the men who had just tried to attack the girl. Zhi Xi strode towards one of the men lying upon the ground and bent down, pushing his fingers into the man''s hair, pulling them ruthlessly. "How dare you even think of touching her?", he roared, making sure everyone present there heard him.

    The man screamed, and cried, and whimpered in pain. But Zhi Xi had never been a mirthful person. Rong Xinghe and Rong Xiao were off-limits. For every living person across the world. Everyone. Hadn''t the Superfamily been clear enough about that? With the exhausting professions, the two girls were in, some psychotic socialite dramas were thest thing they wanted for them. And yet, they''d stepped over their bottom line tonight. How brave!

 Chapter 348: Superfamily had a reputation for protecting their own

    Chapter 348: Superfamily had a reputation for protecting their own

    Meanwhile, Lu Wei unbuttoned his suit before grabbing a stool for himself beside his sister. He was just going to take care of her while Zhi Xi tortured the men, one by one. As he caressed her head affectionately, the girl closed her eyes and rested her head against his shoulder. The man took a deep breath, allowing her to hold onto his left hand, so she could feel secure and fall asleep peacefully.

    By this time, Zhi Xi had stood up and sat beside them. A few secondster, a person from the club staff approached him with a knife. "You asked for it, Sir?", he asked.

    "Give it to the man lying beside the table.", Zhi Ximanded, pointing his chin towards an old groaning man.

    The employee nodded his head with a smile and handed the knife to the guy. "What are you doing, Xi?", Lu Wei asked.

    "Enjoying to my heart''s content.", Zhi Xi winked, turning to look at the man with the knife in one of his hands confusedly, "Now. Hold it firmly and stab yourself in the palm of the other hand."

    The crowd broke out into a series of heated discussions the moment the words left Zhi Xi''s mouth. Everyone had heard rumors about the Superfamily''s barbaric methods before. But no one had ever witnessed their rage, until today. This was scary. Petrifying, actually. Asking for someone to hurt themselves. That was much too brutal.

    "Don''t you think you are being too insensitive, President Zhi?", at this time, Zhao Chenhua''s voice resounded throughout the club. The woman walked towards the siblings furiously and barked, "And for whom? Your lovely little sister?"

    "Precisely.", Zhi Xi red straight into the woman''s eyes, "For our sister."

    Zhao Chenhua was taken aback when she realized that neither of the two men were attempting to dodge or deny her usations. Instead, they acknowledged it entirely. They even seemed to enjoy the changes in her facial expressions, from anger to shock. No doubt they were the Rong twins'' elder brothers. Cunning and crafty.

    "You can''t.", the girl gritted her teeth, "This is illegal. Even if they tried to humiliate your sister, they should be reported to the police."

    "Well... you seem to have observed a lot from the other end of the club, Ms. Zhao.", Lu Wei stated, "We never said anything about ''humiliation'', did we? Does that mean you ''are'' involved?"

    "N... No. I am-"

    "Worried about thew.", Zhi Xi cut in, "Understandable. But this doesn''t concern the PD. It concerns the Military. An attack against Military Chief results in ''shoot-at-sight'', ording to the protocols. We are just helping the Armed Forces, you see."

    "You can''t do this!", the woman yelled.

    "You wouldn''t want to cross the Lu family, Ms. Zhao. Believe me.", Lu Wei smiled, "Leave or stay. But do not interfere."

    Zhao Chenhua turned to look at Huang Biu anxiously, but the woman diverted her gaze elsewhere, making clear she wasn''t going to rescue her from the ordeal this time. Who told her to be so impulsive? It was the Superfamily, for god''s sake. Not a single member of it epted threats.

    "So where were we?", Zhi Xi smirked, rubbing his hands, a glint of excitement visible in his eyes, "Stab your palm."

    "Pl... please sir. I am... sorry.", the man pleaded, begged.

    "It would take me five minutes to get your family location.", Zhi Xi shrugged, pulling out his phone.

    "No... Don''t!", the old man cried out.

    "Then do it.", said Zhi Xi, solemnly.

    A few minutes ago, the same man had enjoyed the thought of smashing his lips against Rong Xinghe''s every curve of the body. And now, he felt as if agreeing to Huang Biu''s offer was the worse decision he had ever made. Despite knowing that the Superfamily had a reputation for protecting their own, he had foolishly stepped into her trap. What happened in the end?

    He couldn''t blurt out her name either. She was equally dangerous. She was one of the Huangs, after all. All he could do was ept the consequences of his choices now.

    Soon enough, a scream resonated throughout the club, as most of the audience covered their wide-open eyes and mouths. Blood flowed down the wooden floor and soaked the green fancy carpet, at the end of it. The man shrieked, struggled. Desperately. But didn''t dare to pull out the sharp metal.

    "Not bad.", Zhi Xi chuckled coolly, "I was wondering if you could twist it. While it is still inside, of course."

    "Urgh!", the man wailed, following the orders. He knew he had no other option left.

    "Keep doing it.", Zhi Xi ordered, satisfied.

    "This is a public ce, President Zhi.", Zhao Chenhua spoke up again, "Everyone is watching. Please stop."

    "What would you do if we wouldn''t?", Zhi Xi raised his brows curiously.

    "I... I will...", the woman contemted for a few seconds, "I will call the club security. This is a private club. You can''t have your way in here!"

    "Is it?", Lu Wei tilted his head in a challenging manner, "Go ahead, then."

    "I... won''t hesitate.", Zhao Chenhua hissed. Since she had already started the battle, she had to end it. She ''needed'' to end it. And this seemed to be the only way to do that.

    "What is happening over here?", a young man in a ck and white tuxedo suit walked in shortly after, looking at Zhao Chenhua. "Is everything okay, Ma''am?", he asked, tapping his batch, having the word ''Manager'' inscribed over it.

    "Thank god you are here.", Zhao Chenhua let out a sigh of relief, "Please ask for these two men to leave. They have been creating such a mess."

    "That''s enough, Xiao Hua!", Huang Biu walked in from the woman''s behind and squeezed her shoulder softly, "Watch yournguage."

    "No! I will not.", the woman shook her head violently, "One of these men is Xiao Weng. He is my fiance, Biu.

    "Mr. Zhi will ask him to chop off his own hand next. I can''t let that happen. Okay? So I am not stopping."

    "You can just apologize to President Zhi and President Lu on behalf of your boyfriend, Chenhua.", Huang Biu acted righteously, "They will be merciful then, I am sure."

    "They need to leave this ce, Biu.", Zhao Chenhua protested, "They are monsters! No mirth can be expected from them." She then turned to face the young manager, "Ask them to leave, Manager!"

    "Come on, Manager.", Lu Wei looked at the young man, "Won''t you kick us out?"

    "I am incredibly apologetic for all the difort you''ve been caused tonight here, Mr. Lu, and Mr. Zhi.", the manager bowed down courteously, as if he was kneeling in front of the devil himself, "Please tell us if there is a way topensate for that."

    "What are you talking about, Manager?!", Zhao Chenhua snapped at the man, "This is a private club. They can''t take thew into their hands here. Why are you-"

    "I suggest you think before you speak, Madam.", the manager cut her off indignantly, "President Zhi and President Lu are the owners of this nightclub. They have invested in here."

    "You better not tell them what to do here."

 Chapter 349: "Next time, there will be Six."

    Chapter 349: "Next time, there will be Six."

    "It''s alright. I won''t hurt your fiance.", Zhi Xi stood up, cing his gin on the bar counter, he approached the two women. "I am bored torturing that man already. It''s no pleasure ying with drunkards, you see.", he shrugged, waving at the manager, "Done for tonight. The show''s over. Please get the party back on track.

    "We invested in ''Blush'' not for it to be doomed like this. Let people have fun."

    The manager bowed down obediently and called for some of the club employees. In a minute or two, the buzz, and the merriment had returned to the environment. As the audience digested the incident they''d just witnessed and got back to ''drinking and dancing'', Xi Wei and Rong Xiao joined Lu Wei and the sleeping girl by the barside.

    "What just happened?", Xi Wei asked worriedly, looking at his Sister-inw.

    "She is asleep.", Lu Wei replied, "By the way, what were you two doing when she was getting herself ''this'' drunk?"

    "Sorry, brother.", Rong Xiao felt guilty as she held onto her sister''s unupied hand.

    "Xiao, don''t.", Lu Wei sighed, "No one''s ming you. I am just not able to figure out what drove her to drink beyond her tolerance limit. This isn''t usual. Something terrible must have happened."

    "Actually...", Xi Wei spoke up, "Something terrible did happen."

    Lu Wei frowned, "What do you mean?"

    ______________

    Meanwhile, Zhi Xi waited for the crowd to disperse before he stared right into Huang Biu''s eyes.

    "No matter what psychotic romantic fantasies you have for Xi Yuan, one more such move against my sister, and you will know what hell feels like.", the man warned, his gaze burning with fury, "You have my word for that."

    "President Zhi, what are you-", Huang Biu was shocked to her core. How could he possibly know about her involvement in the entire plot?

    "Do not try to y the victim, Ms. Huang.", the man interrupted, "We saw you hand over the bills to those men from up there. I don''t want any exnation, neither do I expect an apology.

    "All you have to do is stay away from my sisters. Because trust me, next time, there won''t be two. Next time, there will be Six."

    The man then turned to look at Zhao Chenhua, "I pity you, you know? A puppet to your so-called friend. Well. A tip? Stop trusting her as soon as you can."

    Huang Biu followed behind Zhi Xi hastily as she realized he was walking away, "President Zhi. About our meeting..."

    The man stopped in his tracks and clenched his fists. She had some nerves, thinking about that after all of this. "For someone as diplomatic as you, Ms. Huang, I genuinely hope you move on from the first deal you lost, throughout your entire carrier. Zhi Corporations won''t be merging with the Huang family. Good evening."

    As the man continued walking farther, towards his two sisters, Huang Biu stood frozen, taking in what had just happened. She didn''t know is she was grateful that the Superfamily hadn''t held grudges against her, or if she was enraged that Zhi Xi had rejected to even discuss business with her. With the influence she had in the business world, this was the first time someone had looked down upon her like that. Anyhow, she was in no position to debate with the Superfamily tonight. The Rong girls were clearly, on the top of their priority list.

    __________

    4:00 a.m., Lu Family Mansion;

    Lu Wei tucked the girl into her bed while Zhi Xi covered her with the nket. They''ve had a long discussion about the sudden appearance of Rong Quiang en route to the Lu house. In the end, they had decided to talk to the girl about it in the morning, lest she would be sober.

    The men were about to close the girl''s bedroom door when her phone rang up. Lu Wei strode inside and opened her sling bag, pulling out her phone. The man muted the phone and stepped out of the room before he finally picked it up.

    "Is it toote to call you, Baby?", Xi Yuan''s deeppelling voice resounded through the other side. The man was signing a checkbook, so he wasn''t really looking at the screen.

    "I had fallen asleep minutes ago, Cupcake.", Zhi Xi spoke up, grabbing the phone from Lu Wei, "I am so lonely here."

    Xi Yuan looked up, startled by the masculine tone, "Oh! Hello, Bro Zhi, and Bro Lu."

    "Do you have any idea what your girlfriend has gone through today?!", Zhi Xi roared.

    "What happened?", the man furrowed his brows.

    Lu Wei snatched the phone back from Zhi Xi and pointed towards the kitchen, gesturing him to prepare some coffee for the two of them. Zhi Xi struggled to get the phone back but eventually, he had to let go of it. Lu Wei was much too bossy.

    "Bro Lu. What happened?", Xi Yuan questioned again, his voiceced with anxiety this time.

    "Huang Biu happened.", Lu Wei replied indifferently, pulling his tie off.

    The two men spent the next fifteen minutes exining every little detail of the party to the man, who listened to them with an equal amount of attention. The more he listened, the darker his gaze turned. How dare she think of even targeting his woman?! She was going to face the consequences of her actions soon, he would ensure that.

    "I hope Xinghe doesn''t remember that ''touching'' part by tomorrow.", Zhi Xi said, "She will feel horrible and miserable. And maybe, a bit guilty too."

    "Don''t worry. I will talk to her tomorrow, first thing in the morning.", Xi Yuan shook his head, "I can''t let her me herself for something that was totally out of her control."

    Lu Wei remained silent for sometime before he decided to speak up, "Yuan. She missed you today. Actually, she misses you every day. But when we were dealing with those men today, she had tears in her eyes. She was looking at her phone''s cover photo, your photo, every now and then.

    "She needed you today. With Rong Quiang showing up and with Huang Biu''s dramas, she needed you the most. Long-distances are beautiful in their own way. But she needs you. Beside her. Just try to wind up everything over there ande back. Okay?"

    Xi Yuan hesitated for seconds before he sighed, "I might have a piece of surprise for her, Bro Lu."

 Chapter 350: You better wait for me at the Airport

    Chapter 350: You better wait for me at the Airport

    The next morning, the girl woke up to the smell of pancakes and coffee, a carefree smile making way to her lips. "Not the kind of hangover breakfast others have, but I am still going to need that aspirin."

    "I know.", Lu Wei smiled, handing over her a ss of water as she sat up on the bed, "So... Rong Quiang, huh?"

    "Yeah.", the girl pressed her lips, massaging her forehead.

    "What happened, Kid? Why did he show up all of a sudden?", the man asked as he looked at the girl swallowing down the tablet.

    "I don''t know. Something about Mom and Dad''s death. He said he would open the gates to the Rong family for me and Xiao, if we wanted.", Rong Xinghe shrugged, "It was mostly ''I pity you orphans'' kind of conversation. But it still messed up with my head."

    "And you got yourself drunk.", Lu Weiughed, picking up his cup of coffee.

    "Yeah. I got drunk. Sorry about that."

    "It''s alright, Xinghe. We get it. You are allowed to blow off some steam, every once in a while.", the man shook his head in denial, "Do you want us to deal with the Rongs though?"

    "Nah. They aren''t worthy of five seconds of your time, Bro Lu.", the girl turned down the suggestion instantly, "It''s funny, you know. They have the guts toe looking for me. Feakin'' monsters. Rong Xinghe would never turn around and walk back into her past. She isn''t an idiot."

    "Wait. Um... Would it be too weird if I strangle someone close to Yuan''s family to death?"

    "You mean, Huang Biu.", Lu Wei chuckled, "I was kinda hoping you wouldn''t remember thest night."

    "I wasn''t that drunk. So do I get to kill her?"

    "No. You don''t."

    "Hey. I know she was the one who nned what happened, alright?"

    "Well. You could say that Zhi Xi dealt with her personallyst night, in is own way. That and your boyfriend knows about it."

    "What?! No. Yuan will-"

    "Get all worked up? Yeah, we figured that seconds after we told him. So pick up your phone and call him, have breakfast ande downter. I will tell the other five about Rong Quiang by then. They''ve been worried about you too."

    "Alright."

    _________

    11:00 a.m.

    "I will take care of the Huang family myself. Don''t even try to stop me, Xinghe. Trying to humiliate you when you were at your weakest. That''s disgusting and low, even for her.", Xi Yuan countered as the girl tried to pacify him.

    "Alright. But just remember that I was fine in the end. Try to be lenient. Okay?", the girl sighed, giving up. There was no point arguing with him or the six men about her enemies. They would end up doing whatever they had in their minds eventually.

    "Yeah. By the way, you are okay, right?", the man asked nervously.

    The girl looked down at the ground and thought about something silently. Aboutst night. And those men. And about them approaching her, malintent lurking in their eyes. "Actually, no. I am not okay, Yuan. I am missing you. Badly. Every single time those men touched me, I couldn''t help but think about you. About how those hands weren''t yours. And about how I wanted them to be yours.

    "So no. I am not okay. I know I signed up for this. But I just can''t, anymore. This sucks and I miss you. I really do.", the girl started sobbing, her every tear ripping apart his heart like an arrow.

    "Hey. Stop crying, Xinghe.", the man requested, his tone mellow and soft, "I will get my jet ready right away. Okay? I will be there by your side in hours. But please. Just don''t cry. You know I can''t see you like this."

    "And I am not even a good girlfriend now.", the girl clutched onto her nket, "Unsupportive of my boyfriend''s profession. Could I be any more demanding?"

    "That''s my choice, Xinghe.", the man sighed, "I am missing you just as much. Or maybe, even more than you. You know what? Screw this! I aming back to you right away."

    "Yuan, what are you--"

    "No. Xinghe, I aming back to Country X. I was going to return by the end of this month anyway. But nope. I am done waiting and restraining myself. It turns out I can''t stay away from you for even a week, let alone a month or a year. Long-distances aren''t really my thing. I am impatient. And insecure. And jealous. And crazily addicted to you.

    "So whether you want it or not, your boyfriend is going toe back to you.", the man dered and smiled wryly at hisputer screen before he pulled out his phone, texting the ''changes-in-n'' to Xi Fang.

    Rong Xinghe was so shocked that her mind wentpletely nk. Just because she cried in front of him for few minutes, he was going to return back? What alternate universe was she in?! That was technically the shortest long-distance rtionship ever. One weak?!

    "Do you have any idea how I felt when your brothers told me about what happenedst night?!", the man gazed earnestly at the girl after he was done messaging Xi Fang, "I was scared. And I was infuriated. But above all, over this distance separating us, I was powerless. I couldn''t save you. Xinghe, I wasn''t there beside you.

    "And that sucked the most. I want to be there for you, okay? I can''t just sit by idly while bad things happen to you over there. That''s not me. That''s not us."

    "Yuan, your work...", the girl finally found some words to mumble.

    "I will handle it from Country X. It might take more time than usual, but Xi Corporations will be fine and firm pretty soon. Don''t worry."

    "Are you sure about this? You are acting on impulse, you know? That''s not you."

    "Do you miss me?", the man asked, his tone calm andposed.

    "You have no idea."

    "Then I am sure. I can''t look at you crying through the screen, not being able to wipe those tears away. I want to be there and hug you tightly, instead. So you better wait for me at the Airport.", the man announced his final decision.

    "Send me your flight details then.", the girlughed, "And I will be sending you a shopping list. Xiao and my Sisters-inw are in love with some of those Mexican essories and choctes."

    "Deep down, this was all a strategy to get the choctes, wasn''t it?", the manughed.

    "You caught me, Sherlock Holmes?!", Rong Xinghe lifted her hands up in surrender.

 Chapter 351: Worth all of it

    Chapter 351: Worth all of it

    6:00 p.m., International Airport, City A;

    "Prime Minister called the base today, Chief. He has signed the paperwork for you to step back into your ''Military Chief shoes''.", Shou Wei informed the girl over the phone, "So when would you like to join?"

    "Tomorrow.", the girl replied, her eyes glued to the exit of the airport.

    "Will your brothers be fine with youing back to work?", the old man inquired.

    "Do you really think the Prime Minister would allow me back without the ''Green Card'' from the Six tigers, Ms. Shou?", Rong Xinghe rolled her eyes, "Dr. Su Rogguang must be assured of my recovery by now."

    Shou Wu let out a shortugh before he exchanged a few more words with the girl and hung up.

    And she sat there. Alone. On one of those cold benches. Clenching her fists. Looking at those doors. Anxiously. Her brothers had offered they''de along. But she had refused. Because she knew she was going to cry. And who, in their right state of mind, cried over a week-long long-distance rtionship? It was silly. She was aware of that. But she couldn''t do anything about it.

    When they''d parted, they had believed it wouldst for months. That they would have to repeat those empty days, missing each other, for months. And that thought made it even more difficult. Unbearable. Uneptable.

    An announcement interrupted her train of thoughts and the girl lifted her head up to look at the exit doors. There he was, striding towards her with hurried footsteps. Wearing hisMandarin id Check Cor Anchor Gray Suit, he looked as dashing as ever. While his one hand was upied with a ceramic keep cup, his other hand was tucked inside his trouser pocket.

    The man was roughly ten feet apart when he raised his cup towards her and smiled, "Virgin Mojito, Ma''jolie?"

    With tears in her eyes, the girl stood up and rushed towards him, as if he was her only source of oxygen. Desperately. The second she got to him, he wrapped his powerful arms around her waist and gave her a warmforting hug. He leaned down and buried his face into her shoulders, taking in her unique scent. Oh god! He had missed this so damn much.

    Meanwhile, the girl was in her little paradise herself. She had never felt thisplete. As if a puzzle had been just solved, and she had found thest piece. How did she even let him go in the first ce, she wondered.

    "I am not going to leave you again. Not in a million years.", he promised, pulling away from her, sweeping her hair back from her ears.

    "You better not.", the girlughed, wiping away his tears, "Look how thin you have be. Expensive clothes can''t hide that, you know?"

    "Sister-inw!", at this time, Xi Fang''s came from the man''s behind. Rong Xinghe tilted her head and waved at the young man, rushing towards him and giving him a quick hug. "How is my favorite Xi doing?", she asked.

    "I missed you, Wei and Ying very much, Sister-inw.", the man confessed, "Working like a machine over there was torture, you know?"

    "Aw.", the girl rubbed the man''s shoulder, "Get some rest. I am stealing your brother for tonight. Okay?"

    "Tonight, huh?", Xi Fang smirked at Xi Yuan, passing the car keys to Rong Xinghe.

    "For the love of God, stop it, Fang.", Xi Yuan sighed.

    "What?", Rong Xinghe switched her eyes from one brother to another, with a muddled expression stered across her face.

    "Wei told me about how you got into that ident.", Xi Fang grinned, "We would dly wee a baby in the family, you know."

    Before the girl could even process his wordspletely, the man disappeared from the couple''s line of sight, getting into one of the cars waiting for him. "So they''ve been-", the girlughed.

    "Teasing and poking me about it?", the man cut in, "Yeah. Pretty much. Forget it."

    "Let''s go home.", the girl held onto the man''s hand, nting a kiss upon his right cheek.

    "I will cook food."

    "No. You will get some rest.", the girl countered, "I will do it."

    "Let''s fight about that in the car."

    ___________

    9:00 p.m., Elite Diamond Penthouse ;

    "How are you always able to convince me with things like these?", Rong Xinghe pouted as she looked at the man chopping capsicums in the kitchen, as she sat on the dining table. He wasn''t supposed to ''cook'', dammit.

    "Because I look super hot as a chef?", the man winked mischievously, "Or maybe because you are azy foodie?"

    "Shut up.", the girl squinted her eyes at him.

    "Okay.", Xi Yuanughed, "You need a refill on that wine, don''t you?"

    "Yeah.", the girl nodded. Xi Yuan mixed the capsicum into a container ced on the gas stove and closed its lid, grabbing a seat beside the girl as he poured her another round of the drink. "We just have to wait for a few more minutes and the dinner will be ready.", he said.

    "What about your work in Mexico?", Rong Xinghe asked after some time, turning to face him, their lips inches apart.

    "It should be fine. I can take care of it from Country X itself.", the man answered, "We still need to know which rival had poisoned the school meals though. But I am not going back again. This is permanent, Xinghe."

    "Besides, do you really want to talk about work right now?"

    "What do you mean?"

    "What I mean is...", the man cupped the girl''s face with both his hands, pulling her in a passionate deep kiss, her hands clutching onto his shirt cor, "...that I need to make it up to you for the nine days we were apart."

    And at that very moment, she knew she was ''in love''. It wasn''t just a rtionship anymore. This man was her home. She felt like everything in her life had led her to him. Her choices, her regrets, and her heartbreaks. Everything. When they were together, her pain seemed worth it. He was worth all of it. Because if she had done one thing differently, she might''ve never met this amazing man. She belonged there. Beside him, her bartender.

 Chapter 352: "An empire needs a Queen before an Heir."

    Chapter 352: "An empire needs a Queen before an Heir."

    The next morning, the girl woke up to the sound of music and she sat up straight on her bed, rubbing her eyes. As she looked at the sandwich and tea upon her bedside table, a gentle smile made its way to her lips. The ''Wife-doting'' devil was back indeed. Her darling was back! This was all too surreal. Like a dream.

    The girl jumped down the bed and picked up her cup of tea, rushing out as she followed the direction from which the music wasing.

    "Piano, huh?", the girl smiled, as she walked into her practice room, where all her music instruments were kept. Ever since she had retired from the music industry, she rarely came here. But she never thought of throwing the instruments away. She loved it there. Peaceful. Silent. This room had always been a reminder to the positive and jovial years of her past. Most importantly, she had once worshipped the art of music, as if it was her personal pilgrimage.

    "Yeah. What should I y?", the man looked up and smiled back, eliciting a sweet quick kiss from the girl.

    "Perfect. Ed Sheeran.", Rong Xinghe said after thinking for some time.

    The man nodded, concentrating on the keys of the piano as his long fingers danced against the instrument elegantly, "By the way, has someone ever told you that it is impossible to resist you when you are in my shirt?"

    Rong Xinghe chuckled as she clutched onto the man''s Mey Club Navy Blue sweatshirt, tucking the strands of her hair behind her right ear. "Your clothes smell like you.", she mumbled, biting her lower lip, heat rising up to her cheeks.

    "So you''ve been wearing my clothes since I left?", the man raised his brows, astonished. Rong Xinghe nodded, sipping her tea.

    "I am never going to wash them ever again.", the manughed. She had worn them, after all. "Hey, Mom called today earlier.", the man said after a few minutes passed by, "On your phone."

    "Please tell me you didn''t pick up.", the girl stared at the man.

    "I did. Why?"

    "What will she think of me now?!", the girl frowned, "Won''t she think that I am a just an ordinary girl spending an intimate night with her son? Ugh! This is horrible."

    "Technically honey, you did spend the night with me.", Xi Yuan smirked, "It''s a shame we didn''t do what we were supposed to do, though.

    "But contrary to your assumptions, she seemed pretty delighted that we were together."

    "What do you mean?", the girl questioned, akin to a two-day old infant. Muddled.

    "She started telling me about the most effective diet for couples to get pregnant. I am guessing that Wei told her about the ident too. She seemed to be thrilled towards the possibility of bing a grandmother.", the man shrugged his shoulders, pecking over the girl''s forehead.

    "What?!"

    "Yeah. My family can be crazy that way."

    _____________

    Meanwhile, Xi Family Mansion ;

    "Old man! I called Xiao Xinghe today.", Li Jungah rushed towards her husband, who had just returned from his morning walk, "Yuan is back. In fact, he was the one to pick up the phone. He was speaking so carefully, I bet they shared the same bedst night."

    Xi Chongkun wiped his sweat with a hand-towel and scrunched his nose at his wife, "Don''t interfere in his life too much, Mrs. Xi."

    "What interfere?", Li Jungah pouted, "You drink your tea and stay out of my business. He is already twenty-seven. Xiao Xinghe is twenty-four too. It is a perfect age to think about a child."

    "They still have a lot of time.", Xi Chongkun sighed.

    "Don''t you want to be a grandfather, Mr. Xi?", the woman smiled, "Tell me honestly."

    "I do.", the old man admitted, "I want a granddaughter. I will tell her stories, and I will teach her chess."

    "See? We are not that different.", Li Jungah sat down beside him, "They both will being for dinner tomorrow. We should speak to Yuan privately. Xiao Xinghe would feel awkward talking about that."

    "I think it will be more appropriate to talk about the wedding first.", Xi Chingkun shook his head, "An empire needs a Queen before an Heir."

    ________________

    Military Chief Office, 2:00 p.m. ;

    "Any news about the Bleeding Avenues?", Rong Xinghe asked Shou Wu as she signed the stack of documents in front of her, "Any recent activity?"

    "Nothing, Ma''am.", the man informed, "Your security team has been informing about the assassins they''d found attempting to shoot you.

    "You''ve been their only target, ever since they returned back. And you are being attacked almost every day. It''s a matter of concern, Chief."

    "I can''t be harmed whilst I am still the external security head for the nation, Mr. Shou.", the girl stated, "A scratch on my body would adversely affect the confidence public has for the Military. We can''t let that happen. So figure out their pattern, or a motive, as soon as possible. Anything. Alright?"

    "Yes, Ma''am.", Shou Wu bowed, "Do you need something else?"

    "Yeah.", the girl nodded, "Ashfakh Ali. Transfer enough money to his ount. His sister is getting married soon. And since he won''t be attending her wedding, as he is fabricating a web of connections for me in the Middle East, the Army might as wellpensate his family with a grand present."

    "It will be done, Boss."

    Ashfakh Ali was one of the un-uniformed soldiers in Rong Xinghe''s ''secret panel''. There were seven more. Spread in different corners across the globe. Forming bonds and links. Executing nemeses. ''They are the Silent Soldiers!'', President used to often tell to the foreigners, in those diplomatic conferences. These men worked only for Rong Xinghe. And for someone as cautious and vignt as Rong Xinghe, the woman trusted all of them blindly.

    This team of men had formed right after Rong Xinghe had sworn in as the Military Chief of Country X. And apparently, they had pledged to stop working for the Military, the moment the girl would resign. Basically, they demonstrated their loyalty only to Rong Xinghe, and no one else. In fact, except for her, no one had ever seen their faces or knew their identities. Not even the Prime Minister or the President. And yet, these men were one of the most trustworthy sources of information for the country.

    As to how these men were connected to Rong Xinghe, it was a mystery that would be disclosed soon...

 Chapter 353: Home Sweet Home

    Chapter 353: Home Sweet Home

    One dayter, Xi Family Mansion, 9:00 p.m. ;

    "You what?! Wedding? Where did this evene from?", Xi Yuan stared at his parents, as they revealed their motive behind the dinner invitation.

    They were sitting by the poolside, under the open sky, cold breeze hitting their faces. Rong Xinghe had apanied him until she received a call from the MCO. ''It''s urgent.'', she''d said before she left. She had borrowed his car, leaving him with no option but to wait for Xi Wei to get another one from the underground parking. Xi elders had followed behind him as he found a seat for himself by the mini-bar in the backyard. Only if he''d seen thising...

    "Yuan. We understand, Honey.", Li Jungah squeezed the man''s hand assuringly, "You are afraid of the possibilities. I am your mother. Even though I wasn''t there for you throughout your entire childhood, I can still see right through you.

    "But look me in the eyes, and tell me, you don''t want it. You don''t want to wed her and have a family with her."

    Xi Yuan threw his hands up in disbelief, "You have no idea what you are talking about! I certainly want to build a home with her. One day. I really do. But this is not the right time for that."

    "Why?", Xi Chongkun asked, "A girl always wants a royal wedding. She dreams of it since she is born. Don''t tell me you don''t n to give that to Xinghe.

    "Because if that is the case, trust me, I won''t hesitate once before I disown you. No one is supposed to hurt that girl."

    "I get it.", Xi Yuan smiled, "And I agree. No one is allowed to hurt her.

    "But that''s the point, Dad. Xinghe never had a normal childhood. She is no ordinary girl. I don''t even know what kind of marriage she has dreamt of. Or if she even wants to get married in the first ce? We never discussed this among ourselves before."

    "What do you mean?", Li Jungah cupped the man''s face, as he let out a heavy breath.

    "Mom... I love her. More than I have ever loved anyone. Trust me. I want to marry her. But I can''t shake off the feeling that she is not ready yet.

    "When she rejected my confession in New York, she told me that she wasn''t destined for love, family, or happiness. She believed that her entire life was about pain, grief, loss, and hatred. The Rongs have shattered her hope, Mom.

    "I want her to look them in the eye and smirk. That will be the day I will propose to her. Or maybe, I will just haul her into the Civil Affairs Office. You see, I cannot wait to make her my wife. But marrying me means that she will be the Queen to Xi Corporations too. And an Empress ought to hold her head high, in order to not let the crown fall.

    "I want her to want it. It shouldn''t be about the Xi Family, but us. Xinghe deserves that."

    "You really love her, don''t you?", Li Jungah asked, her tone astonished.

    "You have no idea.", the man answered.

    _____________

    "What is the matter, Mr. Shou?", Rong Xinghe strode inside her office as she looked at the panicked man, "What''s wrong with Ashfakh?",

    "Look at the screen, Chief.", the old man pointed his index finger towards the girl''s desktop.

    The girl walked around her table and fixed her gaze upon the video clip mailed by her Officer. Ashfakh, the twenty-five-year-old man, looked into the camera, his expression earnest. Despite the wound on his head and the blood flowing down his lips, the man''s eyes shone. For some unknown reason, Shou Wu found his personality oddly familiar to the girl standing opposite him.

    ''Xinghe, there is a traitor. Amongst us. In the Armed Forces. He has been financing some underworld organization.'', Ashfakh reported, ''Look. I don''t think I''ll be able to make it out of here alive. But this is something you need to know. There is going to be destruction A massive one. Explosion? Assassination? Maybe both. So heads-up. For the country. It''s a pity that we couldn''t have thatst ss of whiskey together, though.''

    As the video came to an end, Rong Xinghe closed her eyes and processed it silently. "What does this mean, Military Chief?", Shou Wu muttered, confused.

    "Well...", the girl pulled out her phone, "For starters, Ashfakh is off the mission. He ising back. Let me save his ass first.

    "Secondly, the nation is in danger. I can predict some excruciating nights ahead. Andstly, we have a traitor to ughter."

    _________

    11:30 a.m., Military Chief Office ;

    Rong Xinghe was texting Xi Yuan about her whereabouts, informing him that she would bete that night when a spare phone in her right-side-top drawer rang up. The girl picked up the phone and swiped the screen, bringing the device to her ears.

    "Quite melodramatic that was.", the girl chuckled, "The entire ''I am not going to make it out alive'' speech."

    "Hey! You bought that. ept it.", the manughed through the other end, "Thanks for the backup though. It would''ve been difficult handling Mikhail Ivanov on my own. He knew I was connected to Country X. I could tell he wanted me to be dead. So what did you do to him?"

    "He is dead. No one gets to touch my men.", Rong Xinghe shrugged, "But he was a prominent businessman. I mean, no one even knew he was involved with terrorist gangs and drug dealings. So I had to-"

    "You made it look like an ''ident'', didn''t you? I figured that.", Ashfakh cut-in. He had known the girl for too long to not understand how her mind worked. "What''s my next mission now?", the man questioned.

    "No n. Carol will be taking over from you over there.", Rong Xinghe shook her head, "You areing back to Country X."

    "What?! No. Xinghe, I don''t think I should.", the young man protested.

    "You don''t have to stay away from your nation to protect it, Ashfakh. Flight tickets will be mailed to you. Come home.", the girl stated, "That, by the way, is an order."

    "Xinghe. You do realize that our identities can''t be revealed, right?", Ashfakh sighed, "If Ie back, it will be a dead end. People are curious about you. And about the people around you."

    "We''ll be fine. We''ve spent years together. All of us. A reunion is the need of the hour, you know?", Rong Xinghe countered.

    "Alright then.", the young man agreed helplessly. It was still difficult to argue with this girl, "Home sweet home, it is."

 Chapter 354: The Military Hybrids

    Chapter 354: The Military Hybrids

    1:00 a.m., Elite Saphire Penthouse ;

    The girl unlocked the door and stepped inside, tossing her shoes behind the door as she tiptoed into the kitchen through the hallway.

    "You could wake me, you know?", Xi Yuan turned on the living room lights and leaned against the kitchen entrance. "Why bother sneaking in like a thief?"

    "I didn''t walk in like a thief.", the girl pouted.

    "Well...", Xi Yuanughed, "When you ''walked'' in hastily with those sneakers in your hands, it certainly looked like that.

    "Come on, tell me now. What are you worried about? You go all ''ice-cream binging'' when you are super stressed. What''s the trouble in paradise?"

    "Nothing.", Rong Xinghe replied, dazed. She was still trying to find a pattern in the Bleeding Avenues'' recent attacks; still wondering what brought them back.

    "Xinghe...", the man raised his brows at the girl meaningfully.

    "Yeah. A rough day.", the girl admitted, "But let''s not talk about it. Please? My head''s aching."

    "Alright. Sure.", the man nodded, "What do you think we should do?"

    "Hmm...", Rong Xinghe grinned, jumping down the kitchen galley and pecked the man on his lips softly, "A kiss, to begin with. Now that it has been taken care of, I will go and get freshen up. Meanwhile, could you switch on the TV? I need serious FRIENDS therapy."

    "Sure. What episode?"

    "The one with the Baby on the bus.", the girl winked, rushing towards the stairs, "It''s hrious."

    ___________

    Meanwhile, Rong Family Home ;

    "What do you mean she rejected your offer?!", Rong Yufan scowled as he swirled the whiskey in the ss, in his hands, "Does she have a death wish?"

    "Calm down, Yufan.", the old man shook his head, flipping the pages in front of him casually, "That girl means nothing to us. Who cares if she dies or lives? The important thing is that she is still unknown about her origin. Inviting her into the Rong family was never the n. It was just a test. Rest assured, she doesn''t know the truth."

    Rong Yufan gritted his teeth as he closed his eyes. He couldn''t possibly forget the humiliation of being stripped off of his rightful business empire. That bitch never deserved it. Yet, she had tricked those shareholders into handing thepany over to her, while he was left with nothing. It would be a lie if he was to say that he wasn''t vengeful. He was more than tempted to torture her for an eternity, just like the old times.

    "Yufan, you have just returned back, son.", Rong Quiang noticed the young man''s silence and decided to speak up, "We still have no idea who has been sponsoring us. I advise you to not act rashly, alright? The girls mean nothing to us. Just keep that in mind."

    Rong Yufan rested his head against the back of his chair and unbuttoned his Wine Red three-piece suitzily, his right hand still swirling the ss. "Grandfather, I am not depending upon this ''anonymous sponsor''. Trust me. I am simply curious to know his identity. Why would someone support the Rong family in times of need, all of a sudden?

    "Anyhow, I have my backup. Don''t worry. And as far as those girls are concerned, I don''t n to let go of them. Not in this lifetime. Specifically, not that Xinghe."

    At this time, the man''s phone rang up and a number popped up on his screen. The man furrowed his brows and strode outside the study room, "Is she dead?"

    "Try harder, Rong Yufan!", an unfamiliar masculine voice resounded through the other end, "The supposed ''assassin'' you hired couldn''t even reach the Elites'' main gate, and he is already begging me for mercy."

    "Who are you?!", Rong Yufan clenched his fists, his gaze turning a few shades darker.

    "A well-wisher. Not yours. Xinghe''s.", the man smiled, "Come on, man. What happened to that maniac, that wild Rong Yufan who once pushed his own sister down a running train?! This is a low blow, even for you. And you know it."

    "So you want to negotiate now?", Rong Yufanughed, "Go ahead and kill him. I don''t care."

    "I know you don''t. You never had any regard for human life, whatsoever.", the other man chuckled coolly, "He will die eventually. He pointed his gun towards Xinghe. That''s literally suicide.

    "I am not negotiating, though. I am warning you. Stay away from Rong Xinghe."

    The call got disconnected as soon as the man was done speaking. He then looked down, at his prey, struggling to get his boots off from his upper abdomen, as he lied on the ground. Covered in his own pool of blood. "Wh...Who are you?", the ''attacker'' grunted.

    "Ashfakh Ali.", the young man smiled genuinely, "Does the name ring a bell?"

    "Urgh!", the man shrieked as a sharp metal prated right through his chest, piercing his heart.

    "Well... Silent Soldier? No?", the man twisted the knife further, "Military Hybrids? Nah? I guess you are better off dead then." The man pulled out the knife from the dead body and stood up, walking to the edge of the terrace, facing the Elite Saphire Penthouse. "I am back home, Xinghe.", he mumbled to himself.

    "Sir.", two soldiers approached the man, saluting him respectfully, "Wee back."

    "Bury the body. Clean the mess.", Ashfakh waved his hands, "And pass me the lighter. I need to smoke."

    The two men followed his orders and disappeared with the body in no time, leaving him all alone on the terrace.

    Rong Yufan. He never thought he would hear that psycho''s voice ever again. The Rong family Prince. The spoiled brat, except for the fact that he was a dangerously crazy hypnotist. It turned out he hated the girl now just as much as he did years ago. Impressive! And consistent.

    Then again, it wasn''t as shocking as the girl''s rtionship with Business King Xi Yuan. The man smiled as he stared at the dimly-lit penthouse. He remembered how she had pledged to never get into rtionships. She had once told him she would never marry, in fact. And he had replied with a smirk and a few words-of-wisdom, ''You are going to love like no one ever loved, Xinghe. That will be ironic, then.'' She had punched him in the face then. She had always been the ferocious wild lioness.

    ''Told you so, Sweetheart.'', the man grinned, pulling out his cigarette case. The ironic romance.

 Chapter 355: "I trust you more than anything, Xinghe."

    Chapter 355: "I trust you more than anything, Xinghe."

    The next morning, Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe sat in the living room, enjoying their breakfast, as the Xi trio apanied them.

    "Sister-inw, can I ask you a question?", Xi Wei grinned at the girl, stuffing his mouth with the cupcakes baked by her. "When you were little, did you y that ''Doll Marriage'' act? Xiao told me that you hated those typical-little-girl games. And that she ckmailed you into ying them, most of the time. Is it true?"

    Rong Xinghe''s lips curled up as she reminisced her childhood, "I did. I disliked those games. Actually, my favorite toys were guns."

    "Really?", Xi Yuan raised his brows as he passed her his ss of juice, "So you were born to be the Military Chief?"

    "Maybe. I don''t know.", the girl chuckled, "I enjoyed reading the war stories. About all those brave soldiers. I read a lot back then. It made me feel like I was on the battlefield. I used to imagine myself holding guns and grenades and formingbat strategies. I always had a thing for the Military.

    "I have lost the count of all those street fights I have been involved in, when I was a teenager. I used to beat up all those eve-teasers and drug dealers. Let''s just say, I liked picking fights with them."

    "Sister-inw! That''s insane.", Xi Wei stared at the girl with his wide-open eyes, amused, "Didn''t your brothers tried to--"

    "Oh, they did. They tried everything they could to stop me.", the girlughed, "But after a few attempts, instead of stopping me, they started protecting me. They knew I was a born rebel. There was no point in fighting what I was."

    "Alright, rebel with a cause. Now eat your breakfast.", Xi Yuan smiled, "You are yet to take your medicines."

    "I need to get more ketchup. I will be back soon." a few minutester, Xi Ying stood up and rushed towards the kitchen through the hallway. The girl frowned as she looked at the housekeeper mopping the exact location she had seen him in, an hour ago. "Brother!", the girl turned to face Xi Yuan, "By any chance, have you hired new cleaning staff?"

    "No.", Rong Xinghe responded on behalf of her darling, "He isn''t one of the staff, Sweetie."

    "What do you mean? Who is he then?", Xi Wei furrowed his brows.

    "My confidant. Lieutenant General Ashfakh Ali.", the girl responded indifferently, siding the boiled spinach in her te.

    The moment the man mopping the floor listened to the girl''s words, he clenched his fists and strode inside the living room. He red at the girl and roared, "Are you fucking kidding me?! You let me mop the floor, despite the fact that you knew it was me? And how did you even know that I had reced the staff?"

    "Your perfume, Ashfakh.", Rong Xinghe said the matter-of-factly, "Both my memory and my senses are sharp.

    "And why would I even bother stopping you? Since you volunteered to clean this ce, how could I possibly be an obstacle in your path?

    "Go ahead. Clean it all up. Also, in Fang''s bedroom, there is a spider web in the top-right corner. Please clean that up too."

    "You are joking, right?", Ashfakh folded his arms, staring right into the woman''s eyes.

    Rong Xinghe let out a sigh and stood up from her chair, approaching the infuriated man leisurely. "What can I say? You still suck at fooling me.", the girl pulled the man in for a quick yetforting hug, "Wee back, old friend. The Army missed you."

    The man stood frozen for a few seconds before he finally wrapped his arms around her andughed, "I missed you all too."

    "By the way...", the man smirked at the girl after the formalities had been taken care of, "You never told me about the boyfriend, woman."

    Rong Xinghe turned to look at the calm andposed man before she let out a softugh, "Well, sure. Meet Yuan."

    Xi Yuan walked in from the girl''s behind and shook hands with the soldier, acknowledging his presence. "I would like to apologize to President Xi regarding the swap in servants today. They are safe though Just unconscious. They will join back tomorrow. You have my word."

    "It''s alright.", Xi Yuan nodded, "You two seem to be pretty close. I haven''t really seen officers speaking so casually with her." Rong Xinghe could literally smell the jealousy in the air. So did Xi Ying and Xi Wei. Why was this man so possessive? And so overbearing?

    "We are friends, President Xi.", Ashfakh smiled, "A fewmon missions in the past helped us bond, you could say."

    ___________

    "Hey Yuan! Are you okay?", Rong Xinghe waited for Ashfakh to leave the ce before she hauled the man into his bedroom and cupped his face, "He is just a friend. Okay? I love you."

    "I am fine, Xinghe.", the man sighed, "For a moment, I was worrying and overthinking. Like how I always do. But then the insecurities just disappeared into the thin air. All of a sudden.

    "I can''t be so petty. I can''t let myself forget that I trust you more than I am scared to lose you."

    "So that means I don''t have to exin?", the girl stared at the man as if she had just had an encounter with some ghosts.

    "What kind of a man would I be if I push my woman to prove her loyalty towards me?", the manughed, "I would be a jerk, a monster, then.

    "I trust you more than anything, Xinghe. I can''t ask for exnations from you. I don''t have any right to make such demands. I love you. That''s what matters in the end."

    Rong Xinghe looked into the man''s eyes and smiled, the corner of her eyes stinging with tears. How could he be so understanding? Sometimes, she thought he respected her honour more than she herself ever did. That he cared about her self-respect more than anyone, including herself. This man was hopelessly in love with her. And so was she.

    Next she knew, she could feel the softness of his lips against hers. She didn''t know if she leaned into him first or if he pulled her towards him. Maybe both. But this kiss was magical. Phenomenal. Like the one before this. And the one before that. Every single touch of his was breathtaking. It was at this moment, that Rong Xinghe realized one thing. She couldn''t let go of him. Not in this lifetime. Not until her heart was beating.

 Chapter 356: The Prediction

    Chapter 356: The Prediction

    2:00 p.m., MCO ;

    "So you are trying to say that Rong Yufan is somehow connected to the Bleeding Avenues?", Rong Xinghe stared at Ashfakh Ali with disbelief, "Heh. Didn''t saw thating."

    "We are Military, Xinghe. We signed up for this crap. I am not even shocked. That guy has always been a d*ck, you know?", the officer smiled, unloading the bullets from his gun, "I simply don''t understand the obsession he has with you! Although your twin is a Rong too, you''ve been the only one under his radar all these years. Why?"

    The girl stood up from her seat and closed the files in front of herzily. "It was a prediction. A curse for the Rongs, actually."

    "What?! Tell me more.", Ashfakh looked up at the girl,pletely intrigued.

    "I know.", the girl sighed, "As much superficial as it sounds, it is a fear the family has been holding onto. For years, now. In our baby-naming ceremony, a prominent Indian saint, an astrologer had shown up. He was a philosopher, my brothers told me once. Apparently, his words were like the cravings against rocks. Irreceable. Irremovable. Fate, people im.

    "Since he had shown up uninvited, and coincidentally, the Rong family thought of it as a token of good luck. They requested him to predict our future. That''s where everything went wrong. When he looked at Xiao, he dered the usual. Sess, beauty, the do-gooder. He said she would always be under the protection of her siblings. That she would live a normal life."

    "But?", Ashfakh crossed his legs at knees, curiosity sparkling in his almond-brown eyes, "What did he predict about you?"

    Rong Xinghe turned to look at the floor-to-ceiling window, "He predicted that my sword would rip out the heart of my eldest brother, Rong Yufan. That I would be the destruction of the Rong family. That the second twin was born with immense strength and intellect, and that the child''s every decision would be well-thought and smartly-nned; I was born to live an extraordinary life. That my every act would change thousands of lives, at once.

    "Anyhow, the Rongs worship their ''soul-heirs'', their sons, more than anything. They wouldn''t have let any harm direct towards Rong Yufan. He was their only son, actually.

    "Now you know why I had always been their favorite prey, their most sought-after victim. Their Prince''s life was hanging by the thread."

    "Damn! So how true are that Indian saint''s predictions? Did you ever check into that?", Ashfakh Ali asked, enthralled, "I mean... there must''ve been a reason the Rongs were so scared."

    "Apparently, he had predicted the bomb sts in WunCin City five years before it happened. Exact date. Exact time. Only if our country hadn''t taken it for granted then, hundreds of lives could''ve been saved. So yes. I guess he is a trustworthy source.", the girl replied, "In fact, it''s weird how every other astrologer had the same predictions, for us. Not the exact words, but each one of them warned that I would be responsible for the demise of the Rongs."

    "Do you think you would hurt them personally, though? I mean... they are your family."

    "Was.", the girl smiled, "Was my family. Past tense, Ashfakh. And no. I want them to live and see me seed. That''s the-better revenge."

    "True.", the man nodded, "But aren''t you forgetting your past? The time when you weren''t someone who kept her emotions in check. Xinghe, I have seen the worst of you. Is there a possibility-"

    "There is no possibility, Ashfakh.", the girl cut in, her tone stern, "That girl is left behind, in the past. She was buried years ago. Never bring that up again. Do you get me?"

    "Got it.", the man raised his hand in surrender.

    _______________

    Meanwhile, Rong Family Mansion ;

    "Are you sure you want to do this, President Rong?", the man asked over the phone, "We could simply kill the girl in Country X. Why put in all those efforts to travel to Country I, if we were going to kill her anyway?"

    "Do you believe you are in any position to question me?", the man chuckled coldly as he yed with the Rubik''s cube in his hand, "Remember the specifications of the assassination. Choke her throat first. Let her struggle. Hit her head against the train ss. And then, push her down the train. Understood?"

    "Yes, Boss.", the man replied as a glint of barbarity reflected through his eyes.

    Rong Yufan then disconnected the call and fixed his gaze upon the cube in his hand. She used to y with it. The little adorable Xinghe. His innocent sister. The one who admired him ever since she was a kid. ''Teach me to fight, Bro Yufan!'', she used to pull his sleeves, her eyes passionate and hopeful. Always the fighter.

    This was exactly how she was supposed to die. On those cold railway tracks, in that freezing night. On her 13th birthday. It was both a shame and a miracle, that she survived that. Not only that, she even grew up into an independent, strong warrior. The highest Military Authority of Country X. The CEO of Rong Corporations. The Business Empire which had always belonged to him. Always the over-achiever!

    When Rong Quiang had told him about the predictions after the twins'' birth, he hadughed so hard his jaws hurt. That was ridiculous! How could a woman possibly ever hurt him? He never felt threatened by the saint''s words. But her mind, her rage did intimidate him. Her willpower was frightening. He despised her ability to achieve and master almost everything she directed her curiosity towards, ever since she was a child.

    She wasn''t ordinary. He knew that. But she was still weak and fragile. She was still a woman. A woman who was a constant obstacle between him and his throne to the Rong Empire.

    So she was bound to die. At his hands. ''It would be interesting when this girl''s death will rule over every news headline tomorrow, dear sister!'', the manughed manically, ''A reminder to the past! A gift from your Bro Yufan.''

 Chapter 357: Without humanity, without emotions

    Chapter 357: Without humanity, without emotions

    Next Morning, 11:00 a.m. ;

    "Get up, you sleepyhead!", Mo Zixuan strode inside the girl''s bedroom and pulled her nket away. Xi Yuan followed behind him helplessly. "Can''t we let her sleep for an hour more?", the man sighed, as he looked at the girl rubbing her eyes tiredly.

    "No!", the man squinted his eyes at the Xi Yuan, "I am getting married a weekter. And as the groom''s sister, she has certain responsibilities to take care of. How can she have her beauty nap at such a crucial time!?"

    "Who will select the groom''s tux and the bride''s gown? And I am still not done with the wedding vows. The entire family is preparing for the big day, but her."

    "Hey! It''s not my fault I have Six brothers.", the girlined grumpily, "At some point, you get bored of weddings!"

    Mo Zixuan flicked the girl''s forehead, and twisted her right ear, "Rong Xinghe, I am not going to repeat myself. Get down the bed. Now!"

    "Ow! Ok, ok okay!", the girl shrieked, akin to a little bird, "Fine! Wait for me down there. Let me shower and change, at least."

    The man released the girl''s ear and smirked triumphantly at her. He then turned around to leave the room, hauling Xi Yuan along with him, "Let''s prepare breakfast for her, until then. I have something to talk to you about as well."

    ________________

    While the girl was selecting clothes for herself, the two men chopped the vegetables in the Kitchen downstairs, silently. By this time, Xi Yuan was more than sure that the man wasn''t here just for his wedding preparations. There was something else bothering him. So instead of poking him about it, the man decided to keep his mouth shut for the time being. There were very few things in this world, that could trouble Media Ma Mo Zixuan, after all.

    "Try to keep her away from TV, or newspapers, or phones for today.", the man said after a few minutes.

    "What''s going on, Bro Mo?", the man questioned. He knew there was something more to this surprise visit!

    Mo Zixuan pulled his phone out and swiped thrice before he tossed it over to the man. Xi Yuan nced at the screen and furrowed his brows. "Country I? Is the girl-"

    "No. She died hours before the localites carried her to the hospital.", the man took a shaky breath, his tone soft and low, "What worries me the most me is the simrity of this incident with the one that took ce years ago. Xinghe should never know about this."

    "I agree.", Xi Yuan nodded, "Any idea about the perpetrator, though?"

    "No. Why?"

    "The way this matter escted, not to mention, how the media is actively reporting it, makes me suspicious. It''s like the mastermind wants Xinghe to see this.", Xi Yuan exined his theory.

    "Do you think-", a name shed in front of Mo Zixuan''s eyes.

    "Rong Yufan. Yes.", Xi Yuan smiled, "There is a possibility of his involvement. Don''t worry. I''ll hire someone to look into it."

    "I will leave that to you then.", Mo Zixuan smiled back, "By the way, you are invited to my wedding, you know?"

    "Even if I wasn''t, I would''ve shown up as Xinghe''s date.", the man chuckled, eliciting augh from Mo Zixuan. "For the love of God, wear something ''non-ck or non-grey'' that day. I would hate to kick your ass in front of all the guests."

    "I don''t wear those colors ''all the time'', Bro Mo.", Xi Yuan countered.

    "If there is any other color in your wardrobe right now, it would shine like a diamond in the coal mines. So give me a break, young man.", the man looked at the man meaningfully.

    "Bro Mo is right!", at this time, Rong Xinghe walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, "Come with me. We will select something for you too."

    "Alright. I will join youter this afternoon.", the man promised, as he ced a kiss against the girl''s cheeks, "Until then, help your brother customize the groom''s suit. Send me the address of the designer''s office, so I can pick you up from there, after you''re done. Bro Mo can go to work directly then."

    "Done."

    ____________

    Meanwhile, MCO ;

    "We can not let this news reach Military Chief. Do you guys understand it?!", Ashfakh switched off the TV in his office and turned to look at the Military Officials standing behind him. "Spread the word to every officer present here."

    "Lieutenant General Ali, Military Chief has seen thousands of dead bodies till date. This girl''s death would be of least concern to her. Trust me.", a young soldier, named Song Wen argued, "Why would you be so specific about this case?"

    "Contrary to that, officer, this case can trigger the memories of her horrifying past.", Ashfakh replied sternly, "Follow my orders. That''s all you have to do."

    "Alright, Sir.", the officers bowed down and left the man''s office, leaving him with Shou Wu.

    "You seem to be anxious ever since this news was leaked, Soldier.", the old man exacted his question, "Why are you so worried?"

    Ashfakh Ali contemted for a minute before he lifted his head up and smiled wryly at the girl''s assistant, "Mr. Shou, have you heard about ''Alqatil''?"

    The moment the term left the man''s mouth, Shou Wu''s eyes widened, and he looked back into the man''s eyes. Ashfakh could tell he was terrified, just by the mention of the name. Poor old man, he thought.

    "That''s right. Alqatil wasn''t a man. It is a woman. Rong Xinghe.", Ashfakh spoke up as the silence filled the room, "Rong Xinghe without humanity. Rong Xinghe without emotions. So it''s better to not push her over the edge. Keep this news away from her. Okay?"

    Alqatil. The word meant ''Killer'' in Arabic. Ashfakh had seen that beast. He had seen the ruthlessness she radiated years ago. Underworld used to call her ''The Walking Death'', then. ''Ripper''. That was another way they addressed her. This was a secret that was supposed to be a secret. Buried in his heart, and his mind. Other than him, only those nine Silent Soldiers knew about the Ripper. And it was better that way. Because that side of Rong Xinghe''s was better untouched. At least, until Country X was to be pushed into the state of immediate emergency.

 Chapter 358: I am here. With you.

    Chapter 358: I am here. With you.

    Illumination Mall, 3:00 p.m. ;

    "President Xi, Wee!", the Manager of Spark, a Global Design brand, sped his hands gleefully, as the couple stepped inside the brand outlet, "To what do we owe this pleasure of having you?!"

    Rong Xinghe observed the dim lights and well-furnished ce closely before she turned to smile at the thin tall Manager, "We will help ourselves. Thank you." The man nced at Xi Yuan and waited for his orders before he finally disappeared from Xinguan''s line of sight.

    "Select anything you want.", Xi Yuan pushed the girl''s hair behind her ears and cupped her face, nting a soft kiss against her forehead, "Okay?"

    "Yuan, we are here to shop for you.", the girl punched the man''s shoulder lightly. "I am fine with whatever you select for me.", the man replied, grabbing a seat for himself over the Maroon leather armchair.

    "Alright.", the girl threw her hands in the air, "Any specifications? Or any allergy with certain kinds of fabrics?"

    "Nah. Just avoid something too ''glittery or shimmery''. Please! I don''t want to look like a clown in your brother''s wedding.", the man requested, earning a shortugh from the girl. God! Herugh was mesmerizing. It was a shame she seldom enjoyed herself like this.

    Rong Xinghebed through the entire men''s section for a few minutes before she returned back with four sets of suits, to the man. "I never realized they had such an amazing collection. This brand is killing it. I mean, I love it here! Who is the damned designer?!", Rong Xinghe grinned, fascinated, "It''s difficult to hate shopping when the clothes are this breathtaking."

    "You like ''Spark''?", the man''s lips curled upwards, as his fingers grazed the surface of the smooth silk tie beneath one of the suits, selected by the girl.

    "I love this ce! I don''t really shop but my God, this ce is sexy.", Rong Xinghe nodded her head.

    "Do you remember Xi Yue?", Xi Yuan asked, as he stood up and intertwined the girl''s fingers with his long ones.

    "Yeah. Your cousin. The one who got married in New York. That was the first time I met your family.", the girl felt the heat rise up to her cheeks, as the man brushed his lips against her knuckles, "What about her?"

    "She is the ''Spark'' Fashion Designer.", the man could feel the girl''s mouth opening wide. "Really?! She is indeed talented. I am an absolute fan!"

    "I will get her autograph for you, then.", Xi Yuan promised, "But yeah, Fashion is under Ying''s control. She and Yue handle all the Jewelry, Perfume, and Fashion outlets. Entertainment Industry is Wei''s field of work. That''s how it works in Xi Corporations."

    "Smart move.", the girl pinched the man''s cheeks.

    "What do you mean?", the man frowned.

    "That''s a clever way to resolve the very possibility of internal family conflicts, President Xi. You make them feel they are all in power, while you hold onto the primary root reigns. Ying and Yue love to blend creativity into business, so you handed them the authority in these fields. And since Wei is fond of dramas, he gets to control the Entertainment Industry.

    "Not to mention, you keep Fang by your side so that, if someday you are unavable, he can rece you in Xi Corporations. That way, no one would fight for the position of the CEO like your Dad and Uncle did in the past, and thepany won''t be left without a backup n. Have I ever mentioned how much I love you?!", the girl wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a quick kiss.

    "You did figure that out pretty quickly, didn''t you, Ms. Rong?", the man hugged the girl back.

    "Okay! Enough with the lovey-dovey, Mr. Xi.", the girl pushed the man away, as she realized the man was nibbling onto her earlobe. And that was a soft spot! Such a shameless man, she thought. It was a public ce, for God''s sake.

    Xi Yuan couldn''t help but blink his ''puppy-eyes'' at her. Insensitive!

    "Try out that Mulberry Suit. Go.", Rong Xinghe turned around, firmly rejecting the man''s emotional ckmail.

    "Fine!", the man gave in eventually. He was determined to get back at her for that tonight, anyway. ''Let''s see how you escape me then, Wifey.'', he smiled to himself.

    ________________

    Evening, 7:00 p.m. ;

    "So you don''t believe that witchcraft exists? Come on, it''s a possibility, Yuan.", the girl turned to stare at the man as if he was an alien, "There is so much history to it."

    "Xinghe, baby, I am dating a witch. Of course, I acknowledge their existence.", Xi Yuan suppressed hisugh as he hit the car brakes, taking notice of the traffic lights switching to red. The man then turned to look at the enraged little kitten beside him. "I am sorry, honey. Please don''t break up with me.", he apologized briskly.

    "Hush you.", the girl pouted, looking out of the window, at the busy streets. As she looked at an old singer singing, people dropping bills into his open hat, a smile appeared across her lips. She used to do that too. Street singing. It was one of the ''Voice of the World'' contests. Then, her attention shifted to a middle-aged woman selling flowers a few feet away from the old singer. Two kids following behind their mother like little ducklings. This time of the evening, City A used to advance into its craziness. The music. The buzz. The booze. Everywhere, in every corner of the city. This was the capital of the Country X. The one that was known for its spectacr nightlife.

    It was at this time that the huge curved projection screen lit up and a Journalist started reporting the regr headlines. The screen covered the entire Stark Building; it was, after all, more of a country custom. The News Bulletin. Naturally, Rong Xinghe focused her eyes upon the screen. One after another, the Reporter presented the daily-news; the death of an American Actor, the uing Presidential elections, the Stock Market Crash, and a murder. Thest news headline intrigued the girl''s interest. Mostly, because of the location of the crime. Secondster, a picture shed up on the screen. Country I. Rukawa Railway Station. tform Number 6. An eleven-year-old girl, lying in her own blood. Her parents crying, screaming, yelling. And ''those'' railway tracks.

    Xi Yuan was talking to Lu Wei when he noticed the girl''s facial expressions changing. The man''s eyes traveled into the direction where she was looking. Damn it! How could he forget about the Stark screen?!

    "Hey! Xinghe, look at me.", the man ced his phone on the dashboard and held the girl by her shoulders, drawing her attention towards him, "It''s okay. Calm down. I am here. With you."

    "I need to be alone.", she mumbled in a daze, blood draining from her face, her eyes in a state of panic. "Yuan, I can''t."

 Chapter 359: "Maybe the prediction wasnt as inaccurate as I thought it was."

    Chapter 359: "Maybe the prediction wasn''t as inurate as I thought it was."

    "Xinghe, I am not leaving you alone. Do you get me?", Xi Yuan stared straight into the girl''s eyes, determined, "So stop trying to escape me. Where arewe going?"

    Rong Xinghe looked at the man''s firm yet soft features and let out a sigh. He was one stubborn man. And hopeless. "Anywhere silent. Just not home. I need some time by myself, Yuan.", she said.

    "Okay."

    ______________

    Zhi Family Mansion, 8:00 p.m. ;

    "So how did she take it?", Ningtao asked her husband, concerned.

    "She wanted to roam around, I guess. Aimlessly.", Lu Wei answered, "But you know Yuan. He is there with her."

    "Thank God.", Songyan took a deep breath, relieved.

    The Six tigers had gathered at the Zhi Family Residence to discuss Mo Zixuan''s wedding ns earlier. Decorations. Wedding themes. The number of guests. Usual. But then again, this was the Superfamily. Not a single day in their lives was ''usual''. Despite their attempts to pull the news down from the headlines, it was odd how the Stark Screen still disyed the piece. Most importantly, it wasn''t a mere ''coincidence'' that their Kiddo happened to be right there when the journalist reported it. They weren''t unaware of that, of course.

    "I am sure I informed them about this.", Mo Zixuan clenched his fists.

    "Rong Yufan. He must''ve done it. His timings are perfect. Always.", Zhi Bo remarked.

    "Why are we so worried again?", Ruo Cy questioned, "It was a matter of time before Xinghe would''ve known about this incident anyway. The truth came out, big deal? She will be fine eventually. Right?"

    "Or maybe she won''t, Mrs. Zhi?", at this time, an unfamiliar yet smoothly crisp voice resounded from behind the woman. The group of people turned to look at the young man smiling at them. "Lieutenant General Ashfakh Ali, here. A friend of your Sister''s, Sirs.", the man addressed the Six men, "It''s not every day that you get to meet the Six tigers. I am honored."

    _____________

    Meanwhile, In front of the State Library ;

    "I swear I didn''t know the library would be closed.", Xi Yuan approached the girl, with two cups of coffee in his hands," And when you said ''anywhere silent''. I could think of only this ce. But I guess the streets are silent too." The man smiled, as he looked at the girl sitting on the hood of his car, her legs crossed.

    "Thank you.", the girl smiled wryly, holding onto her cup with both her hands, "I guess this is the first time you''ve wandered around like this."

    "Yeah. I don''t mind, though.", the man nodded, sitting beside the girl upon the car hood, "As long as you are with me."

    The couple didn''t speak to each other after that. Not a single word. Xi Yuan knew she needed space. And time. To process everything. Rong Yufan''s connection with the murder. His association with the ''Bleeding Avenues''. Her childhood. It was all too much, after all. He couldn''t expect her to chat with him normally, after everything. But he could be there. By her side. And he hoped for nothing more.

    Rong Xinghe didn''t try to talk too. She needed to digest it all herself first. She thought about when she was four and then when she was thirteen. He was a monster each time, putting on a pretense of the concerned elder brother. From killing the street dog she fed in front of her eyes, to throwing her down a running train as if she were some trash. He had always been a monster. Everything he did had some hidden motive behind it. Something evil.

    The girl''s train of thoughts was interrupted as she felt someone covering her bare shoulders, with a warm ck coat. The girl lifted her head up to look at Xi Yuan. He was still silent, his expression solemn. She could feel his breath against her cheek. His gaze focused on her body. He was stuck with her. In all her dramas. And that hurt her even more. Because this man deserved the world, ording to her. Not her pain and past destroying their present.

    "I love you.", she whispered, capturing his lips into hers. Xi Yuan wasn''t expecting that, so naturally, he was taken aback. Gradually, his mind rxed and their lips moved, in the perfect sync. He could feel her exhaustion, and sadness, by how she clutched onto his cor tightly. Damn! He couldn''t begin to imagine what she was going through right now. With all those memoriesing back, that must''ve been excruciatingly horrifying for her, he thought.

    "I love you too.", the man replied, pulling apart from the girl as he held her into his embrace, allowing her to listen to his heartbeats. "Do you want to talk about it?", he asked then, carefully.

    "It was a mistake.", the girl spoke up, after roughly half a minute, "Letting him live. It was a mistake. Maybe the prediction wasn''t as inurate as I thought it was. He is going to die, at my hands."

    ___________

    Zhi Family Mansion, 8:30 p.m. ;

    Ashfakh grabbed a seat for himself upon one of the couches and joined his hands, pressing them against each other. Only when he showed his official badge did the Six men were assured of his identity. They told him about how the girl took the news concerning the girl''s murder and that she was with Xi Yuan.

    "We are relieved.", Zhi Al said, "At least, she isn''t alone."

    "Me too.", Ashfakh agreed.

    "Officer, earlier, when you said ''Or maybe she won''t?'', what did you mean?", Su Rogguang asked, suspiciously.

    "Well...", the soldier said, his expression earnest, "I would require the Superfamily''s Oath of Secrecy regarding whatever I am going to tell here. Normally, we don''t reveal our real identities to the Civilians. But this concerns the Military Chief. So her familyes into the loop automatically. Should I take your word for it?"

    The Six men exchanged nces among themselves before they sat up straight and nodded, followed by the sixdies apanying them, equally serious. Songyan ordered the Nanny to take away Little Alix and Zhi Taio before she focused upon the man. It was better to keep the kids away, especially now that Lu Alix could speak.

    "So here is the thing. We are a group of Eleven soldiers. Underworld and Terrorist groups identify us as the ''Military Hybrids'' or the ''Silent Soldiers''. Xinghe is a Military Hybrid herself. Just more powerful than all the Ten of usbined. The ''Hybrid Alpha'', they say.

    "Hybrids. Neither Army nor Civilians. Stronger than the normal soldiers, but weaker than the Military Chief. In-between, always. Our skills are assets to the nation, our identities are threats to the terrorists.

    "Rong Xinghe''s life is inscribed in three books. Three different books. The first one, for the years she spent with the Rongs. The second one, for the time she was with you Six after the train incident.

    "But thest book was never read by anyone. Anyone, but for us Ten Hybrids. Those five years, when she was undergoing the Military Chief training. When she was the Ripper. No one heard of it, and no one saw it. Just the Hybrids.

    "The Military Hybrids were nothing but herpetition once. I am Ashfakh Ali. One of the Eleven trainee officers, who once aimed to sit on the Throne of the highest Military Authority of Country X.Each one of us, defeated by your Kiddo Sister."

 Chapter 360: "Only if we had a ring right now."

    Chapter 360: "Only if we had a ring right now."

    "So you are one of those in Xinghe''s batch.", Feng Mian asked, astonished, "But ording to thew, trainee officers for the position of Military Chief aren''t supposed to work. Your expenses are taken care of by the government all your life, right? Howe you are still serving the Army?"

    "Not Military. Just Xinghe. We have pledged our loyalty only to her.", Ashfakh shook his head, "The Hybrids will serve no one but their Alpha, until they breathe theirst.

    "But that is not what I am here for. I believe it is important for the Superfamily to know about Rong Xinghe''s darkest side."

    "What do you mean?", Zhi Bo furrowed his brows, tapping his fingers against the arm of the sofa he was sitting on.

    "Ripper. Alqatil. The Walking Death. All these years, these terms have been your sister''s identities. The fright that she has imnted in every breathing Militant''s heart is terrifying. The rage inside her is akin to theva inside a volcano. zing. Fatal. Destructive. Desperate to burst out.

    "Those five years had been the years of the Ripper. For the Hybrids, Xinghe has never had an ounce of humanity inside her. No humanity. No sensitivity. As she ripped off of one''s heart from their chests with her bare hands, she would stand firm, looking at her prey struggling hard to survive. That was the Ripper. The one that was feared the most."

    "Are you trying to tell us that our sister is a monster?", Mo Zixuan asked, his tone stern.

    "Was. Past tense.", the soldier remarked, least intimidated by the Six overbearing tigers facing him, "It took her an entire year to control that amount of rage. Unfortunately, the chance of that side of hers overpowering her positive side will always be there.

    "And trust me when I say this. You wouldn''t want to see her like that. The Ripper isn''t something you can deal with. That girl can leave a trail of dead ''blood-drained'' human bodies behind her, no matter where she goes. Alqatil isn''t rational. It''s a ruthless beast that has craved for nothing but blood."

    "Howe we never noticed it?", Lu Wei sighed.

    "Because Xinghe is amazing at concealing her emotions.", Ashfakh Ali shrugged, "You can see only what she wants you to see. You hear what she wants you to hear. Most importantly, in presence of the people she loves, the Ripper is always suppressed. It''s just Xinghe. Your sister."

    He was right. In front of the people she loved, Rong Xinghe was her best self. In the past, she had lost so much hope that, despite having six brothers who doted upon her more than anything, she had channeled all her pain into one strong emotion. Rage. Anger.

    She became the Ripper. A monster who was so blinded by the urge of wiping out her enemies, that she wouldn''t even care about the ''coteral damage''. The Five years that made her the Military Chief, were the same years when shemitted all her sins. But there wasn''t anything for the Superfamily or the Xi family to worry about. They were family to Rong Xinghe, and innocent civilians to the Ripper. She would never hurt them, regardless of what her personality was.

    ___________

    10:30 a.m., Elite Saphire Penthouse ;

    "What are you thinking?", Xi Yuan ced a tub of popcorn upon the girl''sp, "Already making a n for killing Rong Yufan?"

    "Nah. I will discuss it with my brothers first.", the girl shook her head, "What movie do you want to watch?"

    "You select the genre.", the man smiled, pulling out two soda cans from the fridge, "I select the movie."

    "Thriller. No, horror. Wait, both!", the girl grinned.

    "It. Chapter One.", Xi Yuan grabbed the space beside the girl on his couch and covered her legs with the nket, "Definitely both."

    "When do you even get so much time to watch these many movies? Last time I checked, you were still the CEO of Xi Business Empire?", the girl questioned, amused, as she switched on the smart TV and customized the living room lights to dim green.

    "I am still the CEO, Darling.", the manughed, "But having a brother controlling an entire Entertainment Industry keeps you updated. Wei never stops talking, you know? I rarely watch movies. I simply remember Wei''s reviews about each."

    "Ah! The memory of an elephant.", Rong Xinghe mocked, "Got it." The man could only roll his eyes. There was no point arguing with her. It wasn''t like she would ever run out of her craftyebacks! Most importantly, she deserved to live like this. Rxed and carefree. And he had no intention to bicker around when she was actually enjoying herself.

    ::::::

    "Hey! Can I ask you something?", the girl asked in the middle of the movie, her tone nervous.

    "Hmm?"

    "Have you ever thought about getting married someday?", the girl whispered hesitantly, "To me?"

    The moment the man''s mind processed the girl''s words, he looked straight into her eyes. It didn''t take him too long to realize that she wasn''t joking, so instead of saying anything, he picked up the remote from behind her and paused the movie.

    "Ok... okay. Firstly...", Xi Yuan cleared his throat, "Who in this holy world thinks about Marriage while watching a thriller movie?!"

    "Forget it.", the girl shook her head, "It was a silly question. Let''s focus back on the movie."

    "No!", the man snatched the remote from the girl, "I want to know more. Don''t you dare dodge this topic. Have you thought about ''us'' getting married, Xinghe?"

    "Yeah. I mean, sometimes.", the girl admitted honestly, "I don''t know. It''s weird, you know? I''ve always feared the idea of getting married, having a home. And all of a sudden, none of that scares me. Not anymore.

    "Wait. You didn''t answer my question. You don''t want to marry me?"

    "Rong Xinghe, you are my first love. Of course, I want to marry you.", the man leaned in, resting his head against the girl''s, "I love you so so much! Thank you for saying that."

    "Really?", the girl grabbed onto the man''s both hands. "Yes.", he sighed, regretfully "Only if we had a ring right now."

    "Who said we don''t have one?", the girlughed, pulling out a small dark-blue velvet box from one of her shopping bags, "Proposals have always been the Superfamily''s specialty, Sweetheart. How could you forget that?"

 Chapter 361: "He can have grand. We will have meaningful."

    Chapter 361: "He can have grand. We will have meaningful."

    Xi Yuan froze as he looked at the small box in the girl''s hand, and then back at the girl. The man noticed the girl''s nonchnt expression and let out a sigh, "There isn''t a ring inside it, right?"

    "Sorry. I was confused about your size.", the girl smiled helplessly, "I just found it in Little Alix toys earlier, so I picked it up.

    "I just wanted to see your reaction to the ''Will you marry me?'' question."

    "You are hopeless, you know?", the man flicked the girl''s forehead, eliciting a grunt from her, "Of course I will marry you. And we will decide the size and style of the rings togetherter. Okay? Always dramatic!"

    He then pulled the girl into his embrace, inhaling her unique scent, "But don''t rush into it. We have time. I promise you. You will have the grandest wedding ever. A wedding that one can only dream of."

    "No.", Rong Xinghe shook her head, pulling away from the man, "We don''t."

    "What do you mean?", Xi Yuan frowned.

    "We don''t have time.", the girl said, her tone soft, "I used to think the same when I realized that I had fallen for you. I wanted to confess to you, the way I thought you deserved. Royal. Magnificient. In the end, I couldn''t. You were attacked before that, and then, for four months, I regretted my choices.

    "Ever since then, I decided to live in the present. No big future ns. The present, Yuan.

    "We shouldn''t be even discussing a wedding when everything around us is so torn apart. Rong Yufan is on a killing spree. He is somehow connected to the Bleeding Avenues. My parents are dead.

    "But then again, when is my life not crazy? It''s always messed up. I can''t stop living because of that. I have to move on. And I have to fight. For the people I love. For you. No matter how much it hurts me. So I don''t care if I asked my boyfriend to marry me on the same day my psychotic ex-brother pulled off of one of his murderous tricks. I had to know your answer today, so I did.

    "But the moment you decided to stand by my side, you walked right into a battlefield. This is my life, Yuan. Death. Assassinations. Wars. You are in love with a soldier. Always remember that. So don''t you ever dare to assume that ''we have time''. That''s the only thing I might never be able to promise you. Okay?"

    "Understood.", the man nodded, "But don''t you want a grand wedding? Every woman I have ever met wanted that. Diamonds. Jewelry. Crazy Bachelorette Parties. Destination Weddings. All those things.

    "In fact, Ying keeps telling me about her ''dream wedding list'' every second day. So I thought... you might want that too."

    "Xi Yuan.", Rong Xingheughed, "Everything in my life is so extravagant. My enemies are terrorists, for god''s sake! The Six most influential men across the globe are my brothers. My ex-brother is a dangerous hypnotist. My blood family wants to kill me. I don''t need a wedding to establish how important I am to the world. Unlike those high-ss socialite girls, my identity has already been imnted into the minds of every single citizen of Country X. Trust me. A grand wedding would be nothing but a drop of water into the ocean."

    "A very fine point.", Xi Yuan agreed, suppressing his chuckle, "So what kind of wedding do you want?"

    "I don''t want grand, Mr. Xi. I want meaningful.", the girl answered honestly, "Now since you are equally into this, I will be needing your approval too."

    "You already have it. Just tell me your ns, Xinghe.", Xi Yuan held onto the girl''s hands, intrigued.

    "Well. I am not sure if you will consent this.", Rong Xinghe smiled, nervous, "But instead of all those Millionaires and Billionaires that the Xi family would probably want to invite, I was thinking of letting in the kids from Youth Team NGO.

    "I know that some of them are physically disabled, and some are suffering through psychological disorders. God, some of them won''t be able to even look at me in the wedding gown. But they will be able to hear our vows, right?

    "Society never epted kids like them, Yuan. In thispetition of showcasing one''s strength, these kids were always left out. Left alone. They never witnessed the holy ceremony of matrimonial, or get togethers. But in the end, they are still humans, aren''t they? Living, breathing, struggling humans.

    "Yuan, their blessings will count. Their hearts are pure. More than any of those so-called well-wishers. I want those kids and our families to be there when I walk down that aisle. And at the end of it, I want to see you, Mr. Yuan. My future husband. That''s the perfect wedding for me."

    Xi Yuan looked at the girl as if she was some sort of magic. As if she was the best thing that ever happened to him.

    She stood out. Her thoughts. Her heart. Her intentions. Her love. Everything about her simply stood out. And this was the woman he had fallen for.

    For her, the Youth Team was never a mere social service. It was a house she made home. And those kids meant a lot to her. After all, they were a lot like her. Motherless. Fatherless.

    To those children, Rong Xinghe was their sister. Their only family. Despite the fact that they never shared the bond of blood. Just like how the Six tigers were a family to her. Or maybe, they were all rted. Not by blood, but by love.

    This was the beauty of the Superfamily. They weren''t just a group of sessive individuals. They were a thought process. A chain that could be formed by anyone. It wasn''t fictional. It was a reality. A possibility, that everyone was too self-centered to ept, under the excuse of practicality. Rong Xinghe wanted to put down the veil between those beliefs. She wanted to show to the world that, despite being the Business King and the Military Chief of Country X, Xinguan preferred humanity over all those materialistic temptations.

    "What are you thinking?", the girl clicked her fingers, pulling the man back to reality.

    "Nothing.", the man said, cing a soft kiss against the knuckles of both her hands " I would love those little guests at our wedding, Bub."

    "Thank you! Thank you so much.", Rong Xinghe''s eyes sparked up, "But what about your business associates then?"

    "I guess they will have to make peace with the wedding reception.", the man shrugged, "We can organize a high-ss reception, right?

    "And as far as weddings are concerned,I have two other brothers. A sister, too. Xi Fang is already in a rtionship with Jiang Yue. Eventually, the guy will want to get married.

    "When that timees, he can have grand. <strong><em>We will have meaningful</em></strong>. We will have the pure blessings of the angels you brought up, the nts you nurtured."

 Chapter 362: A soldier without a badge

    Chapter 362: A soldier without a badge

    Next Morning, 9:00 a.m., MCO ;

    "Our daughter was kidnapped when she was returning back from her Judo sses. A week ago. We reported to the police too.", the man in histe-thirties informed, his eyes swollen, "I just don''t understand how an eleven-year-old could''ve offended those monsters."

    "You have my sympathies, Sir.", Rong Xinghe consoled, "Rest assured, your daughter will get justice."

    "And what will that do, Ma''am?", the child''s mother interrupted, tears coursing down her cheeks, "Will that bring my baby back?"

    Rong Xinghe turned to look at the woman, unable to find words for responding to her. She was right. The woman had lost her daughter. Her only child, in fact. And she didn''t even know whom to me for that.

    The girl''s name was Li Chen. A brilliant child. A schr. A hopeful, curious mind. What could she possibly say to pacify the mother of such a child?

    "My girl was strong, Chief! She was a fighter. She used to admire you. Her bedroom had your posters hanging around everywhere. She used to read newspapers because, in some news article, you said you did. She used to sing your songs every morning.

    "Once, she came and told me that she wanted to join the Military when she grew up. You were always her inspiration. She wanted to fight for her country, just like you. She wanted to be a Soldier.

    "So I refuse to believe that this was how her life was supposed to end. If anything, my Chen deserved to die as a Martyr. And that too, earster. Not so soon!", Li Chen''s mother clenched her teeth, clutching onto her daughter''s photo on herp, tearing up.

    "Mrs. Li. I am so sorry.", Rong Xinghe said, her tone soft, "But believe me or not, your daughter must''ve tried to fight for her survival, whilst she was lying on those tracks. And that''s what a soldier would''ve had done. So yes. Li Chen did die as a soldier. A soldier without a badge, that is."

    Only when the woman listened to the girl''s words did she lifted her head up and looked at her. So beautiful. And so strong. No wonder Li Chen liked her. This woman could make anyone feel at peace. Herpassionate eyes could provide sce to the weak and helpless, in an instant.

    "I know that no one can ever rece Li Chen for the both of you.", Rong Xinghe rubbed the woman''s back if hands lightly, "And I am sorry for your loss. Really, I am. Please take care. And always remember one thing. Chen would''ve wanted her parents to smile, andugh, and enjoy."

    As the couple left the girl''s office, Ashfakh Ali walked in, confused. "Are we doing Police things now, Chief?"

    "Shut up.", the girl shook her head, "Get me a cup of coffee."

    "Hey! I am not your errand boy. Alright?", the man protested, "How could you let me mop your boyfriend''s floor earlier? And now, you have the nerves to ask me for coffee? Brilliant!"

    "Do I need to repeat myself, Mr. Ali?!", the girl massaged her forehead, exhausted.

    "So you want Americano or Latte?", the man asked, changing his tone into that of a barista. Who would get on this woman''s nerves?! Psycho!

    "Cappucino."

    "Ok. I will be back in minutes."

    _____________________

    Xi Corporations, 2:00 p.m. ;

    "What?! You are going to propose to Sister-inw?!", Xi Wei jumped up from his seat, utterly shocked, "When?!"

    "After her brother''s wedding.", the man replied, "Two dayster."

    "Woah.", Xi Ying covered her wide open mouth, "Have you selected a ring for her?"

    "No. I need your help with it, Ying.", Xi Yuan said as he stared at hisptop screen, "This is all so confusing. I don''t know what she will like."

    Xi Ying walked around the man''s table and stood behind him, hugging him from behind, "Of course, I will help you with it! My brother is getting married, after all."

    "So do you think she is into heavy rocks? As in ancient huge-type rings."

    "Nope. My woman is the Military Chief of a country. It will be very diforting for her to hold onto her revolver with something like that. Not an option.", Xi Yuan shook his head, "Something light, please."

    "Alright. Let me call some jewelry designers first. We will have to visit these shops, though. They do not provide online services. They are exquisitely delicate and prominent in this field. Naturally, they do not work for just anyone. In fact, it''s rare for them to work for people like us. You know, business families. They mostly serve Royal families. Nevertheless, you will have toe along with me.

    "Xi Corporations is finally getting its Queen. She isn''t going to wear an ordinary glittery ring, Brother. She deserves a special one. Just like her personality. Unique.", the girl smiled, holding onto Xi Yuan''s arm.

    "I couldn''t agree more.", the man smiled.

    "And while we are at it, could you please tell me who proposed whom first?", Xi Wei pped his hands, seeking attention from his two siblings, who were clearly ignoring him, "And does this mean that the Xis are all geared up to wee their first daughter-inw?!"

    "More of like, ''the Superfamily is getting a Son-inw''. Yes, Third Master Xi.", Xi Yuan replied indifferently, "Anything else?"

    "Just one more. Did I ever mention how much I love you?", the man grinned.

    "You did. Every time you got drunk.", the man shrugged, picking up his suit, "And each time, I replied with an ''I hate you too, Wei''.

    "Now, suit up, young man. We''ve got a conference to attend."

    _____________

    Meanwhile, Huang Family Mansion ;

    Huang Biu stormed into the living room and grabbed onto her elder brother''s hand, cing a Brown envelope into it. "Who was the woman shopping with Yuan yesterday?!", the woman almost yelled, "The staff told me that they were even holding hands. But the girl was wearing a mask, throughout the entire duration, so they couldn''t tell who she was. Brother, I want to know the name of this bitch!"

    "Calm down, Biu.", the young man looked at the photos, "Firstly, answer me. Are you spying on him? What the hell is wrong with you?!

    "We are Huangs. So act like one. And what is your obsession with Yuan anyway? It''s like he is all you think about ever since he graduated high school."

    "Brother, I thought you would support me. I--"

    "Just stop it, Biu! Yuan is a close friend. Personally, and professionally. So don''t even think of crossing his bottom line. Ever.", the man cut her off, infuriated. "Huang family doesn''t have time for your tantrums and dramas. Okay?"

 Chapter 363: "I wont mind losing one Hybrid. Ill still have Nine left."

    Chapter 363: "I won''t mind losing one Hybrid. I''ll still have Nine left."

    "I didn''t mean it like that, Brother.", Huang Biu protested, taken aback by her brother''s stern tone. Huang Ling was the eldest son of the Huang family. People looked up to him. As calm as the summer sea, and as reserved as a monk. Naturally, the woman wasn''t expecting her brother to react so strongly to her, "But you know that I like Yuan."

    "I do. I know that you like him, Biu.", Huang Ling inhaled sharply, "But if he is already in love with some other woman, steer clear of him. As the eldest daughter of the Huang family, act maturely. Find another man for yourself. Do you understand?"

    Huang Biu stared at the man in front of her, shocked. Everyone in the Huang family knew how much she liked Xi Yuan, ever since she was a child. How could he say it so casually? No one in this world could rece Xi Yuan. Not for her, at least.

    "I know what you did at the ''Blush'' Nightclub, Biu. How could you act so recklessly, trying to hurt the Highest Military Authority of Country X, just because you were jealous of her connection to Xi Yuan?", Huang Ling crossed his arms, looking directly into the girl''s eyes, "How many times do I have to tell you to not cross the Superfamily, exactly?"

    "That bitch had iting!", Huang Biu clenched her teeth.

    "I dare you to call her that again, Biu, and I won''t give it a second thought before I throw you out of this house. Do you get that?!", the man warned, his tone high and overbearing, "She isn''t your ordinaryckey, that you can just order around. She is much more than that. So shut up and get your shit together. I am not hearing another word against Rong Xinghe, from your mouth. So just stop acting like a spoiled brat, for hell''s sake!"

    This was the first time, Huang Biu had seen her brother so enraged. But she knew he had always had a soft spot for Armed forces. He was, after all, once a soldier too. For seven years. In Combat Forces, he used to tell her. ''Didn''t you wanted to be the Military Chief too?", she''d once asked him. He had just smiled and shrugged, ''Nah! I had toe back to the family and business. Most importantly, I loved working as a Special Forces Officer.''

    Even today, he missed that part of himself. She could tell that. It was understandable too. They said it was difficult for trained army men to settle back into the boring life of a mere civilian. No doubt he was so sensitive about everything rted to the Military.

    "Sorry, Brother.", the girl sighed, looking down at the ground, "I just need some time."

    "I get that. Just don''t do anything stupid.", Huang Ling turned around, closing his eyes, "Now go and prepare a gift."

    "For what?"

    "We will have to submit our apologies to the Superfamily, in person, Biu. We are going to attend the wedding of Media Ma Mo Zixuan the day after tomorrow.", the man''s lips curled upwards.

    Huang Biu listened to her brother, surprised and amazed. The Superfamily meant the Lus and the Zhis. Didn''t it mean that Xi Yuan would be there too? She would never miss an opportunity like that one. It was a chance to get closer to him.

    But the only thing bothering her was the wedding invitation. Why would they invite the Huangs, especially after what happened at the clubst time? But then again, she knew how stubborn and determined her brother could be.

    "Alright. Sure."

    Huang Ling waited for the girl to disappear from his line of sight before he looked down at the photos in his hands, rubbing his thumb over the ck feminine figure. "If this is you, Rong Xinghe, no one is allowed to steal your man. I will personally ensure of that.", he muttered, with a smile across his lips.

    ___________

    Next Night, 11:30 p.m., MCO ;

    While the Superfamily was all set for their fifth man''s wedding, Country X was looking forward to its Presidential and Union elections. After a sessful tenure of Six years, of governance, the new Prime Minister and President were to be elected by the public and the parliament. That was the pattern in Country X. As the third face of the nation, the Military Chief could only be selected through training. As a result, the unaffected party was given the responsibility to pronounce the selected candidates as the Prime Minister and the President. Basically, Rong Xinghe had a lot on her te to deal with currently.

    "So the new Prime Minister and the President are to take their oaths, in front of you.", Ashfakh Ali raised his brows, cutting an apple into two pieces, "I guess that''s a proud opportunity, isn''t it?!"

    "It''s a lot of diplomacies and controversies, Ashfakh.", the girl yawned, shaking her head, "Kind of boring. And a lot of paperwork too. Signing documents, meeting ministers so that I can suggest their names to the new nation heads... Trust me, it sucks."

    "Now that you put it like that, I can''t tell how happy I am to see you suffering like this. Thank God! I didn''t be the Military Chief.", the manughed, "My life was much more interesting in the Middle East. It had so much zeal to it there."

    "Do you want to die?", the girl stood up from her seat, stretching her arms, "Cause I won''t mind losing one Hybrid. I''ll still have Nine left, you know."

    "You bitch!"

    "You bastard!"

    But before the two could lock horns with each other, Shou Wu stepped into the girl''s office. "Boss, it''s President Xi.", the man said, handing his phone over to her, "He said you weren''t picking up his calls."

    Rong Xinghe nodded and gestured the man to leave before she brought the phone to her ears, "Hey, you."

    "Hey, to you too.", Xi Yuan''s deep and mellow voice resounded through the other side, "When are youing back home?"

    "An hourter. Why?"

    "You do realize that your Brother is getting married tomorrow, right?", the man sighed, "You will be tired tomorrow, Honey. Just get some sleep."

    "Alright. I will be there in half an hour. Okay?", the girl smiled, "Should I order food, by the way?"

    "No need. I am on it. By the time you reach my ce, the dinner will be ready."

    "I love you.", the girlughed softly. "I love you too, to-be-Wifey.", he remarked.

    "God! Just kill me. Or else, give me a wife. Please! Anything, but this PDA.", Ashfakh Ali groaned, eliciting a scoff from the girl.

 Chapter 364: Congratulations. The Super Wedding just got horrifyingly thrilling!

    Chapter 364: Congrattions. The ''Super'' Wedding just got horrifyingly thrilling!

    Next Morning, 8:00 a.m., The Imperial Pce ;

    "Yuan has some meeting to attend, apparently. He left early this morning. Promised that he will arrive before the wedding ceremony begins.", Rong Xinghe said, pouring down whiskey for herself as she looked at her brothers trying out different suits.

    "Navy Blue or Hickory Brown. Select one for me.", Zhi Al turned to look at the girl, holding onto two suit-sets in both his hands.

    "Umm... The Azure Blue one, brother.", the girl pointed her chin towards the armchair behind the man, "Your girlfriend, Feng Mian, prefers that color."

    "How do I look?", Su Rogguang''s voice interrupted the siblings as he stepped out of the changing room, buttoning up his royal golden slim fit tuxedo.

    "Is it weird that I find my brothers hot?", Rong Xiaoughed, swirling her ss of wine.

    "Not at all.", Zhi Xi smiled, nting soft kisses against the Rong twins'' foreheads.

    "Where is the groom, by the way?", Rong Xinghe ran her gaze through thevish yet chaotic suite. "Don''t tell me he ran away."

    "Of course he didn''t!", Ningtao walked into the room, snatching the girls'' sses from their hands, "Each one of us is supposed to be in their finest senses before the wedding, okay? And why are you two not dressed up yet? Come on. The hairstylists and makeup teams are waiting for the groom''s sisters. Go and get changed in my suite."

    "But where is bro Mo?", Rong Xiao asked.

    "He is still nervous about the vows. So kind of... rewriting everything.", Songyan joined in into the conversation, "You know he can be a little paranoia sometimes."

    "Yes. About that, Mr. Husband...", Ningtao turned to cup Lu Wei''s face with her hands, "Could you guys assist your troubled brother over there in the hallway?"

    "Of course.", Lu Weiughed, pulling his wife in for a quick kiss.

    ___________

    10:30 a.m.

    "So what did brothers say about your sudden perspective change regarding marriage?", Rong Xiao asked the girl, resting her head against the leather chair, allowing the makeup artists to massage her face with the moisturizer.

    "They were unexpectedly fine, actually. They were mostly against the idea of me leaving them, after the wedding. But after I assured them that nothing would change, they were pretty supportive. It seems like they''ve been bonding a lot with Yuantely. Bro Al even addressed him as ''Brother-inw''. Can you believe it?!", Rong Xinghe replied through the other side of the changing room, stripping off of her clothes.

    "Oh! His imagination isn''t still as wild as mine. I literally imagined you holding onto your and brother-inw''s babies in the maternity ward, you know? That too, triplets.", the girlughed.

    "Shut up, Xiao!"

    "Honestly, when is the official proposal?!", Rong Xiao questioned.

    "Not anytime soon. With Rong Yufan into the mix, I just can''t think about that.", Rong Xinghe sighed, "It was just a normal chat. And it''s great to know that he is on the same page as me. We both want to take the ''next beg step''. That''s already huge. For me, it is."

    "That''s true.", Rong Xiao agreed, "There is no point in getting your hopes high. You both are way too busy to think about another wedding, right?"

    "Exactly."

    While the girl changed her clothes, Rong Xiao gestured her makeup artists to stop whatever they were doing and picked up her phone, browsing for her Brother-inw''s number. After thinking for some time, the girl finally sent him a text message.

    "Brother-inw, Mission Proposal is still on."

    __________

    4:00 p.m., The Imperial Pce ;

    Mo Zixuan and Cheng Tai were both standing at the end of the aisle, reading vows to each other, under the scrutiny of the dignified guests and the reverend. Cheng Tai looked alluring and striking in her White Mermaid-style off-shoulder gown. And the charms of the groom were no less too. Suited up in ck and Burgundy, Mo Zixuan stole the hearts, of not just the bride, but the other women too. Yet, he was already prepared to devote his entire life to the one in front of him.

    "Rings, please?", the old reverend turned to look at the five groomsmen standing behind Mo Zixuan.

    "Cupcakes,e here!", Zhi Al clicked his fingers, pouting at the two ''brand-new'' members of the Superfamily, eliciting a wave of giggles and awes of admiration, from the crowd.

    As if on cue, Little Alix jumped down her White leather couch, holding onto Baby Taio''s index finger, within the whole of her fist. Like the little princess and the prince, the two reached their Uncle Mo shortly after. What seemed like a wobbly walk to the guests was a genuine struggle for the two little siblings.

    Zhi Bo then bent down, pulling out the two velvet boxes from the basket Little Alix was carrying around. He then stood up and passed the boxes to Zhi Xi.

    Mo Zixuan looked through the crowd and spotted his two sisters, standing by Elder Lu''s side. And then, at Cheng Tai''s mother, sitting beside the Xi Family Elders. This was it. His entire family was there. Taking in a deep breath, the man fixed his gaze upon the woman in front of him.

    "There is no going back after this, Tai. So are you sure you want to do this?", the man smiled, cing the wedding ring around the tip of her left hand''s third finger.

    "I can''t wait.", Cheng Taiughed, tears stinging the corner of her eyes.

    :::::::::::

    At this time, Rong Xinghe''s phone rang up. Since it was on the vibration mode, the ceremony wasn''t disturbed. The girl looked at the screen and Ashfakh Ali''s name popped up on it.

    "This better be worth it, Ashfakh.", the girl groaned.

    "I love you too, Baby.", the man spoke up, "Here is the thing. There might be an electromaic bomb nted right into the heart of the City A. I just recieved a lead. The Stark Square, which is clearly, meters away from The Imperial Pce. That puts your entire family and those hundreds of guests, at fatal risk.

    "But that isn''t the worst part. I am not able to get through, to the bomb squad. So right now, I am on my way to the location. But the problem is, you are better at diffusing bombs than me. So it would be lovely if you could get yourself over there.

    "And yeah! Congrattions. The ''Super'' Wedding just got horrifyingly thrilling! I guess the Six men are really the mas to danger, aren''t they?"

 Chapter 365: Just saved the world

    Chapter 365: Just saved the world

    "I''ll be right there.", the girl sighed, making her way to Mo Zixuan, upon the stage. She wasn''t even shocked anymore. This was her life, after all. A pinch of drama in everything around her was literally, a necessity. "You have the bomb squad equipments, right?"

    "Yeah. I have everything else.", Ashfakh Ali answered, ncing at the ck bag in the backseat. through the rearview mirror.

    Rong Xinghe reached the stage and disconnected the call as she whispered into her brother''s ear, "I will have to leave for an hour or so. Will that be okay, Bro Mo?"

    "Where are you going? You can''t just bail on me, on my wedding day, Xinghe.", Mo Zixuan frowned.

    "Um... Kind of an explosive emergency.", the girl scratched her head awkwardly, "Moreover, you have been pronounced husband and wife already. How much more of a wedding do you want?

    "I will be back before the wedding dinner, okay? Promise."

    "Screw the wedding.", Mo Zixuan stared right into the girl''s eyes, "What is it about the emergency?! Xinghe... you-"

    "I will return back alive, brother.". the girl rubbed the man''s shoulders, smiling at him confidently, "Don''t worry about that. But if I don''t go now, we might have to celebrate the wedding dinner in heaven. Or hell. Whatever."

    Mo Zixuan looked at the girl worriedly for a few seconds before he finally pulled her in for a warm hug, "Just be safe, alright?"

    "I will be fine.", the girlforted.

    ________________

    4:30 p.m.,

    "All I am saying is ''Do note to the wedding. Stay wherever you are.'' Which part of that do you not understand, Mr. Xi?", Rong Xinghe walked into the Stark Square building, adjusting her Bluetooth earpiece.

    "I am already here, Xinghe.", Xi Yuanughed, "What''s wrong?"

    "I had to leave the wedding a few minutes ago. Bro Mo will fill you in on it, okay?"

    "Military emergency? Again?", the man rolled his eyes, "Juste back in one piece."

    "I will."

    "I love you."

    "I love you too.", the girl smiled, nodding lightly at the team of officers approaching her, "I got go now. Bye."

    :::::::::::::::::::::::

    Rong Xinghe followed Ashfakh Ali into the basement of the building. One could, very clearly, hear the sound of water drops hitting against the cement floor beneath the pipes. Cutting through the awful silence, that was the only sound audible there, actually.

    "So where''s the bomb?", the girl looked at Ashfakh Ali with a muddled expression.

    "You are standing on it.", the man smiled meaningfully as he strode towards the main electrical service panel. The man then opened the system box and ced his hand upon one of the switches. "Move a little away, Alpha.", he said.

    Rong Xinghe took four steps backward and clenched her fists, her gaze fixed upon the tiles where she was standing seconds ago. They were indeed different. Almost new. Clean, unlike the other dusty ones. Ashfakh Ali pressed the switch and as a result, the two tiles slid over one another, disappearing beneath the old ones.

    "Fuck.", Shou Wu gasped and pulled out his handkerchief, patting his head with it. The set-up looked prettyplicated. It was nothing like the ones he had ever seen. How could Rong Xinghe operate on that one, he wondered.

    Rong Xinghe crossed her arms and looked up at her old assistant, wiggling her brows at him with a smirk across her lips, "At least, something in this world could make the righteous Mr. Shou, swear! Maybe missing out on my brother''s wedding wasn''t that much of a loss."

    As he took in the girl''s solemn and indifferent expression, Ashfakh let out a chuckle too. Clearly, this was barely a ''trouble'' for her. "There''s a timer of 15 minutes set. Will you be needing me?", the man asked.

    "Nah.", Rong Xinghe shook her head, pulling up thecy sleeves of her long maroon dress.

    "Okay. Should I entertain you while you diffuse the bomb, then?", Ashfakh Ali sat down on the ground, crossing his legs at ankles, like a little child, "Cause I am not leaving you here."

    "Please. No!", the girl grunted.

    "Please. Yes!", the man smiled, goofily.

    ____________

    5:00 p.m.

    "President Xi, may I have a word with you?", Xi Yuan was walking around in the silent hallway, rubbing the back of sleeping Zhi Taio. Xi Wei and Xi Fang were sitting on a couch close by too, ying with Lu Alix. Since the kids were getting impatient and grumpy amid all the guests, the Xi men had volunteered to put them to sleep. Superfamily, of course, trusted Xi Yuan with Lu Alix and Zhi Taio, so they had no issue with the proposal, whatsoever.

    "Ms. Huang.", Xi Yuan turned around and acknowledged the woman in a tone of propriety.

    "I... um...", Huang Biu felt her heartbeat racing and heat rising up to her cheeks, as she looked at the man standing so close to her, "I..."

    "Yes?"

    "I wa... wanted to tell you something.", the woman finally said.

    "Sure. Just a second.", Xi Yuan nodded, "Ying. Keep swinging him in your arms. He won''t wake up then."

    "Okay, brother.", Xi Ying smiled, taking the child from Xi Yuan carefully.

    "What is it?", Xi Yuan unbuttoned his suit, stretching his neck tiredly.

    "I wanted to confess something.", Huang Biu sighed, "I am not sure if that was a coincidence or destiny, but we''ve been to the same high school. I saw you in the fifth grade for the first time. And since then-"

    "And since then, you''ve been in love with him.", at this time, a soft yet sharp voice echoed througg the entire hallway, "I know that."

    Xi Yuan tilted his head and looked at the person hurrying towards him. "Hello there, Mr. Xi!", the girl smiled.

    "Come here.", Xi Yuan spread his arms wide open, allowing the girl to hug him tightly. He then wrapped his arms around her waist, cing a soft kiss against her forehead. "How was the mission?"

    "Just saved the world.", the girlughed, "I could really use a drink, you know?"

    "I will get it for you, Sister-inw!", Xi Wei stood up to leave, "Whiskey or wine?"

    "Bourbon."

    "Sister-inw...", Huang Biu stared at the girl, taken aback by Xi Wei''s words.

    "This is going to be interesting.", Xi Ying giggled, pinching Zhi Taio''s chubby little cheeks, "Your Auntie is going to kick some ass now, Honey. It''s a shame you are so little, that you are least concerned about the most savage side of her."

 Chapter 366: As long as she was Rong Xinghe, he would love her

    Chapter 366: As long as she was Rong Xinghe, he would love her

    "He confessed to you first!?", Huang Biu pointed her index finger towards Xi Yuan, shocked. "It''s impossible." The more Rong Xinghe told her about her and Xi Yuan''s rtionship, the more Huang Biu was finding it difficult to digest. Xi Yuan was never a ''love-at-fist-sight'' kind of person. In fact, almost everyone around him had once presumed that he would never marry. For someone as reserved and distant as Xi Yuan to pursue a woman with so much patience and obstinance was like a dream. A surreal dream. It wasn''t something she ever imagined Xi Yuan would ever do. Let alone, for someone as wild and ferocious as Rong Xinghe.

    He had a reputation for exercising absolute control. Over everything around him. Business. Rtionships. But this. This wasn''t ''control''. This was equality. He stood beside her. As if she was just as important. As if shepleted him.

    "Why her, Yuan?", she asked, facing Xi Yuan, "What was it about her?!"

    Xi Yuan stood behind Rong Xinghe. Silent. He wanted the ''Missus'' to handle this one. Rong Xinghe had gone through a lot that night. In that Nightclub. Because of this very woman. He had no intention of going easy on her today. So instead of answering her questions, the man pulled his phone out and dialed a number.

    "It''s time to present the Huangs with a worthy gift, Mr. Wen.", the man said into the phone, his eyes fixed upon Huang Biu. The poor confused Huang Biu, looking like a lost sheep.

    "What are you doing, Brother?", Xi Fang questioned, leaving Lu Alix under Xi Wei''s care.

    "Did she really think she could get away with it? Who does she think she is, exactly?", Xi Yuan raised his voice, letting out a cold chuckle, "You see, Ms. Huang, I am not a merciful person."

    The moment Huang Biu listened to the man''s words, she felt panic flood through every vein in her body. Her brother would kill her if Xi Yuan was to harm her family! She knew it. The reputation of the Huang family was everything for Huang Ling. That wasn''t something the Huangs were supposed to mess with. Even so, she had put the family into the patch of utter humiliation and harm.

    Involuntarily, the woman shook her head violently as her voice came out as a protest, "But I didn''t-"

    "Don''t you dare say you had no idea about me and Xinghe.", Xi Yuan cut her off, his tone sharp and intimidating, "Even if you were unknown about the rtionship, you very well knew that we were close. For someone as smart as you, it mustn''t have been difficult to figure out our rtionship, the moment I transferred Xi Corporations'' emergency shares to her.

    "And yet, you had the nerves to hurt her. It wasn''t brave. It was ridiculously idiotic. So spare me the excuses, Ms. Biu. For me, Xinghe is everything. She is my family. And you''ve known it better than anyone how protective I can be, when ites to the people I love."

    "Yuan...", at this time, Rong Xinghe turned around, cing her hand against the man''s firm chest, "Let it go, this once. Alright?"

    "What do you mean?", the man looked into the girl''s eyes, unable to understand the meaning behind the girl''s words.

    "She is telling you to let go of the Huang family.", suddenly, a well-modted and gravelly calm voice resounded through the hallway, as a man approached them, his hands tucked into the pockets of his Metallic Blue Velvetpel suit. He was astonishing. Mesmerizing. His charms, equivalent to those of the Xi family men.

    "Hello, Military Chief.", he said, nting a kiss against the knuckle of her left hand, "Thank you for the invitation."

    "President Huang.", Xi Yaun extended his hand and Huang Ling took it. "I suppose my sister has been quite a pain for you, President Xi?", Huang Lingughed.

    "Brother, I...", Huang Biu opened her mouth to speak up, "I am sorry."

    "You should be, Biu.", Huang Ling sighed, looking at Rong Xinghe, "What do you want me to do to her? She wronged you, after all."

    "Will you kill her if I ask you to?", Rong Xinghe crossed her arms.

    "I wouldn''t bat an eyelid before I do that. You know it.", Huang Ling shrugged.

    The Xi siblings exchanged nces among themselves before their eyesnded upon the pitiful and aghast Huang Biu. Xi Yuan simply stared at the two people in front of him. Calmly. Why would a brother put his own sister''s life at stake for an outsider, he wondered. Unless...

    "You''re one of the Military Hybrids, aren''t you?", the man threw his hands in the air, looking at them with disbelief, he brought his phone closer to his ears, "Let go of the Huangs, Mr. Wen."

    "I love you.", Rong Xinghe smiled, brushing her lips against his.

    "Such a troublemaker, you are.", the man rolled his eyes.

    Xi Yuan knew about the Military Hybrids, and about the Ripper. That Rong Xinghe was the ''Alpha'' to the Hybrids. And that the Ten hybrids had sworn their loyalty to her. Ashfakh Ali had briefed him about it earlier. Other than the Superfamily, he believed the person closest to Rong Xinghe was Xi Yuan. Naturally, he found it crucial for Xi Yuan to know about the ''Walking Death''.

    But he wasn''t worried about his woman''s dark side. He was in love with her. He was obviously not afraid of epting the worst of her. As long as she was Rong Xinghe, he would love her. He just knew it.

    Most importantly, he didn''t really detest or disliked the Ripper. It was a part of her, after all. It was her alter ego. A significant her. He couldn''t im to love her if he couldn''t even ept her entire self. If he admired the positive side of her, he was bound to cherish the negative ones too. Else, could that even be called love?

    "Biu, leave.", Huang Ling looked at his sister meaningfully.

    "But brother-"

    "Forget him. Being delusional will bring you nothing, but disappointment, sister.", Huang Ling adjusted his suit as he spoke indifferently, "Since he has someone like Rong Xinghe by his side, he won''t be able to love any other woman ever. Mark my words. The temptations of the Alqatil are simply unavoidable."

    "Shut up.", Rong Xinghe squinted her eyes at the man, smacking his arm.

    "I agree with him.", Xi Yuan smiled, checking out the woman beside him, from top to bottom, "It is indeed arduous, to resist the Ripper."

    "..."

 Chapter 367: "With you, I want eternity."

    Chapter 367: "With you, I want eternity."

    8:00 p.m., The Imperial Pce ;

    "What''s going on?", Huang Ling pinched the space between his brows, "The electromaic bomb at the Stark Square today. Why does it look like it was some kind of a ''teaser''?"

    The three Hybrids were in the Pce backyard. Alone. While a lethal n was being fabricated, miles away from their homnd, by some terrorist organization, none of them had the heart to enjoy a royal wedding dinner. Rong Xinghe had asked for some privacy. With Ashfakh Ali and Huang Ling. And of course, as the sister-doting devils, the six men could never turn down a single wish of hers.

    "I agree.", Ashfakh Ali nodded, staring at the outline of the Stark building upon the iPad screen in his hands, "They knew we could handle that. It was more of a challenge. Trying to tell us how far their reach can be."

    "What are you thinking, Xinghe?" Huang Ling looked at Rong Xinghe, concerned. The girl was awfully reticent ever since they''d met.

    "I want you guys to investigate something.", the girl nced at the two men, her expression solemn.

    "What?", asked Ashfakh Ali.

    "Two men. Diablos. And Rong Yufan.", Rong Xinghe said, "Former one is the leader of the ''Werewolf Crew.'' Thetter one is somehow connected to the ''Bleeding Avenues.'' I have a feeling they are connected to it. At least, one of them."

    "Of course, Baby. I will do it.", Ashfakh held onto the girl''s hand, blinking at her affectionately.

    "Ugh! Could you stop doing that?!", the girl groaned, shrugging his hands off.

    "Don''t mind him.", Huang Lingughed, "We will take care of that. Do you need anything else?"

    "Yeah. Keep your sister in check, Ling. I don''t want to hurt your family. Those five years mean something to me, you know."

    "They mean a lot to me too, Xinghe. Consider it done."

    _____________

    8:30 p.m.

    As the two men left the premises, Rong Xinghe made her way into the wedding hall. The Wedding dinner was over and the guests were yet again, flooding the huge pce. Mo Zixuan and Cheng Tai''s wedding reception was more of a gathering for the socialite families. An opportunity to expand quality contacts and connections, for many.

    Mo Zixuan and Cheng Tai were both Country X''s prominent reporters. They were literally the most feared yet respected in the field of journalism. Naturally, the guests ranged from bureaucrats to entertainment industry artists to business tycoons. Obviously, the Wedding reception was being broadcasted live, across the entire country, for the former Prime Minister and President were there too.

    "May I have this dance, Xinghe?", as soon as the bride and groom stepped down the dance floor, Xi Yuan approached the girl from behind and lifted his hand up in the mid-air.

    "Sure.", the girl agreed, giving him her hand, as he took her to the middle of the stage. "Wait. Why aren''t other couples here as well? Yuan, what''s going on?"

    "They''ll join soon. ", the man smiled, "But for now..." The man ced the girl''s right hand onto his shoulder, as his left hand rested against the small of her back, "I have to tell you something."

    "What-"

    "I love you, Rong Xinghe.", the man interrupted, their bodies moving in the perfect sync, "More than I thought I could ever love. More than I thought I was capable of."

    "I love you too, Honey.", the girl smiled nervously, feeling the hundreds of gazes fixed upon her. She didn''t know if it was the starry, soothing lighting above her or the way he was saying those words, but her heartbeat was racing. Rapidly. As if they were themselves, the bride and the groom. As if this dance belonged to them. Just the two of them. And that was scary, in a different way.

    "Yuan, what are you doing exactly?", the girl concentrated on the man in front of him finally.

    "Just listen to me. Okay? Forget about the guests. Or about your brothers, or your sisters-inw. Just me.", the man smiled, pulling the girl even more closer. Rong Xinghe couldn''t decide what was more enchanting. The music, or his deep dark-grey eyes. But it didn''t matter. It was her Yuan, after all. She could feel the way she wanted, in front of him. There was nothing for her to be scared or worried about. He felt safe, to her. And to her, he felt warm. So in the end, she nodded at him, gently.

    "When I first met you, at that party, it was like I was hypnotized. I couldn''t hear Wei, or Fang, or Ying. I could only listen to yourugh. Soft contented giggles. Of all those people, my eyes were glued to the girl in the red dress The girl who called me her ''Bartender''. At that time, I knew I had fallen for you.

    "Next morning, like a crazy person, I had barged through the MCO doors. With an attempt to know you more, I proposed the idea of joining the Youth Team. I found a friend in you, then. A person, who understood me, as no one else did. Xinghe, I can''t tell you how scared I was when I confessed my feelings to you in New York, monthster. Maybe because more than the fear of rejection, I was frightened at the very thought of losing a friend.

    "And you did reject me. Not for yourself. But for me. You were scared of giving me false hopes. You were scared of breaking me apart. And that was so beautiful of you, Baby. It made me even stronger. I couldn''t let go of that special woman.

    "You told me about Zhou Che. And about everything that the Rongs did to you. Gradually, I realized how strong you were. You''d fallen so hard, you were bruised so badly, the world gave up on hope for you. But you didn''t. You mustered up all the courage inside of you, you stood up, and you jumped back. You came out like a lioness, ready to protect her family, and her nation.

    "I knew I could never be a knight in shining armor for you. I knew my Queen would carry a sword of her own. That made me love you even more. You were never fond of my possessions, or my status, or even my looks. You were the only woman who loved the broken and shattered Xi Yuan. You saved a fifteen-year-old boy, who couldn''t have survived any longer. It was just not possible, to let go of the only person who made me feel alive, Xinghe.

    "You, Ms. Rong, gave me a reason to breathe. You are the reason I smile. A year ago, I met you. And unknowingly, you changed my entire life. I found a home. In a person. In you. I can give up on anything if it means that you will stay by my side, till myst breath. I know it will be worth it.

    "Military Chief Rong Xinghe...", the man then parted from the girl and sat down on his knees, clicking his fingers. Seconds passed by and a waiter came up on the stage, a tray in his hands, "With you, I don''t want years. I want forever. I want eternity."

 Chapter 368: She said the "Yes!"

    Chapter 368: She said the "Yes!"

    "Oh, God!", Rong Xinghe gasped, covering her wide-open mouth. Amid all the conspiracy theories she''d been solving and decoding these past few days, she hadn''t seen this oneing. "Are you sure?", she asked.

    "I''ve never been this sure about something, Xinghe. I want this.", the man smiled, picking up the ss from the tray the waiter had brought. The Virgin Mojito. The drink that wasn''t just a drink to them. It was a memory. A beautiful and unforgettable memory.

    "I know you can not promise me a ''forever''. There will always be uncertainties and fears and dangers. There will always be the possibility of you not returning back home one day, for you are a valorous and remarkable soldier. I know all of it.

    "But even after all that, I want this. I want to build a home. With you. Every morning, I want you to wake up to the smell of breakfast I make. Every evening, I want to be the reason you would want to wind up every mission ande back home.

    "I have loved you. And I won''t be able to love anyone else like that. You are my addiction and my drug. My strength and my weakness. You are an adventure, but you are also the warmth of the fire, to me. You can be a disastrous storm one second, and a piece of peaceful music the other. But above everything, you are my world. You are my everything.

    "Rong Xinghe, having you by my side is whatpletes me. The first time Iid my eyes on you, I just knew that you were the one I''d been waiting for, my whole life.

    "So Rong Xinghe, will you do me the immense honor of bing my wife and life-partner?"

    With that being said, the man offered the ss in his hand to the girl, the corner of his eyes stinging with hopeful tears.

    Rong Xinghe stood frozen, clutching onto her dress. Every emotion that humans could possibly feel, was flooding through her heart, like the wave of ocean water hitting the shore of sand. More intensely than ever. Happiness. Anxiety. Doubts. Fears. Surprise. Everything.

    The girl lifted her head up and ran her gaze through the crowd, finally setting onto her Six tigers, standing together. They exchanged nces among themselves and crossed their arms, nodding at her faintly. As if they were dering their approval to her. So did the girl''s Sisters-inw. The Superfamily was indeed a unique source of assurance and sanity to her. She could feel her mind rx. She could feel her heart moving into a state of impable ease.

    Rong Xinghe looked down at her darling next. Surrounded by all the awes and admiration, the girl sat down on her knees, apanying him. She took the ss from his hands and guzzled the liquid down her throat. For she knew, what was awaiting her, at the bottom of that snifter.

    As the girl sipped down thest drop, a smooth metal surface touched her soft upper lip, barely. Rong Xinghe pulled the ss away from her mouth and handed it back to the man, wrapping her hands around him, tightly. Then, with a slight tilt to her head, she brought her lips closer to his ear.

    "Yes!", she whispered.

    There was no going back from this man, she sighed. He was a stubborn and hopelessly romantic dork. A dork she was in love with. When it came to him, she''d never had second thoughts anyway. She loved him, and that was what mattered. Right?

    "Say that again.", Xi Yuan separated himself from the girl, looking straight into her eyes, his expression a mix of shock and surprise.

    "Yes, Yuan.", the girlughed.

    "Keep saying it.", the man grinned, wiping the wet ring with his handkerchief, with an utmost propriety. As if he wanted to make the ring worthy of her, to wear it.

    "Yes, yes, yes!"

    Xi Yuan held onto the girl''s left hand, rubbing the back of her ring finger. Not long after, petals of roses and the white lilies started showering down the starry-lit roof, upon the guests and the couple. They were Rong Xinghe''s favorite flowers. No wonder the proposal was nned by Business King Xi Yuan. The charming wife-doting devil.

    "May I?", he asked, eliciting a nod from the girl, heat rising up to her cheeks and the tip of her nose.

    ::::::::::::::::::

    "Hey look at the ring! It''s designed into the form of a crown. So beautiful.", a high-ss socialite princess sped her hands, staring at the dazzling thing, dreamily.

    "Of course, it is a crown. She is a born-Queen, after all. She doesn''t deserve anything less.", another Xinguan admirer smirked.

    "You young kids know nothing.", an elder sighed, keenly observing the texture of the ring around Rong Xinghe finger, "It''s the de-Beers Centenary Diamond. Worth 8,42 Million euros. De Beers no longer own it, and the real owner is still unknown. It''s, literally the fifth-most expensive diamond, across the world."

    "Oh my... It''s actually the Centenary Diamond. Howe..."

    "Does she even know what she is holding onto right now?! Women would kill to own that ring."

    "What kind of suicidal woman would try to even touch Xi Yuan''s woman?!"

    "HAHAHA. That''s true."

    ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

    As the crowd broke into a row of murmurs andughter, the journalists snapped pictures of the couple on-stage. Violently. Desperately. Trying to get every close-up.

    "Should we get out of here?", Rong Xinghe asked, ncing at the ferocious camera shes directed towards their direction.

    "Definitely.", the man nodded, "Xi Wei will handle the media."

    _____________

    10:30 p.m., Elite Saphire Penthouse ;

    "What would you''ve done if I''d rejected you today?", Rong Xinghe asked, ying with her ring as her head rested upon Xi Yuan''sp, "Did you even ever consider it?"

    "I would''ve been embarrassed, of course.", the man shrugged, massaging the girl''s head, "But then again, I am a strong-willed man. I am not going to stop until I marry you. So I would''ve stalked you even more."

    "There is really no way to escape you, is there?", the girlughed.

    "Nope.", the man poked the girl''s cheeks, "By the way, when are we getting married?"

    "Don''t worry. I have already decided on the perfect date for our wedding!", the girl sat up, pulling the man in for a quick soft kiss.

    "Really?! When is it?", the man raised his brows, intrigued.

    "31st of February.", Rong Xinghe winked.

    "If we were married right now, I would''ve divorced you for that!", the man groaned. Littledy devil indeed. Couldn''t she be romantic for once?!

 Chapter 369: "Ill be there for you."

    Chapter 369: "I''ll be there for you."

    By the next morning, the entire Country X was in an uproar. From small towns to metropolitan cities, every corner of the nation wanted to know every little thing about Xinguan. Their first meet. Their confessions. They wanted to know everything. Actively, shippers. The ones who''d wished them to get together. They couldn''t believe, that what they thought to be a mere dream or imagination, would actually turn into reality, someday. ''#Xinguan'', once again, reached the top of the trending list on every social media tform. Broadcasting media was equally agile. Reaching out to the Xi trio and the Six tigers. They left no stone unturned in their hunt for all the juicy gossips rted to the stunning and perfect couple.

    Many of them tried to reach Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan too. But the two families were hell-bent on protecting and shielding them from the ck sea of cameras. They were, after all, the core members of both the families. And of course, as long as the Business King and Military Chief were intending to avoid the journalists, no one could force them into appearing publicly.

    While the Xis and Superfamily faced the wild and diabolical paparazzi lot, Xinguan enjoyed thepany of each other. Sitting in their garden, the two discussed their future wedding ns.

    "We need to postpone it. The wedding. For now.", Rong Xinghe said, cherishing the exotic taste of coffee upon her tongue, "I have some pressing matters to attend to, first. Will that be fine with you?"

    "Let me guess. Military, right?", smiled Xi Yuan, earning a nod from the girl. "I guess I can live with the title of ''Fiance'' for a while.", he resigned.

    "Let us throw an engagement party day after tomorrow. Shall we?", Rong Xinghe raised her brows.

    "I will make the proper arrangements.", the man agreed, "Starting with the guest list."

    "I will leave that for you and brothers to decide.", Rong Xingheughed, "I suck at this ''diplomatic invitations'' crap.

    "But on my behalf, could you add twelve names?"

    "Sure. May I know who are we talking about?", the man smiled, tucking the girl''s free hair strands behind her ears.

    "The Ten Military Hybrids. And the newly elected Prime Minister and President.", the girl smiled.

    "Oh, right! The Central Elections are tomorrow. I almost forgot about them.", Xi Yuan tapped the edge of the breakfast table, his tone surprised as if he''d just realized that, "Does the Military Chief get to vote too."

    "I do. Separately, though.", the girl rested her chin against the palm of her right hand, staring into her darling''s dark grey eyes, "Actually, the Military''s votes ount for 25% of the poption. So even if the public has voted for a candidate, he or she won''t be able to sit on the democratic throne, unless the Armed Forces second the idea."

    "So basically, you''ll be pretty upied tomorrow. Am I right?"

    "Yeah. One could say that.", the girl admitted, "It''s going to one hell of a day. But there is one more thing I need to put an end to. Once, and for all."

    Xi Yuan couldn''t help but furrow his brows at the girl''s words, "What do you mean?"

    "I texted Zhou Che, earlier this morning. We will be meeting tonight.", Rong Xinghe replied, holding onto Xi Yuan''s both hands firmly, "I read Zhou Zhichen''s letter a week ago. And I was contemting of how to confront Che about it.

    "He deserves to know where I stand, Yuan. He''s holding onto the past, and onto a vain hope. Regardless of what I went through, I don''t want to begin our new journey, without dealing with the Zhous."

    Xi Yuan listened to the girl intently before he looked into her eyes. The girl could feel his body stiffen slightly. And it was natural. Zhou Che was her ex-boyfriend, after all. No matter how much he trusted her, a part of him was still afraid to lose her. She understood that.

    "I aming with you."

    "W...What?!", the girl took a few seconds to process the man''s words before she finally spoke up, "You don''t have to, Honey."

    "Xinghe, I will be there, whether you want me to or not. And it''s not because I don''t trust you or that I am insecure. I don''t even consider that man as mypetition.

    "I simply want to protect you. Because, for a matter of fact, I know that not even an entire army can make you feel safe and assured, the way I do. Especially, when ites to your past.

    "So I am not going to be there for myself or for him. I''ll be there for you.", Xi Yuan said, his tone filled with absolute love and concern.

    "You are already bing a husband, you know?", Rong Xingheughed, cing the man''s warm hands against her cold cheeks.

    "I love you too, Bub.", the man smiled softly.

    ________________

    Meanwhile, MCO ;

    "So the Military Chief is getting married, huh?", Ashfakh Ali grinned, staring at the TV screen in his office. "And this woman once told me that she hated the concept of weddings, itself."

    "What are we supposed to do with this, Sir? Military Chief''s wedding is of least concern for us right now, Mr. Ali.", Shou Wu sighed, staring at the dead body lying over the red leather couch.

    "He was a former soldier. Send the body to the Medical Examiner first.", Ashfakh looked at the 60-something-year-old dead man, indifferently. "He must''ve known something about the attacks, that are being nned currently."

    "Should we inform the Chief?", the old man questioned.

    "I already did. I texted her an hour ago.", the young man shrugged, tossing his phone over to Shou Wu, "In fact, she was the one who ordered me to send it for post-mortem."

    "Oh.", Shou Wu stared at the screen in a daze, "Can I ask you something?"

    "Shoot."

    "Why do they call you people ''Hybrids''? The enemies, the militants, and the terrorists.", the girl''s assistant asked, with a muddled expression, evident across his face.

    "Hybrids means ''in-between''. The ones who are neither here, nor there. We eleven, are like a pack of Wolves. And there is one thing about those beasts. They stick together. They travel together. They cry, howl, and hunt together.

    "Rong Xinghe is stronger than all of us. That''s the reason she became the Military Chief. She is the Alpha of the Hybrids, the Wolves. So no matter how irrational or crazy or destructive her decisions are, the ten of us will follow each one of them blindly."

    "And why do they rte all of you to beasts?", asked Shou Wu.

    "Trust me, old man. You don''t want to see that side of us. Of any of us. All you need to know is that when wolves are enraged or angered, no one can be as lethal, demoniacal, and bloodthirsty as them."

 Chapter 370: "You arent worthy of her forgiveness."

    Chapter 370: "You aren''t worthy of her forgiveness."

    2:00 p.m., Zhou Family Mansion ;

    Zhou Che sat in the living room staring at his phone screen in a daze. ''Meet me tonight. 10:00 p.m. Starbucks. Elite Pacific Mall.'', the message read. The man smiled wryly, lifting his head up to look at the journalist reporting Xi Yuan''s confession, the night ago. She epted it, without any contemtion, without a second thought. This was the first time he had seen her so happy, so radiant, and so carefree.

    And this was how it was supposed to be. She deserved all of this. After everything she had gone through because of the Rong family, he had hoped for her to have all of this, one day. At least, before Zhou Zhichen left him and he used her of his death. All he had ever given her was, pain and pointless allegations. He knew he didn''t deserve her.

    As he looked at the girl on the TV screen,ughing and crying at the same time, he felt as if in that very moment, he had lost her.

    But he was still going to see her tonight. Not with the hope of winning her back. But for the sake of her forgiveness. Or her sentence for him. After everything he had put her through, he owed that much to her. To show up and hear her verdict. She deserved to tell ''her'' side of the story, to him. Because that was the mistake he had made years ago. He hadn''t listened to her. Today, he wasn''t nning on repeating any of it.

    ______________

    10:00 p.m., Starbucks, Elite Pacific Mall ;

    Zhou Che reached the cafe to find it huddled among the other huge brand extensions. Unlike the outside, the interior of the coffee house was warm and cheery, with bright lights and colorful walls. The customers returned to their conversations as the door swung closed behind the new entrant, as the cold breeze was forgotten shortly after.

    The man raked his eyes through the crowd before they finally rested upon the corner table. There she sat, lost in her own thought, and alone. Her hands wrapped around the hot hazelnuttte, taking in its warmth, amid those chilly winds that were storming, outside the small cafe.

    "Xinghe.", he smiled down at the girl, interrupting her train of pondering and thinking.

    "Hey! Sit", the girl looked up and gave a slight acknowledging nod. Zhou Che made his way to the billing counter and ordered a cappino, before he finally grabbed a seat for himself, opposite to the girl.

    "Congrattions. I saw the news.", Zhou Che broke the silence after some time.

    "Thank you.", the girl smiled softly as she stretched her hand, reaching for her sling bag on the other side of her couch. A momentter, she handed him a piece of paper. "Keep it. It''s Zhichen''sst letter. Hisst memory. I believe his brother should have it."

    "So... do you forgive me?", the man asked, hints of anxiety and uncertainty, clear in his tone.

    Rong Xinghe blinked at the man for some time before she finally looked down at her sling, shaking her head. Timidly. "I can''t.", she whispered, in her soft voice.

    "Only if I could take all of that back.", Zhou Che sighed. Although he had anticipated this, it still felt as if his heart was being stabbed endlessly, every blow fatal than the previous one. He wasn''t worthy of her forgiveness anymore, let alone her love.

    "You can''t.", this time, Rong Xinghe looked straight into the man''s eyes, with contempt in hers, "You know, years ago, when you med me for Zhichen''s death, you didn''t just break my heart, you killed our friendship too. Because of you, I stopped believing in love. I lost thest sliver of hope I had, to move on. So no! I cannot forgive you for that, Che."

    Rong Xinghe''s tone was calm andposed, but deep down, the rage inside her was zing akin to theva of a volcano. It was destructive. Disastrous and deadly. But she wanted him to know how she felt about all of this. He couldn''t juste back into her life and expect her forgiveness. Not after what he had done.

    "Do you even remember the day Zhichen died? Do you remember how your mother pped me? Do you remember how your entire family questioned my brothers'' upbringing? And even after so much humiliation, I hoped YOU would understand. Zhou Che, I loved you! I looked up to you. But clearly, you never loved me back. For you, I was merely a pity case, wasn''t I? A poor fragile girl.", the girl said, her tone firm.

    "That''s not true, Xinghe.", Zhou Che spoke up, defensively, "I did love you. It''s just that, at that time, when Zhichen''s lifeless body was lying in front of me, I couldn''t think rationally."

    "I know they all are some ridiculous excuses, from your perspective. I am not even going to deny that. But I beg you to not question my love for you. Please. Because there might be a thousand things I am unsure of, but our rtionship was never one of them. The one year, when we were together, was the best time of my life. And I was a dick to let go of that. You''ve no idea how sorry I feel for my words and actions back then."

    "You never understood love, did you?", Rong Xinghe let out a cold chuckle, "Love is nothing without trust and respect, Che. You had neither, for me.

    "It''s alright, though. I am not here to prove my point. I wanted to give you this letter. And give you my answer. I am done with it now. I am done with you now."

    "What can I do to get your forgiveness, Xinghe?", Zhou Che asked in a tired, low voice, "I won''t be able to live knowing I hurt you so badly. Just p me, or abuse me. Anything, but please ept my apology."

    "You aren''t worthy of her forgiveness."

    At this time, an authoritative and crisplypelling voice resonated throughout the cafe, bringing a faint yet charming smile against the girl''s lips. Zhou Che turned around to look at the tall figure approaching them. Beneath his long ck overcoat, Xi Yuan wore a sober navy-blue Saint Laurent clothing. His formal attire made his presence even more domineering and king-like. The winter outside the warm cafe, intensified his facial features further, making him seem like a mighty ancient monarch.

    The man sat down beside Rong Xinghe and touched the back of her hands lightly. "You are cold, Baby. Where is your hoodie?", he asked her worriedly.

 Chapter 371: She was his first priority, his first choice.

    Chapter 371: She was his first priority, his first choice.

    "I might''ve left it in the car.", Rong Xinghe smiled apologetically. Xi Yuan stared at the girl for sometime before he stood up and took off his overcoat. He then slipped it around her shoulders. It was a little oversized for her, but he didn''t care. As long as she was warm, her fashion statements were of least concern to him.

    Rong Xinghe didn''t bother to protest either. She knew her efforts would go straight down the drain. Most importantly, she was too tired to have a squabble with him. Instead, she simply focussed her attention back on her cup of hazelnuttte. It was no more drinkable, no more hot. The girl groaned and got out of her seat. "I will be back soon.", she said, dashing towards the billing counter.

    Xi Yuan grabbed this opportunity to talk to the man in front of him. "I suppose President Zhou is well-aware of my proposal to Xinghe.", he looked at Zhou Che, meaningfully.

    "I must say. Of all the ways I thought I would meet Business King Xi Yuan, this possibility never popped up in my mind.", Zhou Che said, unfazed, "So now what? You will threaten me. Show her that you are the Alpha male, huh?"

    "I won''t. I am not an idiot.", Xi Yuan chuckled, "Neither is Xinghe a possession of mine, to be proud of. I can''t unt her like some subsidiarypany of Xi Corporations. She is a person. A living, breathing person.

    "Most importantly, my powers or influence weren''t what she fell for. I don''t have to show anything to her. She knows me better than I know myself.

    "And yes, I am the Alpha male. I don''t have to put on a pretense to act like one."

    Zhou Che stared at the man with utter disbelief. No wonder Rong Xinghe chose him. He was better than him, in every aspect. He trusted her, respected her. Zhou Che could see that in his eyes. This was what he could never give to Rong Xinghe. For Xi Yuan, Rong Xinghe was his first priority, his first choice. She was his first love. He worshipped her like she was his God. Even when mentioning Rong Xinghe, love, and admiration radiated through his tone. Whenpared to this man, Zhou Che had never really made Rong Xinghe feel this special, this loved.

    "Can I ask you something?", Zhou Che muttered under his breath, so that only Xi Yuan could hear him.

    "Go ahead.", the man leaned back against the red leather couch, making himselffortable.

    "If you would''ve been in my shoes, if one of your siblings would''ve died in front of you, if thest word they''d said before they breathed theirst would''ve been Xinghe''s name, what would you have done?", Zhou Che asked, his tone defeated, "Wouldn''t you''veshed out at her as well?"

    As he listened to the man''s words, Xi Yuan''s eyes turned a few shades darker. The man tilted his head slightly before his lips curled up in a mixture of amusement and despondency.

    "I wouldn''t dare to raise my voice at Xinghe, even if she is in the wrong. Because more than the oues of her actions, I believe in her intentions. I trust her heart, her subconscious, and her conscience. I love how beautiful she is, inside out.

    "And as far as my family is concerned, I would''ve told myself that she loves them more than I do. You were an idiot to forget how big her heart could be. You forgot who her family was. It''s the Superfamily. None of those Six are connected by blood to her, and yet, they can kill and die for each other.

    "A person hailing from such a background can open her arms to anyone as her family. I would''ve had held onto that. Because no one, not a single soul in this world, was worth losing her. She is precious."

    "It''s easy for you to say.", Zhou Cheughed hysterically, as if he wasughing at himself, "When ites to family..."

    "I am not you.", Xi Yuan cut-in, his tone stern, "I am not irrational and partial like you. You had a crappy judgment. I don''t. The fact that I am sitting under the same roof as you, is because there was a time when she found you worthy of her love.

    "I have been in the same shoes as you before. My sister, Xi Ying, was kidnapped along with Rong Xinghe, by one of my Business rivals once. We weren''t even dating then. Those psychos intended to defile Ying, humiliate her and throw her like some garbage.

    "Not only did Xinghe protect her honor then, but she also drowned those bastards into their own pool of blood. During that attack, she was injured pretty badly too. Yet, she fought like a lioness, as if she was protecting for her own. Even after that, she kept counseling and talking to Ying for months, so that she wouldn''t harm herself adversely.

    "I never asked her for any of it. She was never responsible for my family either. But she still cared for them. More than I ever did.

    "She ispassionate and sensitive, for the people around her. She never gave me a reason to doubt her intentions. I never had a right to, actually. I loved her. And I respected her decisions.

    "She can fight for her nation, her family, and my family all she wants. But I will only fight for her. She might take care of the entire world. But at the end of the day, I will be there to take care of her. I don''t care about anyone else."

    Zhou Che couldn''t help but let out a sigh. He could never win the girl''s heart again. With someone like Xi Yuan by her side, she wouldn''t even want to look at any other man ever again. This guy was crazy for her. Clearly. Only if he was as far-sighted and understanding towards her as him, back then.

    "Here. I got you a Basil Tomato and Mozzare Cheese Sandwich. And your regr Java Chip Frappino.", Rong Xinghe ced a green stic tray in front of Xi Yuan, "I thought you must be starving."

    "What about you?", Xi Yuan frowned, ncing at the cup in her right hand.

    "Yeah. I was flirting with the Barista earlier, since I was bored. So he gave me this Caffe Mocha for free! Isn''t it amazing?!", Rong Xingheughed.

    "..."

 Chapter 372: Time for all the Hybrids to assemble

    Chapter 372: Time for all the Hybrids to assemble

    Zhou Che looked at the two people in front of him. And for a second, he actually admired them. They were so in love. There was no point troubling them with his presence. Maybe it was time for him to move on. To live with the guilt of using the innocent. To punish himself for shattering an amazing girl''s heart into pieces. To find a love, as epic as this one.

    So instead of stretching the conversation any further, the man stood up and looked at Xi Yuan, "Take care of her. No matter what happens between me and her, I will always watch her back. As she said, we were never just lovers, we were friends."

    Rong Xinghe started at the man, slightly surprised. She hadn''t expected him to let go f her so easily. But it was for the best. For both of them. Xi Yuan didn''t make things any harder for the man either. He simply stood up and shook hands with him, nodding faintly.

    As she looked at the man leaving the cafe, in a defeated manner, she felt something she never thought she would feel, when a day like this woulde. She felt relief. Not heartache, not regret, not even disgust. Relief. Because she had done it the right way. She had let go of him. She had let go of her past. Even though it took a lot of strength and energy and determination, in the end, it was worth it. This relief was worth all of it.

    Suddenly, a warm huge hand pressed against the small of her back, pulling her against a firm chest. Subconsciously, the girl''s handsnded upon the man''s shoulder, as she blinked at him, confused.

    "Are you okay?", Xi Yuan asked in his mellow tone.

    "Yeah. I am.", Rong Xinghe smiled her small but assuring smile.

    "Then shall we discuss the barista you just found so alluring, Ma''jolie?", the man pointed his chin towards the young twenty-something-year-old man, on the opposite side of the counter.

    "Hey! I was bored. Since you two men were arguing or talking over me, I couldn''t step in and make things awkward.", Rong Xinghe smacked the man''s arm, turning to look at the barista frowning at their cozy position, "Most importantly, those Blue eyes are so maizing!"

    Xi Yuan didn''t bother to waste another minute, allowing his woman to check-out another man and hauled her out of the coffee shop. She needed to be taught quite a lesson. Such a troublemaker...

    _______________

    11:00 p.m., Elite Saphire Penthouse ;

    "You are mine!", he closed the door behind him hurriedly, pinning her against the wail, nting soft yet rushed kissed against her neck. She felt again the rush of helplessness, the sinking yielding, the surging tide of warmth that left her limp.

    His insistent mouth was parting her shaking lips, sending wild tremors along her nerves, evoking from her sensations she had never known she was capable of feeling. The world around her was swaying. It had turned to nothingness. She clung onto his strong arms, his built chest as if they were the only solid things in the dizzy world.

    If this was his anger, damn, she was tempted to flirt around with every living breathing barista in City A, in Country X, without so much as blinking an eye. He had been silent throughout the entire ride home. But the moment they walked in, he had turned into a beast. This was the first time he had lost control over himself, his senses. For the first time, in their rtionship, he didn''t care about her consent. And that made her adrenaline rush through every vein in her body. This was thrilling. This was an adventure, in itself.

    "Do you understand that?", he questioned, pulling down his overcoat from her shoulders, kissing her naked arms, her corbone. Rong Xinghe was wearing a in off-shoulder Maroon crop top above her usual ck denim jeans. Even with such simple clothes, she looked stunning. Her free and open hair brushed against her waist every now and then, making her feel vulnerable and cold.

    Unable to speak anything, the girl could only nod gently. How could someone''s touch be so intoxicating, she wondered. It was as if his every kiss was hypnotizing her. As if his hand against her waist and back and neck,pelled her to act the way he wanted her to act.

    Xi Yuan was about to tear apart the girl''s top when her phone rang up. "No!", the girl groaned, exhausted, as she felt the man separating himself from her slowly. As she pulled it out from her jeans pocket, she could only think about the dream she was just living. Whoever this was, he was in for one hell of a beating. "It''s Ashfakh. I guess I can talk to him tomorrow.", the girl chuckled, disconnecting the cal and tucking the phone back in her pocket.

    "You mean, a Military Hybrid just called you, at this time of night.", Xi Yuan remarked, "It must be important. Talk to him first."

    "Yuan..."

    "Xinghe, don''t.", the man silenced the girl with a peck on her forehead, "If we don''t stop now, no one will be able to protect you from me. I am not sure if I will be able to hold back.

    "Nothing is more important than your work, okay?"

    Rong Xinghe sighed as she looked at the man heading towards his bedroom before she finally dialed Ashfakh Ali''s number, "What is it?"

    "What if I tell you that more than a hundred bodies are lying lifelessly in front of Military Chief Office right now?", the man said, "And that''s not even the worst part. They were all Military Soldiers, Xinghe. All of them were Special Forces Officers."

    "What?!", Rong Xinghe hadn''t seen this oneing, "How is it even possible?"

    "Yeah. I know. A piece of paper was retrieved from one of the bodies.", the man reported, "It read two names. Ahmed Ali Fadhil. And Lucas Wilson. Do they ring a bell?"

    Rong Xinghe remained silent for some time before she finally knelt down and picked up Xi Yuan''s overcoat, striding out of the house. She needed to look at the chaos the two most wanted terrorists across the globe had just created. She wanted to witness their method of waging a bloody war!

    "It indeed is the time for all the Hybrids to assemble, under one roof, Ashfakh.", the girl hissed, driving her darling''s SUV away from the Elite Residential Premises.

 Chapter 373: The Dramatic Hybrids

    Chapter 373: The Dramatic Hybrids

    12:15 a.m., Military Chief Office ;

    Ahmed Ali Fadhil. Lucas Wilson. As she looked at the way the hundreds of dead were lying upon the ground in front of MCO, each body at a distance of two meters from the other, horizontally, Rong Xinghe couldn''t refrain from thinking about the two men Ashfakh Ali had mentioned before.

    This was their pattern. It was Lucas Wilson''s pattern. Brutal, yet, obsessed with returning the victims in an alignment. Properly. He was a ''sophisticated freak'', they said in the underworld. She had seen his barbarity years ago. She had seen them both ''in-their-form'', in fact.

    "Military Chief, it''s President Mo.", Shou Wu rushed towards the girl, covering the speaker of his phone with his hand, "He wants to speak to you."

    "Not the right time, Officer.", Rong Xinghe waved her hand dismissively.

    "I insist, Chief.", the old man requested, "It is important."

    The girl turned to re at her assistant, clearly agitated. As if watching herrades, her colleagues like that, wasn''t hard enough already. Eventually, she threw her hands in the air, giving in. Stretching her right hand towards the man, she borrowed his phone.

    "If I am not wrong, you got married just yesterday. Don''t you have ns for a honeymoon?", the girl said into the phone, her tone a mixture of both, resignation and exhaustion.

    "I did. Not anymore.", Mo Zixuan replied indifferently, "Xinghe, you should check the number of journalists outside the central Military base. The media knows about the incident with the SF Officers. "

    "Perfect! Just when I''d started to think things couldn''t get any worse.", the girl rolled her eyes.

    "Yeah. Every broadcasting media channel was informed about it.", the man sighed, "I am currently in the MZX Studio. And trust me, the situation isn''t good. I suggest you conduct an official press conference, as soon as possible, before the public prompts outrageous protests. Alright?"

    "Right. Okay."

    ____________

    12:30 a.m., Elite Saphire Penthouse ;

    "Will you be okay, Xinghe?", Xi Yuan asked, his voiceced with concern, "Should Ie there?"

    "No, Yuan. I am used to this.", Rong Xinghe took in a deep breath, trying to gather herself together, "I called to apologize to you, actually. I shouldn''t have left without informing you. I am sorry."

    "Rong Xinghe might be my to-be-wife. But Military Chief of this country is ountable to no one.", the manughed, softly and heartily, "I repeat. No one. It''s alright, Baby.

    "Don''t be so hard on yourself. I love you."

    "I love you too.", the girl smiled, relieved.

    Rong Xinghe had just hung up the phone when Huang Ling knocked onto the door, leaning against it leisurely. "When do you want me to schedule the conference?"

    "8:00 a.m.", Rong Xinghe stated, "Military Protocols. The Military Chief, cannot address the public, at such odd timings.

    "Also, I don''t feel like talking to a bunch of drunkards and drug addicts at this time of night."

    "Since when does the Ripper abide by the rules, huh?", the man chuckled, grabbing a seat opposite to the girl, for himself.

    "Tomorrow is Central Ministry Elections, damn it!", the girl ignored the man''s words, "This is all so messed up. God!"

    "Xinghe, Country X will get past this. That should be of our least concern right now, you know?", Ashfakh looked straight into the girl''s eyes. "Can we discuss important matters, please?"

    "I just don''t understand. Ever since the1996 Parliament Attacks, by Ahmed Fadhil, and the 2008 Bombings, orchestrated by Lucas Wilson, they''ve been on a run. I''ve been trying to hunt them down since the day I became Military Chief.", the girl tapped the edge of her table, shoving the documents in front of her away.

    "And now, out of nowhere, those two show up. Together. Acting all ''brother from another mother''. They would''ve been smart to shoot the guns from the dark, keeping their identities anonymous. But instead, they revealed themselves. I just can''t shake off the feeling that we''re missing something important. Some very critical detail."

    Ahmed Ali Fadhil was once the founder of the dreaded terrorist organization ''Lashkar ul-Mujahidin''. Lucas Wilson was no less. A domestic American terrorist. Once an LA native, Lucas had been involved in drug smuggling. Eventually, the man walked away from his hometown, when he found himself in a dead-end. It was too dangerous to survive in the city then.

    Both the men had a reputation for their ruthlessness. They were crafty. Not even the best in the Armies could track them down, for years. And yet, they had walked in into their nation, crushing their most vignt and strong army-men, as if their lives, their families meant nothing. It made no sense!

    "What do you want us to do then?", Huang Ling stepped into the girl''s office, unbuttoning his suit, "You see, I have some information you might not like."

    "What is it?", Rong Xinghe furrowed her brows. She wasn''t sure how many ''unlikeable'' things she could handle in one day anymore.

    "Rong Yufan happens to have met both, Ahmed Ali Fadhil, and Lucas Wilson, not too long ago.", the man smirked, "We seem to have a traitor, a militant to deal with, Alpha."

    _________

    Meanwhile, In the outskirts of City A, Country X ;

    "Please kill me!", the man yelled, wincing in pain as the man who had captured him and his mates minutes ago, stumbled towards himzily. As he chugged his bottle of Whiskey, his other hand was wrapped around another bottle. A ss bottle. Presumably, water.

    "I will. Promise.", the young man grinned, raising his Whiskey towards him, "What''s the rush though? When you and your lovely little friends delivered the hundreds of dead bodies in front of Military Chief Office earlier, you weren''t even a tad-bit apprehensive doing it.

    "Let me have my fun now, would you?"

    A few secondster, the man lifted the other hand and downed the entire liquid upon the man. To the man''s unfortunate, it wasn''t water, but concentrated sulphuric acid. As the sweltering thing ran down the man''s bare skin, he shrieked and screamed, with a pain that was immensely horrendous. A pain, that was excruciating beyond words. Torturously unexinable.

    With both hands chained, the man cried, yelled, struggled, and begged, but the other man was in no mood for any mirth, whatsoever. As he said earlier, he was having his fun.

    "David!", at this time, another man walked in, wiping his blood-stained hands with a hand towel, sweat dripping down his forehead and arms, "Why do you have to so dramatic, every time? Just get it over with, man! We have a Military Chief to report to."

    "It''s not my fault that I am a Military Hybrid, Shawn.", David Florence squinted his eyes devilishly at the man, "We were trained to be dramatic, Brother."

 Chapter 374: The Monster beneath the Human skin

    Chapter 374: The Monster beneath the Human skin

    Next Day, 2:00 p.m. ;

    "David Florence and Shawn Florence are back in the town, Xinghe.", Ashfakh Ali informed the girl, as he looked at the two heads delivered to him at his doorsteps, rolling his eyes. "ssic David.", he muttered under his breath.

    "Let me guess. Heads ripped apart. Handed over on a Silver tter!", Rong Xinghe chuckled, observing the electoral results across different provinces and states and localities, on her iPad screen. Today, Country X was to select their two heads. The Prime Minister and the President. And she was to consent their position and power.

    Basically, the girl couldn''t afford to spare even seconds, let alone minutes, for her own engagement preparations, that was to take ce the next day. She had left it for her brothers and darling to handle. They, of course, understood her dilemma.

    "Something like that.", the man chuckled, covering the top of the wooden carton with some dull cloth.

    "So now that the Florence brothers are with us, what are your ns?", she asked, ncing at her brother, Mo Zixuan, reporting the elections'' scenario live. No doubtdies fancied the Media Ma. Handsome yet noble. The gentleman with the neat suits. Professional and appealing approach. Who wouldn''t fall for a man such as this one?

    "We''ll just hang around in some club. Since we all have nothing to do here in Country X, we might as well get some drinks.", the man said, unlocking his apartment door, "Blow off some steam."

    "Productive."

    "I love you too, Baby."

    "Could you not?", the girl groaned.

    "How will you deal with David, if you can''t handle this bit of flirting, Xinghe?", Ashfakh Aliughed, "Not to mention, Shawn''s charms."

    "Shut up."

    ____________

    4:00 p.m., Military Chief Office, Conference Room ;

    "Please be seated.", Rong Xinghe strode into the huge meeting room, nodding faintly at the three prominent candidates, the ones with the highest number of votes. All the three aiming for the throne of the Prime Minister.

    "Let us keep this simple. Since the past one year, you three have been fighting for this position.", the girl said, sitting at the head of the table, "And it has been an intriguing war, I must confess.

    "But the public''s opinions wouldn''t even matter if the Military wouldn''t stand by your side. So now, shall we discuss the agendas concerning the Armed Forces?"

    ____________

    6:00 p.m., Blush Nightclub ;

    "Has she gone crazy?! All those five years, she kept pledging that she would never marry. And now, a prince charming walks into her life and out of nowhere, she is selecting wedding gowns and honeymoon suites?!", David Florence downed three vodka shots, one-after-the-other, exhausted.

    "I know, right?!", Ashfakh Ali smiled, "But he seems to be genuine for her. To be honest, he has changed her for the better. She is no longer the Ripper we used to know."

    "How is that a good thing?!", David frowned, ordering a beer for himself, "Ripper is a part of her. The more she will suppress it, the more it will be painful for her to handle it when that side is awakenedter.

    "And you have my word. We cannot keep the Ripper in control, no matter how hard we try. It''s better for her to get used to it."

    At this time, Shawn Florence, spoke up, shaking his head firmly, in denial, "That is the thing, brother. Ripper can''t be controlled. And that beast is irrational, it''s insensitive. It took her an entire year to conceal that part of hers. It would be better if we keep it that way. No need to evoke her alter ago."

    "Do you have any idea what you are talking about, Baby Brother?!", David hissed, squinting his eyes at the man.

    "Ripper has the strength to bring down the hellfire to Country X if her rage isn''t kept under check.", Shawn stated the matter-of-factly, "And David, one more thing. No one knows and understands the Ripper, better than I do. Never forget that."

    David Florence and Ashfakh Ali stared at the young man, who was looking at them meaningfully. He was right. They knew Alqatil, they had seen it. But Shawn, he understood that monster beneath the human skin. So if Shawn was suggesting to not provoke the Ripper, it was the most logical and sensible thing to do.

    ____________

    Meanwhile, Somewhere in Syria ;

    Two boys, inside one of the many thin, green canvas tents, trembled, as their hands involuntarily filled the mini-barrels with the gunpowder, from the huge cardboard boxes, in the middle of the tent. Their eyes were swollen from all the beating andck of sleep. Clearly, they were starving. Kidnapped a week ago from their vige, they were hauled here, to do this work for the men with the ''guns''. They weren''t educated. Merely twelve years old, the two missed their home. But they knew they were helpless.

    "Firoz... Who are these people?", a boy whispered softly. Nervously.

    "I don''t know. But just keep doing what they ask us to do.", the other boy, who looked evidently mature, said, "They can kill us. My mother used to tell me stories about wars and battlefields. I think they are terrorists. They are dangerous. We should never wrong them."

    The young boy just nodded. Obediently. This was the first time he had heard the term ''Terrorist''. He didn''t even know how to react to it. But he could sense the seriousness in the other boy''s voice when he said ''they are dangerous''. He felt it.

    "What are we doing right now?", he asked again, after some time, looking at his fair hands covered in the ck.

    "I heard them talking earlier. They said this powder is mixed with some acid. For bombs or something.", Firoz said, shrugging his shoulder, "They want to attack a girl. Xinghe. Yes! That''s her name.

    "Two days ago, I was told to serve Ustad some tea.I saw the girl''s photo in his hands then. She is beautiful, you know? But he seems to hate her."

    While the two boys were talking, a tall, tantly decent man stepped into the boys'' tent. Behind him, lied the two bodies of the men keeping an eye on the two vigeds. But this man was wearing the same clothes as them. The boys were startled, and confused. Why would he kill his own friend, they wondered.

    "Where is your Ustad, Firoz?", the tall man sat down on his knees, questioning the boy in a patient, calm tone.

    "Two te... tents away from us.", Firoz stammered, pointing to his left, "Who... who are you, Sir?"

    "My name is Zheng Gen.", the man smiled, standing up, he turned around to rush out of the canvas, pulling out his gun, "A Hybrid. That''s all you need to know."

 Chapter 375: A hostage from the LA

    Chapter 375: A hostage from the LA

    9:00 p.m., Military Chief Office ;

    As she looked at the TV screen, journalists reporting the victory of the Central Republic Party in Union Elections, she passed the two cups of tea to the two men in front of her.

    "So this is it. The end of an era?", the girl smiled, "How does it feel to have served the nation for so long, Prime Minister?"

    Li Boqin. A 48-year-old man, was elected for the throne of the Prime Minister. With the majority of the public and all the three Military forces supporting him, Country X had finally found a suitable head for themselves. Li Boqin hailed from a long line of diplomats, and the world of Politics wasn''t anything new to him. He had served as the mayor to quite a few provinces in his early thirties too. He was a smart and far-sighted man. Naturally, Rong Xinghe had chosen him above the other two corrupt old candidates.

    "It feels empty.", the old man confessed, "I''ve been so used to the responsibilities I had been shouldering all these years, it feels surreal to just leave it now."

    Rong Xinghe had proposed the idea of thest gathering with the former Prime Minister and President before the new ones would take their oaths. She had worked with the two of them for an entire year, after all. It mattered a lot to the three of them.

    "Country X will miss you both, you know?", the girl said, in an assuring tone.

    "You do have a way with words, Military Chief.", the ex-Presidentughed, "No wonder you''ve won over the hearts of the entire public of Country X."

    _____________

    12:30 a.m., Elite Diamond Penthouse ;

    Xi Yuan was about to unlock the main door of his Penthouse when from the corner of his eyes, he noticed something moving, in a distance. A dark figure hiding behind his woman''s adobe. The man furrowed his brows, and pulled his phone out, dialing Lu Wei''s number. "Was Xinghe expecting someone tonight?", he asked as he rushed towards the girl''s ce, vigntly and cautiously.

    "Not really.", Lu Wei frowned, walking away from Lu Alix and Ningtao, who were trying out different dresses for Xinguan''s engagement, "What''s the problem?"

    "I might''ve just seen a man, sneaking around.", Xi Yuan exined, passing through the penthouse''s garden fences.

    "Yuan, don''t do anything stupid.", said Lu Wei, "Stay away if there is anything suspicious."

    "Yeah." The man disconnected the call, tucking the phone back into his pocket, he turned around. It was now that he saw a tall, built person, running towards him with ferocious speed. Judging by his pace, Xi Yuan could tell he was a trained assassin.

    The next second, the other man pulled out a sharp-ded dagger and charged towards Xi Yuan. Subconsciously, Xi Yuan leaned back and ducked, avoiding the knife. Defensively, he brought both his hands up, covering his face. The man pranced towards him, a savage predatory smirk stered across his lips. Xi Yuan could barely see his face amid the darkness, just his mouth and shabby clothes.

    "Who are you?", he asked, warily.

    But instead of a reply, he heard the sounds of hurried footsteps, approaching him from behind. Xi Yuan was done ying this game now. Since these men weren''t intending to act civilly, he had to put them down, for his own sake. The man took off his suit and threw it away on the bench beside him, preparing himself for the fight.

    Before his attackers could even realize his next attack, Xi Yuan dived into a quick roll before throwing the first perp''s way-de under the coffee table. He then stood up from the ground, and just as one of the two men lunged towards him ferociously, he grabbed one of them from behind, locking his neck into his arms. Tightly.

    The second guy was about to join in into the fight so that he could free his partner when his phone rang up. The man nced at the screen before a name popped up on it. Letting out a grunt, he picked up the call.

    "Yeah, Xinghe?", the man said, "I am kind of in the middle of something."

    The moment the girl''s name resounded through the air, Xi Yuan''s grip around the man''s neck loosened. He didn''t let go of him, of course. He simply refrained himself from holding onto his firmly. He was curious, as to how did the girl know these men, although he''d already had a rough idea.

    "Was the mission sessful?", the girl asked, signing some documents.

    "It was.", the man answered.

    "Where are you right now?", Rong Xinghe asked again.

    "Fighting your fiance.", the man answered nonchntly, "And damn it! He is good. He has actually put down Jackson, you know? That''s impressive."

    "Hand the phone over to him, Elijah. Right now.", the girl ordered, enraged.

    As if on cue, the man stretched his hand and offered the phone to Xi Yuan. "For you, Sir.", he grinned.

    "They are Hybrids, aren''t they?", Xi Yuan sighed, bringing the phone to his left ear, letting go of the man under his hold.

    "Are you alright?", the girl questioned, her tone concerned.

    "Yeah. Don''t worry.", the manughed.

    "I swear to God, Yuan, if there is even a single scratch on your body, they are dead meat.", the girl gritted her teeth.

    "I am fine, Xinghe.", Xi Yuan reassured the girl.

    "Ok."

    "So what am I supposed to do with them?", the man asked, as he looked at the two men in front of him.

    "I will be home by 11:00 p.m. Could you keep them at your ce by then? They''ve got a hostage to hide right now. And it''s kind of illegal under current circumstances. So Military bases are off-limits.", Rong Xinghe borated on her problem.

    "Of course, Baby. Who is this third person, by the way?"

    "His name is Lucas Wilson.", the girl smiled, staring at the two photos pinned to her green bulletin board, "One of the LA fes."

    "Fine.", Xi Yuan didn''t bother enquiring anymore. It was the Military Business, after all. Moreover, he already knew everything about Lucas Wilson. Why would he even trouble the wifey with baseless questions then?

    Disconnecting the call, Xi Yuan fixed his gaze upon the two men, looking down at the ground. "Full names.", he demanded.

    "Jackson Marshal."

    "Elijah Williams."

 Chapter 376: He was a Chapter she had memorized

    Chapter 376: He was a Chapter she had memorized

    "So you guys were testing me? Ensuring if I am worth being with your Alpha or not, huh?", the man exacted his next question.

    "We are Xinghe''s second family. We are her pack. It''s not just the Superfamily''s consent that matters, when ites to her, President Xi.", Elijah cocked his head to one side, curiously.

    "Understandable.", Xi Yuan nodded his head, "So did I pass?"

    "Physically? Yes. Definitely.", Jackson crossed his arms approvingly, "It''s impossible tobat the Military Hybrids. And yet, you were able to do it with immense ease.

    "It confirms that in dangerous situations, you won''t be Xinghe liability, or burden. You will be her asset, her backup. She wouldn''t have to worry about a man who is capable of protecting himself."

    "Then what else is left, gentlemen?", Xi Yuan turned around, heading towards his own Penthouse, leaving the main gate open, so that the two men could follow behind.

    "Let''s y a game of 20 Questions Mr. Xi, shall we?!", Elijah suggested.

    _________

    10:30 p.m., Elite Saphire Penthouse ;

    The three men were talking over drinks when the doorbell to the house rang. Xi Yuan stood up from his stool and strode towards the main door.

    "You''re home early.", the man''s lips curled upwards as the girl jumped into his arms. He could sense her breathing in, what she called, his ''unique'' scent. Poor girl. ''She must be tired.'', he thought.

    "I hate paperwork! So fucking tiring.", Rong Xingheined, tossing her revolver towards Jacksonzily. The man unloaded the bullets, out-of-habit, and passed it to the man beside him. Elijah, obviously, knew what he was supposed to do. Rong Xinghe waited for the men to disappear from her line of sight before she pulled away from the man, cupping his face affectionately. "God! I missed you."

    "Where did they go?", Xi Yuan looked at the empty living room, muddled.

    "They will be busy torturing Lucas tonight, taking their turns.", Rong Xinghe waved her hands dismissively, "Don''t worry about them.

    "Just tell me what did they do to you. Knowing Jack and Elijah, they must''ve tormented you with hell lot of questions."

    Xi Yuan simply kissed the back of the girl''s hand and looked into her eyes, "They did. But nothing offensive. You don''t have to hold grudges against them."

    "Really?"

    "Really.", the manughed, "Come with me now. You must be starving. What do you want to eat?"

    "Noodles."

    "Something healthy, Xinghe.", Xi Yuan rejected the girl''s wish, right away.

    "Please?", the girl pressed both her palms against each other tightly, as she blinked at the man like a four-year-old.

    "Okay.", Xi Yuan threw his hands in the air, resigning to the woman''s tricks, "But finish a bowl of oats while I cook them for you. Okay?"

    "I hate you."

    "I love you too, Bub."

    __________

    11:30 p.m., Elite Saphire Penthouse ;

    Xi Yuan selected a in white T-shirt and a ck pajama from his cupboard for the girl and ced them over the changing room table before he stepped out and closed the door shut. The man then grabbed a seat for himself on a ck-leather armchair nearby, as he scrolled through his emails, waiting for the girl toe out.

    Rong Xinghe changed into her darling''s clothes before she slipped out of the room, water dripping down her back from her wet hair. Xi Yuan, looked up at the woman, struggling to wrap them all with her thick towel. So clumsy, he sighed. And so hopelessly alluring!

    His T-shirt was clinging onto her bare soft skin, her cheeks and ears flushing red due to the steam. Xi Yuan stood up and snatched the towel away from the girl''s hands, "Stand straight." Obediently, Rong Xinghe looked down at the floor, as the man massaged her head with the towel, gently. Xi Yuan then pointed his chin towards the bed, gesturing her to sit down, before he walked into the changing room and returned back with a hair-dryer.

    "I am sorry, Yuan.", Rong Xinghe whispered after some time, "I should''ve been more involved."

    Xi Yuan''s fingers were dancing through the girl''s hair when they came to an abrupt halt. The man looked down at the girl''s teary eyes and regretful expression, and switched off the hair-dryer, taking both her cold hands into his warm ones. "Involved?", he asked.

    "With the engagement arrangements. Yuan, you shouldn''t always be so selfless, you know? You have every right toin, and yell, and me me. This is our wedding, damn it! And yet, you are the only one running around.

    "I just hate myself for this. You know you should reconsider marrying me! I am literally the worst fiancee any man could ever get. I am a bitch!", the girl stood up, closing in onto the man.

    Before she could say anything anymore, his hands were on her waist, their lips inches apart as he pulled her against him. Gently, he bent down, his lips against her cheek, brushing it lightlyand still, that light touch sent shivers through her nerves, shivers that made her whole body tremble with ecstasy. A feeling she thought she would never feel, especially in the middle of self-criticism and self-introspection.

    "Hush.", he said as he nted yet another kiss just below her ear, for he knew that was a sensitive spot. "Will you?"

    "Yuan... I-"

    He silenced her again. Not with a mere ''hush'' this time, though. With a kiss. A deep, sensual, passionate kiss. He was like a chapter she had memorized. A drug she was addicted to. Their tongues met for the briefest of moments before he pulled away, again.

    "You do not get to look this tempting and adorable at the same time, Rong Xinghe, do you understand me?", he mumbled heavily.

    The girl couldn''t help but let out a giggle. For the past few days, she had been noticing these changes in him. Even the slightest of her actions, the smallest of her smiles, could push him to the edge. He was finding it harder and harder to control himself around her. How cute!

    "You are my woman. Never will you ever prioritize such petty things! Weddings and gowns and bouquets can be taken care of, by any crazy clown, for God''s sake, Xinghe.

    "But as the Princess to the Superfamily, and the Queen to the Xi family, you were destined to be pampered and cared for, all your life. So hold your head high and protect your country, while I and your brothers protect you. OK?"

 Chapter 377: An epic love story

    Chapter 377: An epic love story

    Next Morning, 4:00 a.m. ;

    Rong Xinghe left the house early, while Xi Yuan was still asleep, for she had some pressing matters to deal with before indulging in the oath-taking ceremony and her engagement party,ter that day. After a steady three-hour drive, the girl finally reached an old vi. An isted location. She inhaled a sharp breath before she jumped down the car, withdrawing her Armatix iP1 gun from the dashboard. Her gaze watchful and vignt, footsteps discreet and soft. Rong Xinghe walked in into the lion''s den, her grip ''round the gun tightening with each step she took.

    "It''s alright Xinghe.", Ashfakh Ali appeared from the girl''s behind, smiling at her tomboy-ish posture, "This is a Hybrid Zone. Just for us."

    Rong Xinghe turned around and rxed her stiff shoulders, "Redecorate this ce. It''s creepy!"

    "I know, right?! We''ll take care of thatter. Don''t worry.", Shawn Florence followed behind Ashfakh, "But for now, should we discuss the dangers, that have been lurking around here?"

    "Come here!", the girl''s lips curled up in utter exuberance and tion as she widened her arms, striding towards her best friend. "God, I missed you so much!", sheughed, as the man hugged her tightly and lifted her off the ground.

    "Me too.", Shawnughed back, letting out an ebullient sigh, lowering her down to the ground carefully.

    "Now, now.", David Florence joined in, crossing his arms against his chest, firmly, "That''s partial of you, Sexy. All the love for my little brother? What ''bout me?"

    The girl nced at her friend, barely a year older than Shawn. Months had passed since she''d seen him and he hadn''t still given up on addressing her by the s-word. Such a moron, she cursed internally.

    Rong Xinghe spent the next few minutes hugging her Military friends. Jackson Marshal. Elijah Williams. Zheng Gen. Huang Ling. They were her second family. Her strengths. The ones who hadn''t just seen the Ripper, they''d epted it as their own.

    "Aren''t wecking three more?", Zheng Gen counted the number of people present in the dusty old room, "Where are Abram, Wenyan, and Xiaoli?"

    "They are on their way. The couldn''t leave their missions in the midst.", Rong Xinghe replied, checking the mini-fridge for something to drink, "We don''t have a beer?"

    "Take mine.", Shawn stood up from the run-down dingy orange sofa, passing his can to the girl, "I will grab something for myselfter."

    "You sure?"

    "Uh-huh."

    "So what are we supposed to do now? Whom do we have to kill?", Jackson looked at the girl curiously.

    "No one. Not yet, at least.", the girl smiled, "Keep torturing Lucas Wilson until then. Try to get answers out of him. Try to locate Ahmed Ali Fadhil. And if possible, see if you guys can push him to spill the beans about the ''Bleeding Avenues'' and Rong Yufan.

    "As long as you guys are here, your expenses will be taken care of by the Rong Business Empire. So don''t bother going on a job-hunt. Just do the usual interrogation work."

    "Are you okay, Xinghe?", Elijah spoke up, his toneced with worry, "I mean... Rong Yufan''s involvement with terrorist organizations-"

    "He means nothing to me, Elijah.", Rong Xinghe''s gaze turned a few shades darker, "Long gone the days when a single statement from his mouth could shatter me. That bastard isn''t just worth it."

    "That''s smart.", David chuckled, ying Wall ball, "And sensible. I could kiss you right now, Sexy, you know?"

    "..."

    _____________

    Xinguan''s Engagement :

    8:00 p.m., Elite Banquet Hall ;

    With the hundreds of VIP guests pouring into the huge hall, the Superfamily and the Xis greeted them, cheerfully. This was one of the most noteworthy events across the entire nation. The world, in fact.

    After all, this wasn''t a ssic romance. Not the one with the Prince Charming, or the one with the Damsel in Distress. Not the regr rich CEO and his poor wife drama. This was an epic love story. This was Xinguan''s story.

    She wasn''t weak. Neither was she powerless. To be precise, she was anything but. The woman with the sword was what she was. A warrior. A diplomat.

    And still, he had fallen for her. At first sight. He became her friend, her advisor, her suitor. He was the only person she trusted, and respected, more than herself. He too, loved her as if his life depended upon it.

    As pure as their love was, their influence was equally magnificent and resplendent. The might of both their families was something the world feared, and admired, at the same time.

    Tonight, they were going to unite, and so would their families. Labeling their rtionship was an authoritative and powerful message, on behalf of the couple. For their rivals, their nemeses.

    The Ten Hybrids understood it better than anyone, of course. They had sensed the possibility of attacks, minutes after they''d stepped inside the pce-like building. Gradually, they blended into the dense and active crowd, observing every person, and each negligible movement. They were ones, the Military Chief-to-be, after all. Suspiciousness was the key element of their personalities. And since this was their Alpha''s event, they had no intention to let their guards down tonight. For her, they could resort to bloodshed within seconds. Without the blink of an eye. Without any contemtion.

    "Xinghe.", Xi Yuan walked into the girl''s room, followed by Lu Wei and Xi Fang, buttoning up his Finite ck Velvet Tuxedo, "Are you ready?"

    "See for yourself.", Ruo Cyughed, turning the girl around.

    Dressed into an Elegant Illusion Satin-neckline floor-length Maroon gown, Rong Xinghe looked like thebination of both, the angel and the devil. Her make-up was just enough. Lips painted into the same color, as that of her gown. ck m smokey eyes. tinum earrings, and a bare neck, enhancing the woman''s perfectly irresistible corbone.

    "Yuan?", the girl waved her hand in front of the man''s eyes, attempting to pull his mind away from his thoughts, but in vain. Lu Wei rolled his eyes and punched the man in the back, roughly yet lightly.

    "W...What?!", Xi Yuan looked at the man, muddled.

    "Compliment her, you idiot!", Lu Wei whispered into the man''s ear, patting his shoulder encouragingly. "Women can leave the love of her life, at the altar, if their beauty isn''t appreciated. Take it from the man who has been married for years now.", the man smirked, squinting his eyes at Ningtao, "Am I right, Mrs. Lu?"

 Chapter 378: An ode to Xi Yuan

    Chapter 378: An ode to Xi Yuan

    8:30 a.m., Elite Banquet Hall ;

    "President Xi looks so handsome tonight!"

    "Have you ever looked at Military Chief Rong? She is probably the only person who deserves to stand by his side."

    "Agreed. Netizens aren''t wrong about her, you know. She is, a perfectbination of beauty, brains, and bravery!"

    "Look at how Media Ma Mo has knelt down in front of her, just to adjust her gown. The Superfamily sure dotes on her too."

    "Even the Xi family has been pretty weing towards her. It''s like she has always belonged there. Specifically, President Xi''s parents. They''ve been praising her as if she is their own daughter."

    "One could kill to have a piece of luck like that of Rong Xinghe''s!"

    As Xinguan stood on the stage, smiling down at the crowd beneath them, they exchanged rings, establishing their rtionship in front of the entire world. Here onwards, they wouldn''t just be lovers. They would be partners. In every sorrow, and every smile. They were family now. Officially.

    "Now!", Xi Wei and Rong Xiao waited for the holy ceremony to end before they tapped the two mics in their hands. The man raised his ss of wine towards the massive amount of guests, "To Xinguan.", he toasted.

    "To Xinguan!", the crowd lifted their own sses in the mid-air, joining into the couple''s jubtion and joy.

    "Sit down, Brother-inw.", Rong Xiao smiled at Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe elegantly, "You too, Xinghe.

    "Let''s enjoy the night while itsts !"

    Xi Wei held back until Xinguan settled down, before he spoke up again, "Let''s hit the dance floor first. The engagement invitation cards you lot received were tied in different colored-ribbons. Every color repeated just once. So that only two people could form a pair and dance. Interesting, right?!"

    "No wonder you chose him for managing an entertainment agency.", Rong Xinghe leaned against the man beside her slightly, whispering into his ears, "Dramatic. Creative. Charming."

    "He is surely excellent at maintaining the party vibes.", Xi Yuan sighed, ying with the girl''s long thin fingers, "Let them be. I am just happy to have sessfully upgraded my status from ''boyfriend'' to ''fiance''."

    "Me too.", Rong Xingheughed, resting her head on the man''s shoulder, "I love you, Mr. Xi.", she confessed yet again, closing her eyes.

    "I love you too, Mrs. Xi.", the man nted a soft kiss against the back of the girl''s hand, grinning at thetter part of his sentence.

    :::::::::::::::::::::::::

    "Shouldn''t the bride-to-be''s Six brothers say something at such an auspicious time?", Xi Wei turned to address the Superfamily, looking down at the satisfied crowd, "After all, the man over there is stealing their Sister away from them."

    "Touche!", Rong Xiao nodded, "Come on, brothers. A speech?"

    As all the guests, along with Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan, focussed their attention upon the Six men, they took their turns, picking up a mic each for themselves.

    "I am not going to lie.", Mo Zixuan spoke up, his tone energetic and confident, "I hated the idea of him getting anywhere near her. In the beginning, at least. All of us did.", he said, pointing his chin towards Xi Yuan, eliciting a wave ofughter from the crowd.

    "Damn! We tried so hard to force him to back off from wooing her. But he has always been a thick-skinned brat.", Zhi Al agreed, earning yet another round of giggles and apuse from their audience.

    "And maybe that was what won her over. His endless, constant, and selfless efforts.", Zhi Bo sighed, looking at his Kiddo sister affectionately, "He never gave up on her. And even though we never said this before, we couldn''t be more thankful for him, for his resilience. Thank you, Xi Yuan, for being so stubborn. For not letting her go."

    Su Rogguang cleared his throat next, "All our lives, we kept believing that we were enough for Xinghe. That no man could ever make her this happy. But this gentleman over here proved us all wrong.

    "Ever since he walked into her life, he liberated her of all her pain, all her misery. He changed her for the better. Love indeed is a miraculous medicine. The two of them grew together, fought together, and stood together. In the end, they found sce and home in each other. As the closest witness to their story, we six are left with no choice, but to bow down in front of their love.

    Up next, was Zhi Xi, "There is a famous saying, ''Behind every sessful man, there is a woman''. But when ites to Xinguan, it''s different. Xi Yuan has always been Xinghe''s biggest support system. Even when she doubted herself, he was there, believing in her. He loved her at the time when she hated herself the most. He trusted her when no one did.

    "I''ve never seen a person as crazily in love with someone as he was, for our sister. So no matter what we thought of him initially, we couldn''t let him leave. And in no time, this young man became one of us. He is the newest member of Superfamily,dies, and gentlemen."

    Lu Wei nodded his head in agreement, smiling at the couple, "Xi Yuan is the best thing that has ever happened to our family, to Xinghe. Despite all the bickering and squabbles, we share with him, there is no denying that. We appreciate your presence and we acknowledge your love. Wee to the family, Yuan."

    As she listened to her brothers, for some unknown reason, tears pooled up in Rong Xinghe''s eyes. She knew her Six brothers better than anyone. Each one had their own insecurities, crazy paranoia, and fears, for her. Especially, after her rtionship with Zhou Che. The world recognized the Superfamily for the Six tigers'' protectiveness, for their two sisters. She knew that it wasn''t easy for them to say what they''d said today.

    Only she knew how difficult it must''ve been for all of them to trust Xi Yuan with her heart. Only she knew how many efforts her darling must''ve had put into winning over their trust.

    "Come here.", at this time, Xi Yuan wrapped the girl into his embrace, rubbing her back lightly, "It''s okay. Don''t cry.", he pacified her, in his ever deep soothing voice.

    The man then looked up, nodding faintly at the Six men. The nod was, for the brothers, a promise. A pledge. An assurance. That no matter what, he would be there for their princess, their sister. That he would protect her, love her, respect her, and treat her, like no one ever did. That to this King, she would always be a Queen. As a result, the Six tigers smiled back to their to-be Brother-inw.

 Chapter 379: "Stop it if you can."

    Chapter 379: "Stop it if you can."

    11:00 p.m., Elite Banquet Hall ;

    "Sister-inw.", while the couple was busy chatting with the Prime Minister and the President, Xi Ying made her way through the crowd to them, a man following behind her, "Mr. Yang over here, has been a close acquaintance to the Xi family for more than 20 years now. He''s been asking me to introduce you two, formally."

    "Hello, President Yang.", Rong Xinghe turned to smile softly at the man in histe-thirties.

    "I don''t want to do this.", the man said, looking at Xi Yuan desperately, as if his red bloodshot eyes were trying to say something. "But I just can''t stop."

    Before Rong Xinghe or Xi Yuan could do anything, the man''s right hand reached underneath his dark blue coat. By this time, the Ten Hybrids had already surrounded Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan, defensively, instinctively, in a semi-circle. "Do not move, Alpha!", David Florence yelled, pulling out his Ruger SR22, aiming it at the man in front of him.

    But it was as if the man waspelled. Totally unaffected. Robotically, he pulled out his Colt Python and stretched his hand, positioning its mouth against the temple of his head. Tears flowing down his eyes, the man delivered his final message to the girl, "Beware, Rong Xinghe, for War is on its way. Stop it if you can.

    "Because when that time wille, thousands of bodies will be sacrificed. It will be, but mere coteral damage, for you, are both, the reason and the ultimate target of this battle. Only when you''ll be standing over the bodies of innocent public, your family, and your love, will hee for you. Beware!"

    BAM!

    With a thud, the man''s body hit the ground, evoking shocked gasps and terrified screams from the crowd. The ck and gray ethnic-patterned carpet soaked the blood flowing down the man''s head, gradually.

    "Oh my god!"

    "What did the man mean by war?!"

    "He actually shot himself. I can''t believe this! What do you think will Military Chief Rong do now?!"

    "This is so scary."

    "Holding onto the position of the highest Military Authority isn''t surely easy."

    "What should we do now?!"

    As the crowd fixed its hopeful gazes upon Xinguan, Rong Xinghe clicked her fingers, gesturing one of the Hybrids to get her a mic. A few secondster, the girl procured the microphone from Huang Ling, bringing it closer to her lips. She then held onto Xi Yuan''s hand, intecing their fingers loosely.

    "Apologies for the mess,dies and gentlemen. This is, but a matter of national concern. Involving politicians, diplomats, bureaucrats, and soldiers, it would be unappreciated if the word about this gets out. Ever.

    "I hope for this incident to remain caged in all your hearts. High-ss socialite families, the ones with thousands of secrets of their own, shouldn''t feel burdened by this little secret of ours.

    "If in any way, this news is leaked to any form of media, the person responsible shall be considered an enemy to Military of Country X. And towards traitors, no one is unknown of my barbarity. We cannot afford to let the Public panic. Am I making myself clear?"

    The guests, of course, knew what was better for them. Rong Xinghe was a cunning personality. A sharp diplomat herself. She could turn the tables around for almost anyone present there, in seconds. Most importantly, Country X was already in a state of shock, ever since the news about a hundred plus SF officers were dropped dead in front of the Military Chief Office. Hence, there was no point locking horns with Rong Xinghe at such trying times.

    In the end, the guests agreed to keep their mouth shut about the psychotic suicide and bid farewell to the two families.

    "Hey, how are you?", Xi Yuan turned to face the girl beside him after the huge, enormous banquet hall was left with just their families. And the Hybrids.

    Rong Xinghe hadn''t said anything after she''d addressed their audience earlier. Her silence was frightening, petrifying. Xi Yuan could only hope that she wouldn''t bottle up her feelings. Rage. Disappointment. Regret. He could deal with anything extreme, as long as he knew what was going on in her mind.

    "How right was I about postponing our wedding?", the girl finally said, smiling wryly at the man looking at her. The man couldn''t help but smile back in relief. "You''re always right.", heughed, nting a soft kiss against the girl''s forehead.

    Rong Xinghe then turned to fix her gaze upon her two families. Obviously, Superfamily wasn''t as affected as the Xis were. It was natural, for they weren''t yet used to having a soldier under the same roof as them.

    "They''lle along. Don''t worry.", Xi Yuanforted the girl in his mellow voice.

    "I know. I have you, after all.", Rong Xinghe let out a shaky breath, "I was just hoping for this one day, to end smoothly."

    ______________

    12:30 a.m., MCO ;

    Xi Yuan arranged for the two families to head to their respective homes as the girl called for a confidential meeting with the Hybrids in her office.

    "Who the fuck did it?!", Jackson frowned, staring at the picture of the dead Mr. Yang, on the big projector screen behind the girl.

    "I know, right?! Just for the sake of conveying a message.", Zheng Gen crossed his arms, "They could''ve sent a letter or something."

    "Xinghe, are you okay?", Shawn Florence interrupted the girl''s train of thoughts, evidently concerned for her, "What are you thinking?"

    "Rong Yufan.", Rong Xinghe clenched her fists, letting out an icy cold chuckle, "That bastard was the one orchestrating all of this."

    "What?! How did you-"

    "Mr. Yang was hypnotized. She is right!", Elijah Williams spoke up, proud to have decoded the meaning behind Rong Xinghe''s words, "Now, we all know how sensitive hypnotism can be. Even the slightest bit of disturbance can break the patient, push him off the edge.

    "But Rong Yufan is no ordinary hypnotist. He had once hypnotized Xinghe''s ex into inducing a tragic ident upon her brother and then-pregnant sister-inw, remember?

    "His hypnotism has never been inefficient before. He is simply brilliant at this damned game. ying with people''s brains is his specialty."

    "Well... that''s a possibility.", agreed Shawn Florence.

 Chapter 380: "My woman will not be accountable to the Xi family."

    Chapter 380: "My woman will not be ountable to the Xi family."

    6:00 a.m., Xi Family Mansion ;

    "Mind yournguage, Chonglin.", Xi Chongkun roared at his brother, "Rong Xinghe is a soldier. We''ve no choice but to ept that. What happened today wasn''t her fault. She would never want one of the most important days of her life to be ruined like that."

    "You don''t understand, Brother.", Xi Chonglin countered, his tone discontented and curt negative, "That girl does not belong here! Her world is way too different from ours. Last night was an excellent demonstration of that. Xi family has never witnessed something as dreadful as that. Not to mention, the man shot himself publically, in front of our business associates.

    "Rong Xinghe is nothing but the destruction of wherever she goes, whoever she touches. Attacks, assassinations, murders. That is her life. A woman like herself would obviouslyck emotions and understanding. What do you think will be the future of her kids? What kind of upbringing do you believe they will have?"

    "So he speaks!", at this time, Xi Fang''s cold voice resounded throughout the age-old living room.

    The moment Xi Chonglin listened to the young man''s voice, he felt a chill run down his spine. Ever since the day Xi Yuan was attacked months ago, resulting in him going into weeks ofa, Xi Fang had barely spoken a word to him. He had broken all his ties with his parents back then, for no one was as important to him as Xi Yuan. Not even his own father.

    The Xi family elders turned around, only to realize that the man wasn''t alone. Behind him, stood Xi Yuan. Aloof. Distant. Radiating darkness that could swallow the whole of them. Clearly, the two men had overheard their conversation.

    "Fang...", Luo Youyou stood up from the Europian style ck leather couch, approaching her son, "That''s not what your father meant."

    "He is not my father, Mrs. Xi.", Xi Fang stretched his hand mid-air, thwarting the woman from getting any closer to him, "I made it pretty clear,st time, didn''t I?"

    "Son, I-"

    "Ironical. Isn''t it? World''s most pathetic and horrible parents bantering about parenting skills.", Xi Fang cut-in, "Tell me one thing. Exactly how many times did you guys attend my or Ying''s or Wei''s parent-teacher gatherings, when we were in high schools? Where were you when Ying used to prepare Mother''s Day and Father''s Day cards for you two? What the hell were you busy doing when Wei was almost hit by a truck and lost his life?"

    "Fang. Calm down.", at this time, Xi Yuan patted his brother''s shoulder, looking down at the ground. "They are still family.", he added.

    "I am sorry, brother. But I won''t stop until they understand what Sister-inw Xinghe means to us.", the man shook his head, squinting his eyes at Xi Chonglin, "They do not get to look down upon her. She isn''t some ordinary woman trying to seduce you, for the sake of your money or power. She is a warrior. And a warrior never leaves the battlefield.

    "This is what they should know about Xiao Xinghe. The so-called socialite butterflies they''ve found for you wouldn''t be able to stand the humiliation if someday, Xi Corporations crumples down to pieces. She, on the other hand, would help you run a roadside restaurant. That is the key difference between high-ss betrothals and pure love."

    "You are right, Fang.", Li Jungah nodded her head in agreement, "Rong Xinghe, is indeed worth all of it. That girl is very special.

    "Yuan, don''t take your Uncle''s words to heart, alright? Your father and I support you. This wedding is happening, no matter what others think. You have our blessings."

    Xi Yuan stared at his mother, dazed for a few seconds before he finally came back to his senses. Blinking vigorously, the man let out a sigh, "Xinghe means everything to me. She is my religion. She is my faith. None of your opinions regarding her, mean anything to me.

    "Anyhow, I will never allow her to feel dejected or deserted here, after our marriage. Actually, I came here to announce a decision of mine. Rong Xinghe is not going to stay in Xi Family Mansion after the wedding. We will find a ce for ourselves. We will make it our home."

    "No! How could you even say that?!", Luo Youyou argued almost instantly, "It''s not like we are going to act unjustly towards her. She will be the Xi family''s daughter-inw then. We aren''t as inhuman as you think we are, Yuan."

    "She doesn''t deserve it, nevertheless. All the pressure of carrying out the duties of Xi family''s daughter-inw isn''t for her to go through.", the man sighed, "Rong Xinghe is managing the Military of Country X. She''s still the acting CEO of the Rong Empire. And after all of that already lying on her te, I am not going to let her suffer through the petty and domestic requisites."

    "Yuan..."

    "I am not abandoning my family.", the man assured, solemnly, "I am simply protecting Xinghe. You''ll be free to visit us anytime you want, of course.

    "But Rong Xinghe is different. That''s something all of you believe. And trust me, I understand your concerns.

    "Even so, I will never give up on her. Her thoughts, opinions, and decisions will always differ from those of the Xi family. She is, after all, different herself. That''s what makes her Rong Xinghe, in the end.

    "I don''t n on forcing her to change herself for the sake of adjusting in here. Neither do I expect the Xi family to change themselves for her. Most importantly, I prefer to give her sufficient space. Even after our wedding, my woman will not be ountable to the Xi family, for she is the lioness, I will never allow anyone to tame. She will always have the freedom of her own.

    "She can be as diabolical, ferocious, and cruel as she wants. My woman was never meant to do household chores. She was born to be a Queen. And I will never let anyone snatch her crown away. Even if it demands myst breath, I will protect her."

    Every word from the man''s mouth was a p across Xi Chonglin''s face, as his efforts to provoke Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah against Rong Xinghe went straight down the drain. None of his taunts or mistrust ever mattered to Xi Yuan. For him, the Xi family meant nothing. All along, he had nned to keep her far away from their paws.

    Because in his eyes, she was too precious to belittle herself, just to impress his family. No wonder he was known as the wife-doting devil.

 Chapter 381: "And then, we kill him."

    Chapter 381: "And then, we kill him."

    11:30 a.m., Military Chief Office ;

    "So you want to keep just four Hybrids by your side. Are you crazy ?", David Florence looked at the girl in front of him with disbelief, "Rong Xinghe, you need the damned security. And after what happened at your engagement party, Hybrids are not going to leaving you with general soldiers. They won''t be able to protect you.

    "Why would you even want to shoo us away from you now that you need us the most?!"

    "I am not shooing you guys away. I am assigning missions to you all.", Rong Xinghe rolled her eyes, typing something vigorously onto her desktop, "We need to find the location of Ahmed Ali Fadhil, as soon as possible. That bastard is designing something huge. And right now, we don''t even know who he is targetting. This won''t do. Millions of lives are hanging by the thread right now.

    "If those guys were able to reach our Special Force officers, then we cannot even begin to imagine the brutality they might unveil upon the public. We need to catch the mastermind before it''s toote."

    "Then what about you?", Huang Ling asked, concerned, "Xinghe, your safety-"

    "I am the Alpha to the Hybrids, damn it!", the girl clenched her teeth, agitated by the men trying to underestimate her strength and valor. She wasn''t a teddy bear, made of fur and cotton, relying on others to protect her. She, in fact, bested them all.

    "I am more than capable of shielding and defending and fighting for myself. Don''t you get it?! I need to abide by the oath I took two years ago when I was crowned as the highest Military Authority of Country X.

    "The Hybrids swore their allegiance to me, but my loyalty lies at the feet of Country X''s national g. All you have to do, as my pack, and my friends, is to trust my judgment.

    "Alongside me, here in City A, will stay Shawn, David, Elijah, and Ashfakh. The rest of the six will hunt Ahmed Fadhil down. How clear am I making myself?"

    "Very.", David Florence grinned, "d that I get to stay by your side. Don''t worry, Sexy, I will protect you."

    "I only chose you because I know that you wouldn''t be able to track down Ahmed. Let me put it this way; you''re in useless!", Rong Xinghe countered back with a haughty smirk, earning chuckles from the nine hybrids.

    "Bitch!"

    "You arse!"

    "What about Rong Yufan, then?", Jackson Marshal raised his brows, "What have you nned for him?"

    "Death."

    "What do you mean?", Zheng Gen frowned, "Don''t you think he might know a thing or two about Ahmed Fadhil''s ns?"

    "Nah.", the girl smiled, focussing her attention back to the monitor screen, "Knowing Ahmed Fadhil, he would never trust Rong Yufan with something as delicate and confidential as a terrorist attack. For him, Rong Yufan is just adder, a pawn, which he can walk all over.

    "Rong Yufan is a mere businessman. He seeks power and money both. Naturally, he is involved with Ahmed because of some mutually beneficial deals. All we have to do is capture him, interrogate him until he tells what the deals revolved around, drugs, gunpowder, explosives. And then, we kill him. So yeah. Death. That''s the big n for him."

    ______________

    9:00 p.m., Elite Diamond Penthouse ;

    "Jackson and Abram will head towards Afghanistan. Arrange tickets to Syria for Zhao Xiaoli and Yang Wenyan. Are we clear, Mr. Shou?", the girl unlocked the door, smiling at Xi Ying and Xi Wei binge-watching some action-thriller web series. It was absolutely astonishing how the Xi siblings had managed to get ess over the duplicate keys to her ce. Last time she checked, she''d only given a copy of those to her Darling. These damned intruders!

    "Ooh! Sister-inw, we''ve been waiting for you for a while now.", Xi Wei jumped up from the girl''s couch, looking at her as if he''d seen God, his eyes shining with excitement, "You will not believe what brother and Fang did today."

    "Don''t tell me you two have been waiting for me just for the sake of gossiping!", the girl groaned, stumbling towards the kitchen tiredly, "This really isn''t the time for that, kids."

    "Brother doesn''t want you to live in Xi Family Mansion, post-marriage. So he decided to move out himself.", Xi Ying followed behind her Sister-inw, gleefully.

    "He what?!", the girl stopped in her tracks, stunned.

    "Fang, too, had quite the argument with Mom and Dad this morning.", Xi Wei added, "Brother had asked me to keep it to myself. But you know me. I just had to get it out.

    "Weren''t they cool?!"

    "Oh, they were.", Rong Xinghe blinked, still trying to absorb the news, "Where the hell are they right now, by the way?"

    "Xi Corps. Headquarters. Conferencing with the Mexican clients."

    "Tell Yuan I want him here as soon as they are done with their work.", the girlmanded, her tone solemn, "I would like to listen to his exnation of the decision, he made on ''our'' behalf."

    "Are you angry with him? I thought you would be impressed.", Xi Ying furrowed her brows, muddled.

    "No, Ying. I am not angry.", the girl smiled assuringly, "It''s just that I had started to like his Mom recently. His Dad seemed nice too. I was really looking forward to knowing them.

    "Even so, I trust Yuan. He would never do anything to hurt me. Maybe his decision is best for us both too. He isn''t irrational and daft.

    "Anyhow, it would''ve been better if I''d known about this before. Instead, I am being told what he has decided for us.

    "And that''s something I hate the most. I hate being told what to and what not to do."

    ::::::::::::::::::::

    10:30 p.m., Elite Diamond Penthouse ;

    "I am sorry. I should''ve talked to you about this before.", Xi Yuan sat down on his knees, looking up at Rong Xinghe, apologetically.

    As the Xi trio looked at their eldest brother kneeling down in front of his wife-to-be, they could only gulp down the PDA poison served to them. What the hell?!. He didn''t even try to exin himself to her. It was as if he''d returned just to get her forgiveness, even though he had done the right thing. cing aside his ego, he''d just started apologizing to her the moment he walked in.

    "Will we ever have a proper fight?!", Rong Xinghe threw her hands up defeatedly, "You can''t just pout and say ''sorry'' so casually. You need to act a little brat first! Try to exin your point or something."

    "I can''t bear to hurt you or fight with you.", the man confessed, akin to a four-year-old, innocently, "Moreover, it was my fault indeed. I shouldn''t have kept you uninvolved. This was your decision as well. You deserved an equal say in it. I am so sorry, Love."

 Chapter 382: "Not there yet, Mr. Xi."

    Chapter 382: "Not there yet, Mr. Xi."

    11:30 p.m., Elite Diamond Penthouse ;

    The Xi trio left the girl''s ce to their brother and sister-inw shortly after they were done with dinner. They knew how crucial every second was for them. They knew that Rong Xinghe wouldn''t be able to apany their brother for the next few days. Months, even.

    So the least they could do was leave them alone. They, more than anyone, deserved some peace before they put on the armor for the battle, which was, soon toe.

    "Are you sure you want to kill him? Rong Yufan, I mean.", Xi yuan sighed, soaking the tes into the sink water, "What if he harms you the way he did to Mr. Yang? What if he hypnotizes you?"

    "He won''t.", the girl poured two sses of wine as she sat upon the kitchen counter, her legs crossed at the ankles, "Believe me. I know exactly how to deal with him."

    "Xinghe... Juste back to me alive. Alright?", the man looked at the girl worriedly, pushing her hair strands behind her ears, "I am not ready to lose you yet."

    "I promise I will get out of this in one piece.", the girl smiled assuringly, "Of all the people in this world, I will not be killed by Rong Yufan. I was born to be his destruction, Yuan, not his prey. I am going to grant him a death even death would be fearful of. You have my word."

    "I couldn''t care any less about a psychopathic sociopathic serial killer.", the man switched on the dishwasher and washed his hands. Erasing the distance separating him and his girl, the man closed in onto her the next second, their lips hardly apart, "Now, shall we discuss the important matters, Wifey?"

    "Not there yet, Mr. Xi.", the girlughed, nting a soft kiss against the man''s cheek, "Do not ''wifey'' me so soon."

    "We are halfway there, aren''t we?", the man raised his brows, looking at his engagement ring, "Fiancee?"

    "You''re hopeless, you know?!", the girl smacked the man yfully, heat rising up her cheeks.

    "I am ''your'' hopeless now, Love. Show some respect and responsibility towards your husband-to-be."

    __________

    3:00 a.m., Bulgaria ;

    "Drink, drink more, Brother!", Zheng Gen, one of the Hybrids, ordered yet another ss of whiskey, as he sat inside one of those dimly-lit bars, "Come on! Your stamina can handle at least three bottles, can''t it, Azhar Mia?"

    "It can. Of course, it can!", the chubby man in his early forties guffawed insolently, "Hey, get me two more sses.", he ordered a waiting staff.

    "That''s the spirit!", Zheng Gen grinned encouragingly, "One for me too, Sir!"

    "For someone hailing from Middle Asia, your Hindi is pretty fluent, ain''t it?", the man patted Zheng Gen''s back with his mmy hands lightly.

    "I lived in Delhi, the capital of India, for more than ten years, what can I say?", Zheng Gen shrugged, "You learn a thing or two from South Asia, after spending that much time there. But business. They are the best targets! How do you think I own such ridiculously expensive suits, huh?!"

    "Point. Good point!", Azhar nodded his head like a rattle drum, "I should''ve started business too, y''know? Like an idiot, I licked boots of that Aftaab for years. As his assistant, I stood by his side, always.

    "But he kicked me out, like some useless duckling. And you know why? Just because I asked him a question! He kicked me out, for a question. Fucking bastard."

    "Woah! Aftaab? You mean, Aftaab Ali?!", Zheng Gen pretended to be thrilled and shocked at the same time, as if he couldn''t believe the man''s words, "You were his assistant, Brother? He is a big name in the International Stock Markets right now! That''s amazing."

    "What''s amazing about it!?", Azhar gritted his teeth, staring at the man beside him with contempt, "He ruined my life!"

    "Why? What did you ask him?", Zhen Gen asked, putting on the perfect act of a ''lostmb''.

    "Come closer!", the man whispered, leaning forward, whilst still sticking to the barstool, his expression was earnest. Zheng Gen, of course, knew that he was getting to the main part of their conversation. Naturally, he leaned forward too. "What is it?"

    "There was a man. Aftaab Ali was his confidant. In fact, he was the only person closest to Aftaab, that I didn''t know. He was special.", the man revealed, "Whenever he called Aftaab, I would be dismissed. I''d never seen Aftaab being this secretive about anyone."

    "Uh-huh. What was the name of this ''special'' man?", Zheng Gen was intrigued.

    "If anyone asks you, we never met.", Azhar warned, "They will kill me. That man is way too dangerous."

    Zheng Gen smiled confidently, "Brother, I would rather die before letting anyone touch even so much of a hair on your head. Don''t you trust me?"

    "Of course I do, Brother.", Azhar nodded, "Who else would''ve aided my family financially, if not for you, when I was jobless, huh? We are brothers."

    "Who was he?", Zheng Gen smiled modestly.

    "Ahmed Ali Fadhil. Yes! That was his name."

    "Oh.", Zheng Gen reacted as he had never heard the name before, "And where might he be?"

    "His life is an absolute mystery. Why would they entrust me with something like that?"

    "No. I mean, Aftaab Ali. Where is he?", Zheng Gen corrected the man, "You see? I want to invest in the Stock Market next."

    ________________

    3:30 a.m., Elite Diamond Penthouse ;

    "Please, Xinghe. No more movies.", Xi Yuan protested sleepily, burying his head into the girl''s neck, "I can''t."

    "You didn''t even see it!", the girl rolled her eyes, "Those are no movie ethics, President Xi. Actors work so hard for the sake of entertaining us. They do not deserve an audience like you!"

    "You''re so cruel.", Xi Yuan purred, clearly tired. For some unknown reason, Rong Xinghe couldn''t help but feel guilty about it. How could she disregard how busy he''d been all day long? "Alright.", she sighed, picking up the remote, she switched off the TV, "Let''s get you to the bed. Come on."

    At this time, the girl''s phone rang up and Zhen Gen''s number popped up on the screen. Running her right hand through her darling''s hair, the girl connected the Bluetooth piece to her ear. "Good job, Gen. Inform Jackson and Abram to fabricate a web for Aftaab. He is our only lead right now.

    "You and Huang Ling, on the other hand, book a flight to Dubai first thing in the morning tomorrow. Stay undercover for the time being."

    The girl then disconnected the call and looked down at Xi Yuan, who had clearly fallen asleep, his head in herp. Involuntarily, a smile crept across her lips, as he held onto her hand slowly and ced it over his chest, exactly above his heart. Gently, the girl kissed him, his calm closed eyes first, his sharp long nose next, and in the end, his perfectly carved lips.

    Yet once more, she confessed to him, "I love you so, so much, Yuan. Thank you for being here."

 Chapter 383: "You should learn to benefit from us."

    Chapter 383: "You should learn to benefit from us."

    Next Morning, 9:00 a.m. ;

    Afghanistan, Kabul Serena Hotel :

    "Are you sure you''ll be able to pull this up?", Jackson asked, searching for a beer can in the mini-fridge, "We can''t let Aftaab Ali suspect anything. He is the only person who has ever seen Ahmed Ali Fadhil."

    "I am sure.", Abram Orlov nodded, looking at his reflection in the floor-to-ceiling mirror, buttoning up his fancy somber Italian Navy Blue suit, "I won''t have any trouble putting on a pretense of a Businessman, considering I have a Russian ent. Russians have been involved in drug smugglings with Aftaab for quite some years now. Rather than trusting someone with American history like yourself, the possibility of him trusting a corrupt Russian trader is pretty much high."

    "Right.", Jackson tossed the carton of milk towards the man, "We''re out of beer. Boil the milk in the kettle and prepare some instant coffee. Sachets are over there on the side-table. Meanwhile, I am going to call Xinghe. Maybe she''ll be able to tell if we''re missing something important."

    "Got it."

    ::::::::::::::::::::::

    "Good morning, Officers.", a few secondster, the girl''s voice resounded through the other end of Jackson''s phone as she waved at them via video call, "So I am guessing Jackson is staying put. Smart move."

    "Yeah.", Marshal sighed, "A lot of people know me here. That''s not safe. I''d rather stay here in the hotel and observe things."

    "What do you think, Xinghe?", Abram Orlov sat down beside the man, passing him a cup of coffee, "On a scale of one to ten, how much of a businessman do I look?"

    "Um... I don''t know. Shouldn''t we ask the Business King himself?", the girl grinned at the man chopping vegetables in the kitchen, turning the screen so that Xi Yuan could nce at it, "Any reviews?"

    "He''s good to go.", Xi Yuan smiled, "Tell him to adjust the tie though. A hygienic and ssy approach can win over anyone. Literally."

    "You heard the man."

    "Yep."

    "Xinghe, one more thing. We''ll be needing, at least, one million dors. In Country X''s currency. Can that be arranged?", Jackson Marshal question.

    "Of course. Give me two days.", Rong Xinghe replied, "I will have to talk to the Finance minister first."

    "Xinghe, the economy is going down right now. We don''t have that much time. At a time like this, when Ahmed must be trying to find ways to get into Country X, we have a great chance of tempting him through the business pathways. We need the money by tonight. The only way Aftaab will take us to Ahmed is if we make him think we can be of great use to him.", Orlov sighed.

    "It''s too soon, guys.", the girl frowned, "Paperwork will take time. How can I-"

    "Xinghe, can you get my checkbook from the bedroom?", Xi Yuan cut in, his eyes still glued to the chopping board.

    "Yuan, what''s on your mind?", the girl looked up at the man, muddled, "You can''t just throw your money away."

    "Military Chief, Xi Family doesn''tck money. You should learn to benefit from us, Baby.", Xi Yuanughed, "It''s alright. You can count it as a donation from the Xi Corporations to the Armed Forces. Okay?

    "In fact, I can ask Sun Cheng to invest in Abram Orlov''s new pany''. I can''t, of course, get involved, since I am your fiance. They''ll get suspicious if I do anything. On the other hand, Sun Cheng is my friend, but we''ve barely talked after Elena''s death. They won''t be able to look through it.

    "After all, Country X''s citizen''s direct investment could be an excellent bait for your beloved nemesis, don''t you think?"

    "..."

    "I am suddenly unsure if you deserve to marry him.", Abram Orlov mocked Rong Xinghe, fascinated by the man''s intellect. "God! He is good. Were you in Military before, Mr. Xi?"

    "I was, actually. I''d wanted to join Special Forces.", humbly, Xi Yuan answered with a nod, "But then Xi Corporations happened. Eventually, I had to resign.

    "Now, Love, checkbook please?", he turned his head to look at the dazed girl.

    Instead, the girl disconnected the call, her eyes fixed upon the calm andposed man before her. "Is it weird I feel turned on right now?", the girl smiled.

    "Not at all.", the man couldn''t help but raise his brows, his lips curling up in astonishment, "Come here." Secondster, the man''s lips brushed against hers. Passionately. Intensely. Hungrily, to be precise. Slowly, his hands traveled from the small of her back to her waist to her hips, underneath her crop top, and over her jeans. Rong Xinghe had just showered. Mixed with her natural scent, the fragrance of thevender bubble salt evoking from her body, made him feel as if he could lose himself to it. Damn, this intoxicating woman, he sighed internally.

    The couple''s little ''moment'' was soon disrupted by Xi Yuan''s phone, though. "I am going to throw our phones away someday. Trust me!", the girl pouted. Why God why?!

    "After all of this is over, I will help you bury both our phones before we elope to some remote ind. You have my word!", the man was equally frustrated. Bringing the phone closer to his ears, the man walked out of the kitchen, into his bedroom, "Coincidental! I was going to call you today anyway, Cheng. I need your help man."

    "Woah!", Sun Cheng was taken aback for a while, "Business King Xi Yuan needs my help now? Am I dreaming?

    "I just wanted to congratte you on the engagement, Yuan. Also, I wanted to apologize for not showing up at the party. My daughter has had fever for the past few days now.

    "But who knew I''d walk into some parallel universe just by calling you? Tell me, what do you need?"

    "Actually, it''s the Missus who needs help.", Xi Yuan said, "Military problem."

    "Xinghe? Of course, I will help her. She helped me so much in the past.", the man said, "I owe it to her. So what is it that''s troubling you two?"

    "Book a ticket to City A and help me set up a hypothetical business organization."

    "Wait... what?"

    "Thank you. I will mail you the flight tickets."

    "Hey, you can''t just--"

    BEEP

    "Bastard!", Sun Cheng cursed. Such a headache this guy was!

 Chapter 384: No position to negotiate with her

    Chapter 384: No position to negotiate with her

    Rong Family Mansion, 2:00 p.m. ;

    "Where is Mr. Rong, Sir?", Shawn Florence questioned Rong Quiang calmly. He and his brother, David Florence, had been ordered to apprehend the man early this morning. Of course, the warrant had been issued by the Military Chief herself, however, the Hybrids would never disclose her identity to the family. "It is not anything serious. The Military means no harm to him. We simply wish to ask him a few simple questions."

    "What does that bitch wants with our son?!", Rong Chang hissed, ring daggers at David Florence, "Whatever it is, I suggest you lot speak to ourwyers first."

    Gu Hong, Rong Yufan''s mother, nodded in agreement, "Tell that woman to talk to me directly. If she thinks we are afraid of her just because she is the Military Chief, she''s totally misguided. It doesn''t mean anything to us!"

    "Oh, Mrs. Rong. How brave of you!", David Florence squinted his eyes at the old woman, his eyes reflecting hints of both, contempt and impatience, "But here is the thing. Xinghe being the Military Chief isn''t something you should fear. That''s not even the worst of her.

    "It''s just that you wouldn''t want to see the Xinghe we''ve seen. You wouldn''t want to see the woman who has induced fright in the hearts of those, who are feared the most. So, with extreme propriety, I shall ask you again. Where is your disappointment of a son?"

    "You-"

    "I apologize on my brother''s behalf, Mrs. Rong.", Shawn Florence cut in, "A mother''s protectiveness for the child is truly understood by us. But we aren''t cops. We are Army. We do not answer to the men in ck suits. Lawyers hold no power against us.

    "So it''d be better if Mr. Yufan cooperates with the Armed Forces."

    Shawn Florence, unlike his elder brother David, was calm andposed. A Nobleman, in fact. Even though he knew the Rong family wasn''t worthy of respect, he didn''t wish to waste even so much of a second in nugatory bickering with them. ording to him, insulting or taunting or even torturing them was no different than hitting a pebble against a rock. It was pointless.

    "Ah!", the war of words was soon put to a halt as a man in histe twenties walked into the lobby, his voice gravelly calm, "If it isn''t the one and only Shawn Stephen Florence! How I''ve had wanted to meet you in person."

    At a distance of roughly ten meters from the Florence brothers, stood the monster. Underneath the luxurious Van Heusen solid ck business suit, was none but Rong Yufan himself. In all his glory, beneath all his pride. The psychopathic sociopathic hypnotist, as Xi Yuan always mentioned him.

    "The feelings have been mutual, Mr. Rong.", Shawn Florence smiled, unfazed.

    "Okay, Boy! Let''s go to the Military Chief Office now, shall we?", David Florence smirked, striding towards the man hurriedly.

    But before the man could reach him, Rong Yufan stretched his hand and pulled the house-maid towards him, "Stand straight!", he ordered. Frightened, and shocked, the young woman stood frozen, staring at her Master with sheer obedience. "Look into my eyes.", Rong Yufan continued, and the woman, like a lost sheep, did what was asked from her.

    "If any of the two guests touch me, you will pick up than knife and slit your wrist apart.", the manmanded, his tone smooth yet sharp, almost like he was speaking to her soul, and not really her.

    "Woah! You can''t just--", David Florence chuckled with disbelief, unsure of what to do next, as the woman walked to the middle of the lobby and pulled out a knife from the fruit basket.

    "I very well can, Mr. Florence.", Rong Yufan grinned, "You see, I am aw-abiding citizen. But do not underestimate my capabilities. I am not one of your guinea pigs ready to be ughtered. Do I make myself clear?"

    "You do.", Shawn Florence smiled, "So what do you want, should be the question, right?"

    "Call your Military Chief right now.", Rong Yufan shrugged, looking into Shawn''s eyes the same way he did into the maid''s, "A family reunion is long overdue!"

    Shawn, as if he wasn''t in his senses, pulled out his phone, dialing Rong Xinghe''s number. And the moment the girl picked up the call, he passed his phone to Rong Yufan. Whilst all of this was happening, David was unusually indifferent. He chose to stand and observe silently, instead of trying to protect his brother from the ws of the beast.

    "Hello, Sister!", Rong Yufan said jovially into the phone, "How are you?"

    "What did you do to Shawn?", Rong Xinghe asked back, her tone cold, rough. The girl was sitting in Xi Yuan''s office at that time. Apparently, he needed her to sign some important documents, concerning emergency shares, which he''d long before, registered under her name. And since she wasn''t operating any Military operation physically, she could afford to spare some time for her darling.

    "Aww. So much concern for your friends, huh?", the man cackled like a maniac, "Does President Xi know you''ve suchplicated feelings for another man, little sister? How would he react if he''s told that the girl he''d been loving all this time has been cuckolding him?

    "Anyway, don''t worry. Shawn, over here, is simply interested in listening to what I tell, and doing what I ask."

    "You hypnotized him?!", the girl''s lips curled up into amusement as she rested her head against Xi Yuan''s wingback traditional ck leather chair. "How predictable!

    "But I must say, not smart enough."

    "What do you mean?", Rong Yufan furrowed his brows, unable to understand the hidden meaning behind the girl''s words.

    "Well...", the girl replied leisurely, taking her time, "There are two things you should know about the Silent Soldiers.

    "Firstly, they are astonishingly eminent actors. They are capable of putting on a pretense so good that, no one has ever been able to see through their acts."

    "Impressive.", Rong Yufan''s tone was now crisp and somehow cautionary, "And what is the second one?"

    "Yes! The second one. It''s the most important one, especially for people like you.", Rong Xinghe remarked as she smiled faintly at her darling, who''d just walked in with a bunch of business associates following behind him. "Military Hybrids cannot be Hypnotized.", she finished, disconnecting the call.

    "What-"

    Without any hesitation, Shawn Florence, who''d been standing right behind the man all the while, aimed for the carotid sinus vein on the right side of his neck. As a result, the electrifying and swift strike resulted in a sudden loss of oxygen into the man''s brain, and within seconds, with a thud, his body fell to the solid wooden floor.

    "Family reunion it is, then.", Shawn smiled, looking down at the unconscious man, "You''re in no position to negotiate with the Alpha to the Hybrids, though. She will be the one calling shots this time."

 Chapter 385: "I prefer just one."

    Chapter 385: "I prefer just one."

    Xi Corporations Headquarters, 4:00 p.m. ;

    "Keep him unconscious until I return, Elijah.", Rong Xinghemanded, flipping the pages of the file in front of her casually, "I will personally interrogate him. Alright?"

    "Got it.", Elijah replied, looking at the insentient Rong Yufan through the ss window, "By the way, what do you want me to do with the furious clowns outside?"

    "You mean, the Rong family elders?", the girl let out a softugh, "Oh, Elijah. How I''ve missed your sarcasm!"

    "Why, thank you.", the man smiled to himself.

    "Just don''t let them spread rumors. They will try to reach the media next. Try to restrain them from doing that. And keep an eye on every Rong family member. Rong Quiang. Rong Chang. Gu Hong. Rong Chen.", Rong Xinghe said, picking up a pen from the metallic pen stand at the corner of the table.

    "Okay.", the man nodded in agreement, "And how should I deal with David and Shawn? The kids have been fighting like anything since the moment they walked in. David is agitated by how Shawn didn''t involve him in n B fabricated by you."

    "The Florences might fight like cats and dogs, but in the end, the brothers can die for each other, Elijah.", the girl stated indifferently, "Let them be. They will be fine."

    _________

    Afghanistan, 6:00 p.m. ;

    Sharia Enterprises ;

    Ady, wearing long-sleeved ck Kimono Abaya, revealing not a part of her body but just her face, walked up to the man in what seemed like a Business Suit, "Asm Walekum, Mr. Fedorov.", she greeted him, bowing down elegantly.

    Abram Orlov turned around, his hands tucked into his pocket, and with a slim smile, cocked his head to one side curiously, "This is the fifth person I am meeting here and yet, it is not Aftaab Ali. Since there is no possibility of business between us, I wouldn''t want to waste my time here anymore."

    "Please be patient, Mr. Albert. I insist.", the woman said sternly, "Mr. Ali has many enemies. We can''t just allow anyone to meet him. We had to verify your identity before you met him. We had to dig up your secrets, your past, your weaknesses, everything before you could appear in front of him."

    "Gambling. Human Trafficking. Drugs Smuggling.", Abram Orlov said, looking down at his Oxfords'' solid ck shoes.

    "What?"

    "My secrets.", the man smiled, "You could just ask me. My weakness? Well, every possible addiction. Women. Alcohol. Drugs.

    "As for my past? I murdered my wife and two kids in a fit of rage, when I found out that the woman was cheating on me with my assistant."

    The woman stared at the man in a daze for a few seconds before her lips curled up in both, entrancement and acknowledgment. Abram Orlov was nomon man. None of the Hybrids were. When it came to clearing their tracks and changing their identities overnight, no one could be as swift as them. Abram Orlov was Albert Fedorov, for everyone there in Afghanistan. The former person was nothing but a myth, for those in the underworld, provided how anyone who''d ever seen even one of the Hybrids, never returned back alive. They were, indeed, the most feared and truly savage beasts, one could say.

    "And you aren''t ashamed that you killed them?", the woman asked, intrigued.

    "Why would I be?", Abram raised his brows quizzically, "I have never pretended of being some do-gooder. I have no shame in admitting my ruthlessness. Besides, the bitch deserved it."

    "My name''s Faatima.", the woman extended her hand towards the man, and Abram shook it, firmly, "Wee, Mr. Fedorov. Our President will see you now. Provided your personality, you''ll fit in here just perfectly, we believe."

    "I hope so.", the man grinned.

    _________

    Xi Corporations, 6:15 p.m ;

    "Oh, God! I hate kids.", Rong Xinghe sighed, staring at the fifth call from Ningtao''s number, "Little Alix isn''t even two-year-old yet and she has already started using phones. Why does she have to call me always, damn it?!"

    "How do you even know it is Little Alix, Xinghe?", Xi Yuanughed, looking at the girl''s miserable expression.

    "Because Sister-inw saved my photo along with my number. And now, every time Little Alix opens call logs, she clicks on my photo. She thinks it is magic that she can hear my voice anytime.", Rong Xinghe rolled her eyes, resting her head against the man''s shoulder, tiredly.

    ''Hmm. What would you do if we have kids someday, then?", the man asked as he organized the documents lying around upon the Solid Wood Groove Coffee table. The staff, of course, didn''t dare to either knock nor walk into the man''s office, while he was alone inside with their Queen-to-be. It was basically their personal, peaceful paradise, until the next morning. Xi Yuan knew she would leave to prepare for the uing war, by then. He had been listening to her as she operated every mission from his office throughout the day, after all. It was best to make the most of the time while she was still beside him, he thought.

    "I will be depending a lot on you.", the girl answered nonchntly, "You''re great with Kids. Both, Lu Alix and Zhi Taio are fond of you already. I can''t begin to imagine how attached our babies will be to you."

    "Babies, huh? How many do you want?"

    "Two. A boy and a girl."

    Xi Yuan ced the files in his hands on the table before he held the girl by her shoulders and pulled her into his warm infatuating embrace, "I prefer just one. And, that too, through surrogacy.", he whispered softly into the girl''s ears.

    "Yuan, I know you don''t want to see me go through pregnancy pains, and cramps, and mood swings. But-"

    "Don''t you get it, Bub?", the man cut the girl off, his tone full of concern and fears, "When a woman gives birth to a baby, the pain is no less than 20 bones fracturing at the same time!

    "I won''t be able to see you go through that. I can''t be the reason behind such intense pain.

    "Ever since I walked into your life, I''ve wanted to see you smile, and feel joy because of me. Not pain. Even if it is physical. I just can''t. ", he confessed with his utmost sincerity and earnestness.

    "What exactly is the limit to your love, President Xi?", Rong Xinghe was at a loss of words, "God, stop pampering me so much. It would be troublesome for you if I get spoiled, you know?"

    "Those are the ns, Ma'' Jolie.", the manughed.

 Chapter 386: The reminder of her weakness

    Chapter 386: The reminder of her weakness

    "Yuan, I''ve never seen my mother. So I don''t know anything about being a mother.", Rong Xinghe exined, "Sometimes, I just wish she was here to tell me all about it. When Xiao and I were small, we had to google about menstruation, because our mother wasn''t there to tell us about it. We missed her so, so damn much when we were living at the Rong family mansion.

    "I just don''t want to miss any part of this. The entire motherhood thing. I want to enjoy those nine months. I want to get extra-doting from you and my brothers then. I want to feel the life growing inside me. Every woman wants it, at some point of time in her life. I know it will be scary and torturous. But I also know that I''ll be fine. I have Sister-inw Ningtao and Songyan by my side, after all. They are amazing mothers. They will teach me everything.

    "Just don''t strip me of that right if we ever get married. I want to bear our kids inside my womb. I don''t want Surrogacy or IVF. Please?"

    Xi Yuan stared at the girl looking into his eyes with desperation and uncertainty, and let out a sigh. He knew she was right. But, he''d still hoped it didn''t have to be that way. Unable to argue with her about something so sensitive, the man nodded at her gently, "I would never shatter your heart so ruthlessly, Love.", he smiled, "Just remember one thing. No matter what happens, I will be by your side. Always."

    "I know.", Rong Xinghe whispered, leaning in onto the man as she captured his right earlobes into her mouth and started kissing it, tenderly at first, profoundly secondster. She loved doing it. It was a habit she''d developed during their ''movie-marathon'' sessions. Xi Yuan would go unusually silent whenever she did that, but he''d never stopped her. Clearly, it was a sensitive spot, a conclusion she hade to, long ago.

    "Are you sure you want to do this?", Xi Yuan asked in his ever so mesmeric and captivating voice, as his fingertips slid along her back, applying hardly any pressure, yet sending shock waves over and under her flesh.

    Slowly, slowly, his hands moved across her skin, down the sides of her stomach, below her Split Front Frill Marron Crop Top, to finally rest upon the curves of her hips. This time, he had no intention to stop. Neither did she. They both understood what the other''s touch did to them. And they both were done resisting it. They wanted this, they needed this.

    "I do.", the girl nodded, still teasing the man''s ear with her lips. Xi Yuan let out a short shuddering breath and parted from the girl hastily. Standing up from the Arra Rome Dark Blue couch, he turned to kneel down and lifted the girl up in his arms. His actions were so swift, the girl didn''t even get sufficient time to process what was happening.

    "What are you doing?", the girlughed as the man started walking towards a certain direction.

    "To do it the right way.", Xi Yuan replied, stepping into the cozy beige and brown dimply-lit lounge, "Yourfort matters, Wifey.", he said, cing the girl onto the Capital Poster tform bed, brushing his lips against hers softly.

    For a moment, the man looked at her in astonishment, his lips parted slightly. The girl could feel the heat rise up to her cheeks from within, from her rapidly beating heart. He was looking at her like she was the first star that had evere out in the sky, a fire that had lit up in utter darkness, just for him.

    Without wasting another second, Xi Yuan stood up and pulled her thin crop top over her head, tossing it to the floor. Again, he took his time taking in the marvelous beauty, that she was. As the ckce wired bra covered her breasts, her remaining upper body was no more a mystery to him. Gradually, his eyes trailed down from her neck to cor bone to her chest, before they finally stopped at her upper abdomen. A mark. A wound, it was. But whatever it was, he could tell it had a story. A story she had never told him before.

    "How did it happen?", the man asked, worried. He then sat beside her and helped her lie down against one of the huge cushions in the room, and this time, he observed the injury more closely and intimately.

    "Yuan, it''s okay. It doesn''t hurt me. Not anymore.", the girl answered, with a wry smile stered across her lips. How could he possibly think of making out with her when he''d just seen an old wound, of course?

    "Tell me, Xinghe.", Xi Yuan pressed this time. One look at him and Rong Xinghe could see how much it was affecting him. There was pain and rage in his eyes. But his anger was the exact reason why she''d never told him about it. But she couldn''t hide it from him forever, could she?

    "It''s Rong Family.", the girl said softly, holding onto the man''s hand tightly, as if she was extracting her strength from him.

    "What did they do to you, girl?", the man asked, trying to act as calm as he could. Just how many times had those monsters tried to break her apart?!

    "I was eleven then, I remember.", the girl continued, "One of Rong Chang''s friend had eyes on me. And since I meant nothing but an abomination to them, they sold me to him for one night. He, um, tried to defile me. Beat me. I cried, and screamed, and begged, but he wouldn''t stop.

    "In self-defense, I picked up a flower vase from the side-table and hit him hard. On the head.", the girl chuckled, "It was then that I realized what I was supposed to be. A fighter. A warrior.

    "Anyhow, as a punishment to have ''mistreated their guests'', Rong Yufan stabbed me right there, above my stomach. That wasn''t even the worse, though. While the knife was still inside, he twisted it clockwise, thrice. My tissues were torn apart by then, obviously.

    "Bro Bo had arrived right at the time then and took me to the hospital. On the other hand, that old man was very well buried alive by Bro Lu, shortly after the incident. But this wound remained. As a reminder of how weak I had once been.", the girl looked down at her darling''s hand over her wound, her expression solemn.

    "I am going to kill that son of a-"

    "And that''s exactly why I never told you about it.", Rong Xingheughed, tears stinging the corner of her eyes."No one in this world has the right to kill that bastard, but me. Not even you."

 Chapter 387: Still in the room

    Chapter 387: Still in the room

    "How did the Six tigers trusted you with them for thirteen years exactly?", Xi Yuan questioned, his fingers still running over the ''once-lethal'' wound lightly, "Last time I checked, they were ready to rip my throat out just because you''d fainted in an ident caused by my assistant."

    "Oh! They''d unleashed hellfire upon the Rong family every time I would be hurt or harmed or ill-treated.", Rong Xinghe giggled, "You can say, I admired their rage just as much as I appreciated their love for me. One could say that the Ripper was, but a product of the six men''s temper. My angeres from them, you know."

    "I spoiled the vibe, didn''t I?", the man smiled, tucking the girl''s freely-falling jet ck hair strands behind her ear, "Sorry."

    "You''ll have plenty of opportunities to make it up to me.", the girl looked into the man''s eyes assuringly, "Hold onto that."

    "Oh, I will."

    nting a sweet yet quick kiss upon her darling''s lips, the girl jumped down the bed and picked up her top. "Anyway, I suggest you put up more defenses around the Xi family. War is inevitable, this time, Yuan. I am not sure if I''ll be able to protect everyone.

    "But I am hoping that, at least, our families would walk out of this unscathed. They don''t deserve to bear the consequences of what happens next. To me, they are as much od Civilians as the other Country X citizens. They''re innocent public."

    "Don''t worry.", the man ced both his hands over the girl''s bare waist, resting his forehead against hers, "I''ve already taken care of it. I assure you, our families will be my responsibility, all this while. Just focus on your potential, your formidable enemies. Ande back home after all of this is dealt with. Okay?"

    "Okay.", the girlughed.

    ___________

    Military Chief Office, 8:00 p.m. ;

    "I said let me go!", Rong Yufan protested, struggling into the cold wooden chair he was tied to, as he red daggers at Shawn Florence.

    "Xinghe told me a lot of things about you, and yet, she never mentioned about how irritating your crow-like sniveling voice can be.", David Florence walked into the dimly-lit interrogation room, a ss of whiskey in his one hand, and a bottle of beer into the other, "Why are we keeping him alive again, little brother?", he questioned Shawn, passing him the bottle.

    "Scout''s honor.", the man shrugged, "Xinghe wants to see him all miserable, but breathing."

    David rolled his eyes so hard he felt they would fall off, "Right. But when all of this is over, can we please, please kill him the same way he tried to eliminate our Alpha? By throwing him down a running train. Just like some trash. Please?"

    "Nah.", Elijah Williams shook his head, brushing a speck of dust off his neatly ironed suit, "Xinghe got out of it alive, didn''t she? Now, our Alpha was worth living. This psychopath, on the contrary, isn''t.

    "I suggest we bury him while his heart is still pumping blood.", the man said, looking meaningfully into Rong Yufan''s eyes with a smirk stered across his lips, "You see, his death should be ruthless. While he gasps and cries and yells for rescue, no one would hear him. Slowly yet swiftly, he would feel a shortage of oxygen. Now that, brothers, would be one hell of death, wouldn''t it?"

    "Even better. Let''s just burn him alive.", Shawn Florence smiled, clearly enjoying the direction towards which, this conversation was heading, "It is, after all, the worse death, humans can go through."

    "But that''s the problem. He isn''t human.", David added, "He is a self-involved son of a bitch. Again, not human. I think we should just throw him down the ocean, tied to some heavy rock. Such hard water, such darkness at the bottom, it can give creeps to literally anyone."

    "Ahem...", Rong Yufan cleared his throat, "I am still in the room."

    "So?", Elijah smiled, "Does it look like we care?"

    "..."

    ________________

    Afghanistan, 10:00 p.m. ;

    Sharia Enterprises ;

    "So how do you intend on benefitting me?", the man questioned, taking off his Beige Solid Slim Fit Suit, as he nced at Abram Orlov from the corner of his eyes.

    "Yeah, well, I know quite some hotshots in Country X. Does the name Sun Cheng, ring a bell to you?", the man smiled, his gaze fixed upon the green bulletin board, Country X''s detailed map pinned against it, "From what I hear, you n on meddling into Country X''s business. I figured you would need my help."

    "Hmm. But isn''t Sun Cheng Xi Corporation''s CEO''s close friend?", Aftaab inquired, his tone cautious and reserved, "Do you really think I would trust the nation''s very Military Chief''s fiance? Naive!"

    "Correction. Acquaintance. Not a friend.", Abram replied, barely swayed by the mention of Xi Yuan''s connection to his pawn, "I have that guy wrapped around my little finger. Don''t worry. Lost his wife to some slut''s schemes. Now, left with no one but a sweet little but vulnerable daughter. The guy knows better than to betray me. After all, which father can risk putting his only descendant into the path of death. Who would want to see his only child being ripped apart into millions of bloody pieces because of his mistakes, huh?

    "Besides, what other option do you have? Mr. Ali, I am the only opportunity right now. I do my homework. And I know how desperate you are for getting into Country X. Keep that in mind."

    "Cocky.", Aftaab Ali crossed his arms, defensively, his eyes glued to the man''s back, "What are you expecting out of this, Mr. Fedorov?"

    "It''s business. It''s ''give and take'', of course.", Abram Orlov shrugged, ncing down at his watch, as he turned around to face the man, "60% of the profit we make. That''s what I am expecting here. But I would be an idiot to jump into a fire with just one condition, wouldn''t I?

    "There are two others. But I wouldn''t unveil them just yet. Not until we seal the deal. I wouldn''t dare to. Do visit me at myvish suite 1935 at Kabul Serena Hotel, in case you wish to discuss business further. I shall leave you to think until tomorrow morning then. Thank you for your time."

    As he looked at the man walking out of his office cabin with his calm and overbearing aura, Aftaab Ali couldn''t help but feel irked and intrigued, at the same time. This man had the guts to walk into his ce and talk back to him and still stay calm. Aftaab Ali wasn''t used to this kind of fearlessness. Clearly, his people hadn''t dug deep enough into him. But there was one thing he said that was, but unfortunately, true. What other option did he have?

 Chapter 388: Pattern

    Chapter 388: Pattern

    7:00 a.m., Military Chief Office ;

    With a tiring groan, Rong Yufan struggled to open and adjust his eyes to the bright lights around him. He was still in the godforsaken interrogation room. Shawn Florence wasn''t there anymore. Neither was David Florence or Elijah Williams. Just one person. A person whom he would recognize even in the sleep, or from the beyond. A person who''d faced death, because of him. A person who had been his formidable enemy, ever since the moment she had breathed her first.

    "Hello there, Young Master Rong!", Rong Xinghe mumbled, her gaze fixed upon her phone screen.

    ''I love you. You can fight through this.'', her darling''s text read. With a ''Love you too.'', the girl messaged back and switched her phone off before she lifted her head up to look at her detestable and hateful ''once-upon-a-time'' brother.

    "David really did a number on you, didn''t he?", the girl remarked, pointing her chin towards the man''s facial injuries.

    "Nothing I couldn''t handle.", Rong Yufan smirked smugly, "Little Sister."

    Rong Xinghe felt her stomach churn and head aching, not just at the man''s words, but the way he said it. ''Little sister, my foot!'' He had some nerve mentioning the unfortunate rtionship they had, she cursed. But obviously, she wasn''t going to let the jerk get under her skin.

    "By the way, how are Mr. and Mrs. Lu? And how is Baby Alix, huh?", the man interrupted the girl''s train of thoughts as heughed manically. The girl, of course, knew what the man was referring to. He, after all, had once hypnotized Zhou Che to ram his car into her brother''s, under the intent of killing Lu Wei and her then-eight-month-pregnant Sister-inw.

    "For someone who is about to die, aren''t you quite chirpy?", Rong Xinghe crossed her legs at her ankles, as she switched on the video recorder set-up on the table separating them.

    "I am not going to utter a single word unless I have mywyer by my side.", Rong Yufan squinted his eyes, his tone cold and resolute.

    "Military is independent of the country''s constitution. We do not respond to threats, nor to the judiciary. Here, you will speak what I want to hear, and do what I want to see.", Rong Xinghe replied indifferently, "Got it?

    "Now, how exactly are you associated with Lucas Wilson and Ahmed Ali Fadhil?"

    ___________

    9:00 a.m., Afghanistan ;

    Kabul Serena Hotel ;

    Abram Orlov opened the door to find Aftaab Ali leaning against it, two of his many bodyguards standing behind him, looking around the empty corridor cautiously.

    "I want One Million Dors converted and transferred to Country X by tomorrow. Is it possible?", the man smiled, extending his hands towards Abram.

    "I look forward to working with you.", Abram Orlov chuckled, as he shook hands with the man firmly, "Pleasee in."

    "Earlier, you said you had many reasons to join hands with me, and that you would reveal them to me once I was on board.", Aftaab Ali mentioned, stepping inside the grand hotel suite, his gaze scanning almost every corner of the room vigntly, "May I know what they are, now?"

    "Not any specific reason. It''s just a mere dream. A wish, actually.", Abram Ali scratched the back of his head awkwardly as if he was too embarrassed to even say it out aloud.

    "Come on! I wouldn''t want us to be just business partners, Mr. Fedrov.", the man smacked the man''s left shoulder yfully, "And friends shouldn''t keep things from each other, right? What is it? Tell me."

    "Right.", Abramughed, "How about this? For each one of my secret, you tell me one of yours. In?"

    Aftaab Ali stared at the pouring whiskey into two Ocean San Marino sses for a while, warily, before he cleared his throat and threw his hands up in resignation, "In.", he replied with a short, scornfulugh. He''d already concluded this much about this Albert Fedrov by now, to be honest. This man wasn''t a fool. Contrary to that, he was akin to a crocodile. Static, motionless, waiting for the prey to approach it with all its guards down, ready to rip it apart. Naturally, it was important to test the waters before jumping into it with some stranger. Nevertheless, what harm could a game of 20 questions could possibly do to him, at the most?

    ___________

    11:00 a.m., Military Chief Office ;

    "Did you get anything out of him?", Shawn Florence followed behind the girl as she rushed towards her office hurriedly.

    "Not really.", the girl shook her head, "He is a tough nut to crack, Shawn. Do you seriously think he would spill all his beans so quickly?

    "Not to mention, he is an excellent hypnotist. Mind games do not really work against him."

    "Then what are you so worked up about?", the man asked, confused.

    "It isn''t just business they want. There is a pattern Ahmed Ali Fadhil has always followed."

    "What pattern?"

    "I don''t know.", the girl turned to grin at the man ebulliently, "We are going to study all his operations from the scratch. There must be a typical n, a method, with the help of which, he manages to get into his ''target'' locations and destroy it as if he owns them, without anyone getting involved or even so, obstructing him, right?

    "I was in Syria thest time he did it. So I know for a fact he that he likes to always have a backup for himself, in case his initial n fails."

    "Wait...", Shawn Florence''s eyes flew wide open as he wrapped his hand around the girl''s wrist tightly, pulling her attention towards him, "Please tell me he isn''ting."

    Rong Xinghe was slightly taken aback by the man''s sudden and strong approach. Subconsciously, the girl looked into the man''s eyes, memories of those five years when the Eleven of them were practically staying together flooding through her mind.

    "Xinghe?", Shawn Florence furrowed his brows, waving his hands in front of the woman, "What happened?"

    Stepping back into reality, the girl closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath, she smiled confidently at the man, "He ising, Shawn, whether we like it or not.

    "And we have to locate him before that. He is the main handler of all the ns he has ever engineered."

    Shawn Florence stared at the woman in front of her warily for a few seconds, before he finally let out a sigh, "Xinghe, just promise me one thing."

    "What?"

    "No matter what happens, you will not get involved with Ahmed Ali Fadhil personally. Let Jackson and Abram handle it. Get me into it, if you want. But just stay out of this one. Okay?"

    "And why, exactly?", the girl questioned, her toneced with confusion.

    "Because that man is in bad news, Xinghe.", the man replied, "For him, women are nothing but a means for pleasure.

    "Secondly, now, nothing might''ve happened between us during those five years, and I know that we fought our feelings then, but I will never stop protecting you. Do you get it?"

    "Shawn...", the girl turned around and started walking towards her office, away from the man, "I am-"

    "Engaged? I know.", the man chuckled coolly, "Yuan is nice and understanding and sensitive. I noticed that during your engagement ceremony itself. He deserves you. He is a worthy man.

    "But as I said, I will never stop protecting you."

 Chapter 389: Not ready for her jealousy yet

    Chapter 389: Not ready for her jealousy yet

    10:00 p.m., Elite Sapphire Penthouse ;

    Xi Yuan stepped down his car and reached towards the main entrance as usual, clearly uninformed that someone was already waiting for him there.

    "Yuan.", the feminine voice resonated through the empty air right when the man was about to unlock the door. Pinching the space between his brows, Xi Yuan turned around and took in the sight of the drunk woman lying leisurely on the cold bench, "Miss Huang.", he acknowledged. What the hell was this woman up to now? Hadn''t her elder brother exined to her the Huang family''s standpoint about all the fantasies she''d designed involving him or the Xi family, already?

    "You... How could you do this to... me?", the woman stood up from the bench and approached the man in a hasty manner, like a toddler, her legs too weak to even stand steady, "I''ve dreamt of... nothing but... marrying you since the day I saw you... for the first time in high school. Yet, you ruthless jerk, you did not even dare to reject me in a dignified manner. You humiliated me. You..."

    Before the man could even respond, the woman knelt down and startedughing. Hysterically. A few minutes after she bbered something under her breath, which Xi Yuan was more than sure were insults directed towards his woman and him, Huang Biu fell down unconscious upon the considerably smooth dark wooden flooring.

    "Brother? What are you--", Xi Wei approached the man from behind shortly after with a frown, confusedly, "Whoa! What is she doing here thiste?!"

    "What do you think?", Xi Yuan asked back, "Carry her inside and text her brother to pick her upter."

    "Hey! I can''t just ''carry'' women around, you know?", Xi Wei countered defensively, "I have got a girlfriend, man."

    "Huh.", Xi Yuan raised his brows in mockery, "Among the two Rong sisters, who do you think is not worth being poked? Xinghe or Xiao?"

    "Right. Definitely Sister-inw.", the man sighed, "I don''t think the world is ready to witness, let alone go through the consequences of, her jealousy. Not yet."

    "Smart."

    ____________

    12:30 a.m., Military Chief Office ;

    After skimming through roughly a hundred files, the Florence brothers threw their hands up in the air, in resignation. "Alright! I give up. There is nothing I can decode from these babies."

    "Come on, you guys.", Rong Xinghe muttered, absent-mindedly, as her eyes raked up and down, some stapled set of pages with casual appraisal tirelessly, "Keep your spirits high. We''ve got the whole night to ourselves."

    "What?!", David Florence almost yelled up, "Entire night. There''s no way I am staying here for that long."

    "May I know why?", Shawn Florence questioned as he closed his eyes and started massaging his temple inertly.

    "No. You may not, little brother.", the man rolled his eyes.

    "What about me, David?", Rong Xinghe asked this time, turning a page overzily, "What''s so important than this?"

    "Sex!"

    "..."

    After a few seconds of awkward silence, Shawn raised his hand in mid-air, gesturing to the girl that he would go first, and finally cleared his throat, "When the hell did you even meet a woman?"

    "Five minutes ago."

    "Who is it?", Rong Xinghe scoffed.

    "The coffee machine girl? Nancy?", David smiled at the woman triumphantly, "So pardon me if I take a break for myself. It''s been quite a day.

    "Not to mention, I think all of this, that we''ve been doing for hours here, is a dead end. It''s all good for nothing, Xinghe. Do you really think that a terrorist like Ahmed Ali Fadhil would repeat some pattern?"

    "Every criminal has a specific pattern, boys.", Rong Xinghe shook her head, passing a dull-yellow colored file to Shawn Florence, "Here, look at this. Business. Politics. Borders. Every country he ever attacked, Ahmed Ali Fadhil chose these three passages altogether to enter the target locations.

    "So that if one method fails, he would-"

    "He would still have two more options, through which, he could infect the body, the system of the entire country. From the inside.", David Florence cut in, realization slowly bringing a grin to his face, "Oh my god, Xinghe, you are a genius!"

    "Tell me something new.", the girl haughtily smirked, "Evidently, Aftaab Ali is a critical business pawn to him. He doesn''t trust anyone else in the business sector. Jackson and Abram are already in charge of that arena, though. So nothing to worry about.

    "And as far as the borders are concerned, I can entrust Elijah with it. He is a mastermind when ites to troop deployment and strategy formations.

    "That''s two out of three. Coming to politics, I will have to speak to Prime Minister Li regarding this issue, first thing in the morning tomorrow.", the girl concluded.

    "Okay then. I will tell Mr. Shou to schedule a meeting for you, with the PM on my way out.", David Florence sped his hands eagerly as he turned around to head out of the cabin.

    "Wait a second. You already knew about it, didn''t you?", Shawn Florence squinted his eyes at the girl usingly, earning a faint nod and a broad smile from her.

    "So you''ve been fooling us all this time?!", David Florence was, of course, in a state of disbelief and infuriation, "Unbelievable!

    "No. What the hell do you think we are? Unemployed? Huh?"

    "Yes?", the girl looked back at the two men questioningly, "I mean apart from the missions I assign you, what else do you even do for an earning, David?"

    The man stared at Rong Xinghe for some time, an expression of distress and helplessness stered across his face, hoping for the woman to take her words back. But deep down, both the men knew that it wasn''t going to happen anytime soon. Rong Xinghe could literally hear the man''s self-esteem getting crushed bit-by-bit. And she would''ve been lying if she were to say that she wasn''t enjoying it. Long face did really suit David Florence, she thought to herself.

    "Your words. Sometimes... they truly hurt.", the man clutched his chest as he stormed out of the girl''s office, akin to some 4-year old angry kid.

    "Now, you''ve hurt my elder brother!", Shawn Florence chuckled, shaking his head defeatedly, "Who will put him to bed tonight, hmm? I am telling you. He isn''t just my kid, Xinghe."

    Letting out a softugh, Rong Xinghe leaned back and rested her head against her chair headset, "You are right. It is ours. And I have been a careless and irresponsible mother over the past two years. But I promise. I will try to be there for him more often now. Okay?"

    "You better.", the man chuckled as he organized the messed up bookshelves hurriedly, "So... do you have time for a roadside tea tonight? After work?"

    "Do I look like someone who would turn down tea? Hell no!", the girl smiled, picking her coat up from the arm pad of her chair as she dialed her driver''s number.

 Chapter 390: Not an unappreciated supporting character

    Chapter 390: Not an unappreciated supporting character

    2:00 a.m., Elite Sapphire Penthouse ;

    "Hey! You''re home early?", Xi Yuan pecked the girl on her forehead as she tiredly hung her head backward, "Busy day, huh?"

    "You have no idea.", the girl sighed, pulling her gloves off of her hands, "I see that we havepany tonight."

    "I am so sorry. Wei has been missing your sister since she left for her ''Atrial fibrition'' conference in Sydney.", the man exined, as he looked at his brother gulping down a big bowl of peanuts and popcorn while he watched some kind of hrious movie with a serious expression on his face, so indulged into it that he didn''t even notice that the girl was standing roughly ten meters away from him.

    "Well... look at you. With all those bigplex medical terms! Don''t tell me you''ve been spending much time with my surgeon brother or doctor twin.", it had been months since their rtionship had started, but even today, Rong Xinghe felt as if a cool breeze would spread through her heart every time they would be together. It was as if his calm aura had the strength to suck away all that stress or fears or doubts bothering her, in seconds, miraculously. It was good to be home, after all, she thought.

    "Oh no. Wei taught me those terms. I don''t even know what fibrition is.", Xi Yuan shook his head modestly, as he picked up the ss of water the butler had brought in a tray and passed it to the girl, "Here. Believe me when I say this. Xiao has changed him into a man I never knew. All focussed on business. Career-centric. I will have to thank her with some fancy dinner, someday."

    "Oh God! My sister is imparting wisdom. Couldn''t be more proud of her.", Rong Xinghe chuckled, "By the way, Yuan, we need to talk about something."

    "Just take a shower first. We can talkter, okay?"

    "Okay. But let me go say hi to little Panda first.", the girl said as she rushed towards where Xi Wei was sitting into the living room. Xi Yuan simply briefed in the specifications for the girl''s bath to the staff before he went back into his study to attend some of his business calls.

    "Little Panda! What''s up?", the woman patted the man''s back lightly before she sat down on the edge of the couch, "How have you been?"

    "Miserable. Pathetic. Forlorn.", Xi Wei replied, his eyes still fixed upon the huge home theater screen, "Did Xiao call? Did you talk to her? What''s she doing?"

    "Holy mother of--", Rong Xinghe couldn''t help butugh out at the man''s words, "It''s been just two days. She will call you, sweetie. Don''t be so impatient.

    "I don''t call your brother for weeks when I am out for Military missions. Does he behave like that too?"

    "Yeah. Why do you women do it? Hmm?", Xi Wei muted the movie as he turned to face the girl usingly, "That''s so emotionally insensitive. Why? Why Sister-inw, why?! It''s like she is ripping my heart out with every passing second when she doesn''t call. We men never do that."

    "Yes, you do. Your brother does that too. I mean,e on. He doesn''t pick up my calls when he is out on his business tours. And before Xiao, even you too never called back any woman ever, after all those one-night-stands of yours, did you?"

    "Hello! No need to go down thatne. I love Xiao. She is different.", Xi Wei pouted, "I just miss her."

    "Oh honey, I know. I am sorry. I am sure she will call you back.", Rong Xinghe sighed, "Ok. So, my dear informer. Anything I need to know about?"

    "Nothing important. Just that your love rival is sleeping in the guest room tonight. She is drunk. She is unconscious. And you can kill her while she is not in her senses if you want."

    "Huang Biu is here?! In Yuan''s house?!", the woman stood up, her voice as fierce as an enraged lioness, "What the hell..."

    "Sister-inw. Brother ordered me to bring her in. He didn''t even touch her. They had no physical, emotional, mental, psychological contact. Not even an eye-contact. Don''t worry. Your man''s sanctity is my personal and prioritized responsibility.", Xi Wei exined quickly. He could''ve chosen his words wisely earlier, he thought. His brother was right. Among the two Rong sisters, this one was definitely not the one to ever be poked.

    "If you say so.", Rong Xinghe inhaled sharply. Her darling was right. She really needed a rxing shower. She couldn''t carry her work-pressure around. Not in front of her family, at least. Not in front of Xi Yuan.

    "Now, stop bothering me and go get a can of soda from the refrigerator, will you?", Xi Wei said, after ensuring that the water was under the bridge of course, as he turned around to unmute the TV.

    "I don''t want a soda.", the girl mumbled.

    "Who said it is for you?"

    "...."

    ________________

    3:00 a.m., Elite Sapphire Penthouse ;

    "Fang''s wedding? Why would you suddenly bring that up?", Xi Yuan stared down at the woman lying with her head on hisp, with a surprised expression, "What''s going on, Bub?"

    "That girl. Jiang Yue. He has her photo as his phone cover till date. He clearly loves her. And, Yuan... he deserves this. He deserves this happiness.", the girl said, snatching the novel away from the man''s hands.

    "I agree. But why now? When you are not even yourself, sure if you will be able toe to this wedding, why would you-"

    "Yuan, life is very uncertain.", the girl covered the man''s mouth with her left hand, cutting him off the mid-sentence, "I don''t know if I''ll walk out of this uing war alive. But I sure as hell know that this isn''t going to be the only war in my life. No matter what the time is, I will always be in the middle of some bloodbath. So let''s not let destiny hinder out families'' happiness.

    "Now, we won''t be able to marry until this problem is solved. But Fang isn''t directly connected to any of this, is he?

    "That boy has always put you, your need, your health, above himself, Yuan. He loves you and respects you. He worships you. He deserves nothing less than a beautiful wedding day. A day. When it will be all about him and the person he loves. A day when he wouldn''t have to be worrying about the Xi family politics or you or Wei or Ying.

    "I don''t want your brother to remain an unappreciated supporting character in our story. He is equally important. And, Baby, he deserves the world too."

    "God damn it, Xinghe! You never stop to amaze me. Come here.", Xi Yuanughed, opening his arms wide, "Those idiots have no idea how lucky they are to have a Sister-inw like you."

    "Not as lucky as me. I was lucky enough to have you, after all", the girl giggled, burying herself into her darling''s uniquely sweet and warm embrace.

 Chapter 391: One hell of a Multitasker

    Chapter 391: One hell of a Multitasker

    Next Morning, 9:00 a.m. ;

    Room 1935, Kabul Serena Hotel, Afghanistan ;

    "Why do you want to meet the Commander?", Aftaab Ali questioned the man sipping his morning coffee suspiciously. Abram Orlov had confessed to him, his original intent behind getting involved with him, barely two minutes prior to when they were supposed to sign their merger contracts. A name, that could change the entire foundation of his decision. A name, no one was ever to speak of. Abram Ali Fadhil.

    "I don''t think you will understand, Aftaab Bhai.", Abram waved his free hand in dismissal, "Let''s just sign the papers."

    "What''s the rush? Not many people know about him.", Aftaab Ali insisted on sticking to the topic, "The contract can wait. This can''t."

    "Oh. Alright. Sure.", Abram Orlov''s smile widened, as he nodded faintly at his and Aftaab Ali''s alert security officers, gesturing them to leave. Only when the two men were left alone inside the room, did the man spoke up, "What do you want to know? Shoot me."

    "Well... How do you know that Ahmed Ali Fadhil isn''t some fictional character? After all, that''s what everyone says. That he is a tale, a story. A person no one ever saw."

    Abram Orlov shrugged nonchntly, "Up till this point, you already know that I am known about Country X like the back of my hand. But I never told you how well connected I am with the underworld there. That''s how I know that Commander Fadhil isn''t just some folklore. He is the very source capable of intimidating even the mightiest of the soldiers over there, in fact!

    "Apparently, Military Chief Rong has seen him before. During the five years of her Military Chief training. She''d even ordered a team of sketch artists right after she was sworn in as the rightful highest Military Authority of Country X.

    "But despite all those efforts, even the ''oh-so-powerful'' Rong Xinghe could never track him down. No wonder he is a legend."

    Aftaab Ali furrowed his brows as he tried to recall something for a few seconds before he muttered under his breath, "When?", he asked.

    "Hmm? Oh, you want to know when she met him. Over a few drinks with her PA, I got to know about it once. Ever heard the name ''Fatima''? The dancer? He said that she came across Commander Ahmed in Dubai when she was in that alias."

    "Oh...that was her?", the man seemed to have remembered the incident. It almost made Abram suspect if Aftaab Ali was also there with Ahmed Ali Fadhil when the girl hade across him, back then.

    "So... why do you want to meet him?"

    "I don''t know. I just feel so inspired by him, by his views. His opinions are so strong. The things he has done for the smallmunity of Muslims, are just somendable. There''s no doubt that the Muslims need to be listened to too. I don''t care about Modern thought processes and so-called religious equality. His agenda is clearly indestructible! We do need to establish fear in the hearts of millions if we seek respect from them. His thoughts are mind-blowing. And practical. So yeah, I do want to meet him. At least once in this lifetime.", Abram Orlov exined.

    Aftaab Ali thought for roughly fifteen minutes after that. As much as his inner voice told him to shred the man in front of him to pieces, he couldn''t deny the fact that this ''Albert Fedorov'' could be a useful asset to him. This man had insider information about the army, after all. It would be such a waste, he contemted. Not to mention, other than Zhi Xi, Rong Xinghe''s brother, he was the only person who knew the stock market in the Country X, inside out.

    Only if the man knew how ''well-associated'' Abram Orlov was to the Military Chief of Country X.

    "Alright then. We have a deal.", Aftaab Ali stood up from the couch, "But there''s a very slim chance that you will be able to see the Commander. I won''t-"

    "I understand, Aftaab Bhai.", Abram Orlov pushed back his tousled blonde hair back as he smiled and shook hands with the man firmly, "I''ll take my chances anyway."

    ____________

    11:00 a.m., Elite Saphire Penthouse ;

    "You know what to do next, right?", the girl asked quietly on the phone.

    "Yeah. I will handle it. Don''t worry.", Abram Orlov replied, "Also, could you please tell David to not text me."

    "What happened now?", Rong Xinghe rolled her eyes exhaustedly.

    "He texted me a ''Bro! Do try this amazing Chicken Shawarma in Afghanistan. Once you savor that bad baby, you can die with no regrets!'' Xinghe, I don''t need this on a mission. Please!", the grown man was on the verge of crying.

    "Oh God! I will talk to him."

    "Thank you very much. I will go back to sleep now."

    "Ok.", as the girl disconnected the call, the man sleeping beside her turned around, and opened his dark grey eyeszily, "You slept at 6, Xinghe. Stop being so hard on yourself.", he said, "They were trainee officers for the position of Military Chief too, you know. They are perfectly capable of protecting themselves. Could you not freak out so much?"

    "I know.", the girl sighed, as she looked out of the window, at the bright rays peeking from the enormously huge, dark clouds, "It''s just... This mission is very important, Yuan. We cannot let anything go wrong.

    "Anyway, I am sorry, I woke you up. Go back to sleep. Meanwhile, I''ll make you something for breakfast. Pancakes? Or French Toast?"

    "Bold of you to assume I am even letting you step into the Kitchen.", Xi Yuan shook his head, "Just tell the Butler whatever you want to eat. He will arrange it."

    "Hey! Stop doing it, okay? I really want to cook.", the girl smacked the man''s arm lightly as she pouted, naturally irritated.

    "Fine.", the man smiled, "But I''ll be there for surveince. What if you cut your finger again?"

    "Who told you that?", Rong Xinghe raised her brows, surprised.

    "Your Bro Mo.", Xi Yuan answered honestly.

    "That''s it! You are never hanging out with any of them again.", the girl crossed her arms, "I don''t care if you guys hate each other all your lives. But I am really not supporting this ''Let''s reveal Xinghe''s secrets'' game that you guys are ying. I''ve never asked for this much bonding from you guys."

    As he listened to the girl''s childishints, Xi Yuan couldn''t help butugh heartily. A minute ago, she was speaking on the phone, ensuring her nation''s safety. And in the blink of an eye, here she was, worrying about her brothers'' rtions with her fiance. One hell of a multitasker was what his woman was, he thought. What could he not give up to have this woman stand by his side for all their lives?!

    Snaking his arms around her waist, the man pulled the girl in for a deep passionate kiss, and only when they were out of breaths, did he let her go.

 Chapter 392: "Are you threatening me?"

    Chapter 392: "Are you threatening me?"

    12:00 Noon, Elite Saphire Penthouse ;

    "Holy mother of Culinary God! Sister-inw, this French toast is so good.", Xi Ying stared at the woman in the Kitchen with utter amazement, "Can I get one more?", she asked.

    "Sure, Honey.", Rong Xinghe''s lips curled up in a faint satisfied smile, "You want some juice too?"

    "That would be great. Thank you.", the girl nodded, "By the way, don''t you have work today?"

    "Nah. I will just work from home. I have a meeting with the Prime Minister, though. But I guess I can talk him intoing here.", the girl said, as she poured herself a ss of water, "I just don''t feel like going anywhere today."

    "Wait. So you are telling us that the PM himself will being here?", Xi Fang looked away from his phone screen, taken aback, "Sister-inw, couldn''t you tell that to us, a little earlier? We could''ve ordered the Butler to make proper arrangements.

    "He is not some mere friend you''ve invited. He is a Politician. We Businessmen have to have smooth rtions with them. And the first step, as my brother always says, if to keep them impressed."

    "Fang, calm down.", Rong Xinghe chuckled, "This is the ce owned by the CEO of Xi Corporations. Its cleanliness andfort haven''t beenpromised for years now. Don''t worry.

    "Nevertheless, if the Prime Minister of the nation can''t deal with even the slightest bit of difort, what good is he? How would he ever be able to look after the thousands of people going through unemployment, and sanitation, and electricity and water problems?

    "I will just fire him right away, in that case."

    Xi Wei, who was enjoying his morningtte, choked on it, and lifted his head up to look at the woman, totally shocked, "Wha...what?!! You can do that, Sister-inw, can you?", he managed to ask.

    "Yeah. I am authorized to do that.", the girl shrugged nonchntly, "I mean, not with that very reason. I''ll have to fabricate a proper web, for him to walk right into. But yes. Until the next elections, only I can do it. To both, the Prime Minister and the President."

    "I know I am going to sound very selfish after what I''ll say next, Sister-inw. But please, oh please, never leave our brother!", Xi Fang added, still astonished, eliciting a breezyugh from the girl.

    ____________

    2:00 p.m., Elite Saphire Penthouse ;

    "What do you mean he has had stic surgeries before?", Rong Xinghe almost lost control of the cup of coffee in her hands as she squawked into the phone, "Are you sure you''re talking about Ahmed Ali Fadhil?"

    "Xinghe... what do you think?", Jackson Marshal said back, in a poised cautious tone, as he grazed his eyes over the fine medical files in his hands "I am standing in Aftaab Ali''s office, digging into his paperwork, decoding his locker passcode. Why the hell would I make it up?!"

    "But stic surgery? Are you sure you are not telling me a freaking movie script?! How is it even possible?", the girl couldn''t still believe what she''d just heard.

    "Xinghe... I am not going to stand in enemy territory and convince you that I am not lying. But yeah, Ahmed Ali Fadhil has had four stic surgeries in total, to date. Apparently, he changed his look after every major destruction he caused across Europe. Unfortunately, there is no evidence of his current guise. I''ve already clicked the photos. I will mail them to youter."

    "Okay. I will look into it.", Rong Xinghe sighed, "Get out of there as soon as possible. Abram just paged me. Aftaab Ali is on his way to his office right now."

    "Yeah. Got it."

    _____________________

    10:00 p.m. ;

    "Did the Prime Minister leave?", Xi Yuan walked through the main door, stunned by the messy view in his living room. There was no ce for anyone to sit on the couch, or table, floor even. Every corner of the dimly-lit well-crafted room was covered under a nket of paper. From government documents to crumbled paper balls and torn sheets of paper, it was quite a scary scenario. The man could feel a strong aura of frustration radiating through the ''perpetrator'', sitting right into the middle of the room and the mountains of the papers.

    Rong Xinghe lifted her head up tiredly, "Wee back home.", she smiled wryly, "Sorry for the mess. I was just trying to figure out something."

    "It''s okay.", Xi Yuan chuckled as he shook his head, "It''s nice to see you in your work mode, though. It''s... um... Let''s just say, I''ve never been this attracted to you before."

    "Hehehe.", the girl grinned, "Why, thank you, Mister."

    "So... care to share the problem, that has you all troubled?", the man crossed his arms, "I am sure you haven''t eaten anything yet either."

    "I don''t want to.", the girl shook her head, reluctantly.

    "Wait. Wait a second, I think one of your brothers called me earlier.", Xi Yuan pulled out his phone from his suit pocket, "I should check as to what was that about, right? I should brief them about your little food tantrums too, while I am at it."

    "Are you threatening me? Seriously?", the girl squinted her eyes at the man.

    "Oh, look! It was Bro Lu. I believe he would have a lot to say about it, hmm?", the man smirked, as he showed his phone screen to the girl.

    "I. Will. Eat. Something. Mexican.", the girl gritted her teeth, letting out a breath hard enough to be heard.

    "Good girl.", Xi Yuan tucked the phone back in, and held onto the girl''s hand, their fingers intertwined, as he hauled her towards the kitchen, "Keto Taco Casserole? Or Lettuce? Or Enchdas?"

    "Tacos Al Pastor.", the girl replied.

    "Okay. Now, what''s the big work problem?", the man smiled, helping the girl to sitfortably at her usual spot, the kitchen counter.

    Over the next half an hour, the man chopped the vegetables, cooked tortis, poured the girl a ss of wine; while she harped on endlessly about how there was no definite way to identify the most savage, feral, ravening terrorist across the globe, and how it could affect Country X''s security. Xi Yuan, of course, as always, listened. Patiently, and calmly.

    "What do you think I should do?", Rong Xinghe asked.

    The man remained silent for roughly five seconds before he spoke up, "A person can change their appearances, and methods, and tactics. But theirbat technique is a subconscious part of them. No matter how many people learn Taekwon-do, every individual has their own signature move. This person should be no different, Xinghe."

    As she listened to the man intently, Rong Xinghe''s eyes lit up with amazement, "Oh my God, Yuan, I love you. Ahmed Ali Fadhil does have a signature method! He has this brainsick psychotic habit of marking a cross on the foreheads of his dead victims, with his dagger. You''re so right. It shouldn''t be difficult for Elijah to dig into it.

    "Damn it! How could I not see it?!! Thank you so much."

    "I love you too.", Xi Yuanughed heartily, focussing on the former part of the girl''s words, as he fed her the first freshly grilled taco, with crisp, lightly malty beer, like an amber ale, himself, "Eat first. Then we''re going for a walk and an ice-cream outside. Only then will you be allowed to get back to your work. Boyfriend rights executed. With immediate effects."

    "Aye, aye, Sir!", the girl agreed with augh.

 Chapter 393: Big Bad Hybrid

    Chapter 393: Big Bad Hybrid

    11:30 p.m., SNS Lane;

    Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan walked down the narrow street as they talked about the insignificant things. The things that did and didn''t matter. The things as trivial as ''What theatre y was better: Julius Caesar or the Hamlet?'', and ''What color would they paint their walls with after they''d shift into their home?''. Xi Yuan had established a ''Leave work at the doorsteps'' pact a lot earlier after they''d started dating.

    ''But why?'', she''d asked him back then.

    And with a smile, he''d answered, ''Because I want to talk to the one person who means the world to me when Ie back home. I want it to be just us then. I want it to be our little world, our home, after all those huge exigent battles we fight every day.''

    And he was right. He was always right, she thought. And so smart too.

    "What are you thinking?", Xi Yuan asked when he realized that the girl was no longer sauntering by his side as he turned around to find her staring at him in a daze.

    "Nothing.", the girl shook her head violently and caught on with the man quickly, "Let''s go home."

    "Say it, Xinghe.", the manmanded this time, softly, of course.

    Letting out a sigh, Rong Xinghe gave up and started to elucidate her dilemma, "At our engagement, when that President Yang shot himself..."

    "Hmm?", Xi Yuan furrowed his brows, as he held onto the girl''s handfortingly.

    "You remember hisst words?"

    "Yeah."

    "When he said ''Only when you will be standing over the dead bodies of innocent public, your family, and you love, will hee for you'', I was terrified. Not at the former part. I know I can protect Country X''s citizens and that I can protect my brothers and sisters-inw.

    "It was the part where he threatened your life, that I felt a chill rush down my spine. I had to put on a calm pretense then, but... I was petrified.

    "Yuan... I am not sure if I''ll be able to..."

    "Protect me?", the man raised his brows, as a smile appeared across his lips, "You don''t need to, Baby. I will be fine. Moreover, I don''t intend to leave you so soon. I am going to grow old with you. At least, 120 years. Then, we will die together, like Romeo and Juliet, when our great great grandchildren will get sick of us. And after that, we will roam on the surface of this earth as ghosts. For eternity. Forever. How''s the n?"

    "You...", the girl smacked the man, irritated, "Stop kidding. I am serious right now."

    Letting out a breezyugh, Xi Yuan snaked his hands around the girl''s waist and pulled her against his firm chest. Rong Xinghe was, naturally, stunned, by the man''s sudden actions.

    "I am sorry.", he said, as he ced his thumb against the girl''s bottom lip, rubbing it lightly, and looked straight into her lively eyes, "But I really will be okay, honey. You should have enough faith in my bodyguards, and me. You''ve seen me fight before, haven''t you?"

    "But back then, you knew the exact time, and source of those attacks.", the girl sighed, "This time, I am not sure I know my opponent well enough, myself. Yuan. I am scared. If I am able to save the entire country, and my family, and your family, and yet, something happens to you, it will be a battle lost. For me, it will be. So please, for the next few days, stay alert, okay?

    "I was able to get through the Rong family''s tortures. The train incident, even. I could handle Zhou Che''s me-game too. But if I lose you, Yuan, I know for a fact that I won''t be able to survive that setback. Because when you were attacked, when you were shot after that International Business Summit, and you''d been in aa for four months, I felt as if I was dying. Those months, those days, those hours, those minutes, were the hardest I''d ever lived.

    "So I am begging you, Yuan. If not for yourself, for me, don''t take your life for granted this time."

    Xi Yuan kept looking at the girl in his arms for who knows how long as the silence surrounding them enveloped their hearts. What could he possibly say to her? His Xinghe wasn''t an emotional person, after all. It was rare for her to express her intense emotions to him like that. Especially, her fears.

    She never had to, anyway. He understood her more than she did. One nce at her, and he could tell what was going on inside her mind. So she never felt a need to confess to him before. She hated that feeling of vulnerability the most. The thought of someone looking right through you. But this time, she felt it was necessary, that he knew what was bothering her so much.

    "Xinghe...", Xi Yuan finally spoke up, "I would never do that to you. I would never hurt you like that, Babe. I would never give you false hopes and just leave you. I am going to be the one person you will always find standing by your side. Apuding you. Commending you. Admiring you. Just have belief. Okay?"

    "I want to. But..."

    "I will be careful. I promise.", assured Xi Yuan, as he nted a soft kiss against the girl''s forehead, "Just remember toe back home, after all of this is over. We have got a big fat wedding to n."

    "Hmm. I love you.", the girl mumbled, burying her head in the man''s chest.

    "Not more than I love you.", he said.

    _______________

    7:00 a.m., Elite Saphire Penthouse ;

    The next morning, Xinguan''s sleep was disturbed by the sound of the penthouse''s ss windows breaking.

    "What the hell?!", Xi Yuan rushed down, the girl following behind him leisurely.

    "That would be the work of one of the hybrids, I am guessing.", Rong Xinghe yawned, "Civil behavior isn''t a concept the Florence brothers are familiar with, yet.

    "And apparently, rm clocks don''t wake me up anymore. It has to be ''the dramatic mornings''."

    The girl was right. David Florence and Shawn Florence stood outside the penthouse, one brother sitting on the hood of Zhi Al''s Porsche Cayman, another juggling with 3 medium-sized garden rocks. Of course, the one on the hood was the ever tranquil andposed Shawn, while the troublesome one was David. Xi Yuan''s security staff was lying around unconscious, obviously. None of those regr henchmen was anypetition to the treacherous, demonic assassins like the ten Silent Soldiers.

    "Wooohooo! Big Bad Hybrid out here. We''re to collect our Alpha.", David Florence announced, shamelessly so.

    "How the hell did you tolerate him for five freakin'' years?!", Xi Yuan squinted his eyes at the man, earning augh from the girl. "He is a brat.", she admitted, "You go back to sleep. I''ll handle the boys."

    "Nah. Let them in.", the man waved his hands in dismissal, "I''ve woken up anyway. Might as well prepare some breakfast for you." Turning around, he took a step closer to the girl, cing a sweet kiss against her lips, "Good morning."

    "Why, Buenos das, Seor!", the girl replied gleefully, in her perfect Spanish ent.

 Chapter 394: Distraction

    Chapter 394: Distraction

    "Did you guys manipte my brother into lending you his car?", the girl frowned, as she gazed at Zhi Al''s Cayman. Her brother had always been possessive about his car collections. There was no way he would give one of those away to the Florence brothers casually unless they were really close to him.

    "What do you mean? We can''t afford it?", David Florence crossed his arms defensively, "We bought it."

    "No, you didn''t.", the girl replied robustly, "That''s a 90,00,000 USD sports car model. Not yetunched in Country X. Throughout the country, only Bro Al owns it. I know that because Bro Su gifted this baby to him on his birthday this year. Not to mention, I would recognize that golden scarf of Feng Mian''s anywhere. So don''t bother lying, okay?

    "Now tell me honestly, how do you have it?"

    "Alright. We stole it.", David Florence rolled his eyes.

    "I knew it!", the girl eximed, "Go and sit in the living room, you two. Let me inform him before he goes on a crazy manhunt and involves the police into this."

    "Come on. He won''t even notice.", Shawn Florence said as he took off his goggles, "He has like a billion of them."

    "Yeah? Well... you don''t know my brother.", Rong Xinghe said as she dialed her Bro Al''s number, "He will kill you. Literally."

    "...."

    :::::::::::::::::::::::::

    "Do me a favor and kill those two, Kiddo, will you?", Zhi Al tried his best to not raise his voice at his baby sister, "How dare they?! And when the hell did they even break into Zhi Family Mansion!?"

    "Sorry, brother.", the girl apologized sincerely, "Their observation skills are almost ''supernatural''. They must''ve seen your collection thest time I came to get some documents signed from Bro Bo. I am really sorry. I will make it up to you. Promise."

    "Hmm. You are going to make me coffee every morning for the next month. There''s a quest. A hacking contest kind-of thing. So I am going to need-"

    "Rong Xinghe''s Power Coffee. Got it.", the girl giggled, "Done. I''ll be there. I need to spend some quality time with my nephew too, after all. Taio must be missing his Auntie."

    "Try to haul Xiao along with you. That brat barely talks to me, nowadays.", Rong Xinghe could hear her brother scorn, like a five-year-old, "It''s as if she has only one brother. Her mentor, Dr. Rogguang. How annoying!"

    "I know. Busy people.", the girl sighed, "I will talk to herter."

    The Rong girls were literal North-South when it came to their personalities. While Rong Xinghe was wild and savage, Rong Xiao wasparatively calm and reserved. Rong Xinghe loved to listen to stories andmunicate with people, whilst Rong Xiao was nothing like that. The fifteen-minute younger girl was totally dedicated to her field of passion. Human Body. Apart from attending informative medical conferences and seminars, and treating her patients, the girl would invest most of her time in researching. But then again, you can''t step into big-leagues with average minded people, right? In order to stand beside her highly-intellectual brother, Su Rogguang, she had to walk onto a path, eventually different than Rong Xinghe''s.

    _________

    8:00 a.m., Elite Saphire Penthouse ;

    "Come again? stic surgery?!", Shawn Florence''s eyes widened as the girl briefed them about Jackson Marshal''s call, "Are you sure Jack wasn''t drunk when he called?"

    "I am Sure, Shawn.", Rong Xinghe nodded, "He mailed me the pictures too. But I and Yuan figured out a way to recognize him. I know it looks like we''ll be searching for a needle in a haystack, but I am positive."

    "You and whom, may I dare ask?", David Florence furrowed his brows, "Xi Yuan? A businessman. Xinghe, how could you possibly get him involved in such aplex and dangerous business in the first ce? Shouldn''t you be keeping him away from all of this? Moreover, this is a confidential mission. Are you aware of the consequences of trusting him? No offense."

    "None taken.", Rong Xinghe smiled, "I know how it looks like, David. But he has had served the Armed Forces before. Not to mention, he rarely interferes with my professional matters. But whenever he suggests something, it makes absolute sense. Yuan is good with analysis, guys. I''d rather have him advise me every now and then than walk head-on into a battlefield we have no idea about.

    "As far as confidentiality is concerned, no one will ever know he ever said a word. It''s something the Hybrids came up with, eventually, right?", the girl added meaningfully.

    "Right.", David Florence threw his hands up defeatedly.

    "What are you thinking now, Shawn?", the girl turned to question the silent man.

    "I don''t think that it is the right time to hunt for Ahmed Ali Fadhil now, Xinghe.", said Shawn Florence.

    "Meaning?"

    "Well... we are still not sure as to where he has nned to nt those bombs in Country X, and exactly how is he going to attack your family. He might''ve already ordered his minions to carry out his ns, for all we know.

    "I think it is important to eliminate the ticking time bomb hanging over our heads, first. Of course, we won''t ask Abram and Jackson to return back to Country X until they''re able to locate and recognize Ahmed Ali Fadhil. But let''s just keep that as a side priority for now.

    "Let''s focus on what''s right in front of us. We''ve been searching for Ahmed Ali Fadhil''s operating patterns for the past few days, Xinghe. But what if he has already studied your pattern? He must know, by now, that you believe in the annihtion of the root problem. He must know that you would go searching for him. What if all of this is some kind of distraction?", the man exined.

    "Yeah. I had the same thought yesterday.", Rong Xinghe nodded understandingly, "Gather my team of bureaucrats, will you, David?"

    "Um... Shawn can do it.", the man suggested.

    "Why not you?", the girl stared at the man, quizzed.

    Instead of David Florence, Shawn answered the girl''s question, "Because the Big Bad Hybrid right here, intends to go on a one-week clubbing-spree. With his three potential wives!"

    "Three?", Rong Xinghe raised her brows.

    "Yeah... well. You never know which one could be the ''epic love'', right?", David Florence smirked.

    "You really think you are on a vacation here, don''t you?", the girl scoffed.

    "Am I not?"

    "..."

 Chapter 395: "I hate me too."

    Chapter 395: "I hate me too."

    9:00 a.m., Starbucks Cafe ;

    Xi Fang lifted his head up at the familiar sound of heels, as they approached her. There she was. Jiang Yue. His ex-fiancee, his love. The girl was wearing a yellow floral print camisole dress anf looked unusually nervous.

    "Hi.", said Xi Fang, as he stood up from his chair and pulled the girl in a warm hug, "How are you?"

    "I am... fine.", Jiang Yue smiled, "You?"

    "Just the same. I''ve already ordered your regr coffee. Caffe Mocha Grande.", the man told her, "That''s okay, hopefully?"

    "Of course, it is.", the girl nodded, her tone rtively rxed this time. That was the typical ''Xi Fang'' effect on the people around him. His calm andposed approach wasn''t intimidating or overbearing, like his elder brother. On the contrary, his presence was capable of soothing one''s troubled mind in a blink. God, she''d missed him so much. Their break-up had broken her. It was bound to. They had been together since... forever, after all. Ever since they were in high school.

    "So... how is everything at home?", Xi Fang finally asked after the waiter served them their coffees, "I bet your Dad must be hating me right now."

    "You did bail on me, didn''t you?", the girl stated quietly. As the silence spread between the two, the girl changed the topic, "Anyway, how is brother Yuan?"

    "He is doing fine. He got shot again..."

    "I know. In order to save Sister-inw Xinghe. She told me about it a few weeks ago when she called.", Jiang Yue interrupted.

    "She? Xiao Xinghe?", Xi Fang raised his brows, "You talk to her?"

    "Yeah. Every once in a while. She called me after brother Yuan got out ofa four months after he was attacked too, hoping that I would try to talk to you. I did call you then. But you never picked up my calls.", the girl said, "After some time, I just gave up on trying. But Sister-inw surely is stubborn. She always mentions you whenever she calls. As if she is reminding me of how miserable you are without a girlfriend."

    "Well... My phone fell into the Jinkleke a few months back when I went to the town side for property inspection. I had to rece another sim. Maybe that''s why you couldn''t contact me.", Xi Fang exined, "But I never thought Sister-inw would do so much for us."

    "Hmm. She seems a professional."

    "Huh?"

    "Matchmaker.", Jiang Yue smiled, "She never loses faith. Even if the people involved in the rtionship lose it, she doesn''t."

    "You did?", Xi Fang questioned earnestly, "I mean... did you really lost faith in the possibility of ''us''?"

    "At one point in time, I did.", the girl inhaled sharply, "Didn''t you?"

    "Not for even a second.", the man shook his head, "I never stopped loving you, Yue. I just had--"

    "A lot on your te. I get it. Sister Xinghe kept telling me that.", the girl sighed, "But I still hated you. You just made such a huge decision, on our behalf. You didn''t even talk to me. You just called it off. Our wedding. I felt as if you had brushed me aside. That you didn''t need me anymore."

    "God, Yue, no! I just wanted to keep you away from getting hurt."

    "And yet, you were the one who hurt me the most. My father was so disappointed in me. He med me for not being wise in the selection of a life-partner. My mother didn''t speak to me for months, because she felt that I disgraced the Jiang family by getting involved with some spoiled rich-family kid. They believed that you had used me and thrown me away, like some trash. They were worried that no one would want to wed me since I was used up by someone from a family as well-known and influential as yours.

    "Thousands of blind dates. Millions of cheapments. Billions of taunts from Mom and Dad. And yet..."

    "Yet?", Xi Fang urged the girl to continue as he held her hands, softly.

    "And yet... I still love you.", the girl said, as she broke out in tears, "I hate that... I still love you. Fang, I hate you."

    As the warm drops of tears coursed down her cheeks, onto her dress, and her thin shoulders trembled, Xi Fang felt as if his heart was sinking into a pool of never-ending, heart-wrenching pain. He never meant to tear her apart like that. He never meant this much harm to her. And still, in the end, he was the only one who had done this to her. He was the only one responsible for her sufferings.

    Erasing the distance separating them, the man enveloped his arms around the sobbing girl carefully, "I hate me too.", he whispered against her forehead, "I am really sorry, Yue. I was a jerk."

    "I am not getting back with you.", the girl punched the man''s chest lightly, "I am telling you that already."

    "It''s okay. I deserve it. We will start over.", Xi Fang smiled, "I will ask you out again. And we will go on regr movie dates and museum dates. And then, I will propose to you.

    "But before that, we will go to your house and speak to your father. Your family needs to understand my stand-point first. Back then, I had to stay by Sister-inw''s side 24X7, because she needed my assistance to run Xi Corps. That''s why, I didn''t exin my decisions to your family, and they ended up misunderstanding me. I don''t want them to look down on your choice ever again. Okay?"

    "Okay.", Jiang Yue nodded faintly.

    "Come on. Drink some coffee now. Then we are going to have a fine and full breakfast. It doesn''t look like you''ve been taking proper care of yourself, while I was gone.", the man said after a few still, serene minutes, observantly, "Now, mi Amor, that is downright uneptable."

    "You Xi men... you are all the same, aren''t you?", Jiang Yueughed to herself, as she wiped away her tears.

    "Hmm?", the man tilted his head to the right slightly, muddled.

    "Adorable. Charming. Homely. And warm.", the girl shrugged, "I mean there were times when sister Xinghe called me with brother Yuan by her side. He too, always is like, ''Xinghe, doughnut time!'' or ''Don''t forget the medicines, mon amour.'' So cute!"

    ...

 Chapter 396: The Donation

    Chapter 396: The Donation

    11:00 a.m., Lu Corporations ;

    Lu Wei found his assistant waiting for him at the main entrance anxiously, as soon as he walked into the HQ, which was strange. Zhang Yong would often wait for him in his private office, unlike today. The man took off his overcoat and hung it over the royale-oak coat rack, and turned to raise his brows at the thirty-two-year-old man, questioningly.

    "President, Lady Xinghe is here.", informed Zhang Yong anxiously, "She, um... is ying Chess with our investors from India."

    "She is doing what, now?!", Lu Wei stopped in his tracks, confounded.

    "Chess, sir. She wanted to meet you, initially. But the investors showed up two hours earlier than the scheduled time.", the man reported, "Miss. Rong noticed that they were Indians, and she started talking about their food and culture and now..."

    "I get it.", Lu Wei shook his head weakly, "And from the next time, address her as the Military Chief. She isn''t just my sister, Mr. Zhang."

    "Sorry, Boss."

    "Where are they?", the man asked.

    "In the Conference Hall, Sir."

    :::::::::::::::::::

    "So, Mr. Singh, how is it like there? So many festivals? And so many varieties of food?", the girl grinned, as she stared at the piece of ck Rhook on the bottom left corner of the board.

    "Yeah... well. We love it there, Military Chief.", the man replied, as he adjusted his Navy Blue turban, "We do have our ups and downs, of course. I mean, economically. But I have visited hundreds of countries before, and I would still not trade my life there in India for anything. It''s home, after all."

    "Home, indeed.", the girl smiled sweetly, "Chess was invented in India too, right? Your country is so amazing, Sir."

    "You know a lot about India, ma''am. Have you been there before?", the man in his mid-forties asked, amused.

    "I have always been fond of India, yes. But I have only been there twice. Both the times, during my training.", the girl stated, cing her ck Bishop against the white king, diagonally, "I loved it there. I am going to visit India again, sometime. And this time, I am going to explore every state there. It is not going to be about work at all."

    "I would love to show you around.", the manughed, "Do bring Mr. Lu and Mrs. Lu along with you."

    "You have my word. I am going to drag all my brothers with me.", the girlughed, "By the way, here you go. Checkmate.", announced the girl, with a cunning smile, as she cornered the King with her ck Queen.

    "Wow!", the man looked at the girl, astounded, "You are good."

    "That I am.", Rong Xinghe chuckled, proudly so.

    "What is going on here, Kiddo?", at this time, Lu Wei''s voice resounded across the hall, sending a chill down the girl''s spine. ''No meddling with my work'', he had warned her, long before. But what she had done today, was in and clear defiance. And if there were anyone Rong Xinghe feared in the entire world, it was her Bro Lu.

    "Hello, President Lu.", Mr. Singh stood up to shake hands with the man, "I apologize for showing up so early. Actually, an emergency came up, back there at home. So I had to book an early flight."

    "Instead of calling off the meeting, I thought it would be better to prepone it. I was hoping that you would be avable. But I got to meet this lovelydy over here first."

    "I hope she didn''t cause you any trouble, Mr. Singh.", Lu Wei ced a hand against the girl''s right shoulder strenuously, his tone still noble andced with propriety, "Anyhow, we can still discuss the proposals, if you''re up for it. I can cancel my next few meetings for it, in fact. As you are already aware, establishing Lu Corporations in India is one of my foremost priorities presently."

    "That won''t be necessary, President Lu.", the old manughed, heartily, "Miss Rong mentioned everything about how Lu Corporations operates, to me. She also told me about every major project you''ve personally managed. It''s a shame I never realized how efficient and well-nned you are, Mr. Lu.

    "Since I am runningte, I won''t be able to sit through the presentation. I don''t need to, frankly speaking. Just consider me your investor for each and every single one of your construction ns in India."

    "What?!", Lu Wei fixed his gaze at the girl beside him, disbelief stered across his face, "Are you sure, Mr. Singh?"

    "Absolutely. Let''s directly sign the contract.", the man nodded confidently. Lu Wei regained his posture before he gestured Zhang Yong to take Mr. Singh away to his office, so that they couldplete the formalities for the merger.

    Only when the siblings were left alone in the room did the man finally confronted the She-devil, "As much as I want to thank you right now, may I know why you are here, Kiddo?"

    "I wanted some money.", the girl answered guiltily, her eyes still on the floor.

    "And chess? Why?"

    "I was just roaming around the office when I saw him ying the game on his phone. He told me that he is a national level yer. So I asked for a board and suggested we y.", the girl exined, "I am sorry."

    "Hmm. It''s okay.", Lu Wei smiled. She looked like a little scared kitten. It was impossible to keep a serious face in front of her for a long time, even for him."How much money do you want?", he asked the girl, as the two walked out of the Conference Hall.

    "One million USD."

    "And am I getting it back?", Lu Wei directed his next question towards the girl, "Or is it a donation to the Military, like the other times?"

    "Could it please be a donation to the Military, brother?", the girl joined her hands, her tone expectant.

    "Donation it is, then.", the manughed.

    "Wait. You are not going to ask me what I am going to use that for?", Rong Xinghe stopped in her tracks, thrilled.

    "Are you going to smuggle drugs with it?"

    "No."

    "Then no. I don''t care why you need that.", Lu Wei pinched the girl''s nose yfully, "I trust my sister. Moreover, a business deal with Mr. Singh is like adding 800 Million USD to Lu Corps. So I guess I owe this deal to you."

    "Then can I get 3 Million dors?", Rong Xinghe questioned, her gaze filled with greed now.

    "Nope.", the man smirked.

    "Ugh!", the girl pouted, "I hate you."

    "I love you too, Kid.", Lu Weiughed a cordialugh.

 Chapter 397: Matchmakers Xinguan

    Chapter 397: Matchmakers Xinguan

    2:00 p.m., Military Chief Office ;

    "Will this much amount be okay, Abram?", the girl asked, as she confirmed the transfer of One Million dors from her brother''s ount to ''Albert Fedorov''s'' bank ount.

    "Yeah. It should be.", the man replied, "I can take care of Aftaab Ali for a while here, Xinghe. You just focus on the task at hand. I won''t be calling you for the next few days, obviously. We can''t afford to let my cover get blown, right?"

    "Hmm. Stay alert. And signal your subordinates to text me if anythinges up. Don''t connect to me directly, until you''ve recognized Ahmed Ali Fadhil.", the girl said, her voice void of any definite emotion.

    "Okay."

    Elijah Williams walked in, the moment the girl disconnected the call, as he handed her a piece of paper, "The informer''s dead. But judging by this message, I am assuming that Ahmed Ali Fadhil''s nning something massive on Independence Day. The 17th of September."

    "Alright, then. Ten days to go before the D-Day finally arrives. Let''s get on with it, shall we?", Rong Xinghe smiled, her eyes turning a few shades darker, "Activate all our stringers and informants, Mr. Shou.", shemanded her assistant.

    _____________

    8:00 p.m., Xi Corporations HQ, City A ;

    Xi Yuan leaned against the back of his chair, as he closed his eyes for a power nap of fifteen minutes. It had been a long day. Back-to-back meetings, and constant field-checks. Not to mention, he''d barely gotten the chance to talk to his girl since this morning. The Florence brothers had shown up too early, and the girl took off shortly after that. He understood how busy she was, of course. In fact, that was primarily the reason he didn''t disturb her either. He was trying his best, to be as supportive of her work as he could. But wasn''t it normal for him to miss her too?

    "Brother.", at this time, Xi Fang knocked against the man''s door, "Can I talk to you?"

    "Hmm. Come in.", the man opened his eyes, "What''s up?"

    "Would it be okay if I started dating Jiang Yue again?"

    Xi Yuan lifted his head up to look at the man staring at him nervously, "Why would you need my permission for that, Fang? That''s your life. Do whatever you feel like."

    "I noticed how her father has been attacking Xi Corporations, both publicly and privately. He has been joining hands with our rivalstely, causing us all a lot of trouble. I thought that you wouldn''t want me to get involved with Yue now that--"

    "Now that we are not on talking terms with President Jiang?", Xi Yuan cut in, as a smile appeared across his lips, "No, Fang. I would never expect you to do that. One should never let their professional and personal life ovep. When you are here, you are nothing but my confidant, brother, advisor, and friend. But when you are with her, you should just be the best version of yourself and not a Xi Corporations'' employee.

    "As far as Jiang family is concerned, well... we did hurt their sentiments, didn''t we?"

    "I did, brother.", Xi Fang shook his head, "Not you. You weren''t even aware of what was happening then.

    "I am sorry I couldn''t handle everything as efficiently as you would''ve been able to. In order to assist and protect Sister-inw, I ended up ruining everything with Yue. I don''t even deserve to stand by your side, brother. You would''ve never been this stupid."

    "Don''t be so hard on yourself. You just need to have a decent conversation with the Jiang family.", Xi Yuan smiled, "Back then, you did what had to be done. The only mistake you made was that you never gave a proper closure to Yue. Now, be a god damned grown-up, and clean the mess you made."

    "Yes.", Xi Fang nodded, "You are right."

    "Come on, now. I will help you fix this.", Xi Yuan stood up, as he buttoned up his suit.

    "Wait... you''re going to be my cupid now?", Xi Fang''s eyes flew wide open, "But you never get involved with mine or Ying''s or Wei''s rtionships."

    "That doesn''t mean I can''t get involved now, right?", Xi Yuan questioned solemnly, "Moreover, I am getting bored. Your Sister-inw is too busy to call me. And this... little fiasco seems to be an interesting diversion for me. Not to mention, Xinghe is already looking forward to getting you two married.

    "So let''s go and impress your to be inws. Trust me, Fang, you''ll need me for that. I have, after all, awed and dazzled the most austere Six men across the country. I am a professional in the field!"

    As the man picked up his car keys and walked out of the office, Xi Fang couldn''t help but feel exhrated at the idea. Xi Yuan had never volunteered to do something like this before. Other than business, his brother never really cared about such insignificant things. Bromantic, Xi Fangughed to himself. The first time his brother was just a brother. Not a CEO, not the Young Master of Xi Family, but just a brother. Birds of a feather did flock together, after all. One year with Rong Xinghe and his brother was already halfway to being a matchmaker. How adorable!

    __________

    11:00 p.m., Military Chief Office ;

    Rong Xinghe sat in the Conference Hall, as more than two hundred administrative officers and diplomats counted the most popted locations in Country X to her, one by one. Every year, more than five million people participated in Independence Day Parades and g-hoisting events and Theatre ys to express their love and gratitude for Country X. It was not possible for her to quarantine the entire nation just because there was a possibility of some destructive attack.

    "For the next ten days, step out of your VIP shoes and interact with the public as much as you can. In Civil Code.", Rong Xinghe ordered, after thinking about the pestilent ordeal for a few seconds, "Encourage them to stay alert and request them to report any unusual or suspicious activity happening around them to you.

    "Also, mark the locations with the highest numbers of visitors on I-Day and tourist locations as Hotspots on the state maps. We might have to distribute the bomb squad officers fairly, throughout the country, pretty soon.

    "Everyone dismissed. Only the Intelligence team shall stay behind."

    "Understood, Ma''am.", the bureaucrats saluted in unison as they walked out hurriedly. The Military Chief seldom ran a meeting this long. It had been nine hours since they were discussing the arrangements for Independence Day, and clearly, something huge, something frightening, was about to happen in Country X.

 Chapter 398: "I wont be rough."

    Chapter 398: "I won''t be rough."

    1:00 a.m., Supaku Lane, City A ;

    "How do you even know people in Country X''srgest prostitution area, Xinghe?", Ashfakh Ali sighed, as he walked carefully behind the girl, who was now in her male alias.

    "A woman has her needs, Ashfakh.", the girl turned around to wink at the man with her lips curled up in a cunning smile, "Just don''t tell Yuan about this, okay?"

    "Of course. It''s embarrassing enough that I am here.", the man rolled his eyes, "I just want to get over with this."

    "Come on. Cheer up. Look at the women here. Smokin'' hot. Stunning. How could you not like it here?", Rong Xingheughed as she blew a kiss to one of the three women smoking cigarettes outside a small-old blue building, as she walked past them. The woman, subconsciously bit her lip, in return.

    "Good god, Xinghe! Stop it. This is a straight-up betrayal to President Xi.", the man gasped as he noticed the tonic interaction between the two women, "I definitely sell you out if you cross the limit once more. Just do what you are supposed to do here. No flirting."

    "Consider me warned.", the girl nodded, her expression serious, "Alright. We need to turn right at the end of this street. The oldest, shabbiest building there, should be our port of call."

    "And what am I expected to do once we reach there?", Ashfakh Ali ced his question, as he eyed the girl beside him cautiously.

    "What are we supposed to do in a Red light area? Pick a girl and follow her to her room.", the girl shrugged, "Now speed up, will you?!"

    "..."

    ___________

    1:30 a.m., Rong Family Mansion ;

    "Son! How did you even get out of that hellhole?", Gu Hong sobbed as she applied ointment against Rong Yufan''s bleeding arm, "What happened there? What did that bi*ch do to you?"

    "I didn''t escape, Mom. ", the man gritted his teeth, "They let me leave. Apparently, I am not needed by the Army, for a while."

    Since Rong Xinghe wasn''t working on locating Ahmed Ali Fadhil on an urgent basis, she''d decided to release Rong Yufan for the time being. She was well aware of what lengths the Rong family could go to, for the sake of their prince, their heir, their brainsick psychotic son. And she didn''t want any drama from their side while she tried to protect the thousands of innocents out there in her country. Naturally, the Military had confiscated Rong Yufan''s passport, so that he couldn''t leave the country, lest his presence was needed again.

    "This is outrageous!", Rong Chang roared, "She is clearly using her position to bully the Rong family now. We should''ve had just strangled her to death when she was found alive after that train incident!"

    "Calm down, dad.", Rong Yufan took a deep breath, "I will show her, her real ce. That girl has no fear left in her eyes. I saw it when she was interrogating me. And I believe it''s important, that I sow that very fear back, into her mind again. How can I let a good-for-nothing birdie such as her, to forget her original status? Just give me some time. I will strike back. And this time, it''s not going to be her niece or nephew. This time, it will be much more frightening, much more fun."

    "What are you thinking, boy?", the old man questioned bitterly, "Don''t be reckless. And stay low for a while. Okay? We still need to understand more about those two men, the ones who took you away from here, earlier. The Florences. How could your hypnotism not work on them?! It doesn''t make any sense. Your skills are exceptionally disconcerting."

    "That is exactly what''s been troubling me too, for the past few days, Dad.", Rong Yufan agreed, his face void of any specific expression, "Don''t worry, you two. I will get to the bottom of it soon."

    "Just get some rest first, Yufan.", Gu Hong caressed her son''s hair tenderly, "You can do whatever you want from tomorrow, okay? Today, just sleep and let your body recuperate."

    "As you wish, Mom.", the man smiled, for there was another ploy, another ruse, for him to fabricate.

    ______________

    Meanwhile, Supaku Lane ;

    As the two ''men'' stood in the house of ill repute, waiting for the boss, the ''madame'' to show up, they couldn''t help but observe every discernible corner of the ramshackle cottage vigntly. It was a two-floored space, with roughly ten to fifteen girls. At least, that was how many they''d seen. The ground floor was merely a front. With kids running around, and men mopping the floor, it almost looked like a normal lower-middle-ss household.

    The two floors above, though, was a whole another world! That was where the women, who''d been added to this business since, probably, the day they were born, satisfied and served their clients. Vivid, radiant lights and incredibly dulcet music, made it look like there were some festivities to look forward to. But then again, in brothels like these, such were the regr, normal days.

    "Xinghe, who are we looking for here?", Ashfakh Ali questioned the girl in a whisper.

    Clearing her throat, Rong Xinghe stressed her vocals to the necessary limit, before she spoke up in her male voice, "Call me Lu Xi! Does my outfit or make-up look like that of a woman?"

    "Sorry.", the man scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, "But seriously... what''s happening?"

    The girl was about to reply when a woman, followed by five other women, all dressed up in seductive clothes, walked in, into the room, "Mr. Lu! What a rare asion?", the thirty-year-old woman sped her hands against her chest, as she stared at Rong Xinghe dreamily, "For you, I''ve presented the fresh batch of chicks, as usual."

    "Only you care about me, Madame Sato.", the ''man'' smirked, "But tonight, I want to have the best I''ve ever had. I really need to blow off some steam. Where is that girl... um... Ruby?"

    "Lord... about that. I...", Madame Sato gulped nervously, "She is pregnant. I am afraid... she won''t be able to fulfill your dark desires."

    "She is?", Lu Xi raised his brows, stunned. After putting on a show of considering something, the girl pulled out a bundle of 30,000 RMB, as she looked at Madame Sato, determined, "I still want her.", hemanded, "Same room. Two hours."

    "Young Master Lu... I can''t."

    "I won''t be rough, Madame.", the ''man'' promised assuringly, "You have my word."

    With that being said, Ashfakh Ali was officially rendered speechless. This had to reach Xi Yuan''s ears, at any damned cost, he firmly resolved.

 Chapter 399: The Security Breach

    Chapter 399: The Security Breach

    2:00 a.m., Supaku Lane ;

    After a long and tiring row of requests and behests, Madame Sato finally agreed to Rong Xinghe''s, or to be precise, Lu Xi''s wishes. Shortly after, a thin woman dressed up in a traditional blue Hanfu, stepped into the room with the intent to escort the ''man''to the room where the woman named Ruby was.

    "Pick anyone you like, Brother.", Lu Xi turned around to grin at Ashfakh Ali, "I will pay." Before the man could even reply, the girl disappeared from the crowd''s line of sight, as she followed behind the sylphlike woman.

    "Oh my God! Mr. Lu is so hot.", one of the girls standing behind Madame Sato clutched the hem of her top as she blinked into space, dreamily, "Why does he alwayse looking for that bi*ch?!"

    "I know, right?", another girl almost shrieked with excitement, "Have you seen his jawline? So sharp!"

    "Forget that. I am in love with his corbone. Although he is well-covered most of the time, there was this one time when his top two buttons were torn, and damn! He is damn sexy.", another onemented.

    Meanwhile, Ashfakh Ali just pinched the tip of his nose, as he attempted to suppress hisughter. Only if these women knew how ''masculine'' this Lu Xi really was, he imagined. Of course, this wasn''t the first time Ashfakh Ali had seen Lu Alix. The Hybrids were, in fact, well-used to Rong Xinghe''s male alias. The girl had undergone a lot of missions during the training in this get-up of hers. He had just never expected how deeply-blend their Alpha was, among themon men, among the public. So much so that she was even associated with people hailing from thergest Red-light area across the nation. It truly was, mind-boggling.

    But right now, the man could only sit and wonder, of how would Xi Yuan react to this little escapade of his Missus, once he would tell him about this.

    "Boss...", Madame Sato''s voice soon disrupted Ashfakh Ali''s thoughts, "Which one would you have?", she inquired, as she pointed her chin towards the girls standing behind her.

    "None.", the man answered, "I am not interested."

    "Oh.", the woman looked troubled, "Um... we don''t have boys here, Boss. But I will arrange the best piece of meat for you, from the brothel next to ours, if you want."

    "...."

    _______________

    2:15 a.m., MZX Studios ;

    Zhi Al strolled around Mo Zixuan in the newsroomzily as he checked his mails. He was there to pick up the man since Cheng Tai had borrowed his car earlier that day to check on some lead. Mo Zixuan still had some files to organize, so he''d asked the man to settle-in for a few minutes.

    "Come on, man. How much longer?!", Zhi Alined as he grabbed a seat beside Mo Zixuan, "Can''t you just take all of this home?"

    "Patience, Al.", Mo Zixuan chuckled, passing the man his can of soda, "Here. Just five minutes more."

    With a sigh, the man downed the third soda can in thest half an hour, "Don''t you find this boring?", he questioned, "All of this paperwork crap?"

    "No. It''s work. And I love it.", Mo Zixuan replied, marking something on one of the paper stacks with a highlighter, "Journalism to me is what programming is to you. It''s thrilling."

    "Yeah? Well... you do look stunning in those three-piece-suits when you report. I''ve got to give you that.", the man shrugged, "I mean, I and Feng Mian literally, had an argument over how appealing you look both ''on and off'' the cameras."

    "You did?", the man smiled, amused, "Please tell me Mian was rooting for me."

    "She absolutely was!", Zhi Al smiled back, as he thought of the banter he''d had with the woman, "I was the jealous boyfriend, with the sillyebacks. You, at the end of our fight, came out to be the realdykiller, though."

    "Why... thank you, Sir."

    "By the way, how is wedding life treating you and Cheng Tai? I mean, you guys didn''t get the chance to take a break ever since the big day, right?"

    "Yeah. I mean... we''ve both been busy trying to help Kiddo. What happened at her engagement was worrisome, Al.", Mo Zixuan answered, "I did insist that we should go away for some time. But Cheng Tai wouldn''t listen to me. She is worried about Xinghe.

    "Honestly? Me too. Let''s just face it. No one has ever had the audacity to challenge Xinghe like that, not so boldly, before this. We''re both trying to help her. As much as possible, since we have a broader range of contacts in the underworld."

    "Agreed. I''ve been looking out too... virtually. You know, to trace out any unusual or huge foreign capital transfers or transactions?"

    "That''s smart. Let''s just keep our heads high."

    The two men were in the middle of their conversation when out of nowhere, the emergency rm installed throughout the Channel HQ went off. Mo Zixuan furrowed his brows as he walked around the newsroom and straight into the control room, Zhi Al following behind him. MZX Enterprise was the mightiest channel-group with ensured employee safety. This was, without a doubt, the first time since the establishment of that building that its security had beenpromised. Naturally, the two men assumed that it was possibly some false warning.

    Since they were the only two people present in there, they had ess over the entire ce, including the production control unit and CCTV cameras. In a matter of seconds, Mo Zixuan connected through to the set-up of the cameras in the lobby.

    As soon as the huge screen in front of their eyes lit-up, a feeling of unease settled in their hearts. More than fifty security officers guarding the building were lying around in their own pool of blood, scattered like crushed ants. The secondary ss entrance to the office was smashed into thousands of sharp pieces too. Clearly, the intruders were somewhere near them.

    And none of them had a gun at hand. Not immediately essible, at least.

 Chapter 400: "The September 8th"

    Chapter 400: "The September 8th"

    2:30 a.m., Supaku Lane ;

    Rong Xinghe grabbed a seat on the empty bed as soon as the thin woman left her at the door of the room. The girl then fixed her gaze at the bathroom inside the dimly-lit room, from where the sound of the shower could be heard, loud and clear. Shortly after, wrapped in a Maroon towel, a woman walked out, as her protruding belly confirmed Madame Sato''s words.

    "You called.", Rong Xinghe crossed her arms, still maintaining her masculine tone.

    Taken aback, the woman lifted her head up and recognized the man in front of her at the first nce. The next second, Ruby, as the people around there addressed her, strode around the room hurriedly, and shut the door close.

    "God, Xinghe! You could''ve at least given me a heads-up.", the woman flicked the girl''s head, furious.

    "Ouch! That was totally uncalled for.", Rong Xinghe rubbed her head, "What lead do you have this time, Andrea?"

    "Are you kidding me?! At least, have the courtesy to congratte me for this little human.", the woman almost yelled, pointing a finger at her baby bump, as she squinted her eyes at Lu Xi.

    "Yeah. Right. Congrattions.<strong> </strong>Toutes nos flicitations!", Rong Xinghe smiled genuinely, "But before I enquire about the father, let''s talk business."

    "Yeah. Okay.", the woman took a deep breath, "Look the other side. I need to change."

    "Sure. Spill the beans while you are at it.", the girl turned to the other side, facing the green-colored window, as she patiently waited for Andrea to drop the bomb.

    Of course, Andrea or ''Ruby'' had no issues with the girl''s terms, "Okay. So a few weeks ago, before I realized that I was expecting, a shady man visited this ce. He had the tattoo of a spade ace all over his left arm. Judging by his ent and looks, he seemed South Asian. Unfortunately, I couldn''t get his name, as he''d already demanded anonymity from Mrs. Sato.

    "Throughout the night, his phone rang for about thirty to forty times. Weirdly, from one person. Lucas Wilson. I mean, obviously, the number was saved with his pen name ''Rogue''. But I am more than sure that it was him, Xinghe. I have listened to Lucas Wilson before, and I heard the man on the phone that night. They were the same."

    "Lucas Wilson... as in the man who''s been working with Ahmed Ali Fadhil all these years?", the girl was intrigued, "Well, what were they talking about?"

    "I am not sure but they were speaking in code. Mostly, it was just alphabets. Apparently, those were the pirs obstructing their business as well as their ''pious missions'' across Asia. With those codes, he was talking dates too.

    "That tattoo-man even scribbled those initials on my notepad here. Before leaving, he tore the paper, tucked it in his pocket, and stormed out of here, pretty much in a hurry. Xinghe, I am telling you, you should be hunting for this person. From what I''ve heard, he is the real deal. It seemed like he was the only one, who''d been entrusted with the responsibility of carrying out all the attacks that have been orchestrated, by whoever the Mastermind behind this whole thing is."

    "Get me the notepad.", Rong Xinghe ordered, her eyes void of any emotion, "And a pencil. Sharpened."

    _____________

    Meanwhile, MZX Channel HQ ;

    The two men hadn''t evene up with a n to handle the ordeal in front of them when two gunshots were fired, openly in the reception hall, right outside the sea of cubicles, roughly 300 meters far from where they were standing. Mo Zixuan, naturally, knew the ce inside out. As he realized that they were outnumbered, judging by the number of footsteps closing in on them, and that the odds were against them, the man rushed back to the control unit and pressed the red button fixed behind one of the printing machines. In a matter of seconds, darkness spread throughout the entire building, putting them in a position of benefit, and their intruders, into that of incertitude.

    "Get down.", Mo Zixuan pulled Zhi Al down beside him, onto the floors. As soon as they covered themselves behind the office chairs, the man looked at the man beside him, "Your phone. Now.", he whispered.

    With a nod, the man pulled the phone out from his jeans pocket, "Here.", he said, as he handed it over to the man.

    "Keep an eye on the door. Signal me at the turn of the knob.", the man mumbled as he minimized the brightness of the screen and enabled the silent mode of the phone, unlocking it only then. ''Stuck at MZX HQ. Urgent back-up required. Under attack.'', he texted the four tigers and Rong Xinghe, switching the phone off.

    "Now what?", Zhi Al hissed, "We die? Can''t we just-"

    "No. Act smart, Al.", Mo Zixuan interrupted, "They are equipped. We aren''t. There is a slim difference between stupidity and bravery, alright?"

    "But they should being here anytime now. It will be toote if we don''t do anything soon.", the man protested.

    "Yeah. I know.", the man''s lips curled up into an evil smirk, "Get up. There is a way to get to my office, directly through this control room. I have my licensed revolver over there. That should do for now."

    ___________

    2:45 a.m., Supaku Lane ;

    With a light touch, Rong Xinghe rubbed the sharp-tipped pencil across the A-4 sized notepad sheet. As a result, the contents imprinted over it due to the intense stress against thest ''torn'' page, were readable enough now.

    ''8-ZM, 9-WL, 10-XZ, 11-BZ, 12-RS, 13-AZ, 14-FX, 15-WX, 16-YX.'', the note read, a huge cross marked below it.

    Andrea leaned against the girl''s shoulder as she snuck a peek at the alphabets and digits, "Okay. So what could that possibly mean? It might possibly be the serial number of the explosives they are nning to use. Or maybe the sleeper cells are serialized in such a way? I wasn''t able to understand a single word they said back then too. Only you can decode this now, Xinghe."

    As she received no reply from the girl, the woman sat down beside her, worried, "Hey.", she asked, "What happened? Did you get it?"

    A minuteter, Rong Xinghe stood up and retrieved her phone from the pocket of her jacket. As she waited for it switch back on, she clenched the piece of paper in her hand, rage surging through every vein in her body.

    "Zixuan Mo, Wei Lu, XI Zhi, Bo Zhi, Rogguang Su, and Al Zhi. Those are the names of my Six brothers.

    "Fang Xi, Wei Xi, and Yuan Xi. That''s what those alphabets stand for. The digits, on the other hand, represent the September dates.

    "And today is September 8th. I swear to God if anything happens to Bro Mo... Ahmed Ali Fadhil is dead! For good, this time."

 Chapter 401: One Last Time

    Chapter 401: One Last Time

    3:00 a.m., Elite Saphire Penthouse ;

    Xi Fang stared at the man in front of him, bemused, as he sipped the whiskey in his ss solemnly, "You really did that?", the man asked, exuberant, "You really looked into Sister-inw''s brothers'' eyes and revealed your intentions for her to them? Wait, was it before or after you confessed to her in New York?"

    "After the confession.", Xi Yuan revealed, "I mean it wasn''t like I had any choice. They''d seen me kiss her forehead after she had fallen asleep."

    "What?! Weren''t they infuriated? How did they even have the calmness to listen to you?", the man was officially thrilled.

    "They certainly didn''t like the idea of listening, initially. That was a long night if you must know. They had so many questions. To be honest, it was more of an interrogation. Whys. Hows. And Whens. A lot of them.

    "None of them entertained the idea back then. But deep down, they did acknowledge the possibility of us.", Xi Yuan recalled the old memories.

    "How?"

    "They never forced their opinions of me upon Xinghe, for starters. In fact, the Six men actuallyplimented my professionalism, and personality, in front of her quite on a few events. No matter if it werete nights or early mornings, they never disapproved of me visiting her. And for brothers as protective as them, that was grand. Not even huge. Grand.", Xi Yuan smiled.

    "It was just natural, brother. You have always been worthy of their eptance. But for me? Why would a father give his daughter away to the man who ditched her for the sake of his family? Unlike you, I am unreliable."

    "You stood against the entire Xi family for Xiao Xinghe''s pride and dignity. And look at how I treated Yue. I was a jerk, brother.", the man sighed.

    "It''s not about standing against family, Fang.", the man shook his head, "It''s about standing by the side of your love.

    "Women do not say ''I do'' to the groom''s family. They pledge those words to their partners. To us. And as men, we should always honor that responsibility. It''s important for them to know that they aren''t just some show-pieces in our houses and that they deserve more. That they deserve better.

    "Although what you did then was circumstantial, you should''ve respected Yue enough to let her in. She was going to be family, anyway. But instead, you shut her off. That''s what has been bugging the Jiang family the most."

    As he listened to his brother''s thoughts regarding the events that had unfolded back then, Xi Fang was finally able to understand the Jiang family''s current mindset about him, "You are right. But what should I do now?", he asked.

    "Rather than hiding like a scared little kitty, confront him directly. Come clear to him. Exin yourself, your decisions, and your intentions for his daughter. A person like Jiang Qiyang would always appreciate the element of confidence in the man who''s supposed to be his Son-inw."

    "What? Like how you did?!", Xi Fang raised his brows, slightly taken aback, "You want me to walk into a death trap? Isn''t there a less-violent suggestion, brother? What if Yue talks to him first?"

    "Stop being a wuss and act like a damned grownup, Fang.", Xi Yuan red at the man in front of him with irritation, "What kind of man would throw his woman under the bus to protect himself? There is no alternative to this. You are talking to him, in person, and without Yue. End of discussion."

    "A single person against her family? Wouldn''t I be outnumbered?"

    "Yeah... as if I confronted Xinghe''s Six skeptical, protective, frightening brothers with the Military of Country X backing me, right?", Xi Yuan remarked sarcastically, "So immature! Even if they were to insult you, they wouldn''t dare toy a finger upon Xi family''s Second Young Master. The Jiangs should know better than that."

    "..."

    _________

    Meanwhile, MZX Studios ;

    The two men felt as if it had been forever since they''d been hiding under Mo Zixuan''s office table, and yet, no one had walked in there. Their n was as simple as it could be. Mo Zixuan''s revolver had a built-in silencer, which made things easy for them. For every man who was to walk into the man''s office, he would shoot him right into the head, not giving their attackers the liberty of howl or groan. That was the only way the other men wouldn''t realize how they were losing partners, one at a time.

    "Is it possible that they are gone?", Zhi Al asked, his tone almost inaudible.

    "I don''t think so.", a voice, not Mo Zixuan''s, resounded through the room, followed by the sound of the reloading of a rifle, "You see, Mr. Al, we''ve done our homework. We have long known about Media Ma Mo''s secret passage to his office.", the manughed, manically, "Now, if you both would do the honors...Urgh!"

    Before the man could continue any further, a ''silent'' shot was fired through Mo Zixuan''s .45 ACP Pistol, piercing the flesh and skull of the man looking down at them. His body hit hard, against the intricate carpet flooring, like a house of the cards. The fabric-covered floor soaked the blood that flowed down the man''s head next, gradually.

    "You okay?", Mo Zixuan looked at Zhi Al, worried. As he received a nod from the man, he stood up, stretching a hand towards the man, "I guess we really have no choice other than killing these bastards. Come on, Al."

    Just when the man was about to stand up, roughly ten to fifteen men stormed into Mo Zixuan''s office. Subconsciously, Mo Zixuan retrieved his hand and shook his head, gesturing Zhi Al to stay hidden, as he ced his finger over the trigger of his revolver. In the darkness, it was totally impossible for him to recognize any of the men in front of him. But by this time, Mo Zixuan was left with no doubt that they were his Kiddo''s rivals. None of his enemies were that skilled to pull off something like this, after all.

    Sigh! Such a troublemaker...

 Chapter 402: The Noble Brother

    Chapter 402: The Noble Brother

    3:05 a.m. ;

    In the quiet, Ashfakh Ali drove the ck SUV over the TLK Highway in a speed far beyond moderation, north towards MZX HQ, while Rong Xinghe removed her fake wig and beard, getting rid of all her ''male'' paraphernalia. The girl had never felt this uncertain, this scared before. Every passing second, was in torture, a ticking time bomb for her brothers. She''d seen Zhi Al''s message the moment she had switched her phone on, and the thought of not one, but two of her brothers stuck there, surrounded by those beasts, was petrifying.

    She''d alreadymanded her personal security staff to rush to manage the situation over there. But deep down, in her heart, she knew how difficult it would be for them to reach there on time. At this moment, the girl''s phone rang up, for the 12th time in a row. As Shawn Florence''s number popped on the phone screen, the girl quickly picked it up.

    "I am outside MZX Headquarters right now, Xinghe.", the man reported, "Your brothers are smart. They''ve switched off the central power system of thepany. Using darkness as leverage, it''s a smart move."

    "Shawn, I want all of them dead. Do you understand me?", the girl ordered, her eyes bloodshot red with anger.

    "You got it. Other than your brothers, no one inside this building is walking out alive.", the man promised, his voice filled with resolution. As the man disconnected the call, Rong Xinghe buried her head into her hands and closed her eyes, for she was back to this ruthless, stabbing silence. Unable to do anything, she could only wait to get there now. And it was this feeling of helplessness that she hated the most.

    "Xinghe, they will be fine.", Ashfakh Ali assured the girl, "One of them is a renowned journalist, who has hands-on experience working in the dark. Just calm down." In reply, he received a mere nod from the girl. As he noticed traffic up ahead, the man snatched his phone from the armrest console. Silently, he summarized the entire situation into a brief text and sent it to Xi Yuan. He knew that the four men hadn''t exactly received the chance to discuss this situation with even their wives, let alone Xi Yuan, as they were trying to reach their brothers as soon as they could. But at that moment, he felt, it was essential that Xi Yuan knew what his girl was going through.

    _____________

    At the same time, MZX HQ ;

    Mo Zixuan stood in front of thirteen men, each one armed with rifles and guns, each one a professional assassin. He, on the other hand, had his licensed gun, one bullet down. The man understood that his chances of surviving through this battle were slim. But if there were even a 0.0001% chance that these men were targetting just him, and that Zhi Al had a shot at walking out of this alive, he was going to take it. Also, he had no intention of going down without a damn fight! He was, after all, the Military Chief''s brother.

    The man lifted his hand mid-air, and without giving a second to his rivals to realize that he was armed, six 11.5 mm-diameter bullets prated right through the hearts of six men closest to him. As the remaining seven men charged towards the man, all their guns aimed at him now, he took a few steps back, as he stood behind his ck leather armchair.

    Stilly, Zhi Al stared at the man trying to save him desperately, from under his office table. To be honest, the man wasn''t even a tad bit surprised. This was, what being a member of the Superfamily, meant. They were brothers. From the depths of their very souls. And brothers fought for each other.

    But Zhi Al wasn''t going to let this be the ironic end of Media Ma Mo Zixuan. Not while he sat idly by. He''d rather fight thisst battle together, shoulder-to-shoulder, with him, than to watch the man sacrifice himself. With that thought, Zhi Al tretched his hand and reached for the manual fire-rm switch Rong Xinghe had fixed beneath the man''s drawer thest time they both had visited him. Initially, it was supposed to be just a prank. But who knew that it would help him create an exemry distraction.

    Roughly five seconds after the man slid down the SPDT activation switch, every fire-rm throughout the entire building went off, as the unbearably beeping sound resounded through every single room, corridors, and halls. Taken aback, their fellow attackers turned around so as to trace the source of this sudden disturbance. But before they could turn back around, four more went down, as a few ss bottles smashed against their heads, callously enough. Maybe bringing a beer crate to the man''s office wasn''t that bad an idea, after all, Zhi Al smiled to himself.

    "We are doing this together, brother.", he turned to smile at the man beside him.

    Of course, this little prankpletely erased the fine line of mental sanity for the ''man with the tattoo''. Like a madman, he stretched his neck and positioned his M4 Carbine towards Zhi Al. This was good, he thought. Two targets in one go.

    Mo Zixuan was about to say something to Zhi Al when, from the corner of his eyes, he noticed what was about to happen next. Reflexively, the man ced both his hands over Zhi Al''s shoulders and shoved him aside forcefully.

    BANG! BANG!

    "No, no, no, no, no!", Zhi Al yelled, his eyes wide open, "This... this can''t be happening!", he rushed toward the man, terrified. He hoped that he had misheard it. He so hoped that it wasn''t the sounds of two freaking gunshots he''d just heard! And that it was just the sound of something crashing outside, somewhere in the halls.

    Except, it wasn''t. Mo Zixuan''s blood oozing down his dark-gray shirt and that flowing down his hands told a story otherwise.

    Mo Zixuan had no strength to hold onto his gun, by the time Zhi Al reached him. As it slipped through his fingers, the man stumbled down, falling to the ground. This was it, he thought. This was how he was going to die. If there were ever any crossroads moments before him, these were it.

    And he had no regrets, honestly. As he struggled to keep his eyes open, he could only see Zhi Al, breaking down, shaking his head violently, his hands trembling. As the man went through a quick mental life scan, he realized he had really lived his life. Every moment of it, every bit of it, to its fullest. At least, after he met his Kiddo, he had. He had followed his passion, and he had traveled, and he had lived one epic love. And if he were to be given a choice where he could go back in time and change any decisions he ever made, he wouldn''t. Not even the one he had just made. He would risk his life in order to protect his little brother all over again, if he had to. He couldn''t be more sure of that.

 Chapter 403: In her safest space

    Chapter 403: In her safest space

    3:10 a.m., MZX HQ ;

    Although Zhi Al was in a state of shock, his emotions were of least concern to the assassins standing behind him. For them, the two men in front of them were nothing, but a target assignment. None of these ruthless maniacs men of morals or principles. Naturally, they couldn''t care less about a fair fight.

    As the brute standing beside the ''tattoo-man'' pointed his Kosh HK416 towards Zhi Al''s head, he waited for his Boss''s permission, his index finger right over the firearm''s trigger. But even after three nods from the man, Zhi Al remained unscathed.

    Confusticated, the two men turned their heads to look at their partner, only to find him strangled to death with a nylon wire, lying down on the floor, blood spilling around beneath his neck and head.

    "Now, now, fes...", Shawn Florence threw the 500-meter Nylon-thread spool away on Mo Zixuan''s table, as he smirked devilishly at the two psychos in front of him, "Let''s y justly, shall we?"

    ::::::::::::::

    3:15 a.m ;

    "Bro Al, Bro Mo!", Rong Xinghe stormed into her brother''s office, about two minutes after Shawn Florence was done ripping the two men into tiny little shreds, "Oh, God! Bro Mo... wh- what happened to him?!", she screamed, as she looked at her brother lying down on the carpet floor, unconscious, "Bro Al, is he..."

    "He is okay, Xinghe.", Shawn replied, his tone calm, as he tied a stole around the man''s torso firmly, "He has gone out to bring the Ambnce staff waiting outside, directly here.

    "I am just trying to minimize your brother''s bleeding."

    "How is he right now?", the girl managed to question.

    "Alive. His pulse is extremely faint, Alpha. I don''t think he''ll be able to-"

    "Don''t you dare finish that sentence, Shawn.", Rong Xinghe cut the man off mid-sentence, "He is not leaving me, or his brothers, or Sister-inw Cheng Tai, like this. Not so soon.

    "Come on. Let''s take him to the hospital."

    _____________

    4:00 a.m., Elite Multi-Speciality Hospital ;

    Xi Yuan strode through the nd silent corridor, making his way towards the girl who was sitting into a corner, on the cold floor, her arms hugging her knees, for who knows how long. She looked... shattered. Xi Yuan had never seen her this frightened, this broken, before. Zhi Bo was sitting beside her, caressing her head lightly, as he tried to calm her down.

    Except for Su Rogguang and Cheng Tai, her entire family was there, looking at her worriedly. Even Zhi Al, covered in Mo Zixuan''s and his own blood. Probably, Su Rogguang was performing surgery upon Mo Zixuan in the Operation Theater, the man assumed, his eyes never leaving the girl. She wasn''t crying, neither was she uttering a single word. Whatever it was that was going on inside her, she was just holding it in. As usual. At least, she was trying to.

    "Xinghe...", Xi Yuan sat down beside the girl, as he cupped her face, making her look at him, "Come here.", he said softly.

    Looking at her darling, the girl no more felt the need to conceal her emotions. She no longer felt the need to stay strong for her brothers. She knew he would handle everything now. He always did. As tears blurred her vision, the girl hugged the man tightly, burying her face in his chest. For the first time throughout that awful and bizarre night, she broke down. In her safest space.

    "It''s all my fault.", Zhi Al clenched his fists as a lump formed in his throat, "All of this... everything... happened because he was... saved me. God! I should''ve stepped back the moment he tried to push me away.

    "He doesn''t deserve this! Those shots were meant to be fired at me. Not him."

    "Al, it''s okay.", Songyan rubbed the man''s back, as she wiped the tears flowing down her cheeks, "None of you two are at fault here. Stop ming yourself."

    "Thankfully, Cheng Tai doesn''t know about Zixuan''s situation yet.", Ruo Cy said, as she looked at the girl crying in Xi Yuan''s arms, "She is performing some string operation outside City A. Hopefully, he will get through this before she arrives."

    "Yeah. She will be devastated if anything happens to him.", Ningtao fidgeted with her neck chain anxiously, "This is so unfair. It hasn''t been even two weeks since those two got married, and now, this..."

    The family was still trying to process the sudden turn of events, as they thought about how they were all discussing dinner ns that very morning, and how by the end of the day, they were in a hospital, praying for the survival of one of their own, when Xi Fang rushed towards his brother hurriedly. But as he looked at how Xi Yuan was consoling his Sister-inw, the man stopped in his tracks. Instead, he approached Lu Wei and Zhi Xi directly.

    "Senior Lu, the media is in an uproar. Hospital security won''t be able to hold them down for much longer.", he informed, "Rumors that Senior Mo couldn''t... make it, are spreading like wildfire. I think someone from Superfamily needs to face the cameras. As soon as possible."

    Before Lu Wei coulde up with a decision, Ningtao spoke up on his behalf, "I will deal with those, insensitive weasels. The man inside that Operation Theater is Wei''s and Zhi Xi''s and Zhi Al''s brother. I am not going to let anyone torture my family emotionally or psychologically, during such a time. Not when I can handle such insignificant matters myself."

    "I wille with you too, Sister Ningtao.", Songyan volunteered, her tone giving away ridicule, "How dare they talk nonsense about my Brother-inw?!"

    Lu Wei and Zhi Xi exchanged nces among themselves and smiled at their wives approvingly. No one in Superfamily was weak. But it was better for Ningtao and Songyan to speak for the family now that both their brothers as well as their Kiddo, needed them. Moreover, if the Six men were recognized as Tigers across the country, their wives were no less than Tigresses. And in the end, a Tigress was as fearsome, and formidable as a Tiger, right?

    Zhi Bo joined the three men after Ningtao and Songyan left the hospital corridor, leaving the girl with Xi Yuan, "Al, you should get your wounds checked too. You are bleeding.", he said, as he noticed the man''s left arm.

    "No. It''s okay.", Zhi Al shook his head, "I need to know that he is fine first. I am not going anywhere until the surgery is over.

    "Anyway, the bullet barely grazed the skin when Shawn was fighting those two earlier. I will be fine."

    "This is not a request, Al.", Feng Mian red at the man, "Do you really think that you getting shot instead of brother Zixuan would''ve been less painful for any of us, for Xinghe?! It would''ve killed her equally. Look at how frightened she is. Don''t do this to her, Al.

    "She shouldn''t be worried about her Bro Al''s blood loss when her Bro Mo''s life is already hanging by a thread. Soe on. I''ve already talked to Ching Tong. Since she isn''t required in the surgery currently, she can check on you."

 Chapter 404: The Medico Luminary

    Chapter 404: The Medico Luminary

    4:15 a.m., Elite Multi-Speciality Hospital ;

    "Alright, calm down now.", Xi Yuan took a deep breath and pulled away from the girl as he wiped her tears away, "Have faith in him, Love.", he smiled wryly, "He is a soldier, from within. He won''t lose this battle."

    "Why them?", the girl sobbed, "Why my brothers? Why do they have to always face the consequences of my decisions?! Why, Yuan?

    "I am a horrible sister and this... this is all my fault. First, because of me, Bro Lu almost lost Little Alix, before she was even born. And now, Bro Mo-"

    "Terrorism is not your fault, Xinghe.", Xi Yuan interrupted the girl, sternly, "And neither was loving someone wholeheartedly. How could you possibly me yourself for such incidents?"

    "Well... me being the Military Chief of this country brings all of you under my enemies'' radar, anyway.", the girl sighed, "Knowingly or unknowingly, I am the reason... that he is lying in there, fighting for his life, Yuan. This is exactly why I turned you down the first time you confessed to me. I knew how unlucky I am, for those who dare to love me."

    Xi Yuan looked at the girl, his heart aching for her, "And yet, to these Six men, you are their dy-luck'', Xinghe."

    The girl did not know what to say, so she just looked down at the floor, her hands still clutching onto the man''s suit, "But..."

    "I am not letting you push me away from yourself this time. I am not letting your demons, you past win. Not today.", the man replied resolutely, "Your brother is in there because he tried to protect his family. He protected someone who was trying to protect him. You would''ve done so too. Any of you eight siblings would''ve done that, for each other. Without a second thought, and without any regrets. That''s the spirit of your family.

    "This very unity is your family''s legacy. It''s your legacy. Honor it. People around you might get hurt because of what you do, but trust me when I say this, they won''t be able to survive a day without you too. That''s how important you are, to them, and to me. So never for a second will you me yourself for any of this.

    "The moment they watched you volunteer for the position of this nation''s Military Chief, they knew there was a possibility of this happening someday. But they never objected, did they? Because for them, your happiness was worth all of it. How do you think they would feel if they were to see you like this now?"

    "But I was supposed to protect them.", the girl closed her eyes, as the man ced a soft kiss against her forehead.

    "And you did. I mean... you did act speedily the moment you realized what was about to happen. Your Bro Al is still fine, isn''t he?"

    As he received no reply from the girl, Xi Yuan looked at her worriedly, "Sometimes... things are not under our control. And that sucks. No one knows it better than me. When my Grandmother and Grandfather were shot right in front of my eyes, I witnessed their death like a coward. And till this date, those memories haunt me. I watched them die and did nothing, Xinghe. I hated that helpless version of myself.

    "So I know exactly what you are feeling. But I didn''t shoot them back then. And neither did you, today. You are allowed to feel pained, angered, even. But you won''t distance yourself from your brothers or me, because of what happened today. That''s our choice. Not yours. Do you understand?"

    "Never say that again.", the girl looked straight into the man''s eyes, upset.

    "What?"

    "That you were a coward. You were very brave then."

    "Okay.", the man smiled, "I was brave." How the hell did he get so lucky so as to have met this woman? Even under such nerve-racking circumstances, she wouldn''t let anyone talk ill of him. Not even himself. And still, she wondered why all her brothers loved her so much.

    Such an angel...

    ::::::::::::::::

    6:30 a.m. ;

    It''d been around four hours since the man was brought into surgery, and there was still no word from Su Rogguang. Xi Yuan had tried convincing the girl to get some rest, given how exhausting her entire day had been, but even the sound of whispers would wake her up with a jolt. To be truthful, even the man knew that she wouldn''t be able to bat an eyelid until she would bepletely assured that her Bro Mo was fine. It was just that she was so tired and worn out, his heart ached for her.

    Momentster, Su Rogguang finally stepped out of the Operation Theater, Rong Xiao following behind him. The man pulled his mask down before he turned to look at Rong Xinghe, "Come here, Kid.", he said, his expression solemn.

    As the man''s voice resounded throughout the corridor, the four men circled around him quickly, worried. Rong Xinghe, approached her Bro Su too, nervous, as she clenched her fists, "How is he?"

    Su Rogguang''s serious expression didn''t deter for a second, as he inhaled sharply. The man''s reluctance to speak could only mean something worse. A possibility they didn''t want to consider. Even so, they had to hear it from him, loud and clear.

    "Xinghe...", the man cleared his throat, his expression still earnest, "I am going to be shameless here and ask you to add me up in this year''s ''Country X''s Ideal Medico Luminary'' list.

    "I deserve that damned award, provided how I just saved my 300th patient. You''re wee, by the way. Your Bro Mo is not dead. Yet."

    "Wh--what?!", Rong Xinghe covered her wide open mouth, taken aback by the man''s words. Lightly, she punched him, "Don''t ever kid with me like that!"

    "Sorry, sorry!", Su Rogguang burst outughing, "But I must say, your Hybrids do know what they were doing. Wrapping that cotton stole around his torso was a smart move. Zixuan didn''t lose too much blood. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have had even made it till this hospital. That was quick thinking, Sister, sending Shawn Florence at the location. Good job.

    "Although, Zixuan won''t be able to work for the next few months. And he will require constant care. So I guess MZX needs a new leader for now. And our brother needs to move in with me since I am the only person well-aware of his state."

    "I guess paying for your graduation and post-graduation wasn''t a dead investment, after all, you two.", Zhi Xiughed, as he smiled at the two Superfamily doctors, fist-bumping each other.

    Su Rogguang & Rong Xiao: "...."

 Chapter 405: "Have you two done it?"

    Chapter 405: "Have you two done it?"

    2:00 p.m.

    Elite Multi-Speciality Hospital, VIP Ward 1325 ;

    Outside theparatively warmer hospital ward, Xi Yuan stared at the cup of coffee in his hands silently, Xi Fang standing beside him as he briefed him about how Xi Corporations had tackled the media, all the while after Ningtao and Songyan had confronted the ck sea of cameras and an official statement had been released by Dr. Su Rogguang. In short, the Xi empire''s PR team had been up all night after the Superfamily was done with their formalities.

    "Did anyone dare to defame Xinghe?", the man questioned, his tone cold.

    "There were a lot of them, Brother.", Xi Fang sighed, "It was as if they wanted to pin it all on Sister-inw. They even went so far as to add that a person incapable of protecting her own family shouldn''t be allowed to regte and lead the Armed Forces of the country.

    "I don''t understand. Just a few days ago, these same journalists were licking her boots. And now, they are trying to shred her into pieces. Two-faced bastards! They had the nerves to question her capabilities and loyalty to Country X.

    "I had to use your identity to defend her from those psychos, in the end. She is the to-be-Queen to the Xi Corporations, after all. But there''s nothing to worry about anymore, brother."

    "Hmm.", Xi Yuan hummed, his eyes turning a few shades darker, "cklist them. All of them.", hemanded nonchntly, as he dumped the paper cup in his hand into the trash bin beside him, sending a chill down Xi Fang''s spine.

    "Brother... that would end their career in Journalism. Wouldn''t that be too harsh?", he asked cautiously, "Nevertheless, Sister-inw''s reputation is still intact. Why go through all that trouble then?"

    "The usations they made are the exact ones she has been fearing all her life, Fang.", Xi Yuan answered, his tone soft, "That she is an affliction, a curse, to her loved ones. That she doesn''t deserve a family, or love, or warmth, even."

    "But she is wrong, brother.", Xi Fang frowned, "She''s the best thing that''s happened to us, to you. Personally, I feel like she was the daughter the Xi family never had. Shepletes you, brother. Why would she think like that?"

    "Maybe because that was imprinted into her mind ever since she was a child. By the Rong family.", the man shook his head with a sigh, "She once told me how they used to harass her. Physically, psychologically, mentally. She was always a prisoner there, Fang. And such memories are etched forever. They can''t just vanish. They break you, and they make you.

    "Xinghe''s smiles, herughs, and her sweetness, are her brothers'' presents. But her darkness, her rage, and her grief is the result of the brutality she faced as a child. The same darkness, which makes her the Alpha to those ten Hybrids. The same rage, that makes her more powerful than most of the living souls in this world. The same grief, that makes her doubt, and question herself.

    "And I am not going to let a bunch of good-for-nothing Journalists trigger that part of her. I am not going to let her, even for a second, believe that she doesn''t deserve her brothers, or me, or her friends. Because after everything she has been through, she deserves the whole damn world."

    "Understood, brother.", Xi Fang smiled. So it wasn''t just a disy of the mightiest Business Corporations'' strength, but also a national disy of love, he thought to himself. So cruel!

    At this time, Ningtao appeared in front of the two men, passing them two spicy sizzling subs, "Eat up, boys.", she grinned, "The Superfam, has yet again, pranced out of another tornado!"

    "It has, indeed.", Xi Fang smiled.

    "Where is Xinghe?", the woman asked, as she looked at the third sub in her hand.

    "Well, she has finally fallen asleep. By her Bro Mo''s side.", Xi Yuan replied as he pointed his thumb towards Mo Zixuan private ward, "She wanted to sit by his side till he woke up. But eventually, she fell asleep. So I stepped out for a while."

    "Poor girl.", Ningtao smiled softly, "You do realize that you are a lucky man, right, Yuan?"

    "I remind that to myself every day, Sister-inw.", the man agreed.

    "Better.", the woman nodded at the man vaguely, "By the way, I was looking at how you two clicked earlier. I mean, not even her brothers knew how to talk to her at that time... but you did. That was dreamily emotional! You both are perfect together, you know."

    "Thank you, Ma''am.", Xi Yuanughed heartily, "It was just that-"

    "Have you two done it?", the woman smiled cheekily, interrupting the man, directly heading towards juicy gossip, "Sex?"

    "..."

    :::::::::::::::::::

    Meanwhile, inside the in blue-color-walled hospital room, Mo Zixuan opened his eyes slowly. Unwillingly. Never in his life had he thought that even blinking could be this tiring, not to mention the gut-wrenching pain that shot up through his torso across his entire body, followed by even the slightest of the movements. A blinding whiteness exploded in his head next, making him feel even dizzier.

    The pain was so much, that at one point, he stopped feeling it. His whole body entered a state of numbness. However, minutester, it was back, more intense now than ever. His heart was beating rapidly, and he felt as if his body was burning. Every part of it, inside out. Maybe it was the drugs, or maybe the bullets, or the surgery. But in that utter silence, everything hurt like hell. Maybe he really was in a world far beyond, he reasoned with himself.

    He cringed, and groaned, for a while before he ced his right hand over the bandage wrapped around where his wounds were. But it was when he tried to move his other hand did he realize that it had been held onto firmly. Muddled, the man peered down, only to find his Lady-luck sleeping soundly, her hand wrapped around his. And at that very moment, the reality struck him. He was alive. He had survived that horrendous night, after all.

    "Brother...", the girl mumbled in her sleep, putting the man''s train of thoughts to halt, "Sleep... Hate youmm..."

    Decoding the girl''s almost inaudibleints, the man could only let out a helplessugh. "I love you too, Kid.", he whispered, his tone affectionate, "Sorry that I scared you. Won''t happen again.", he promised guiltily.

 Chapter 406: A little Xinghe, or a little Yuan

    Chapter 406: A little Xinghe, or a little Yuan

    2:05 p.m.

    Elite Multi-Speciality Hospital, VIP Ward 1325 ;

    Xi Yuan stared at the woman in front of him, taken aback by her sudden unforeseen question. He didn''t know what to say. Moreover, what could you possibly say to Ningtao, while Xi Fang was standing right beside him? Why did she have to put him in such a difficult position?

    Xi Fang, was certainly, no less shocked. No wonder his Sister-inw was so sassy. She was brought up by such staunch and devil-may-care kind of people. Straight to the point! As he nced at the man beside him being rendered speechless, Xi Fang could only suppress hisughter. The man was right. Jiang family was no trouble whenpared to the Superfamily. These lot of individuals were the real deal. ''Such an ironic moment'', he chuckled to himself.

    "Did they do it?! What did he say?", Ching Tong''s voice resounded from behind the woman as she rushed towards Ningtao hurriedly. Ruo Cy and Songyan joined secondster, clearly aware of what was going on.

    "He hasn''t said a word yet.", Ningtao rolled her eyes, "Come on! Spill the beans, Yuan, before any of her brothers arrive."

    So they were ganging up on him now. Brilliant strategy! What kind of family elders interrogates their to-be Son-inw like that, he thought. Although, what other choice did he have than to respectfully turn them down? It was his and his girl''s privacy at stake, after all.

    Clearing his throat, the man spoke up atst, "I think it inappropriate for me to talk about such a matter without Xinghe''s consent."

    "Aww.", Ruo Cy sighed, admiringly, "Such a wife-doting man. Already?"

    "Okay. Okay.", Songyan squinted her eyes at the man, "Let''s not talk about that then. What about marriage? Why so much dy?"

    "Well...", Xi Yuan said, unsure of what to say, "I was waiting until she would deal with Country X''s current security issue."

    "There will always be some protocol error, or military problem, from her end.", Ching Tong shrugged, "Can''t you just get married in the court first? A grand wedding will require a lot of time anyway."

    "What is going on with all of you? What''s with the third degree?", the man crossed his arms, as he red at his woman''s each Sisters-inw cautiously, "Is this some n to get me killed by your husbands?"

    "Nonsense!", Songyan smacked the man''s arm lightly, "You have our protection. None of the Six tigers would dare to touch you now that you are under our wing.

    "It''s just that you both already seem like a married couple. The chemistry you two share is just so mature and perfect, it''s weird to introduce you two as ''engaged''."

    "And we can''t wait to see your kids!", Ruo Cy almost jumped up with excitement, as the words slipped her mouth.

    "Wh- what?!", Xi Yuan''s eyes flew wide open, his gaze fixed at the woman. Where the hell did thate from!?

    "I know, right?", Ningtao smiled deviously, "A little Xinghe. Or a little you. God, those would be the best little things ever! Yuan, can''t you hurry up? You''ve already been chasing after her for two years now.

    "How much longer will we Xinguan shippers have to wait until we get to look at those ''mini-yous''?"

    When they''d started bombarding questions about their intimacy, he''d assumed nothing could be more awkward than that. But in thesest few seconds, Xi Yuan had realized how naive he had been to have assumed that then. This, what was happening with him now, was the truest, and the purest form of hell.

    _____________

    2:30 p.m

    Elite Multi-Speciality Hospital, VIP Ward 1325 ;

    As Mo Zixuan tried to free his hand from the girl''s, Rong Xinghe opened her eyes and sat up straight, "Oh, you woke up.", she blinked, "Does it hurt somewhere? Wait. I will call the doctors."

    "No...", the man shook his head tiredly, his voice raspy, "I just wanted some water.", he said as he pointed his chin towards the ss of water ced upon the side-table.

    "Okay. But still, let the docs check on you.", the girl passed the man the ss before she turned to leave.

    "I am fine, Kid.", the man smiled, "Just tell me if Al is okay. I have no idea about what happened after I was shot. Did... he make it?"

    "He did.", Rong Xinghe smiled back, grabbing a seat for herself beside him, "Don''t worry."

    "So what are you worried about now?", Mo Zixuan questioned, studying the girl''s stark spiritless expressions.

    "Nothing, in particr.", in a matter barely seconds, the girl''s lips curled up into a sly little smile, "I have a n. An astounding one, at that!"

    "What n?", the man asked quizzically. He had seen those calcting eyes before too. This girl wasn''t his little sister. This individual beside him was but, the one rightful reincarnation of the She-devil, herself. He had observed his sister for too many years to get that look wrong. He could just sense it.

    "I am going to quarantine all of you!", the girl announced, "Until I''ve handled this problem."

    He knew it! Nothing good coulde out of that slick and foxy smirks, Mo Zixuan sighed. "What?", he stared at the girl, shocked, "You can''t lock us up, Xinghe. Your brothers aren''t some random prisoners."

    "You are. Not persons. But walking targets.", Rong Xinghe ced a soft kiss against the man''s knuckles, "And as you said, all of you, are my brothers. And my Sisters-inw. My family.

    "So, you guys are moving into Military Chief Mansion while I am working on this particr assignment. And this, by the way, is not a request. It''s a damned order.

    "Besides, you, Mr. ''I am the sacrificialmb''...", the girl pinched the man''s nose, "You are thest person who''s allowed to refuse my arrangements. I could just rip your bandage off to shut you up. So no tantrums from your part, her onwards. I hope that''s clear to you."

    "Ow, ow, ow!", the man struggled to flit the girl''s hand away, "Understood. Do whatever you want. Just for the love of God, let go!

    "Damn, it''s hurting, Kiddo!"

    "Good boy.", said the girl, satisfactorily, finally pulling her hand back, "Now... if you''ll excuse me, I shall get our brothers in. They''ve been worried for you too."

    As he looked at the woman walk out of the hospital room, Mo Zixuan felt as if something was ''off''. For some unknown reason, he felt that Rong Xinghe was nning on something, much more destructive, much more catastrophic, for whatever she was up against this time. As if this ''quarantine'' was just an attempt to ensuring her family''s safety and that something big was about to unfold, sooner than anyone could''ve expected.

    The man''s instincts weren''t a mere hallucination though, for the ''Ripper'' was about to crawl out from wherever it had been buried, years ago. That the real demon was to reappear, any time now.

 Chapter 407: "Not leaving. Not without you."

    Chapter 407: "Not leaving. Not without you."

    3:00 p.m.

    Elite Multi-Speciality Hospital, VIP Ward 1325 ;

    The entire Superfamily gathered around Mo Zixuan''s bed the moment the girl informed them that he had returned to consciousness and that he was waiting for them. The first person Mo Zixuan spoke to was, of course, Zhi Al. Only when the two men had ensured that the other one was fine did the girl proposed her ''Mastern'' to all her brothers.

    "So amid this ''quarantine'', as you put it, we won''t be able to travel for our Business Meetings?", Zhi Xi questioned, "I don''t think that-"

    "Hush!", Songyan red at her husband, "Business, money, tours- that''s all you six can think of, even at such a dire time? I, for one, agree with Xinghe. None of your safety should bepromised, no matter what."

    "I stand by my girl too.", Ningtao added, a pinch of anxiousness evident in her tone, "As per what she told us about those terrorists'' sequence of targets, Wei, you were right after Zixuan. Please, for the sake of your daughter, don''t object to Xinghe''s suggestions now.

    "You guys might be the best businessmen, phnthropists, surgeons, and influencers across the globe, but none of you are the acting Military Chief of this country. She knows what she is doing better than anyone."

    "But, Tao, our security staff isn''t weak. It''s ''Zone X''. Each one of them is trained by Military trainers. With such rigid security by our side, we should be just okay.", Lu Wei tried to reason.

    "And yet, Bro Mo''s ''Zone X'' security personnel were all found dead during the attackst night.", Rong Xiao interfered this time, as she smiled at the Six men, "Come on. Why do you want to experience all your wanderlust now, of all times?

    "Bluntly speaking, yesterday, when I was assisting Bro Su to extricate those 7.62 NATO bullets from Bro Mo''s body, even I was scared that he wouldn''t make it. Why do you want to risk putting your wives, and sisters, and brothers, through all of what happened just a few hours ago, all over again.

    "And what are the chances that all of you would be as lucky as Bro Mo was?"

    "Besides...", Rong Xinghe spoke up, "Since when does the Superfamily have issues living under the same roof? The only constraint is that you can''t move around and that too, until this Independence Day. Then you will all be free. I will personally drop you off at the airport, as soon as the coast is clear. I promise."

    The Six tigers considered the Rong twins'' words seriously this time. Their solution wasn''t void of logic, needless to say. Military Chief Mansion was the safest ce throughout the country, guarded by more than a thousand soldiers, each expertized inbat techniques. Even though the Six of them held ck-belt titles in Taekwon-do and other Martial-art sports, it''d be reassuring for them to know that theirdies, and the two little kids in the family, were under constant protection and proper surveince. Not to mention, it really had been quite some time since they all had spent time together.

    "Alright.", Zhi Bo smiled, "I guess we don''t really have a choice."

    "Sure. That too.", the girls said in unison.

    At this time, Rong Xinghe''s assistant, Shou Wei walked in, hurriedly, "The Prime Minister is here. Could it be that he''s displeased with how Mr. Mo''s safety wasn''t looked after aptly?"

    "It''s alright. Leave it to me.", the girl smiled at the old man, as she turned to ce a sweet kiss against her Darling''s right cheek, "Go home, okay? You haven''t had proper sleep for the past two days."

    The man, in return, simply shook his head, "I am not leaving. Not without you. Handle the situation with the Prime Minister while I take care of Bro Mo''s hospital paperwork, alright?"

    "But-"

    "No arguments, Xinghe.", Xi Yuan ced his thumb over her lower lip, silencing her in an instant, "This is non-negotiable. You can fight all your wars after tonight."

    Letting out a deep breath, the girl smiled softly at the man. He was more stubborn than her. What was the point in arguing with him? Most importantly, he wasn''t wrong to concerned about her. Her head had been aching a little too harshly since thest night. Maybe, she did need to lie down for a night. "Got it.", she gave in, "I''ll be back in 15-20 minutes."

    _________

    6:00 p.m., Elite Saphire Penthouse ;

    Xi Yuan removed the girl''s sneakers as she''d dozed off right onto the couch, minutes after they''d reached home. She wasn''t even left with enough strength to take a shower or grab a bite first. As he looked at how angelic and innocent she was sleeping, the man could only cover her with a warm nket and adjust the air conditioner''s temperature in the living room.

    With that being taken care of, Xi Yuan walked into the kitchen so that he could make something for her. He knew she''d wake up in the middle of the night anyway. After all, he''d seen her dig into her ice-cream tubs and brownie-bowls at such odd timings before too.

    "Is she okay?", the man was chopping chilies and capsicums, when Li Jungah joined the man in the kitchen shortly after, "Why is she sleeping in the hall?"

    "She is.", the man answered his mother with a nod, as he poured her a ss of water, "What''s up?"

    "Nothing. I just came to check on her.", the woman shrugged, "I heard about what happened to her brothers. Is everything fine with them?"

    "Yeah. Xinghe was really swift. She realized the n on-time, thankfully.", Xi Yuan smiled, "How is everything at Xi Family Mansion?", he asked after careful consideration.

    "Without you and Fang? It''s empty, Yuan.", the woman in her early forties sighed, "Why don''t you talk to your Uncle, in person? How long are you going to dodge this matter? That man wouldn''t exin anything about his involvement with the ''Werewolf Crew'' with anyone, but you or Fang."

    "I am not ready, Mom.", Xi Yuan said weakly, "What if he really was at fault then? I don''t think I''ll be able to handle that."

    "Can''t you just forgive him then, in that case?", Li Jungah pressed her lips, "He is still your elder, son."

    "The people I lost that night weren''t some strangers.", the man replied, gritting his teeth, "They were my Grandparents, the ones who brought me up. Forgiveness? It''d require me a lot of strength to not kill him if what we''re fearing was even the slightest bit of truth."

    "Yuan-"

    "Don''t, Mom. Don''t even try."

 Chapter 408: "They disturbed my sleep"

    Chapter 408: "They disturbed my sleep"

    "And what about Fang?", Li Jungah didn''t push the man any further. She knew it would do no good to him. Moreover, he wasn''t wrong on his part either. He had seen someone extremely close to him, die right in front of his eyes when he was what, merely fifteen? It took him so much time to just start talking with her and his father. For someone as reserved as Xi Yuan, there was no point forcing him into mending fences with others. He was bound to take his own time, it didn''t matter how desperate they were. Li Jungah understood that very well.

    "Xi Chonglin is his father, Yuan.", the woman had no choice but to change the course of their discussion, "Can''t you-"

    "Mom.", the man sighed, picking out the bottle of vegetable oil from the shelves, "I am not going to question any of his decisions. Even if I sort things out with Uncle, I am not going to talk to Fang about this unless he needs any advice from me.

    "If there''s one thing grandfather taught me more than anything, it was that rtionships, grief, and setbacks are few of the most personal possessions of mankind. Fang''s life should be shaped by his decisions, not his elder brother''s. Right?"

    "You both young men...", Li Jungah smiled at the man, helplessly, "I have no idea what I am going to do of you two."

    "Just let us be.", Xi Yuan smiled back, "And tell me if you want to join me for dinner?"

    "Really?", the woman tried to process her son''s words, "Sure... should I help?", she asked, nervous. He was trying, to wee her, into his little space. She could see it. More clearly than ever. Piece by piece, the man was trying to tie the broken thread of their rtionship. And she didn''t know if it was because someone as radiant as Rong Xinghe had walked into his life or because she and Xi Chonglin had been deemed unassociated of his Grandparents'' murder incident. But whatever it was, she couldn''t be more grateful for these moments with her son.

    "Well, I''m almost done. It''s Xinghe''s favorite if you don''t mind?", the man raised his brows, as he removed his apron, "Mongolian Meatball Ramen and hotpot."

    "I don''t mind... tonight?", Li Jungahughed, "But my daughter-inw needs to switch to something more nutritious, won''t you agree?"

    Letting out a breezy sweetugh, Xi Yuan served two dishes for the two of them. And for the first time, in the next half-hour-long conversation with thedy, he realized how genuine and ingenuous his mother was. It really was a shame that he didn''t get to know such an amazing and ambitious woman in-depth, even though he was birthed by her. But as he spoke to her, he came to the conclusion that she regretted those lost moments, those lost months, more than even he did.

    "I had gotten too indulged, Yuan, into that power-hunger of your Uncle''s and your Father''s. Every time I look at you hold onto an award or achieve something, I feel how stupid I was to not be a part of that journey of yours. I should''ve been there, honey. For you. And I am sorry that I wasn''t. But I want to be a part of your excursion ahead, if you''d like me to be, that is.", the woman confessed, as she stared at the bowl of Vani ice-cream in her hands, guilt as in as a pikestaff in her tone.

    "I would love that, mother.", Xi Yuan smiled, "Both me, and Xinghe would love that."

    As a smile urred across the woman''s lips, Xi Yuan heard the sounds of hurried footsteps approaching them. And at that very instant, his instincts screamed to him, that those weren''t really his ''well-wishers''.

    ________________

    3:00 a.m., Military Chief Mansion ;

    "Do not call me Uncle!", Zhi Al squinted his eyes at Little Alix, as he plopped down by her side on the floor, "I am not that old."

    "Will you stop it already, Al?", Ningtao sighed, "She needs to sleep. It''s already sote. And why the hell are you two lying on the cold floor?!"

    Ignoring her mother, Lu Alix crossed her arms, akin to some mature saint, as she rolled over the floor and smiled at Zhi Al, "Then what should I call you?"

    "Cool-bud.", Zhi Al shrugged in an obvious manner, "All my friends call me that."

    "Seriously?!", Songyan rolled her eyes.

    "Okay.", Lu Alix giggled, "But I have a condition."

    "What?", Zhi Al rested his head against his palm, as he nced at the littlest girl in the family.

    "Will you marry me when I grow up?", the girl blinked expectantly.

    "Alix, you-", Ningtao was about to reprimand the girl but Zhi Al interrupted her amid, "Sure. Sister-inw Tao, could you inform Mian that we''re breaking up? Please?"

    Ningtao: "..."

    ________________

    Meanwhile, Elite Saphire Penthouse ;

    "What was that noise?", Li Jungah whispered, worried, as she followed behind Xi Yuan cautiously out of the dining room, "Did the men who attack Zixuan-"

    "It''s okay, Mom.", Xi Yuan replied as he pulled out a licensed revolver from under one of the wooden intersecting wall shelves, in the corridor, and checked the number of bullets in it, "I will handle it. It''s Xinghe I am worried about."

    "Oh, yes... That kid is still asleep outside.", the woman felt her arms shaking, "Yuan..."

    "Just stay by my side. Do not leave my sight.", the man stated his tone earnest.

    It had been quite some time since the intrusion, and yet, none of the attackers had reached them. Whether that was positive news or negative, it hadn''t been determined still. The man was about to walk into the living room when a squeal resounded throughout the ce, sending a chill down Li Jungah''s spine. It wasn''t feminine, thankfully. But it was loud enough to surmise that the blow was brutal, mirthless even.

    The man strode in, only to find roughly ten men lying around, bleeding, dead. Over their bodies, stood the mighty Military Chief Rong Xinghe, her back facing him. As the reflection of light falling over the pool water on the other side, danced over her thin yet fit and toned body figure, in that darkness, she looked alluring and even so, wild and untamable.

    The woman held no weapon. Not even a fruit knife. And despite that, they''d all been beaten to death. No wonder she was ranked as the best assassin across the continent of Asia.

    "Baby... you okay?", the man questioned, anxious, as he tossed the revolver in his hand upon, one of the couches. He then stood behind her, both there bodies inches apart.

    Turning around, Rong Xinghe smiled weakly as she pulled him into aforting hug, "They disturbed my sleep.", she mumbled innocently, "So loud!"

    "Some nerves they had!", the manughed, "Come here. I''ll put you to bed again."

 Chapter 409: "You are my heart, Baby."

    Chapter 409: "You are my heart, Baby."

    "I am hungry too...", the girl pouted, her voice mellow, "Can we order?"

    "No need for that.", Xi Yuan pecked the girl on her forehead, as he helped her sit on the couch and wrapped the nket around her shoulders, "I''ll get something for you."

    The man then turned around and nodded a shade at his butler, gesturing the old man to move the bodies away from the living room. Naturally, this wasn''t the first time the CEO of Xi Corporations had been attacked. The staff was well-aware of the risks of their jobs when they''d signed up to serve the Young Master of the Xi Family. It was an honor, in fact. So this time too, they couldn''t care less about the bloodbath that''d happened there, tonight.

    "Little Xinghe!", Li Jungah waited for the man to walk away before she grabbed a seat beside the girl, as she held onto her right hand worriedly. Her arm was bleeding, and the injury looked severe. "My God! Why didn''t you tell Yuan about this?"

    "It''s no big deal, Mom.", the girlughed softly, "I didn''t want to trouble him."

    "What nonsense?!", the woman red at the girl, "How could taking care of his to-be-wife, be any trouble to that douche?

    "Did he say that to you? He must''ve said something like that. That insensitive boy. Let hime! I will beat him to a pulp, like how you did to these men, just now."

    The girl could only hold onto the woman''s hand assuringly, as augh slipped her mouth, "He didn''t. He loves me too much to do so."

    "That''s better then.", Li Jungah smiled back, "Anyway, let me get the first-aid box from Yuan''s room."

    "Ok.", Rong Xinghe nodded. Only when the woman had walked away did she turn to address her darling''s staff, "Retrieve the phones and IDs from their clothes, or bags, and put them over here on the table.", shemanded, "Do we understand each other, gentlemen?"

    "Understood, Madam.", the old butler bowed down courteously.

    _____________

    3:30 a.m., Elite Saphire Penthouse ;

    "It''s hot. Be careful, or else, you might end up scorching your tongue.", Xi Yuan smiled, as he looked at the girl cramming her mouth with the Mongolian meatballs. "This is so delicious!", the girl babbled, "Anyhow, what were you saying earlier? Sorry I didn''t get you."

    "I asked about your opinions regarding my Uncle, Xinghe.", the man repeated himself, calmly, "What do you think of him?" Now that Li Jungah had left for the Old Xi Mansion, the man could finally have a word with his Xinghe about the matter that''d been bothering him the most.

    "I don''t think it''s appropriate for me to say anything, Yuan.", the girl answered after some careful thought, "I love you. But I don''t know anything about your parents, or Fang''s. So far, I really like your Mom. She is so warm. Even your father. He is aloof but considerate. But your Uncle and Aunt, I don''t think I know them that well to form opinions about them, no?"

    "Your choice of people is always based on your instincts, Love.", the man shook his head, "And I trust your judgment more than anyone. Just tell me what you think I should do? I could really use some advice right now, and that has to be unbiased and just. You are my most sincere and honest confidant and advisor. So cut the formalities and help me out here. Alright?"

    A smile crept across the girl''s lips as she listened to his wordsced in his entrancing deep voice. There were thousands of reasons why she loved him. But this maturity of his was what she''d always admired the most. He made her feel like she was... family. And that her opinions, her views, they mattered. That she was needed, and that she was as important as he was. Such a pure soul her Yuan was...

    "What?", Xi Yuan lifted the girl''s chin up with his index finger, as she had her eyes fixed upon the bowl on herp, "Did you even listen to me?"

    Nodding at the man, the girl quickly pushed back her thoughts. Right. Priorities, Xinghe!

    "Well, talking to him won''t do you any harm, would it?", the girl asked after some time, "I understand that this is a sensitive issue for you, baby, but don''t you need closure? Don''t you want to know exactly what happened back then? Doesn''t ''not knowing'' scare you? What if... we are ming the wrong person? And what if the real perpetrator is still alive, killing someone else, ruining someone else''s life? All these questions have one answer, Yuan. Your Uncle, Xi Chonglin."

    "But...", the man clenched his fists, as he ced his head against the girl''s shoulder, "I won''t be able to pull this off by myself. I don''t think I can. Those memories, they terrify me."

    "Do you want me toe with you?", the girl raised her brows as her friskyugh resounded through the living room, "Won''t the Xi family elders think of me as an outsider? We are yet to marry, President Xi."

    "They wouldn''t dare.", the man promised, his tone filled with authority, "They might be my family, but you... you are so much more. You are my heart, Baby."

    "Hmm.", Rong Xinghe smiled, "Okay then. I will be there. After all, you did help me get closure from Zhou Che too. I guess we will stay together for the years toe, from now onwards. In sickness, and in health, huh?"

    "In sickness, and in health, indeed.", the manughed, and in a moment, pressed his lips against hers, "By the way, your Sisters-inw ganged up on me in the hospital today.", he informed, his fingers circling around the girl''s small of the back, beneath her mustard yellow crop top, against her bare skin, "Never thought any woman, other than you, could intimidate me. Turns out... I was wrong."

    "Whoa! They bullied you? Why?", the girl giggled, "What happened?"

    "They want to see our babies. A little Xinghe or a little Yuan is what they''ve specifically ordered.", the man smirked, his eyes turning a few shades darker, "We''ve got to stop letting our work disturb our intimate sessions, don''t you think?"

    "..."

 Chapter 410: Littlest Tigers wedding

    Chapter 410: Littlest Tiger''s wedding

    "I love you.", he whispered, as he kissed her neck, her ears, her corbone, her lips. It was as if every inch and every curve of her body belonged to him. As he nibbed onto her right earlobe and the mole behind it, a moan escaped her mouth, making him stop instantly. He pulled away from her and stared right into her eyes, the devil inside him overpowering him, gradually yet intensely. He knew that he didn''t want to stop. His heart was yearning for more. More of her. More of his Xinghe. But... this wasn''t what she needed tonight.

    "What happened?", the girl furrowed her brows, as she cupped his handsome face in her cold thin palms, "What is it?"

    "I can''t.", he shook his head thrice, as he stood up. It wasn''t that he didn''t want this. In fact, he wanted this more than anything.

    It was just that he felt guilty. She was already in so much pain. Her brother had just walked out of a perilous surgery, and she''d cried all night. How could he take advantage of his Xinghe when she was so emotionally vulnerable? She deserved better than that.

    "You okay?", the girl asked, worried.

    "Yeah. I... am.", Xi Yuan smiled, "Can we just cuddle tonight?"

    "Huh?", the girl''s eyes widened. She wasn''t expecting the man to control himself all of a sudden. She knew him. Better than anyone. He would never resist her unless... "Are you ming yourself, Bub?", she questioned, pulling him back to her, "Yuan... I am okay. Besides, I want this to happen. Really."

    Letting out a sigh, the man shrugged, "Still... I just want to watch you sleep tonight. Rxed. Carefree. Comfortable. You''ve got an entire battlefield waiting for you tomorrow. Tonight, just sleep. This can wait for another time."

    "How could I be so lucky?", the girl kissed the man''s hands, as a lump formed in her throat, "I met you, of all the jerks in this world. You! The bestest best man."

    "I am the best jerk in the world, yes!", the man added earnestly, eliciting a heartyugh from the girl.

    _____________

    4:00 a.m., Military Chief Mansion ;

    Lu Wei and Zhi Xi tiptoed quietly into the hall only to realize that they didn''t need to. No one, literally no one, in the family was asleep. Lu Alix and Zhi Taio, the two kids were ying with each other. The Sixdies were having some serious conference of their own. And the remaining four men were chugging down their beer bottles. Even Mo Zixuan! What the hell was wrong with their family?!

    "Are you guys serious?!", Zhi Xi tucked both his hands into his pockets and squinted his eyes at the crowd, "At least, show some mercy on Zixuan. The man was shot. That too, with a bullet, not a needle!"

    "What is going on here?", Lu Wei directed his question towards his wife as he closed in on her and snatched her ss of wine from her hands, "Why are you and Alix not asleep yet?", he raised his brows as he downed the drink tiredly.

    "Only your young coder-brother, Zhi Al, and your daughter is to be med for that.", Ningtao answered, crossing her arms, "She proposed to him. He said yes. They even had a modest humble wedding ceremony, where she dressed herself up in her white gown. The white cushion cover was her veil, by the way. She even forced Al to change into a tux.

    "Now a ceremony as holy and grand as this needed guests, didn''t it? So here we are! Guests. And you, the bride''s father, are right on time of the reception. You were greatly missed, I must tell you."

    After a long pause, only one word,ced with disbelief, escaped the man''s mouth, "What?"

    As the family broke out intoughter, Little baby Alix ran towards her father and pulled his suit as she looked at him expectantly. The man crouched down and smiled at the girl, "Yes?", he asked as she hugged him, like her favorite teddy bear.

    "Daddy, I want a divorce.", the girl mumbled.

    "But you just got married.", Lu Wei chuckled.

    "Yeah... but he refused to give me his water bottle.", the little girlined as she pointed towards Zhi Al, "He does not share."

    "That''s alcohol!", the young man rubbed his forehead, frustrated.

    "I...", Lu Wei was officially at a loss of words. This was probably the most ridiculous yet critical issue he''d faced in his entire life. "Okay. I will callwyer uncle tomorrow first thing in the morning.", he finally managed to promise his princess in the end.

    "I love you, Daddy.", the girl giggled, resting her head against her father''s shoulder.

    "I love you too, Hun.", the man replied back, his tone affectionate.

    The family could only awe at such an adorable turn of events. Lu Alix was the lifeline of the Superfamily. She was the first in their next generation. So naturally, she was the most precious and the littlest tiger of this huge family of theirs.

    ____________

    Elite Saphire Penthouse, 5:00 a.m. ;

    Xi Yuan woke up with a jolt as a pair of cold hands clung onto his arm tightly. He turned his head to look at the woman beside him. She was frightened. Her brows furrowed, lips pressed, body trembling. Over and over again, she was shaking her head vigorously.

    "No... no... no!"

    "Brother, please... don''tleave my hand."

    "I don''t want... to die!"

    "I will never sing... again."

    The same nightmare again. No matter how strong she pretended to be, she was still fighting. Everyday. Every night. And her demons were still winning, her fears still powerful than one could ever imagine.

    "Hey, hey, hey.", the man sat up and enveloped the girl in his embrace. Gently kissing her forehead, and her eyes, he covered her with his nket next, "I am here. It''s okay. It''s okay. You''re safe."

    It took Rong Xinghe about fifteen minutes to sleep back again, but as the man looked at the girl in his arms, his heart ached for her. Maybe strength was subjective. And maybe, there was no word in the entire English dictionary that couldpletely describe a person. The woman in his arms was the smartest, sweetest, strongest, and the most beautiful person he''d ever known. And yet, here she was, struggling to forget her past, and earn back her self-confidence. The self-confidence that''d once pushed her to walk over one of the mostpetitive reality show stages with the biggest of smiles across her lips, and sing her heart out. Now, even the thought of holding onto a mic scared her.

    Every morning, she reminded herself that her past could not bring her down, and even so, she feared the thought of holding onto her ''once-favorite'' navy-blue guitar. That night had destroyed her. It''d destroyed the best singer this world could get. And Xi Yuan knew this. Hadn''t he seen her look at other singers'' concerts in a daze? Hadn''t he seen her cry silently, in her music roon, as she held onto her violin? He had. And he had hated that.

    But unfortunately, this was a battle only she could fight. He... well, he could just do what he did best. He could stand by her side. In sickness, and in health, as she''s said.

 Chapter 411: Learn to live with it

    Chapter 411: Learn to live with it

    Next Morning, 9:00 a.m. ;

    En route to the Hybrid Zone, as Asfakh Ali and Shawn Florence liked to call it, Rong Xinghe stuffed her mouth with yet another one of her darling''s home-baked brownies, while David drove the car.

    "But how could you fall for a businessman?!", David groaned, "I always thought of you as a person who''d fall for someone in Army."

    "He was in the Army.", the girl rebutted.

    "For what, half a year?", the man shrugged, "Why him? Doesn''t he seem... a tad bit boring to you, provided the kind of intense and wild lifestyle you live, as a soldier?"

    Rong Xinghe could only roll her eyes at the man, agitated. David Florence had always been a chatter-box in the gang. The Gossip Gal, one could say. This guy had to know about everything in her life. Specifically, her love life.

    "He is not boring."

    "Huh... how''s that like? An interesting businessman?", the man gasped, amused.

    "Well... I don''t know the Business King everyone fears. I know the man. And he is crazy. A sweet sexy astoundingly alluring man."

    "I am alluring.", David Florence grinned, "Date me."

    "You are arrogant and hopeless and hateful and if we are discussing height-"

    "No, we aren''t.", the man quickly interrupted.

    "Okay.", the girlughed.

    _______________

    Xi Corporations, 10:00 a.m. ;

    As the man walked through the main entrance of his office headquarters, he realized that all his employees had crowded outside his office.

    "What''s going on?", the man''s voice resounded through the halls, silencing the noisy murmurs at once. Secondster, Xi Fang appeared from his behind and smiled. The man waved his right-hand mid-air, gesturing the group of people to dismiss, and as it turned out, the source of this rabble was a ughtered Ind Taipan, spread across the Prague carpet tiles ruthlessly. It was no more bleeding, for even thest drop of its blood had been soaked by the fabric beneath it. Of course, the situation around was pretty chaotic. None present over there was used to such threatening messages. Definitely, not to their President Xi.

    Xi Fang passed the man a piece of paper, as he buttoned up his suit, "A ''friendly'' warning, I suppose, brother.", he reported, "Should we tell Sister-inw?"

    ncing down at the note, Xi Yuan inhaled a sharp breath, "No. I will take care of this one."

    "But it says--"

    "I can read, Fang.", the man red at his younger brother, "I just don''t want Xinghe to get involved in this yet. Not until it is an extreme necessity."

    ______________

    Hybrid Zone, 10:30 a.m. ;

    "So what do we have until now? Anything aboutst night?", the girl walked into the awfully shabby room as she sipped her coffee nonchntly.

    "Actually, we have a strong lead, Xinghe.", Shawn Florence smiled, handing the girl a brown-colored file.

    "It seems like there is a whole group of sleeper cells living in the south side of City N. We ordered the National Intelligence Agency to investigate our suspected natives, after yesterday''s incident.", Elijah Williams smiled, "It''s like Reticr Activation System, you know."

    "I agree. We''ve been so actively searching for the solution of the problem that we never realized it''d always been lying right in front of us.", Shawn Florenceughed, "We looked up the governmentcitizen''s identification database and there it was, all the prominent undercover psychos, gathered up for the mega destruction jamboree!"

    "Have you guys verified it?", the girl questioned, her tone oddly calm.

    "An hour ago. Yes.", Elijah nodded, "I personally did. Crammed up with gunpowder and guns."

    "What do you n to do, Xinghe?", David Florence raised his brows, "A word from you and we''ll arrange their funerals."

    "I have another n.", the girl''s eyes turned a few shades darker as she said.

    "No no no no no!", David shook his head with disbelief, "Don''t tell me you are going to go on a manhunt yourself."

    "These bastards shot my brother. No one gets to kill them more than I do.", the girlughed softly. As Elijah and David joined herugh, Shawn simply stared at her, silently. He knew this wasn''t Rong Xinghe talking. Of all the ten hybrids, he was the only one who could always tell the difference, between that of a beast and a soldier. And this... this was the Ripper speaking, masked under the facade of a vengeful sister. The man waited for Elijah and David to leave for the inspection of their personal firearms before he finally grabbed a seat beside the girl, "What was that?", he asked, a sweet smile stered across his lips.

    "What?", the girl raised her brows, confused.

    "Let''s be honest here. You are starting to feel the darkness again, aren''t you?", he asked, tossing the tennis ball in his hand against the wall, "The sanguinary monster is returning, isn''t it?"

    After a minute of silence, the girl finally admitted, "Maybe... I don''t know. Recently, I''ve been-"

    "Losing control over your rage?", the man smiled, "Yeah... I''ve been noticing. The question is, why?"

    "I don''t know.", the girl clenched her fists, "Maybe it''s because of my family being hurt or maybe... it''s you guys. Being with all the Hybrids again, after all these years. Maybe you guys bring it out in me. I don''t know what to do, Shawn."

    "Yes, you do.", the manughed, "You always knew this Xinghe. You couldn''t have buried the Ripper for too long. You''ve got to learn to live with it.

    "You should talk to Yuan about this, you know? He deserves to know about this more than anyone and you know it."

    "What if he doesn''t understand?"

    "If he is the right one for you, he should. Else, it will still be worth the shot, right?", Shawn Florence chuckled.

    "Hmm.", the girl smiled. Only if it were as easy. Had it been a year ago, she wouldn''t have cared about Xi Yuan at all. But now, he was her world. The one person that mattered to her the most. The only person she felt she could not live a day without. How was she supposed to reveal her darkest side to him so easily? But regardless of how scared or worried, she was, Shawn was right. She could not hide it from him any longer.

    ***************************************************************

    AUTHOR''S NOTE(Important)

    First of all, A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR to all my lovely readers!! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH.

    Secondly, I am so sorry guys. I know y''all must''ve been tired of my ''Sorry-s'' by now. I understand it. I truly do. Honestly? I am so thankful to have people like you all, in my life. I always have your back. You''re all just the best.

    Past few months, I underwent serious health issues, COVID symptoms being one of them. I couldn''t focus on the screen for too long, neither was I in any position toe up with better story plots for ''The 3 B''s''. I tried. I did. But I just had no energy left in my body. I had to take a break from my college because of that too. The worst months of my life. :-( I am so sorry that I disappointed you all.

    And still, you guys stuck by. It warms up my heart so much. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PATIENCE. Really. I am perfectly fine now. And there will be a lot of updates, mass releases, bonus chapters, henceforth. You have my word on that.

    LOVE_YOU_ALL!!!

 Chapter 412: Not their time yet

    Chapter 412: Not their time yet

    Xi Corporations HQ, 11:00 a.m. ;

    "And you believe this crap?!", Zhi Xi read the piece of paper Xi Yuan had been earlier threatened with, a minute or two after he stepped into his ex-student''s office and was infuriated by the contents scribbled into it. Furiously, he crumpled the piece of paper into his fist and threw it into the trash bin five feet away from him. "My sister would never do something like that, young man.", he said, his tone much calmer now than before.

    "I know, bro Xi.", Xi Yuan sighed, "Do you really think I''d doubt Xinghe? Never. And even if I would''ve, I knew better than discussing it with her brother. Her overprotective, loves-her-more-than-his-own-life, brother! I would''ve just confronted her. She is my fiancee. Anything she says, is the truth, for me.

    "But that''s the problem. I cannot go to her with this. I can''t."

    "Why?", Zhi Xi furrowed his brows, confused.

    "Because... she is already upied in her own battles.", the man exined, as he sipped his coffee silently.

    "Yuan.", Zhi Xi frowned, "This paper says that Xinghe once worked for the same underworld gang that killed your grandparents. That she was an assassin in there. Are you really not going to talk to her about this?"

    "Right now? No.", the man smiled, "The Queen''s busy saving her empire."

    "But--"

    "I simply have one question for you, bro Xi.", the man interrupted. Noticing the girl''s brother resigning with a nod, he continued, "How much did the five years of Military Chief training change her?"

    After a minute or two of silence, the man finally replied calmly, "More than any of us six could''ve ever expected. For good, actually. She became a better version of herself after those five years. More confident. More fierce. Stern. Decisive. It was as if she was a whole new person.

    "Unlike before, she didn''t feel the need to win over others'' approval, or recognition, for that matter. I mean... it was as if she''d made peace with her past. She''d epted that..."

    "That she wasn''t made for regr life.", Xi Yuan finished the man''s sentence, smiling sadly, "I sensed that when she rejected me in NYC."

    "Yeah. Initially, that bothered us. All the six of us. But then, you walked in. And gradually, slowly, she started healing. Smiling. Living. So we just gave up."

    After a moment of silence between the two men, Xi Yuan finally shook his head. "Something huge happened. In the duration of these five years."

    "What do you mean?", Zhi Xi crossed his arms.

    "There''s no way someone''s personality can change so tremendously, even after a significant period of time. There should be an exnation for it. Moreover, I have a strong feeling that Xinghe''s involvement with the ''Werewolf Crew'' is either a consequence or a part of this change."

    "Anyway, I will figure it out on my own. I am not going to let her feel that I don''t trust her by questioning her like this."

    "So what''s your next move?"

    Letting out a shaky breath, the man looked at his girl''s elder brother, "I''ve got to have a word with my Uncle."

    "Do you want me toe with you?", Zhi Xi raised his brows.

    "You will do that for me?", Xi Yuan looked up at the man, stunned.

    The man nodded, "Believe it or not, Yuan, you are family now. And Superfamily sticks together. Ad infinitum."

    Ad Infinitum. It was a Latin phrase, the Superfamily was well-known throughout Country X for. It meant ''to infinity'', without end or limit. It was a promise the Six tigers had made to their two sisters, at one fine event. A promise of protection. In hell and, in heaven. The family had this phrase engraved in almost every property they owned. So saying it to Xi Yuan was a huge deal. And Xi Yuan was well-aware of it.

    ________________

    City N, Southside, 9:00 p.m. ;

    It was just another normal day for them. They hadn''t expected the Hybrids to look into them so soon. As nned, they were preparing for their next target. Lu Wei. Guns loaded. Grenades prepared. ck masks pulled over their faces. Of course, they knew where the Superfamily was allocated after Mo Zixuan''s incident. But they were going to do it anyway, for they''d been ordered to generate fear, and not to really kill them.

    The fear. The deadliest weapon in history. The entire foundation of terrorism was depending on this one word. And they had to maintain it. They needed to maintain it.

    Rong Xinghe was currently the biggest threat to it. ''The woman with no fear'', was what they called her. The worst thing about fear was that it could be erased in a blink. Even in countries like Iraq and Syria, oppressed by terrorism, the tales of Country X''s Military Chief were akin to a ray of hope. A hope that maybe someday, they''d get their Rong Xinghe, the way Country X did.

    And hope gave birth to betrayal, uprisings, escapism. There were about 50 active organizations currently designated as terrorist by various governments. And each one was infuriated by how efficiently Rong Xinghe was protecting her country, and how she was encouraging the victimized locals to speak up and, rescuing boys ''under-training''.

    ''She has to be stopped!'', they often discussed over dinners. They despised her and couldn''t wait any longer to make her life a living hell. But that was the thing. It wasn''t easy to stretch their ws anywhere near her. She was shielded by her brothers, her fiance, the hybrids, and herself. She''d never been some damsel in distress. She''d always been the warrior princess, her brothers so adored.

    "Kill as many as you can.", a thirty-something-year-old guy named Rahim,manded his underlings.

    "Even the kids?", one of the boys asked. Killing kids was considered ''Kuffar'', a sin, in Im. And they were working for Lashkar ul-Mujahidin, a terrorist organization that had pretty much the same believes as Imic State did, in Sinjar, a small city in the south of Iraq. Propagation of Im. Intensely. Violently.

    "Yes. It''s not like there are a ton of them.", Rahim chuckled, "Just a girl and a boy. It''d be better if the entire goddamned Superfamily is wiped off of the face of this earth tonight. Ah will be so pleased by us.", he cackled.

    "Nope, you idiot. It''s not their time yet.", out of nowhere, a feminine voice, filled with mockery, resounded through the small room, "Yours, though? Shawn, could you lock the doors from the outside please?", she sweetly requested.

 Chapter 413: Expecting More

    Chapter 413: Expecting More

    Shocked, Rahim pointed his rifle at the girl''s forehead, while his men aimed at Florence brothers and Elijah. So did the three men, as they covered their Alpha defensively.

    "Xinghe, you want them dead, right? We''ll do it.", David Florence looked at the girl, "Why dirty your hands? Just wait outside."

    "I have other ns.", the girl smiled cunningly. Shawn and Elijah were standing right by her side when they noticed something. Something they''d noticed a few years back. Her eyes. They weren''t their usual hazel brown. They''d turned ck. Cold ck. The veins on her neck bulging, her breath getting heavier. It was as if the temperature around them had suddenly dropped down to the negative.

    Rong Xinghe wasn''t an ordinary person. It was no secret. Everything about her was intense. Her love, anger, efforts,passion, ambitions, but above all was one other emotion. Hatred. An emotion capable of blurring every line that differentiates right from wrong, creation from destruction.

    But Rong Xinghe''s hatred had levels. Two levels, to be exact. One, in simple hatred- resulting in efficient and instant annihtion. Level one had never been a threat to her sanity. It was the second level that petrified the mere mortals and, worried the ten Hybrids. It was in this state that she really enjoyed the brutality, the barbarity and, the inhumanity. She enjoyed the struggle of the weak, the sight of blood flowing down their necks, and arms, and head and heart. It pleased her and satisfied her as if she were ''the'' devil. In a way, she was. Level two was, after all, the <strong>Ripper</strong> level.

    "Xinghe...", Shawn was the first one to speak, even though he knew it was toote for negotiations.

    ___________

    Xi Family Mansion, 9:00 p.m.;

    "I did not do it. I would never kill my own father.", Xi Chonglin confessed, his hands clenched, his body hunched, as he looked down at the ground, "Believe me, son."

    Xi Yuan was sitting opposite the man while Zhi Xi sat by his right side, going through his emails on his phone. He had no intention of talking. He was well aware of how emotionally strong his student was. He wasn''t there to babysit, just to ensure that nothing would get too out of hands. Xi Chonglin was a mysterious, weird character. He had never trusted him before. And he wasn''t nning on starting to trust him anytime soon. Not with his sister''s fiance. Not with Xi Yuan.

    "I am here for an exnation.", Xi Yuan inhaled sharply, as he ced his phone up on the coffee table in front of him and leaned back against the couch, sipping his cappino, "And I want the truth. Complete truth. No skeletons in the closet.

    "And...", the man nced at his Aunt, Luo Youyou, standing behind Xi Chonglin before he reverted his gaze back at the man, "You wouldn''t want to face the consequences... if you dare lie. I am not the kind of person to show mercy so easily. Even if the other person is family."

    "Are you threatening your own Uncle?!", Luo Youyou spoke up, as she squinted her eyes at the man, "Yuan, know your limits! You''re not the almighty."

    "I have limits?", the man raised his brows, his tone solemn, sending a chill down the couples'' spine. They knew that look. Amand, one could say, to not challenge his authority. A im, that no one but him, was in the state of absolute power there, and that they were to answer only what was asked of them. Nothing more. Nothing less.

    "Speak.", the man said once again, satisfied by the silence in the room.

    Clearing his throat, Xi Chonglin started speaking, "Well, I did know the leader of the ''Werewolf Crew''. I won''t deny it. But that''s what we all do. Every huge businessman is acquainted with the dark side. Bro Chongkun had his ways. I had mine. You have yours. But the werewolf crew, your grandfather knew them."

    Xi Yuan didn''t say anything. But his facial expressions changed. A tad bit. He understood how these things worked. And that his grandfather was once a prominent businessman too. But by the time he grew up, the old man had already taken back seat in Xi Corporations. He wanted to test Xi Chongkun and Xi Chonglin''s capabilities. Hence, he never dealt with such things actively in front of Xi Yuan, so he wasn''t known to this truth at all.

    "His name was Feng Ching.", Xi Chonglin continued, "The man who first established this gang. He was my age. Father found him on the streets. He was too deep into the ammunition smuggling business, it was impossible to rescue him from that. But he needed the money, to educate his son. In return for favors, he sold his loyalty to the Xis. He''d give the insiders information about the underworld.

    "There was a lot of pressure on the empire back then. Father was trying to establish the telmunications business through the states at the border back then. It required him to have a decent association with both the Military and the underworld. Feng Ching was his key to the underworld.

    "But with so many years of loyalty, Ching started expecting more. He wanted a ce. Inside the Xi family. He wanted to be treated the way brother Chongkun and I were treated. And when he didn''t get what he wanted--"

    "They killed grandfather and grandmother.", Xi Yuan whispered under his breath, all the dark memories of the incident rushing back to him.

    "I was close to Feng Ching.", the man admitted with a faint nod, "After dad stepped away from the Xi Corps., I managed all the trading and negotiating stuff mostly, while my brother had a lead in management and leadership. My part of the work demanded interaction with Feng Ching. The photo you received at the International Business Summit, was from that time. I, um... I guess I never saw thising. I never realized that something so horrific was brewing in his mind. Else, I would''ve never let him anywhere near your grandparents."

    Xi Yuan didn''t know how to react. He did not know whether to believe his Uncle, even. It could be a theory, for all he knew. And even if it was the truth, it was still a lot to take in.

    Noticing the man''s reaction, for the first time since he stepped into the house, Zhi Xi sat up straight and nced at Xi Chonglin as he rubbed the man''s back. "So now... who is ruling over the ''Werewolf Crew'', may I dare ask."

    "Feng Ching''s son. I am not aware of his whereabouts anymore.", Xi Chonglin replied, "I simply know that Ching handed over the business to his heir and never appeared in the underworld again. It was as if he''d vanished in the thin air."

    "By any chance, Mr. Xi, do you know the name of his son?", Zhi Xi asked again.

    "Umm... not sure... but Yang Bolin, I think?", the man answered.

    "You mean-, Diablos?"

    "Yes! That''s the pen name he uses."

 Chapter 414: The extent and the limits

    Chapter 414: The extent and the limits

    Diablos, or Yang Bolin. The rejected son. Born in Country N, deemed unworthy by his father, Yang Hai when it came to his huge Textile empire. Taken in by Feng Ching. The founder and the leader of the ''Werewolf Crew''. And after the death of his only biological brother, the only heir to the throne of Yang business empire. Well-educated. Intellectual in Stock marketing. About 27 years old. Cold, ruthless, barbaric.

    It was pretty much the man''s life summed up in words.

    Oh! And one more. A crucial one, actually. His obsession with Rong Xinghe, the highest Military authority of country X.

    Neither Xi Yuan nor Zhi Xi could make sense of how and when the two might''ve had met. But by now, they were sure it''d happened during those five years, of her training for the position of Military Chief.

    "You want to get a drink?", Zhi Xi asked the man as they stepped out of the Xi family mansion, "I believe you''re in dire need of it."

    "I... um, I don''t know.", the man mumbled absent-mindedly.

    "Okay.", Zhi Xi shook his head, turning to the driver, "To the Resonance club." As the car drove out of the mansion and onto the highway, Zhi Xi looked out of the window, then down at the cars beneath them, "Do you doubt her?", he finally asked the man beside him after some time.

    "No. I don''t.", the man replied. Irrespective of all the theories, this was something he was certain of. He didn''t even felt the need to think it through. It was just instinct. He knew that, intentionally, or unintentionally, she would never hurt him.

    "Hmm. Just talk to her about this.", Zhi Xi suggested, "It''s a sensitive matter, Yuan."

    "Not yet.", Xi Yuan sighed, "It''s too soon. When the time is right, I will tell her about all of this. But right now, I don''t want her to feel as if she''s failing me. I know she won''t be able to help me through it. She has got work. I can''t bring myself to hold her back from that. And if I tell her about it now, she will just feel horrible for prioritizing work over me. So it''s just better to keep things to ourselves for now."

    "You really see through her, don''t you?", Zhi XI looked at the man, amused, gaining a tired smile from him. Xi Yuan closed his eyes next and rested his head against the headrest. He had to look into this Feng Ching guy more. Exactly what had happened between his grandfather and Feng Ching then, and that night, in particr. He had to know. Otherwise, he knew he''d never be able to move on from that and, that the questions, haunting him for years, would just remain unanswered.

    _______________

    City N, Southside, 10:30 p.m. ;

    "For the love of God, Xinghe! Leave him. He is dead.", David Florence rolled his eyes, "You''ve killed all of them. Will you calm down now?"

    More than a hundred bodies, piled up in a mountain. That too, in an hour or so. Someone''s arm ripped off, while someone had their head crushed, and some even had faces ruined beyond recognition. A nce at these bodies and one could tell no one had died an instant death. Each one of these deaths had been brutal. Barbaric. But that wasn''t what was scary. It was her. This mountain of bodies was the Ripper''s art. Her masterpiece, painted by the colors of fear and cries and screams.

    This was the very definition of mercilessness. The scene that''d unfolded tonight, in the southside streets of City N was pure naked horror. Something one might have witnessed in movies or read in books. People running for their lives, none of their rifles or revolvers, grenades or guns, working against the devil, who''d unleashed hellfire onto them.

    All of them had their fingers wrapped around the trigger of their firearms, and yet, none of them had the guts to lift up their arms and aim at her. Even if any of them did, she was just too swift, too strong, too ruthless. Her senses were extraordinarily active. She could listen to the sounds of even the reloading of guns and the falling of bullets. Hiding was of no use too. She''d just follow the smell of perfumes. She wasn''t anything like what they''d ever seen. She was a monster, a fiend.

    It didn''t matter who was in her way- men, women; everyone shared the same destiny. Death. Not even serious injuries. End. After all, no one had ever escaped the ws of the Ripper. She couldn''t be controlled, stopped, persuaded, whatsoever. Until and unless she was sure that no enemy of hers, was left alive, there was no way she would go back to her normal self. The Hybrids knew that pretty well.

    Herst victim was Rahim. The guy who was going to lead an attack on her bro Lu tonight. She''d ripped the heart off of his chest after she''d stabbed him with her dagger innumerable times. That, was the extent, of her brutality. And still, not her limit. As she gazed at the blood exuding out of the ripped-off heart, flowing down her fist and forearm, she felt a strange satisfaction run through her veins. An adrenaline rush, a thrill.

    "Let me handle this.", Shawn Florence approached the girl and the body and leaned down to heave the huge deceased towards the heap of dead, "We''ve to destroy the evidence."

    The girl nodded simply,unching the key body organ at the same pile. Inhaling a deep breath, the girl closed her eyes shut, rxing. It was now that phone pinged with a text. It was him. Her Yuan. ''Don''t forget the medications.'', the text read, ''Would''ve called, but busy. Love you.'' And there they were. Her hazel brown eyes, and a sincere, sweet smile.

    Tucking the phone back in, the girl strode towards the three Hybrids. The men were pouring cask whiskey as well as kerosene oil over the bodies. The easiest way to destroy the evidence was to destroy the source altogether, which meant these degenerates of humans.

    "Are you okay?", Elijah asked finally.

    "There''s a throbbing pain in my head.", the girl frowned, massaging her temple lightly, with her index finger and thumb.

    "Is it the Migraine?", David Florence questioned, worried.

    "Nope. It''s Ripper-ness.", Shawn Florence smiled at his brother, "Xinghe, it''s okay. We understand why you''d flip. Don''t worry."

    "Yeah?"

    "We did swear to protect you until ourst breath, didn''t we?", David nodded, "You have our backs. Moreover, it was your family on the line. It was your love on the line. You were just being you. Hybrids would never judge you for that."

    "Thanks... guys.", the girl''s lips curled up.

    "So do you want to drink one of these?", Shawn held out the bottle of Spirytus Stawski Whiskey in his hand, "Alcohol is the hangover drink to rage, after all. Your head will hurt less after this. But be forewarned, it had 96% alcohol."

    "Give it to me.", the girl chuckled.

 Chapter 415: The power she had over him

    Chapter 415: The power she had over him

    Elite Saphire Penthouse, 2 a.m.;

    "Tell me if you need anything.", Zhi Xi said, as the man nodded at him modestly, "I will.", replied Xi Yuan. As the two men stepped out, they subconsciously nced at the penthouse beside theirs, only to find it murky and quiet.

    "Any idea about her whereabouts?", Zhi Xi pointed his chin towards the girl''s ce, uncertain.

    Xi Yuan shrugged, oblivious, as he checked his watch. It waste. Although it wasn''t the first time she''d stayed out for this long, she would always ping him or her brothers, assuring them of her safety. Tonight, none of them received any such message.

    The man pulled his phone out and browsed through his contact list. Bringing the phone to his ears, the man waited for a few seconds before he spoke up, "Defence Minister Bo, Xi Yuan here.", he greeted.

    "Don''t embarrass me, Sir.", the man on the other endughed nervously, "You don''t have to introduce yourself. I have your number memorized. Do tell me, how can I help you?"

    "Where is my wife?"

    "Military Chief, she... um-", the minister stammered, "I am not aware, Sir. Let me contact her assistant... Mr. Sho-."

    "Don''t bother. He has no idea.", Xi Yuan cut in, "Besides, what good are you if you can''t even handle such a trivial matter?!"

    "Mr. Xi... I-", and with a beep, the call was disconnected.

    "Seriously? The Defence Minister?", Zhi Xiughed out, shaking his head, "She doesn''t let politicians in on her activities or schedules, Yuan. There are very few people she trusts. And he is definitely not one of them."

    "Oh.", the man frowned, looking down at the ground.

    "Let me try. She must be with the Hybrids.", Zhi Xi smiled, as unlocked his phone.

    "Indeed she was, President Zhi.", the man was just about to dial when David Florence''s voice resounded through the open space. The two men turned to look at the source of the voice and there she was, behind the three Hybrids. Drunk, clearly. Trying her best to keep her eyes open.

    Xi Yuan strode towards the woman, pulling her in his arms, covering her with his suit, "Are you crazy? It''s cold out here.", he whispered worriedly.

    "Am oka.", the girl mumbled, her tone as soft as a feather.

    "What the hell?!", Zhi Xi red at Elijah, enraged, "Of all the Hybrids, I''d figured you and Ashfakh to be sensible, Elijah. Why would you let her drink this bad?"

    "She had a rough day.", Elijah Williams answered, guiltily, "Even so, I apologize. That''s no excuse. She... insisted."

    "What and how much, did she exactly drink?", Xi Yuan asked Shawn. The only question that mattered to him. Anything beyond her health and honor wasn''t even an issue for the man.

    "An entire bottle of Spirytus Stawski Whiskey.", the man replied truthfully, "She wouldn''t listen to any of us."

    Letting out a long breath, Zhi Xi nodded, "Just don''t let her get used to this. More often than not, she has cameras pointed at her. Her reputation matters, Elijah. And so does her health."

    "We understand, Sir.", the man smiled understandingly.

    "We''ll take it from here.", the girl''s brother said, "You all can leave."

    As the three men drove away, Zhi Xi fixed his gaze at the couple in front of him. Her head resting against his shoulders, the man adjusting his oversized suit around her arms, protecting her from the cold winter breeze. Sweet, he thought.

    "I will be on my way then.", the man said to Xi Yuan, "Tuck her in, will you?"

    Eliciting a nod from the man, Zhi Xi disappeared from the Elite Housing Arena, leaving the two alone. By now, he trusted the man enough to know that he''d never hurt his little sister while she was drunk. He was too much a gentleman to do so, after all.

    ::::::::::::::::::::::

    2:15 a.m.;

    "I look like a Chipmunk!", Rong Xinghe pouted, staring at the floor-to-ceiling mirror in her darling''s bedroom, "Why are you marrying a Chipmunk?", she turned to ask the man.

    "For the tenth time Xinghe, you do not look like a Chipmunk.", Xi Yuan groaned, as he hauled the girl to his bed he''d set up, a minute or so ago, "And even if you look like one, I find Chipmunks cute and charming. So we''re good to go."

    "Oh.", the girl smiled, lying on the bed. The man carefully supported her head with one of the cushions and walked around the bed in order to pull off her socks. "I love you.", the girl said, gazing at the ceiling, "Like very much. Very... much."

    "You do?", the manughed.

    "Y-yes."

    "I love you very much too.", he smiled.

    "You... won''t. After I tell you... my secret.", the girl smiled sadly.

    Xi Yuan stood back up and tossed the pair of socks into theundry basket before he approached the girl and covered her up with a navy blue fur nket as he cupped her face lovingly, "That''s not possible, Baby.", he said, surety and determination reflecting through his eyes, "No secret is strong enough to rip us apart."

    "You should''ve been... there today.", the girl muttered under her breath, patting the empty space beside her, "Come."

    Xi Yuan nodded, lying down beside her, cing his hand over the woman''s belly beneath her crop top, he resumed the conversation, "Okay... so what''s the big secret of yours?"

    "I... Chipmunk...", the girl had fallen asleep, soft snores reaching his ears. Her one hand clutched to his shirt''s cor, another over his hand on her torso. She was tired. He could tell it just by the mix of fatigue and stress on her face. Her cheeks blushing, her fingers cold, her toes curled up inside the nket. She really had had a rough day. But how often did he get to observe her from this close? Naturally, he was going to live every moment of the few hours he had with her until the sun would rise again, and work would take her away from him.

    The man waited for the girl to fall into a deep slumber and, for his hands to get warm before it slid up her back slowly and unsped her bra. He wasn''t intending on acting any further than that. He knew his limits and simply wished for her to have afortable sleep. But resisting the touch of her skin against his fingers was way more difficult than what he''d imagined. He, after all, had the most beautiful woman in the world, lying right in his arms. It took almost everything inside him to pull his hand out of her top.

    "Just... what are you, Rong Xinghe?", the man whispered after a while, drawing circles against her corbone with his index finger, taking in the sight of her peaceful expression, "How do you still have so much power over me? Even after all these years..."

    But he didn''t mind. He loved how her presence, her smile affected him. He enjoyed how she made him feel. As if with her, he was always home. As if... she was everything he''d been searching for, all his life.

 Chapter 416: Xaralteroide

    Chapter 416: Xaralteroide

    Next Morning

    Elite Saphire Penthouse, 8:30 a.m.;

    As the smell of coffee and pancakes spread through the house, the girl gradually adjusted her eyes to the bright rays of the sun dancing through the bedroom''s window, upon her face. She felt great. Oddly satisfied, one could say. She wasn''t sure if it was the smell of the brewing coffee or the magical, refreshing sleep fromst night, but she''d never felt like this, in years. Subconsciously, her hands stretched back to fix her unsped bra and it was then that she realized who might''ve had done it, bringing a smile to her lips.

    "Good Morning, President Xi!", the girl hugged the man from behind, who was holding onto a piping bag filled with a chocte-vored whipped cream, gazing down at the baked undecorated pancake.

    "Someone is up early today.", the manughed heartily, turning to press his lips against hers, "Good Moning, Ma Jolie.", he said back, "How are you feeling today?"

    "Amazing, actually.", Rong Xinghe smiled, "Is there an extra coffee for me, though?"

    "No. I thought you won''t get up until 10 or 11.", the man scratched the back of his head, "Care to share?"

    "Works for me.", the girl agreed, sitting up on the kitchen counter, "So... how was your day yesterday?"

    "Um... fine.", the man answered, "Yours?"

    "What is it, Bub?", the girl frowned, "What''s bothering you?"

    Xi Yuan walked over to the girl, handing her one of the two cups in his hand, letting out a sigh, "I have something to tell you. But not right now. You already have so much to take care of.

    "I will definitely talk to you about it. Just trust me until then, okay? Do not call Fang, or Ying, or Wei. Or my assistant. Please?"

    Rong Xinghe stared at the man for a few seconds before she nodded, "Okay. Just know that I am here for you. Always."

    "I know.", Xi Yuan smiled, relieved, "What about you? Howe you downed an entire bottle of one of the strongest whiskeys in the worldst night? And what secret were you talking about?"

    "Secret?", the girl repeated the word, fixing her gaze down at the warm steam escaping the coffee cup in her hands.

    "Yes. Last night, you were bbering about how some secret could ruin my feelings for you. You were about to say more, but then, you fell asleep.", the man exined, "Do you still want to talk about it? Or was it just the alcohol?"

    "It wasn''t the alcohol. There is something that you should know about.", the girl shook her head, "I was hoping to deal with these Lashkar ul-Mujahidin''s terrorist attacks first, but I guess we have time. Anyhow, it''s better for you to hear it from me than from anyone else."

    "I am listening.", the man ced the cup beside the girl and swiftly erased the distance separating them, nting yet another long, deep kiss against her lips, his one hand on her thigh, another behind her neck, and the thumb in front of her ear, "Say whatever''s on your mind, Baby."

    "Oh, God-", the girl was still struggling to catch her breath after the kiss, her eyes never leaving him, "You are going to be the death of me someday."

    Chuckling, the man raised his brows at the girl, his expressionparatively attentive this time, "So?"

    "So...", the girl threw her hands up in the air, "I am a monster."

    "Walk me through it, honey.", Xi Yuan looked at the girl, confused.

    "Have you heard about human experimentations?", the girl questioned warily, her eyes fixed on the man''s dashing face.

    "You mean those disturbing, hical ones, those conducted by psycho scientists, treating humans worse than even animals? Yeah.", the man nodded.

    "Well... the Hybrids underwent one such experiment roughly seven years back. Including me.", the girl sighed, "There was an operation assigned to us at the end of our first year of training. In Country N. The mission was simple; finding and executing one of the suppliers of the drugs, plotting against the Naval forces of the country.

    "It was too difficult to reach the guy, so as per the orders by our seniors, we''d decided to intentionally get caught so that we''d be taken directly to the enemy. Had we known, that we would wake up in some researchboratory, with our energy, our strength totally drained out of our bodies, we would''ve definitely thought of a n B.

    "It was some hideous, appalling trial, an attempt, to test the limit and consequences of human rage. Under the leadership of some Dr. Stevens and Dr. Decker. Of course, they''d chosen us. The eleven soldiers from Country X. Who better than their well-built, zealous and, resilient rivals?"

    "Wha-", Xi Yuan was stunned, as he looked at the girl smiling wryly, "How is it even possible?! I mean... weren''t such experiments shut down years ago? They''re a matter of the past century, aren''t they? Howe-"

    "True. I thought so too. Until Country N happened.", the girl shrugged, "And apparently, they still happen. Behind the curtains, now. The organizations that tortured us... was using an old age home as a front, you know? It was horrible."

    The man held onto the girl''s one hand as he squeezed it assuringly before he nted a short kiss against her forehead, warmth radiating through him to her, "Go on.", he said, as calmly as he could.

    Rong Xinghe couldn''t help but look down at their entangled fingers, the engagement rings, his and hers. For some unknown reason, she no more felt scared, the way she did a few minutes earlier. Inhaling a sharp breath, the girl continued, "I cannot describe the amount of pain they''d afflicted upon us. They would starve us, beat us. Wouldn''t let us drink water. Wouldn''t let us sleep. We were locked up in cells for about three weeks there.

    "They would try different kinds of drugs on us. Each one inducing anger or frustration or irritation through every vein in our bodies. Anabolic steroids. Opiates. Amphetamines. Sedatives. They were developing a sample too, which apparently was capable of extending the average human age span. Xaralteroide. That was the name of the prototype. We would be injected with it so often that we''d stopped feeling the pain of it.

    "Although the drug wasn''tpletely finished when we had escaped from that hellhole, it still was pretty consuming, very powerful. Every time we''d feel any strong emotion, like anger, no matter how hard we tried, it would be impossible to maintain our sanity, or to suppress the effects of it. We would crave for blood, for war, for destruction. And we enjoyed it. Every second of it.", the girl confessed guiltily.

    "Hmm... what happened to those two doctors?", Xi Yuan asked, not paying heed to the horrendous stuff the girl had just told him, about herself.

    "H-huh?", the girl looked up, taken aback, "They were killed by the Hybrids a monthter. We had to avenge ourselves, after all, right?"

    "Well done, babe.", the man smiled, pecking the girl on the tip of her nose.

    "Yuan..."

    Before the girl could speak any further, the man ced his palm over her mouth, silencing her, "Those were the real monsters. Not you. Not the Hybrids. Them.", he stated.

    *******************************

    ATTENTION READERS!

    Xeralteroide is no real drug. It''s just a fictional term I''vee up with for the story plot. Be forewarned.

 Chapter 417: All he wanted to do

    Chapter 417: All he wanted to do

    Afghanistan, 9:00 a.m.;

    Sharia Enterprises;

    "F*ck! F*ck!", Aftaab Ali swore as he listened to the person on the other end of the phone, enraged,unching his phone against the wall beside his office entrance. Abram Orlov had just stepped in when the device was smashed into tiny little pieces. Something told him that this little spectacle had something to do with his beloved Alpha. What had she done now?

    Raising his brows, the man looked at Aftaab Ali, putting on a pretense of his alias, Albert Fedorov, "Is everything alright, brother?", he asked worriedly.

    Loosening his tie, the man replied, "That bi*ch, Rong Xinghe. She killed all our men who were going to carry out our ns for the next few months in Country X."

    "She did?", Orlov smiled internally. Of course, she did it. "How can I help you?"

    "Tell me something, Fedorov, how willing are you to take risks for us?", Aftaab Ali asked, unsure, "For our mission. For Ahmed Ali Fadhil?"

    "I don''t know what to tell you anymore, Aftaab Bhai.", Abram Orlov sank into the olive green leather couch beside him, defeatedly, "You know pretty much everything about me. My secrets, weaknesses, my criminal history. You have leverage against me. I''ve helped you so much with the gunpowder transfers in Country X too. You can destroy me in seconds if you want; you have evidence against me, after all.

    "I am not stupid, Mr. Ali. I understand how dangerous working for Ahmed Fadhil Sir really is. Why would I get involved with him if it were not for his believes and principles, concerning Jihad and Im? They fascinate me. I don''t want to live an ordinary, hopeless life. A life without a reason. I''d rather devote myself to something huge, something much greater.

    "I am not in this for money, Aftaab Bhai. I am not afraid of killing for you if that''s what you are wondering. In return, I simply have one simple desire. I want to meet him. I want to meet Ahmed Ali Fadhil."

    Aftaab Ali stared at the man in front of him for quite some while before he finally nodded at the man, "I think it''s time.", he said to ''Albert Fedorov'', still suspicious of him, "Let me have a word with Ahmed Sir first. I''ll see if he is free to meet you."

    _________________

    Elite Saphre Penthouse, 9:00 a.m.;

    "Does any of your brothers or sisters-inw know about this?", Xi Yuan asked, looking at the girl, "About this entire hical human experimentation you went through?"

    The girl shook her head, letting out a sigh, "Before we left Country N after that mission, we executed those two psycho doctors ourselves. Adding to it, we bombarded the entire research unit along with that old age home too, putting an end to all of it altogether.

    "There was literally nothing left for my brothers to do. Yeah, I did once mentioned to Bro Bo that human experimentation hasn''t stopped yet. He even brought the United Nations'' attention to it, provided his position in there.

    "But nothing more than that. They are always worried about me. My time with the Rongs, the train incident, and the way the Zou family treated me after Zhou Zhichen''s death; all of that still affects them. Moreover, it was a problem already dealt with. Why worry them with it?"

    "Agreed.", the man nodded, tucking her jet ck hair strands behind her ear, "Then... why tell me?", he asked.

    "Because...st night, I lost control.", the girl bit her lip as she lifted her head up and looked into the man''s gray eyes, anxious, "I felt that it wouldn''t be fair for me to keep this from you. Yuan, I need you to know that when I am Ripper, I am not Rong Xinghe. I am not even human. I just... didn''t want you to feel betrayed."

    "Show me your Ripper self. Now.", Xi Yuan smiled, parting from the girl as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. The girl dug nails into the skin of her left palm, tentatively. She hadn''t expected him to say something like that. A normal person would''ve asked her to go to therapy, or to a psychiatrist. But this man, he wanted to witness her transition, her sinister, direful side.

    "Are you sure?", the girl questioned hesitantly, "What if I hurt you?"

    "You won''t.", the man promised confidently, as if he were talking about himself.

    Eliciting a nod of urge from the man, the girl looked down and closed her eyes shut. Bing a Ripper wasn''t like some switch. It needed a certain push, some kind of provocation, a sensitive memory. Gradually, images of her childhood, the way the Rongs molested her, the way they maltreated her, started shing in front of her eyes. A momentter, she opened her eyes.

    Xi Yuan''s expressions didn''t deter for a second, as he witnessed the color of her alluring hazel brown eyes change to cold, ravenous ck, a tad of blood-red in the middle of them. As if she wanted to consume everything that''d appear, in front of those glorious, dark eyes. The veins beneath those eyes, slowly bulging, her breath getting heavier. She wasn''t blinking, at all. He could literally feel her gaining strength and, losing her lucidity. Her hands, forearms, arms seemed more sturdy than they were before.

    He could even tell the difference in the way she was looking at him. There was a hungriness, a thrill, in her eyes. She had never looked at him this way, but for some unknown reason, he wasn''t intimidated by her gaze. In fact, he felt tempted to give in to her hunger. Even so, of all the emotions brewing in his heart at that time, the thought of resisting her, never rushed through his mind.

    It was weird, even for him. This was something even the deadliest of assassins and terrorists across the globe, were petrified of. The tales of ''Ripper'' leaving behind trails of dead bodies, wherever she went, were no secret in the underworld. Xi Yuan was aware of these stories too, of course.

    But now that he had witnessed the devil himself, he simply stood there, taking in the sight of her. What more, all he wanted to do was pin her against one of those walls in that house, and rip her clothes into millions of fabric shreds and kiss her until she''d beg to him for breath.

 Chapter 418: "I think youre my cure."

    Chapter 418: "I think you''re my cure."

    Slowly, the man closed in on the woman in front of him, the distance between theming to an end, as their lips crashed against each other. While his one hand snaked around the small of her back, his other hand was holding onto her hand clutching the cor of his shirt. His grip was firm, but he was still careful to not hurt her.

    No sound could be heard throughout the entire house, but that of her moans and his soft whispers audible to no one but her. Rong Xinghe was no more sure who was the Ripper anymore. It was as if something had possessed him. His oversized shirt wrapped around her body had already been partially torn apart, revealing her cleavage and bare shoulders to him.

    It was now that something struck her. Eyes wide open, the girl pushed the man away, "What just happened?"

    "I kissed you.", the man smirked.

    "N-no, I mean...", the girl pushed back her messy ck hair with the fingers of her left hand, confused, "I-I did not hurt you... That''s odd."

    "Xinghe, I saw the Ripper.", Xi Yuanughed, "And I am sure, just by the looks of it, that you must be dangerously destructive in that state of yours. It just... didn''t affect me the way it should''ve."

    The girl stared at the man in front of her, cing both her hands on his shoulders, as she pulled him closer to him, "You weren''t scared?"

    "Nope.", the man shook his head, confidently, "Slightly stunned, yes. But I loved what I saw, actually. You are my warmest ce in the world, Xinghe. I hope you know that. Not even your Ripper look can push me away from you. It was... tempting. Maizing. Irresistible, even. But not scary."

    "Yuan..."

    "Hmm?"

    "I think you''re my cure, my antidote."

    "What does that mean?", the man asked, muddled.

    Rong Xinghe brought both her hands up as she cupped the man''s face, looking straight into his eyes, her expression earnest, "I can''t exin this, but it is not normal for me to switch off the Ripper-ness. Not so smoothly. But with you, it was as if you were stronger than whatever had overtaken me. As if I''d never even converted into the beast."

    "So you mean... I have control over your emotions more than Xaralteroide.", the man asked, readjusting the girl''s shirt, "That I am capable of suppressing your demons?"

    As she listened to the man''s words, the girl''s lips curled up into a sweet genuine smile. That was what he''d been doing since the moment they''d met; battling her pain, her dark side. Her past. Her insecurities. Her trust issues. And now, this. The Ripper.

    "What?", Xi Yuan questioned, noticing the girl''s change in expression.

    Instead of answering him, the girl sped her right hand around his Nordstrom''s solid Blue silk tie, pulling him in for a firm wild kiss. ''Finish what you started, Mister!'', shemanded internally. At that moment, between them, there was a weightless, seamless desire.

    He groaned softly, low in his throat, his arms circling around her gently, gathering her against him, as the coffee cup she''d ced beside her not too long ago fell down, shattering into pieces. But that was the least of his concerns, currently. His woman was busy, after all.

    It wasn''t always that Rong Xinghe took the initiative, but whenever she did, everything needed to be under her control. His every moment, his every breath. Initially, the kisses had a certain softness to them, gradually turning into fierce wild ones.

    As the tie, he''d been wearing all the while touched the kitchen floor, the girl''s lips parted from his. Just for a short span, though. A second or twoter, Xi Yuan winced in pain, as the sour taste of blood filled his mouth. She''d bit him. On the lips, hard.Such a troublesome little kitten, the man thought. But even so, he didn''t bother to push her away or, take charge, for that matter.

    Next, he knew, the Van Heusen regr fit white shirt was off his body too, lying over the left-over fragments of the broken coffee cup. Rong Xinghe took a moment to take in the sight of his well-built upper body, covered with nothing but his basic white undershirt. He still had bullet marks from the time he''d been shot after the International Business Summit, and although her heart ached for him, she couldn''t deny how tantalizing they appeared on his body.

    The man looked at the girl drooling at him, and a carefreeugh slipped his mouth. Shaking his head, the man simply stood there, looking at her as she checked him out. Such a lecherous prick.

    "Strip.", the girl leaned back, as she kept staring at him, relishing the view in front of her to its best.

    "What?", the man was shocked at the choice of her word, "What the hell do you think I am? A stripper!?"

    "For me? Yeah. Stripper. Lover. Confidant. Partner.", the girl shrugged, "Come on."

    "Who the hell is going to save you from me now, Military Chief?", the man raised his brows, reaching for the edge of thest piece of clothing he had on his upper body.

    "Who says I want to be saved?", the girlughed, her eyes sparkling with excitement. But before the two could go any further, sounds of a key being inserted into the main door''s lock echoed through the empty living room. Frantically, the girl sprinted towards Xi Yuan''s bedroom. How could she possibly let anyone see her like that? With yanked shirts, messed up hair, a man about to do unspeakable things to her? Besides, other than her, only the Xi trio and his parents had ess to his house keys. If any of them were to be there, it''d be such an embarrassment.

    ::::::::::::::::::::

    A momentter, when Xi Wei and Xi Ying walked into the house, and shortly after into the kitchen, they could feel the obvious tension in the air. Xi Yuan had already buttoned up his shirt and put on his tie by the time they had walked in, but his mood was still pretty off. Of all the days, they had to show up today! Bloody miscreants.

    "Good morning, brother!", Xi Wei grinned magnificently, standing beside the man, looking for whatever food was ready-to-eat on the counter.

    Turning around, Xi Yuan stuffed a piece of bread, bigger than the man''s mouth down his throat, "Good morning, little brother.", he smiled devilishly.

    The man then walked out of the kitchen so that he could check on his girl.

    "What just happened?", Xi Wei nced at his sister, frightened.

    "Sister-inw is what just happened.", Xi Ying gulped, as a chill ran down her spine, "Let''s just not appear in front of him for the next few days, okay?"

 Chapter 419: The Manhunt

    Chapter 419: The Manhunt

    Military Chief Office, 11:00 a.m.;

    "He is desperate, Xinghe.", Abram Orlov reported through the other end, "Aftaab Ali, and if my guess is not wrong, even Ahmed Ali Fadhil. I mean I don''t know what havoc you caused over there, but the smoke can be seen up till here.

    "I can''t believe Country X''s Armed Forces'' most prolonged manhunt is finallying to an end. The guy is literally walking into our trap! Come to think of it, who''d have thought that one of the most malignant terrorists, who we''ve been searching for more than five years, would saunter right to us?"

    "That''s why this is suspicious, Abram.", the girl sighed, staring at the Desert Eagle Mark Pistol in her hands, "Something feels... off."

    "I''ll be alert.", the man nodded understandingly, "What''s the n, though?", he resumed, "Do I simply need to put on the talk show, or I am in for the action too?"

    "Just the talking bit, Abram.", the girl shook her head, reloading the bullets into the gun as she breathed in the scent of freshly cut grass in the ground of MCO, "I am not risking any of my Hybrid''s life for the sake of such an abomination. I want each one of you out of there alive. And it''s not a request. This is a bloody order.

    "As far as Ahmed Fadhil is concerned, Jackson Marshal will aim from a considerable distance at him. By tomorrow, Yang Wenyan, Ashfakh, and Huang Ling will reach Afghanistan. Come up with a proper n and tell me about it by the day after tomorrow.

    "Right now, we don''t really have anything else to do, but wait. Just don''t push Aftaab Ali too much about it, alright? We have to tread carefully, here onwards."

    "Sure. Got it.", Abram Orlov agreed, disconnecting the call with an, "I''ll keep you updated."

    Rong Xinghe ced her phone upon the table beside her, next to other firearms before she lifted her hand up, pointing the gun''s one end at the target board roughly 300 meters from her. Her back straight, posture firm, hair tied up into a high, messy ponytail. Even with no makeup on, and camouge print cargo pants, solid ck T-shirt, she looked mesmerizing. She always did.

    Bang!

    As the bullet pierced through the Bull''s eye, earning her a score of ten, the girl frowned. She then turned and gestured to the pair of men, standing at a distance, toe a little closer. A momentter, tossing them the gun, she picked up another one from those on the table, "Too light. Not suitable for Special Forces.", she said.

    A secondter, another onended at their feet, "Not good for the grip."

    "Failure to feed. Magazine problems."

    "Firing defect. Bullet''s stuck."

    One after the other, in a matter of seconds, each ammunition stacked up on the table, surrounded the two men, "What the hell is wrong with you?", Rong Xinghe pinched the space between her brows, in the end,frustrated, "Who the fu*k even hired you?!"

    "Military Chief, It was the Defence Minister Bo.", Shou Wu exined, "He shut our deal with the XSmithsons in the UK, for some unknown reasons recently. These samples are supplied from the southside of the country."

    "Come again?", the girl red at the old man, infuriated, "The nerves of that man! You know what to do next, Mr. Shou., right?", she added.

    "I''ll arrange a meeting for you with him, Ma''am.", the man noted down something in his tablet, "Is there anything else you need?"

    "Show this hobo out of the MCO, please?", she pointed her chin at the 30-something-year-old man standing behind Shou Wu, "The deal with this southside brand is off, effective right this second."

    "As per your orders, Boss."

    "And continue the regr regimen for the trainee officers, will you?"

    "Okay."

    _______________________

    Xi Corporations Headquarters, 12:15 p.m.;

    Meanwhile, Xi Yuan had his own battles to fight. The mystery of his girl''s involvement with the ''Werewolf Crew'' was still unsolved. It wasn''t that he was doubting her. He was just worried about the consequences she would have to face if a piece of news as sensitive as this were to be leaked to the media. It was her reputation that mattered to him the most. After all, the assassination of a renowned businessman and his wife, hailing from the Xi family was no small matter. Not for Country X, and definitely not for the journalists.

    From what Xi Chonglin had told him the day before, and from what the girl had confessed to him earlier that morning, he hade to one obvious conclusion. More of a theory, actually. That even if Rong Xinghe was a part of the ''Werewolf Crew'' once, she might have worked with this son of the real perp. That headache of a person; Diablos.

    There was no way she would''ve even met Feng Ching, who was now underground apparently. Even if that were the case, just being a part of an underworld organization could put her through a lot, and he knew it.

    The only positive side to all of this was that there was still no proof concerning these theories. None supporting Xi Chonglin''s story, and none backing up Diablos''s im. All Diablos had ever sent was a note along with a ughtered Ind Taipan. But that didn''t mean he could stop searching for answers. He had to prove her innocence, and find the actual murderers of his grandparents, now more than ever.

    "Brother?", Xi Fang walked into the man''s office with a cup of coffee in his hands, "Why is your phone switched off? Sister-inw was worried."

    "Hmm?", the man looked at his brother and then at his phone, distracted, "Charge it.", he muttered under his breath, shutting close the files in front of him.

    "Sure.", Xi Fang smiled, passing the cup to the man, before he connected the device to the charger near the coffee table, "What''s on your mind today?"

    "Nothing much.", the man shook his head, bringing the cup to his lips, "Why did Xinghe call, anyway?"

    "Something about how she stole your debit card this morning?", Xi Fang shrugged nonchntly, "She called in to tell you not to worry about it. And definitely not to freeze your bank ount."

    "...."

 Chapter 420: "This involves Xinghe"

    Chapter 420: "This involves Xinghe"

    Xi Corporations Headquarters, 7:00 p.m.;

    "Are you seriously trusting him, brother?!", when Xi Yuan briefed Xi Fang about what elucidation Xi Chonglin provided with him the day before, Xi Fang was enraged, "And firstly, why did you not tell me about any of this, beforehand? I have no issues with Senior Zhi Xi tagging along with you. I really don''t. He is family, after all. But that still doesn''t justify why I was kept out of it all."

    Xi Yuan rolled his eyes, as he pointed his chin at his younger brother, "Maybe because I didn''t want another family dispute. Between you and Uncle."

    "Brother-", Xi Fang realized the man''s words the moment they left his mouth. He hadn''t even realized how much it was affecting everyone involved in the middle, until now.

    "Don''t, Fang.", Xi Yuan waved his hand in dismissal, waving his hand at him, "I understand your anger. I also know that me getting attacked and going into aa for all those months, was barely a breaking point for you and that it wasn''t the only reason why you called him out then.

    "But recently, it''s been impossible to have a decent gathering without you two not making a scene. I am aware of Uncle''s temperament. He has to have thest word. But you? You used to tolerate whatever he did before. What changed?"

    "I..."

    "President Xi, the clients from the Song empire are here.", Xi Yuan''s assistant stepped into the office. Xi Yuan simply lifted his index finger authoritatively, "Cancel the meeting.", hemanded. Family was much more important. Xi Fang was much more important.

    As the employee closed the door behind him, Xi Yuan reverted his gaze back to his brother, "Yes?", he raised his brows.

    "Brother, it just hurts.", Xi Fang sighed, "How he doesn''t care what I want. How he doesn''t consider what you mean to me. How he feels that it''s okay for him to control my life. I just... it''s suffocating."

    "All my life, I''ve wanted him to feel proud of who I am. But it''s never enough for him. No matter what I do. And what he expects of me is not something I would ever give him. I''d rather die than even think of it."

    "What does he really want?", Xi Yuan chuckled, tapping the leather-d arms of his executive chair, "This seat?" Noticing Xi Fang''s silence, the man stood up from his seat and walked around the table, cing a hand over the man''s shoulder, "I don''t mind, Fang."

    "But I do.", Xi Fang smiled wryly, "For me, the position I have in thispany is already sufficient. I love assisting you. I enjoy watching you rule this kingdom grandfather left behind. No one can do what you do better than you. Not even me. You might''ve trained me for managing all of this, but I am still not you."

    "Moreover there''s this work pressure thates with this power. I''ve seen how you stay upte nights, and how you cancel ns with Sister-inw at the end moment because of emergency meetings. You work more than all the employees of Xi Corps.bined do. I am not built for it."

    "You don''t have to be me. You''re already best at being you.", Xi Yuan smiled, "But if you are not ready for it, it''s okay too. I just need you to know that, in Xi Corporations, nothing is yours or mine. It''s ours. You have every right to expect my ce. And whenever you want it, all you have to do is say it.

    "As far as your father is concerned, Fang, I am not going to meddle into your rtionship. I realize how hard all of this must be on you. But stay away from him until I figure out what exactly happened. This involves Xinghe, and the truth concerning our Grandparents I feel I deserve to know."

    "I won''t be any hindrance to you, brother. You have my word.", Xi Fang promised, his tone much determined this time.

    _______________

    Military Chief Office, 8:00 p.m.;

    The girl was stirring her coffee, the sugar cube blending into the milk gradually, when the Defence Minister made himselffortable into one of the chairs facing her, "You summoned me, Military Chief?", he asked.

    "A little birdie told me that the Defence Minister has been calling shots for the Military, without any prior discussions with me. How true is this... Mr. Bo?", the girl blinked, her face giving away no expression.

    Stunned, the old man''s eyes traveled from the girl to Shou Wu and then back to her. Realizing that there was no way out, the man smirked at the woman, haughtily, "There is a limit to how much we can get from the Central Finance Ministry, Ms. Rong. Not to mention, domestic businesses provide employment to thousands of youngsters, which the need of the hour."

    "I see.", Rong Xinghe chuckled coldly, the atmosphere around her dropping down a few degrees, "And do they deserve death too? Because I am pretty much sure, none of them are skilled enough to design and construct the level of advanced ammunitions Country X''s Army requires. Forget foreign powers, they''d be killed right there and then, while expanding the domestic businesses you''re personally investing into.

    "Coming to the point of financial limits, maybe... we wouldn''t face that issue if you''d just stop using the money over your political campaigning, don''t you think? Also, it''s Military Chief Rong for you."

    The minister gritted his teeth, as he broke into a sweat, his shocked wide-open eyes never leaving the girl half his age. How could the information, he''d tried so hard to conceal, get leaked to her so soon? It hadn''t even been an hour since he''d been ordered to show up at the ce.

    "I want your resignation by tomorrow morning on my table.", Rong Xinghe stood up, her orders resounding through every corner of her office, the tone of her voice still indifferent, "I don''t n on dealing with filth like yourself till the next elections. I am afraid I''ll run out of patience. It''s insulting to me; working with you.

    "And be forewarned, if you don''t resign by tomorrow yourself, I will make the Prime Minister issue a termination letter for you. In the middle of the up and running parliament.

    "Trust me, I am capable of being that dramatic.", with these words, the girl walked out of her office, ying with her darling''s card in one hand, her phone and car keys in another.

 Chapter 421: Want a ride?

    Chapter 421: Want a ride?

    Xi Corporations Headquarters, 11:30 p.m.;

    "So far, it doesn''t seem like Mr. Xi is lying.", Xi Fang ryed the information, as his eyes scanned through the documents in his hands, "There were indeed some heated arguments between Grandfather and this Feng Ching, a few months before his death."

    "Hmm. What about Xinghe''s connection with any of this?", Xi Yuan questioned, signing the business documents on his table.

    "She was twelve when that incident happened, brother. She volunteered for the position of Military Chief not until she was seventeen. Even if she''de across Diablos during her training, there are very slim chances he might''ve mentioned the attacks to her. Why would he? Think about it; he was in love with her, there was no motive for him to reveal his foster parent''s revenge fantasies to her, right?"

    The second Xi Fang realized what he''d just bbered, a chill ran down his spine. As he sneaked a peek at the man from behind the documents cautiously, he could feel the tension in the air, the man''s both hands clenched, his brows furrowed. What in the world was he thinking when he used the L-word?!

    "I didn''t mean it like that, Brother.", Xi Fang quickly exined himself, "I just got carried away."

    "Hmm.", the man dropped the ball, letting out a sigh.

    There were very few men in the world who were capable of intimidating or bothering the Business King Xi Yuan. The Six tigers being one of them. He''d never dared to take any of their warnings for granted; for they were fiercely protective of their sister. And that, he understood.

    But Diablos was different. Just the mention of this man irritated Xi Yuan. He hated this guy. Maybe because he''d never heard Rong Xinghe tell him about their connection. Or maybe because he knew this man had romantic affections for his wife-to-be. The Xi trio was well-aware of their brother''s jealousy, but they did not have the nerves to point that out to him.

    It wasn''t like Xi Yuan would confront the girl about it. He''d never done that before. He would always wait for her to feelfortable enough to confide in him. Noints, no doubts. That was just how he had always been. He''d waited for her to tell him about the train incident, and about her childhood, and even about her past rtionship. He never pushed her for answers. He''d rather suffer himself than to let her feel mistrusted.

    The two men were busy discussing their next step when Xi Yuan''s officendline beeped, receiving a message from the main reception of the HQ, "President Xi, there''s someone causing trouble down here.", the receptionist reported anxiously, "It''s a... sports car."

    Xi Yuan stood up and approached the floor-to-ceiling windows, fixing his gaze at the ck Bugatti La Voiture Noire driving back-and-forth ceaselessly, at the speed of 150 mph. Xi Yuan''s lips curled up into an amused smile as he browsed through his phone before bringing it to his ears.

    And as he''d expected, the car came to a stop shortly after, a soft intoxicatingughing through the other end simultaneously. "So this was why you needed my card, huh?", Xi Yuanughed warmly.

    "Want a ride?", Rong Xinghe giggled, "This baby is awesome, Yuan!"

    "Coming down in a second.", Xi Yuan nodded.

    ____________

    BK Road, 00:00 midnight;

    As the exquisite sports car propelled through the silent but open path, Xi Yuan turned to look at the girl, "Where are we going, Love?", he asked.

    "Just somewhere.", the girl shrugged, "I needed a breather. And I know you did too. Moreover, it''s been so long since I had the softy from that ice-cream van in the suburbs of the city."

    "And you have the card.", Xi Yuan added, pointing at the Infinity ck Card upon the dashboard,"Such a devil!"

    "That... I am.", the girl smiled, her eyes on the road.

    Shaking his head, Xi Yuan simply leaned back in his seat, his head on the headrest. Closing his eyes, he ced his hand over the girl''s thigh. The silence in the car was interestinglyfortable; it had a coziness of its own. Rong Xinghe didn''t move the man''s hand away, neither did she utter a word to him. A whileter, the girl turned down the sound of the music system, slowing down the vehicle''s speed, allowing her darling to get some rest.

    About a half-hourter, Rong Xinghe pulled over at the side of a road, detaching her seat belt. Gingerly, she ran her fingers through his well-adjusted wavy hair, the corners of her lips curling up. One nce at him, and she could tell he''d been dealing with a lot of pressuretely. But what exactly, she wondered. In the end, she decided against waking him up. She could bring the softies to the car, couldn''t she?

    A momentter, when the girl returned back with two softies, one choco-chip, another butterscotch-vored, she found the man waiting for her by the car. Xi Yuan wrapped the shawl, she''d sheathed him with earlier before leaving, around her arms, "You need this more.", he said, "It''s cold out here."

    The girl rolled her eyes at the man, passing him the butterscotch cone, "I am fine.", she said, sitting upon the car hood. Looking up, the girl stared at the sky, "I used toe here a lot when I was little. Bro Su used to bring me here usually, escaping me from the Rong house after 2 or 3 at night. One of my most favorite memories."

    "It must be beautiful back then.", Xi Yuan smiled.

    "It was. There would be stars in the sky and a lot of stories, and a lot of food.", the girlughed, "Air was cleaner. Cheap ice-cream prices; not that that ever bothered Bro Su. He always carried the money. For me, I guess."

    "I am d they were there for you then, Xinghe.", the man stated sincerely.

    "Hmm. I am d too.", Rong Xinghe nodded, pecking the man on his lips. It was now that her phone rang up, inside the car. "Yes, David?", the girl picked it up at the sixth ring.

    "It''s an in-and-out operation. There are three more sleeper cells in the hiding.", David Florence informed, "Your location is the closest to them. I''ve just texted their whereabouts and pictures to you. They have no information, and hence, are of no use to us. But still, a threat. If you get a clear shot at them, just go for it."

    "Got it.", the girl replied, disconnecting the call. She then turned to face the man beside her, "I have to go, Baby.", she said.

    "No, Honey.", Xi Yuan cocked his head to the side, "We have to go."

    "But what if-"

    "I will be fine. And I aming. End of the damn story.", the man announced, his tone resolute.

 Chapter 422: And he had the nerves to call her the Devil!

    Chapter 422: And he had the nerves to call her the Devil!

    David Florence was right. The location of the three sleeper cells was merely a fifteen-minute drive from that of Xinguan''s. Dan Walters. Feroz Ali. Anton Lebedev. These were the three sleeper cells, who hadn''t been there when Rong Xinghe had gone all... Ripper. They had other ns to carry out, of course.

    As the couple reached the bottom of the enormous building of St. Mary Hospital, Rong Xinghe fixed her eyes upon the man beside her, passing him her revolver, "Take it.", she said. "What about you?", Xi Yuan frowned. To his surprise, the girl knelt down and pulled out another Glock .45 GAP gun, "I''ve got it.", the woman smirked.

    "Okay, so listen.", the girl ced her hand over the man''s shoulder, looking straight into his eyes, her expression solemn, "There are three of them. They are here to rescue or escort a potential terrorist out of here tonight, who would lead them further in the uing attacks. That person could be a patient, or staff, or even one of the doctors.

    "Some of our soldiers have been keeping an eye on this hospital for a while now, and they must''ve known that. So they must be with firearms.

    "Yuan. Shoot first, thinkter. That''s it. That''s what we''ve got to do. Stay alert, at all times. Okay?"

    Xi Yuan raised his brows, a smile appearing upon his lips, "I like it when you boss me around. You know that, right?"

    Stunned for a moment, the girl was rendered speechless. "Juste back to me in one piece, hmm?", the girl smacked the man in his arms, agitated. Eliciting a nod from the man, the woman checked for the bullets in her handgun before she sidled into the oddly still corridor, via the back entrance, Xi Yuan following behind her.

    Xinguan parted ways only after Rong Xinghe gestured the man to do so, a minute or two after getting into the hospital, as the girl felt that that way, they''d be able to cover more ground. While Xi Yuan climbed up the hospital stairs, the girl scanned the ground floor herself.

    The man hadn''t even gotten to the first floor when he heard a cry. A scream, really. A terrified, desperate scream for life. The man sat down on his knees, taking cover behind the dark stairs.

    It was now that he saw it. The first dead body. The receptionist, lying in the pool of her own blood. Then, the other. And another. From where he was, he''d already witnessed about seven deceased. What a mess, the man cursed under his breath.

    "Where is Maksoor Khan?", one of the men standing next to the receptionist''s body yelled at someone else, far beyond Xi Yuan''s range of sight. The man had a fluent English ent, his voice deep. A tall figure, well-maintained body, firm grip over the rifle in his hands, darkplexion.

    "C wing, third floor.", another voice resounded through the quiet space. This voice wasparatively shrill. "Dan''s on it.", the other man said again, "You keep watch here. I''ll go check." Xi Yuan waited for the sound of footsteps to fade before he took in a deep breath, aiming at the back of the man left alone on the first floor.

    Bang! Bang!

    Rong Xinghe''s grip over the GAP gun almost loosened the moment the sound of the two firings traveled to her from the high up. Taking onest nce at the three security guards'' bodies, the girl leaped towards the stairs in a hurry. But as she reached the floor above, all she saw was the dead body of Feroz Ali, one shot into the heart, another right through the skull. As she looked at the wounds, the girl couldn''t help but shake her head helplessly. And he had the nerves to call her the Devil!

    ::::::::::::::::::::::::

    Quietly, Xi Yuan made his way to the third floor, for he knew where the other two obscene creatures must''ve headed. The man walked for a few seconds, browsing through every room before he heard some noises. The man stepped into one of the patients'' wards, hoping to get some lead.

    The two men were upied in some heated argument about how the guy they''de to rescue was nowhere to be found. A moment or twoter, the men decided to check the floors all over again and separated next. Xi Yuan waited for the man, who he was sure was Anton Lebedev, provided his ent, turn about the corridor paths and walk considerably at a distance before he finally followed behind the other guy, Dan Walters.

    Bang!

    One more headshot and this one was gone too. But before Xi Yuan could go into hiding again, he felt something cold against the back of his head. Damn it! That Anton Lebedev mustn''t have walked for long, Xi Yuan conjected. Turning around, the man faced his enemy, his eyes giving away no expression. His assumptions were precisely urate. It was indeed the Anton guy, abhorrence reflecting through his nasty little eyes.

    Anton Lebedev scrutinized Xi Yuan''s well-groomed guise with a disgusted expression, his lips pressed tightly. Even so, Xi Yuan could tell he had no idea who he really was. No one looked at the CEO of Xi Corporations the way he did. Over the years, the man had seen people look at him with a lot of emotions. Admiration, challenge, hatred, enmity, fear. But none dared to gaze at him as if he were unworthy. Naturally, Lebedev''s look could be surmised into cluelessness regarding Xi Yuan''s identity.

    "Kaafir...", Antonughed manically, after some time, his Rheinmetall MG 3 still pointed at the man, "When will you guys understand?! No one can beat us. No one!"

    With that being said, the diversionist lightly pressed the index finger of his right hand over the trigger of his machine gun, the 7.62x51mm NATO cartridges set to rip open Xi Yuan''s flesh.

    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

    With a thud, a body was shot down to the white hospital floor, blood oozing down its back, coloring the tiles to red as it flowed endlessly.

    "Not him!", a voice roared shortlyter. Xi Yuan lifted his head up, reverting his attention back to someone much more important, and it was then that his eyes met the girl''s, and a smile came to him, "Are you okay?", he questioned worriedly.

    Running into his arms, Rong Xinghe took in his unique scent, burying her face into his chest, her throat choking as tears threatened to roll down her eyes, "That''s my question.", sheined, in the end.

 Chapter 423: "You were good today, President Xi"

    Chapter 423: "You were good today, President Xi"

    As the police sirens echoed into the thin air, Rong Xinghe walked up to Xi Yuan with a takeaway cup of coffee, "Here.", she passed it to him, her eyes still searching for any possible injuries upon his body.

    "I am fine.", the man rolled her eyes, "Trust me."

    "Okay.", the girl raised her hands in the mid-air in resignation, "I give up."

    "So this is what you do every day?", the man turned to look at the forensic staff taking away the dead bodies for post-mortem, "Interesting."

    As she heard the man, the girl couldn''t help but chuckle, "It isn''t just this. There''s a lot more that I do."

    "Really? Do tell, Officer.", the man smiled.

    "Well... for starters, my job profile demands preventing the attackers to even step into the country. We''ve got Special Forces, Intelligence Units, and bureaucrats for the same. While they monitor suspicious activities throughout the country, I monitor them.

    Then there''s the Armed Force, the Naval Force, and the Air Force. They are the physical, morebat forces. I''ve to fabricate everything concerning them: what locations they''d serve, for how long they''d serve, their sries. And in case of war, I''ve toe up with the exact strategies they would have to follow in the field; including where each one of them would stand, hide firearms, and who would lead them.

    "And don''t even get me started on the sting and undercover operations. Putting on a pretense of a stranger just for the sake of information and leads. These operations take ce domestically as well as abroad. But regardless of the location, it''s always risky. The moment your identity is revealed, you''re dead. I''ve to either n such operations or perform them myself.

    "Lastly, this.", the girl pointed her chin at the hospital building, "Rescue operations. Executions. Personally? Among everything else I''ve to deal with every day, this... I find the easiest."

    Xi Yuan remained silent as the girl patiently exined to him, her work requisites.

    "What is it?", the girl pulled the man''s attention back to her a minuteter.

    "Nothing.", the man shook his head, "You really enjoy this, don''t you?"

    "I do.", the girl smiled, waving at Shawn Florence standing at a distance, "It''s nice to work with people who share your beliefs, dreams, and principles. And it''s not just about protecting your country, Yuan. This work, no matter how dangerous, has an ardor to it. The adrenaline rush when you fly one of the fighter jets up above or get into that frontline military tank, it''s so riveting. Only a soldier can understand that rush, the thrill, you know."

    "I''ve done a lot of things in my life, Yuan. Singing. Motivational Speaking. Running an NGO. Managing ''Youth Team'' foundation. And I n on exploring myself further too. But this... these officers hailing from different corners of the country, they feel like a selflessmunity. I enjoy this. I really do."

    "And I am d that you do.", Xi Yuan ced his hand over the girl''s shoulder, his eyes glued to her lips, "Passion suits you, Xinghe. And I might not say this more often, but I really am proud of you."

    "Thank you.", Rong Xinghe nodded, surprised, "You were good today. Impressive marksmanship, President Xi!"

    "Well... we would''ve made amazing partners.", the man clicked his tongue, certain of his statement, looking directly into the girl''s eyes.

    "We would''ve.", the girl agreed.

    _________

    Next Morning, 10:00 a.m.;

    "What was the name of that guy you heard those guys talk about yesterday?", Rong Xinghe ced her hand over her phone, turning to her Yuan.

    "Maksoor Khan.", Xi Yuan replied as he whisked the coffee and sugar in the girl''s cup.

    "Maksoor Khan.", the girl nodded, talking into the phone again, "That''s the guy we are looking for, Elijah. Get all details about this guy from the National database. And get back to me as soon as you do."

    "Okay.", the man replied, "Are youing to work today?"

    "I''ll see.", the girl shrugged, "I was going to meet bro Mo today. But after then, maybe?"

    "Sure. It''s okay, Xinghe.", Elijah Williams assured, "You deserve a break afterst night. Not to mention, we don''t have anything essential going on here anyway. Until Abram Orlov gets an update from Aftaab Ali, we are pretty much free. As far as the Military Chief work is concerned, I am sure I and Shawn can handle that?"

    "Hello!", David Florence yelled from the man''s behind, "I was trained for this very position too."

    Letting out augh, Rong Xinghe agreed to Elijah''s suggestion, "Tell me if anythinges up."

    "I''ll drop you at the MZX Headquarters en route to my work, alright?", Xi Yuan said, as he passed the girl her coffee.

    ____________

    MZX Headquarters, 11:00 a.m.;

    "Get out of my office. Now!", Mo Zixuan''s voice resonated through the entire floor. As every head turned to look at the cause of the dilemma, they realized it was their CEO and his ex-wife, thepany''s COO. He Chen.

    "Zixuan, you don''t understand.", the woman turned around, taken aback by the man''s sudden arrival. She hadn''t obviously thought the man woulde back from his meeting this soon, "I was simply trying to boost MZX''s TRP."

    "All you were trying to do was leak confidential information!", the man''s voice raised further, his eyes turning a few shades dark, "How dare you leak the news about Xi Yuan performing an operation with Xinghest night? His reputation is on the line now, because of you. Not to mention, her''s too!

    "Also, no other news channel dared to follow the twost night, and yet, this news was revealed by her own brother''spany. How cunning, Ms. Chen!"

    "Zixuan, believe me, I didn''t realize that-"

    "That invading the privacy of the highest Military Authority of Country X is a crime, even for media? Of course, you were aware of it.", Mo Zixuan scoffed, pressing his hand against his torso, his breath fastening, "I should''ve known it. Letting you inside thispany was a huge mistake."

    "Oh my God, are you okay?!", He Chen was about to rush over to the man, but before she could do so, a hand wrapped around her left hand''s wrist, twisting it at the back so hard, she almost fainted by the pain.

    "Could you stop being a bi*ch to my brother for once?!", the serpent-like cold feminine voice whispered into her ears, sending a chill down the woman''s spine.

 Chapter 424: Not her forte

    Chapter 424: Not her forte

    The girl shoved the woman against the wall before she walked around the table to her brother, "Are you okay, Bro Mo?", Rong Xinghe asked worriedly, cing her hand upon his hand, over his torsal area.

    The man simply nodded with a groan, pointing at his office desk. The girl understood the man''s signal and pulled the drawer open, picking out a painkiller tablet from it. As she passed him the ss of water, her eyesnded upon the lit-up TV screen next to the rumpled He Chen.

    In a moment, she understood what had infuriated her bro Mo so much. About fifteen sneakily clicked pictures, from profuse distance clearly,pletely giving away hers and her darling''s identity, were being presented over the screen. As if it were some archaeological exhibition from ages ago.

    Mo Zixuan waited for his breathing to get back to normalcy before he nced at his sister. He could tell she was feeling angered by it all, but the damage had already been done.

    "Xinghe..."

    "Who the fu*k did this?!", the girl questioned through gritted teeth.

    "He Chen.", the man sighed, "I am so sorry, Kid. I should''ve been more alert." He did not feel like shielding the woman at all like he would''ve had done in situations such as these, for any other employee of his. Rong Xinghe had every right to take out her frustration, in this case. It involved the man she loved, after all.

    Rong Xinghe''s stern expression soonnded on the woman, whose legs had already started to tremble by now. The girl was about to leap over to the woman when her phone rang up.

    She picked it up, distracted, but the deep maizing voice soon hauled her back to him, "Xinghe, I just got to know about the news. Fang called me. Are you alright?", the man asked, concerned. Rong Xinghe could tell he was still driving.

    "Uh-huh. I''ll handle it. Don''t worry.", the girl promised.

    "I am not worrying about this crap. It''s you, Xinghe, that matters to me.", Xi Yuan chuckled, "Will you be okay, Baby?"

    "I will be okay.", the girl nodded, her tone calmer than before, "I love you, Yuan."

    "Love you too."

    The second the phone in her hand got disconnected, Rong Xinghe looked at her brother, "Do you mind some violence in here?"

    "Not at all.", the man smiled approvingly.

    ::::::::::::::::::::::::

    "Arghhhh!"

    As He Chen tried to escape Rong Xinghe''s clutches, her face pressed against one of the junior reporter''s cubicle desk, almost everyone present in the office surrounded the two women. Mo Zixuan decided to observe the drama from outside his office instead, Cheng Tai by his side.

    "Shouldn''t we stop her!?", Cheng Tai asked, anxious, "What if-"

    "Don''t worry, my dear wife.", Mo Zixuan shook his head dismissively, "Xinghe knows what she is doing. Besides, she is allowed to be troublesome. She has me backing her up, ultimately."

    He Chen was the Chief Operating Officer of MZX Corporations. She was among the few higher-ups in thepany, who were responsible for maintaining the channel''s ratings and reviews. With a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Cambridge, the employees in thepany looked up to her. Naturally, the scene unfolding in front of them was more of a shocker and totally unexpected.

    But then again, they were all in the field of cameras. They understood as to what had enraged the Military Chief Rong so much this time. If there was one thing the world knew about this mysterious woman, it was her protectiveness over her family and friends. And her fiance. He Chen had practically asked for it, the second the news bulletin involving Xi Yuan had aired an hour ago.

    Even so, the show was fun to watch.

    Rong Xinghe''s fist was balled up into a punch, pinning He Chen''s face to the hard surface of the table, another hand busy dislocating the woman''s left arm. With one free hand, He Chen was trying her best to push away the girl''s hands, tears streaming down her eyes. She had never been humiliated like this before; that too, in front of so many people.

    In a robotic cold tone, Rong Xinghe spoke up, her eyes running over the crowd, "Military Protocol 132. National constitution, phase 4, use 13. No civil or foreign body is permissible to invade or leak the private lives of the three national representatives, whatsoever; that is, Prime Minister, President, and Military Chief, for every decision they make, are for the sake of the honor of the country, and the citizens residing inside it.

    "Ever heard of it, Ms. Chen?! From what I know, that''s the first sentence written over every job contract in Country X."

    "I a-am so sorry, Xi-Xinghe! Please let g-go of me.", He Chen begged, tired by the struggle.

    But the girl wasn''t ready to show mercy just yet, "Then how dare you exact you psychotic monstrosity upon Xi Yuan?! Or is it that Ms. He is underestimating the Superfamily, the Xi family, and the governance of Country X, altogether? Or you were just being the dumb hateful disgrace you were when my brother discarded you, for good?"

    Each word that left the girl''s mouth was sharp and sour, as destructive as her firearms, breaking the crowd around her into a series of murmurs and gasps. It didn''t matter how much He Chen cried or pleaded, Rong Xinghe had no intentions of showing her any lenience at the moment. She had the audacity to attempt to scar her and Xi Yuan''s professional reputation not too long ago; why would she not rip her off thest bit of stature and prestige she was left with? Forgiveness had never been Rong Xinghe''s forte, anyway.

    "Oh God!", Cheng Tai''s reaction was no different than that of the other onlookers, "She is so-"

    "Appalling? Ruthless? Blood-curdling? Savage? Yep.", Mo Zixuanughed softly, "That''s my sister. She got this harsh-tongue from me, you know? I thought her the war of words."

    "You seem oddly and insanely proud of it, Mr. Mo.", Cheng Tai red at her husband.

    "Well... she looks the female replica of me this way, doesn''t she?", the man stared at the girl proudly.

    "She really does.", the woman sighed, defeated, "And that''s still not apliment!"

    "..."

 Chapter 425: Sight for sore eyes

    Chapter 425: Sight for sore eyes

    MZX Headquarters, 11:30 a.m.;

    "Apologize!", Rong Xinghe roared, her voice scaring every employee, every viewer, out of their wits. Obviously, Mo Zixuan had a smirk stered across his lips by now. The only regret he had at the moment was that he didn''t have a tub of popcorn in his hands.

    "I-- I am sorry!", He Chen cried out in anguish, "It won''t ha-happen again.", the woman swore.

    Digging her nails deep into the flesh of He Chen''s left shoulder, earning yet another squeal from her, the girl finally let go of the perp, "It better not. Also, I want a written apology mailed to President Xi. By this evening."

    "O-okay.", He Chen mumbled through her constricted throat, wiping away the endlessly falling tears from her eyes. As the woman disappeared from the office arena, into her personal cabin, the girl finally smiled at her bro Mo. An innocent smile, it was. In return, Mo Zixuan simply squinted his eyes at the sly little devil, unable to conceal hisughter.

    As the junior journalists, the content editors, the visual-media artists, and the remaining staff looked at the brother and sister''s adorable bond, they could figuratively feel their hearts melting down. God! The connection they shared was just so endearing.

    Mo Zixuan wouldn''t have ever allowed such a nuisance in his office, but then again, Rong Xinghe was an exception. For all her brothers, literally. Each one treated her like the princess she was and went out of their ways to pamper her and dote on her. But that had never bothered anyone around, for they knew how much she deserved it all.

    "We still have to wrap this mess up, Kid.", Mo Zixuan cleared his throat, "What do you want to do?"

    "I''ll go live.", the girl announced, mischievously.

    "Xinghe... I can''t-"

    "I know you can''t interview me, Brother.", Rong Xinghe waved her hands nonchntly at the man, turning around to face all the other journalists, "I wouldn''t want to trouble you too. Just give me someone unbiased. Someone with sharp edge-y questions. You see, I am in the mood to y."

    :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

    12:45 p.m.;

    "Where is Xinghe?", Mo Zixuan turned to Cheng Tai, "It''s time."

    "Well... she wants to look like you. So she''s in the dressing room, all changed up into suit and stuff.", the woman sighed helplessly, "I am not even sure if we''re at a wedding or a party, anymore. She has gotten all the skilled employees doing her makeover.

    "She''s making people brew her coffee, get her snacks, tell her their crazy fantasies. Like what the actual hell?! I mean... it looks like a pic out there. No one''s working at all; just serving your little princess."

    "Really?", the manughed out, "They are fond of her, aren''t they?"

    "Too much, actually.", Cheng Tai smiled, "Does shee here often?"

    "Not now. But yeah, she used too.", Mo Zixuan scratched the back of his neck, "Actually, everyone in all our offices knows Xinghe and Xiao. In Lu Corps. and in Zhi Corporations, and here. The two girls used to crash at our workces all the time, ever since they were kids."

    "The staff, the employees, they got attached to both of them pretty soon too. I guess it''s just their personalities that make people feel weed. Some of the staff were even used to bringing extra lunch for them, back then, you know?"

    "What changed, Zixuan?", the woman asked, staring out of the floor-to-ceiling door, at the chirpy employees, "Why did they stoping?"

    After a few seconds of silence, the man inhaled sharply, following the woman''s line of sight, "Life happened. After Lu Wei''s wedding, Zhi Xi''s wedding, they stoppeding over as much as they did before. They didn''t want to meddle into their brothers'' personal lives."

    "Except... they are their brothers'' personal lives, Darling.", Cheng Tai corrected, "They shouldn''t be so formal with you six, don''t you think?"

    "Yeah... but you don''t mind-"

    "No, I don''t.", the woman cut-in, "Besides, both your sisters are a sight for sore eyes."

    As Mo Zixuan listened to his wife, he felt warmth spread through his heart. Grabbing a stool by her side, he gripped her chin, authoritatively crashing his lips against hers, "I was wrong to assume. Should''ve discussed it with you earlier."

    "No, you weren''t.", Cheng Tai stated, her gaze earnest, "I mean I did give you the impression of a non-supportive Sister-inw when I insulted Xinghe in front of these very reporters. I am so sorry-.", she bit her lip guiltily.

    "It''s all in the past, Mrs. Mo.", the man shook his head, "I am d the Superfamily and I, have you now. That''s all that matters."

    ___________

    Xi Corporations Headquarters, 1:00 a.m.;

    "Why did you order the PR department head to stay low for a while, regarding this matter, brother?", Xi Wei strode into the man''s office, befuddled.

    "Your Sister-inw is handing it. Don''t spoil her fun.", the man said, her eyes fixed to his desktop screen, "Moreover, the PR team would''ve to target the MZX empire, that is, her bro Mo, directly. Do you really want me to lose face in front of her family?"

    Raising her brows, Xi Wei crossed his arms, "No, of course not.", he shook his head violently, "But your reputation can''t be allowed such a blow too."

    "Oh?", the man''s lips curled up, turning the monitor screen around so that his younger brother could read the contents over it clearly, "And how much of a rapport-revival this apology-d e-mail from the COO of thepany, can do?"

    "Holy crap! Sister-inw is so much better than our PR unit, bro.", Xi Wei jumped up the moment he went through the mail as if he''d just seen some miracle, "How effective!"

    The man didn''t say anything; just a nod of agreement. From the looks of it, she was really enjoying herself over there. That was a relief. Initially, when he''d been informed about this news-leak, he was worried about the girl, her image, her career. Allowing a civilian into such a risky operation could cost her everything she was so passionate about. Her position in the Military. And he''d put her through the possibility of losing it when he''d insisted on joining her missionst night.

    But, whilst he was worried about her, she had him prioritized. She knew how much his rep mattered too. Her first decision was to defend him instead of protecting herself. The way Xinguan looked out for each other before themselves was just purely beautiful, one could say.

    Anyhow, Xi Yuan trusted his woman with everything else left now. The fact that things were happening so swiftly, was a reassurance that Rong Xinghe was fine. And as long as that was certain, the man couldn''t care less about the other insignificant stuff.

    A momentter, Xi Wei''s phone beeped.

    "Uh... brother?", the man picked up the TV remote, "She is going live."

 Chapter 426: "He did what he had to do"

    Chapter 426: "He did what he had to do"

    Xi Yuan and Xi Wei walked around the office table, their eyes fixed upon the 219-inch smart TV screen. Beneath the channel logo, sat journalist Jacob Andrews, the second-best to Mo Zixuan. This man was known for his unfair and pointed questioning, so much so that he''d gotten into a lot of trouble due to it. But under the umbre of the MZX empire, his carrier had only bloomed, for good.

    Mo Zixuan personally backed him up every time he screwed up, since Andrews never meant ill. He was... simply a passionate journalist. Mo Zixuan respected that. He himself was no different. But he knew how double-faced diplomats and rivalpanies could be, if he were to personally interview his sister. No matter how crisp he''d go on her, they would still paint his professionalism red.

    Jacob Andrews, on the other hand, was known for fair games. The man never asked questions from the script. Whatever came to his mind, spilled from his mouth. No filters. And although that could get filthy inconvenient at times, reporters like him were a reassurance to the general public that not everyone these days, was out there to sell the news. That there was still some authenticity left in journalism.

    Xi Wei was more acquainted with the media than his other siblings, so naturally, he was infuriated at the thought of such a man interviewing his Sister-inw. But when he pulled his phone out in order to pull some strings, Xi Yuan ced his hand over the man''s arm, "She can handle it.", he said confidently, "Besides, it''s her brother''s sanctuary. You can''t do anything. Just watch the show."

    :::::::::::::::::::::

    1:05 p.m., MZX Newsroom;

    "Greetings, Country X!", Jacob began enthusiastically, smiling straight into the cameras, "Today, in this very studio, we have the highest Military Authority, Military Chief Rong Xinghe with us. So let''s get started with it, shall we, Officer?"

    "We shall.", the cameras switched to Rong Xinghe''s modest face, a graceful smile stered across her lips. outred in ssic Wine-colored zer and trousers, in white shirt beneath it, two of its top buttons undone, her jet ck hair falling freely, she looked ravishing. Breathtaking, even. The makeup on her face was very light; just eyeliner, a little blush, and wine-shade liquid matte lipstick on, and she was still enchanting.

    "Firstly, let me tell you that you look stunning.", Andrews smiled, eliciting a humble acknowledging nod from her.

    "Recently, Military Chief''s family, poprly regarded as the Superfamily, underwent a gruesome terrorist attack.", the man turned back to the cameras, "Her elder brother, Media Ma Mo Zixuan, the backbone of MZX Network empire, and the Chief Editor of MZX channel was shot twice in his torsal area during the same. Thankfully, he fought through it; but it still was a difficult time for the family. How did you deal with all of it, Chief?"

    Rong Xinghe remained silent for a few seconds before she let out a shaky breath and spoke up, "Every soldier is prepared for death. I have been, too. We, in the Military, are no strangers to the possibility of it.

    "It''s when our families, our friends bear the consequences of our work, that it truly pains us. Each one of my brothers means so much to me, that even the thought of hurting them, intentionally or unintentionally, is unendurable for me. Every second of the duration when he was in that Operation Theatre, was hell to me. For everyone in my family, actually.

    "I love him. More than he can even begin to imagine. When he was shot and was lying unconscious on the floor, I felt as if someone had stabbed me instead. I am so sorry, brother.", she whispered.

    As Mo Zixuan watched her speak through the production control room, the corners of his eyes started stinging. Cheng Tai pulled the man in for a hug, "It''s okay. Talk to herter, hmm?", she sighed.

    "If that''s the case then...", Jacob smiled, "Why did you put Presdient Xi, your fiance, in the path of harmst night, Military Chief?"

    For a moment, the girl''s eyes met the man''s, sitting roughly five metres from her, and a smile appeared across her lips. Crafty! Xi Yuan, of course, was unaffected too. This part was the very source for this interview, after all. He wanted to know how she''d handle the situation.

    With the realization that millions of eyes across the country were glued upon her, Rong Xingheughed weakly, "Well... his charms caught me off guard."

    Rendered speechless, Jacob Andrews stared at the woman in front of him. Charms? Really?! Breaking a severe military protocol for the sake of ''charms''? Was she kidding?

    "P-pardon me?", the man stuttered.

    "Gotcha!", the girl burst outughing, pointing her index finger at the man, "I mean mostly charms. But I didn''t do anything illegal."

    "As a matter of fact, you did, yes.", Andrews seemed agitated by the woman''s tone. No one made fun of him on natonal television. No one.

    "Nope. Not if Mr. Xi has been demed Defence Consultant by the state.", the girl raised her brows, "This was something the Army had been considering for quite some months now. President Xi is a civilian, we are aware of that. But he was a soldier once too. Hisbat skills are impressive, and his quirks in strategy formation, and information decoding are extraordinarily unrivalled.

    "There are many such civilians in Country X. And it''s not just the nation that needs the Military. The Army needs their people too. Together, we can be a force, that''s just unstoppable.

    "With that in mind, amittee was formed three months ago, under the supervision of Prime Minister Li Boqin. The respected delegates soon came to the conclusion that civilians should be able to serve their country too, not affecting their regr work life, of course.

    "So when the President questioned if I had someone like such known, I suggested Mr. Xi''s name. Nothing that happenedst night was illegal. He did what he had to do."

    Every word Rong Xinghe said, was a matter of sensation for Country X''s citizens. Not too long ago, politicians were ming and impudently criticizing her, urging the public to revolt against the Military, reporters crowding around Xi Corps. headquarters for answers. And in a blink, she''d shut down everyone''d mouths. Facepping gone right, was what it was!

    Who would''ve thought that she''d create an entire position in the Armed Forces for her darling, anyway? Neither the Superfamily, nor the Xi trio, were anymore sure if this was a diplomatic decision, or the she-devil''s pure, wicked PDA.

 Chapter 427: All up to you

    Chapter 427: All up to you

    "Wait--", Xi Wei wasn''t really able toe to terms with what his Sister-inw had just dered, so he turned to the man behind him, "Is it true?!"

    Xi Yuan was obviously not as bowled over as his brother. He was stunned by how her slick little brain functioned though, of course. But somewhere deep down, he had seen thising. He just hadn''t realized she''d do something so radical.

    His brother''s silence was even more terrifying to Xi Wei. Even he had no idea! The man could feel the veins in his head bursting by now. How would they handle the Xi family elders? Did her brothers know about it already? Had she thought this through or was it just impulsive? Hundreds of questions popping up in his mind, and no one there to answer them. He felt that it was barely a matter of time before he''d go crazy because of this couple.

    Xi Wei''s concerns weren''t wrong. The Xi family had a reputation for staying away from the country''s politics. That was a principle their grandfather firmly believed in. He hated it when people mixed business with governance. It wasn''t for Rong Xinghe to make such decisions, without discussing them with Xi Yuan, all on her own. God knew how the Xi family would react? And most importantly, what if this incident had the strength to draw swords between Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe?

    "Oh-", Jacob Andrews cleared his throat, silently downing the ss of water in front of him. It''d all gotten too intense suddenly. Such a colossal announcement was set to undermine the rankings of other news channels in seconds. Normally, he would extort the truth from his guests. But this woman, she wasn''t giving him any opening. She was literally confessing to everything herself, making him look like a general reporter. It was as if she''d seen through his astute conduct the moment her eyes hadnded onto him.

    "So Military Chief...", he resumed after a while, "Was this decision not at all, a result of spontaneity?"

    "No.", Rong Xinghe shook her head, "I mean the idea came to me, yes. But I am not the one passing bills in parliament, am I? It takes a lot more than an idea to form a post in the Military.

    "More than fifty bureaucrats and seventy Army higher-ups hailing from different corners of this very country seconded my suggestion. Not to mention, each one of our respected Judicial heads too. It was a proper eighty-day procedure carried out by the Prime Minister''s team. Nothing about this entire thing was spontaneous, I assure you. I am stating facts here."

    "Alright.", Jacob maintained his tone this time, "So what happenedst night? Inside St. Mary Hospital.", he questioned.

    "It was a Standard Military Operation.", the girl replied, "One of the Special Force Officers informed that three sleeper cells were actively terrorizing the hospital staff. It was an assassination job. in and simple. President Xi was with me when I received the call. Later, he strongly insisted on joining me, and you know the rest of the story."

    "Uh-huh.", the man smiled, "It must''ve been quite testing for Mr. Xi, provided he isn''t a professional."

    "He did kill off two of the three guys.", Rong Xingheughed lightly, "He isn''t a stranger to violence, Mr. Andrews. He was a soldier once, too. And he still owns a licensed firearm. Trust me, he is better than the most."

    "Wow. I apologize, Officer.", the journalistughed nervously, "Also, I''d like to know if there''s any danger lurking over Country X. You just mentioned the presence of a few enemies. Does that mean-"

    "Country X is safe.", the girl shook her head, "There''s nothing to worry about. My deepest condolences to all the doctors, and nurses, and other hospital staff, who couldn''t make itst night though. Justice will be served to them, definitely. But yes. Country X is well-protected at the moment."

    "If it''sing from you, we believe it.", the man nodded, "One more, the Xi family has been known for their low-key approach. They''ve never even shaken hands with the government before. Not like this, at least. Howe President Xi agreed to be a Defence Consultant then?"

    "Why don''t you ask him?", Rong Xinghe raised her brows, pulling her phone out of her pocket. Dialing her darling''s number, she brought the phone closer to her microphone.

    At the third ring, a deeppelling voice came through the other end,"Yes, Ma Jolie?", he said softly.

    "Were you busy?", the girl asked, as her lips curled up at the realization of how he''d just addressed her.

    "Not for you.", Xi Yuan answered, his eyes never leaving the ted girl on his TV screen, "What is it?"

    "I am in an interview right now.", she told him, "Aboutst night, Mr. Andrews here, refuses to believe that you would get involved with the Military consensually."

    "What''s there to not believe?", Xi Yuanughed, breezily, "You''re going to be my Queen one day. What I do, here onwards, is all up to you, Baby.

    "Besides, I get to spend more time with you because of it, right?"

    Jacob Andrews: "..."

    Unknown to how much their conversation was affecting the ones watching them, Xinguan were just being their usual selves. Him flirting, and herughing. If Rong Xinghe''s announcement earlier was a tornado, Xi Yuan''s words were akin to a piquant tartare sauce. Tangy. Hot. Delish and vorsome. Spicy, sweet, altogether.

    As the heat rose up to her cheeks and ears, the girlughed nervously, "That''s one way to put it.", she added.

    "Can I talk to President, Military Chief?", Jacob nced at the girl, neurotically. With a nod, the girl passed the phone to the man.

    "Thank you so much for entertaining us, Mr. Xi.", he said formally, with a pinch of twitchiness in his tone.

    "Hmm.", the man replied, s.

    "I...um, am I at the liberty to ask a totally disparate topic?", the reporter questioned warily.

    "Go on.", Xi Yuan agreed.

    "When do we hear the wedding bells between the Xi family and Superfamily?", Jacob Andrews wasn''t uninformed of how much of a trendy issue the Xinguan wedding was, among the public. And it was rare to get in contact with both, Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe. It seemed such a waste not to utilize the opportunity while he had it right in front of him, after all.

    "I have no idea either.", Xi Yuan said after some time, "Ask her. She''s the boss."

 Chapter 428: Didnt really escape

    Chapter 428: Didn''t really escape

    Rendering everyone speechless with his affection, the man disconnected the call, turning to Xi Wei.

    "What the hell, brother?!", Xi Wei was officially terrified, "How are you going to convince our family? You do know how many cunning bastards are out there, eyeing your position, right? What if... they see this as an opening and attack your authority?"

    "Calm down, Wei.", Xi Yuan shook his head, walking around the table, closing the open files on it, "Let Fang know that I want him in my office in half an hour."

    "Brother-"

    "Wei, she knows me better than I know myself.", the man cut in, "This wouldn''t have been the only time that I would risk my life for her. And she knew that all along. Months before yesterday.

    "She understood how trapped it made me feel to watch her go on the battlefield. Alone. So she gave me an option. She gave me a choice. Xinghe isn''t pushing me to give up on Xi Corps. She has simply paved another path for me.It''s as simple as that.

    "Don''t worry. It''s not like I''ll have to invest time in regr Military work. I''ll be just as much an advisor in the Army, as Xinghe is in Xi Corporations. We''re not switching careers here."

    As Xi Wei listened to his brother''s words, things became more clear to him. His brother''s heart ached every time he''d notice the woman struggling with the Military, her family, and him together. But he couldn''t vite Military protocols on impulse, neither could he rece her in Superfamily. Things were getting more and moreplicated for her, and she knew he''d been silently observing it all.

    Now that she''d rightfully demanded his legal support in her work, she had quietly yet smartly, lifted up the weight of guilt on his mind. Bravo, Sister-inw! Xi Wei had never known how deep Xinguan''s rtionship was until now. Xi Yuan never uttered a word to her, and neither did she. But both of them weren''t oblivious to the other person''s messes. It was as if they''d never required words to interact. A nce at their partner and they could read them like a book. How formidable!

    :::::::::::::::::::::

    Meanwhile, in MZX Headquarters, Jacob Andrews stared at the nk phone screen in his hands. With an understanding smile, the man passed the device back to the girl, "Anyments, Chief?", he asked, bringing the girl''s attention back to the topic of the most awaited wedding of Country X.

    "Huh?", the girl looked up, distracted, "Both of us are upied with work right now. But we''re working on it. We''ll let everyone know once we''re sure ourselves."

    "Regardless of whenever that happens...", the man added, his tone much amiable now, "You''ve my best wishes."

    "Thank you, Mr. Andrews.", the girl smiled modestly, "Any more questions?"

    "Now that we''re past the vital part of the interview, do you mind answering some of the fans'' questions?", the man sped his hands, excited. Receiving a nod from the girl, he pulled out his phone as he located MZX''s live app, browsing through thements section. "One of the Xinguan shippers here says and I quote, ''Military Chief Rong once said any man who''d pursue her would have to undergo innumerable interrogations and tortures from her brothers. How did President Xi escape the toughest part of the rtionship, exactly?''"

    Letting out a peal of rxedughter, her positively infectious giggles reaching every corner of the huge studio, she replied, "Well... he didn''t really escape."

    "Really?", Jacob was intrigued. How could the Six tigers trouble someone who was capable of intimidating literally any human soul with just his gaze?! Was it even possible?

    "Yeah.", the girl answered truthfully, "You''ve no idea how much of ring, and taunting, and crazy odd questionnaire sessions, he had to face. They were so picky about each one of his habits. And like kids, all of them woulde to me or call me, every time they''d notice even the silliest of his shorings.

    "He can''t cook Oriental food? What kind of person doesn''t like Tea? You know he doesn''t like emotional movies? Xinghe! He hates social media; how will you survive with him? Look, he isn''t into TV dramas!

    "And all of that wasing from Six such men, who can''t cook Oriental food, hates Tea, loathes emotional movies, do not care about social media, and totally against TV dramas. I mean... the height of hypocrisy!"

    As the reporter burst outughing, he could barely speak, "Really? They were that picky?"

    "Yep.", the girl shrugged, "They are always that picky. Running background checks on people around me, ensuring nothing about them is remotely dangerous; it''s what they do. And no matter how much I try to stop them, they never give up. All the six of them.

    "But that''s okay. They never make me feel that they don''t trust me. They never intrude on my privacy or harm anyone I am associated with. And that''s all I expect from them, honestly.

    "They just don''t trust people easily. They prefer to stay behind the curtains though. And provided my past, they have every right to get this protective, I feel. More than me, Yuan does, actually."

    "What do you mean?"

    "Every time I''d try to stop them, he would convince me not to. He says that he deserved to have a rtionship with them too and that it was unfair for me to interfere in it. He believes that bing a family requires a lot of effort and interaction and that he would like his rtionship with my family to shape up with time; not because of me."

    "That''s very thoughtful of President Xi, don''t you think?", Andrews was genuinely impressed. Initially, he''d thought that the couple had a lot ofyers, which needed to be exfoliated. But after he''d truly chatted with the two today, he realized that they weren''t fake. And that, the two were truly in love and were sincerely carrying out their respective responsibilities. Just because both their families preferred to stay away from the spotlight didn''t mean that their morality, or personality, for that matter, were questionable.

    "Yes, very thoughtful.", the girl rolled her eyes, "So much so that now he has formed teams with all my brothers, and now they are going fishing together, watching matches together, going clubbing together. And I don''t know-how, but he''s gotten them to spill all my secrets, or my embarrassing childhood memories, to him. And frankly? Not a fan of his thoughtfulness anymore."

 Chapter 429: An angry little monkey

    Chapter 429: An angry little monkey

    Rong Xinghe rushed out of the studio soon after, changing into herfy clothes she was wearing before, and stepping into her brothers'' office only to find it empty.

    "He is waiting for you in the parking lot.", Cheng Tai said from behind. Turning around, the girl nodded confusedly, making her way towards the exit. But she suddenly remembered something and came back to her Sister-inw.

    "Although it was all He Chen''s doing, whatever happened today was still illegal. And despite the truth, MZX Corps. will be deemed ountable for this vition in court.

    "Now, I am not going to let Bro Mo suffer the loss of even a penny because of that bi*ch, Sister-inw.", the girl added deviously, "The penalty for this crime is about 10 Million USD. Make her pay it."

    "Woah!", Cheng Tai gasped, covering her wide open mouth in shock, "I can''t, Xinghe." she said, "She is my senior here, love rival or not. I can''t just-"

    "Yes, you can. And you will.", the girlughed, "You''ve got to embrace your new identity as soon as possible. You''re one of the Superfamily now. And if there''s one thing the world knows about each one of us, it''s that none of us is a pushover.

    "Let that miserable miscreant roaming around in this very office know it too. Extort the damn money from her.

    "Otherwise, I''ll have to get involved. Again. And she''s so boring to deal with. Such a crybaby."

    Unable to control herugh at the term ''crybaby'', Cheng Tai sighed, "But I am not as experienced as you, Sweetie."

    "It''s easy.", the girl smiled cheekily, "Have you ever watched tigresses hunt? They stalk their prey and then follow it with a lightning charge. They then jump on the back of the animal, grabbing its weakest spot, the neck usually, and pull it backward, ripping it apart with their sharp deadly incisors.

    "That''s it. You''ve to find He Chen''s weakness, a dark one, and attack when the time is right. Yeah?

    "Remember one thing though, do not be merciful at all."

    The woman stared at the girl exining to her, her revenge strategy as if she was telling some story, and her words alone made the blood inside Cheng Tai''s veins run cold. "You know, sometimes, you''re scary.", she whispered softly.

    "Oh?", the girl raised her brows knowingly, "And other times? I hope smoking ravishing, entrancing, and smashing gorgeous!"

    "..."

    _____________

    3:00 p.m., Northside of City A, MHS parking lot;

    Mo Zixuan brought the girl a bowl of her favorite sizzling hotpot from a local vendor. Even though he found it weird how she still preferred roadside food, he had other pressing matters concerning him to discuss with her first.

    Rong Xinghe was sitting in the car, ck windows of it wound up when the man passed her the bowl. Her live broadcast was the talk of the town currently and she couldn''t afford to get recognized.

    Moreover, her Bro Mo was just as good as her, at putting on pretenses. He was a renowned journalist, well-experienced with tricky sting operations himself, after all. The man always carried a fake beard-mustache set, a cap, and country-like clothes in a spare backpack in his car trunk. It didn''t take him long to get her the food, obviously.

    "What about you?", the girl frowned, looking at all the dishes ced on the seat next to her.

    "I''ll have your leftovers.", the manughed, "I am not hungry, anyway."

    But she was starving like a wolf. Maybe because she''d just spent an entire hour talking, or maybe because she hadn''t had proper breakfast earlier that morning, but she was truly famished. As he looked at the girl stuff her mouth with noodles and chili potato at once, the man flicked the girl''s forehead, "Did we ever even teach you food etiquettes, Kid?!", he enquired, "Go easy on the eats. No one''s snatching your bread from you, trust me."

    Rubbing the index finger where he''d just flipped, the girl grunted, ring at him with her mouth filled with food. She looked like a monkey. An angry little monkey. She looked so funny Mo Zixuan could barely restrain fromughing. Who would, in their right minds, believe that this person was responsible for the security of an entire country, he wondered.

    But then again, the Six tigers had witnessed the craziest sides of her. They were her absolutefort zone, one could say. In front of them, she''d never bothered to put up filters before. They''d literally seen her walk, speak her first words, fall down her first bicycle, and whatnots. They had watched and helped her grow, to be exact. Why would she want to act all sophisticated in their presence then?

    But she did eat properly and at a slower rate after his warning. Mo Zixuan waited for the girl to finish all her food, and pick up her chocte shake before he dumped the trash into a bin close by, and sat down in the driver''s seat, inserting the key into the car''s lock cylinder.

    The man then turned the ignition switch on, looking at the girl beside her, "Xinghe, have you been ming yourself all this while? For the attack that night?", he finally questioned.

    The girl did not say anything. Deep down, she knew he''d ask about it. Inhaling a sharp breath, the girl fixed her gaze outside the window, passing her brother the takeaway cup in her hands. She nodded after a while, still refusing to utter a word.

    Mo Zixuan sighed. Pulling his fake beard and mustache off, tossing them in the back of the car, he then stowed down the shake cup into the car''s cup holder.

    "I am sorry I didn''t realize you were going through so much, Xinghe.", he spoke up a minuteter, "But I want you to know that I don''t me you. None of your brothers or sisters-inw do.

    "Ipletely understand why you must''ve held yourself responsible for whatever happened then. I can''t watch you in pain too. When you were in thata after the train incident, it killed us. Each one of us. Every second, every minute, every hour, every day, of that time, was so suffocating.

    "I am not afraid of death, Xinghe. Not if it''s for my family, for you.

    "And it''s not a sin to love your country, protect your people. You didn''t orchestrate that attack, kid. You didn''t shoot me. Know that. You didn''t do anything wrong for you to feel so much guilt, okay?

    "When I was lying on that cold floor after that man shot me, you know what I was thinking?"

 Chapter 430: Xi familys Torchbearer

    Chapter 430: Xi family''s Torchbearer

    At this time, the girl looked at her brother, tears flowing down her cheeks endlessly. With a wry smile, the man wiped them away with his thumb, "I was thinking that... I didn''t waste the second chance at the life you gave me."

    The girl frowned, staring at her brother questioningly.

    The man resumed, "I was thinking that, if that was my end, it was perfect. I had five amazing brothers, four lovely sisters-inw, and two adorable little sisters. I met and wed the woman I loved, and that I lived one hell of a life.

    "I owe my existence to you, Kiddo. And while I was lying on that floor, shot with two bullets, I was happy to have lived a life that was... worth it. I was at peace."

    "But I wasn''t.", the girl said, "I would''ve lost my brother! My Bro Mo. How could you forgive me so easily? You should be upset with me, hate me, shoulder me away from yourself. I deserve it."

    "You do not.", Mo Zixuan interrupted, his tone assertive, "We knew something like this would happen someday the second you decided to be the Military Chief of Country X. When you took the oath for that position, we knew that Superfamily would''ve to bear the burden that came along with your work, Kid.

    "And even so, we chose to stay by your side. That''s how much you matter to us, alright? You need to realize that your family might not be on the battlefield every day like you are, but we still are, all warriors. We are not unaware of the dangers lurking over our heads, but if we get to be by your side, we would all dly chose this life.

    "That''s a choice I made. We all made. And how could we be upset with you for something you had no part in?"

    "But-"

    "Xinghe, unlike other rtionships, a family doesn''t get options.", the man sighed, "We all are stuck together. Ad infinitum."

    "Ad infinitum.", the girlughed weakly, hugging her brother as tightly as she could, still careful of his wounds.

    ________________

    Xi Corporations Headquarters, 7:00 p.m.;

    "You wanted to see me?", Xi Chongkun stepped into the man''s office, unbuttoning his suit, "Is it about what happened in the live broadcast?"

    Xi Yuan was looking at the nket of spread out city lights from his floor-to-ceiling window when the old man came in. Turning around, the man nodded at his father, "Yes, Dad. That''s what this is about.", he said.

    Xi Chongkun was stunned when the man addressed him as ''dad'', for he''d never done that before. Not for a very, very long time, anyway. The young man had lost a lot ever since he was a child. But the loss of his grandparents was what had drifted him apart from his own parents, for better or for worse. But no matter how hard he''d or Li Jungah had tried, Xi Yuan barely looked at them since that night, let alone talk. So, watching his son speak to him, hesitantly yet progressively, Xi Chongkun felt... touched, weed.

    It was now that Xi Yuanprehended what he''d just said. Even he didn''t know why, or how, he''d done it. All he knew was that it just felt right.

    "Coffee?", he asked, pointing at the brewer in the corner of the room. Earning a nod from Xi Chongkun, he strode towards the machine, as the old man made himselffortable on one of the ck leather couches.

    "So when were you going to tell us about it?", Xi Chongkun asked, "The whole defense consultant thing?"

    Xi Yuanughed bitterly, "Well... it''s not like I knew I had such a job until her interview today, myself."

    Raising his brows, Xi Chongkun let out a heartyugh, somewhat the same as that of Yuan''s. Just more old, more experienced. "She is one hrious girl, Xinghe, isn''t she?", he added. Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah had met Rong Xinghe once before, and they''d loved the girl. No one had ever been more suitable for their son before. No high-ss socialite family princess. No businesswoman. But her. It was as if they belonged together.

    "She is.", the young man smiled, "The point is that I need your help. Yours, and Mom''s, actually."

    "With what?", Xi Chongkun asked, taking one of the cups from the man.

    "Well, I am not as acquainted with our extended family as you guys are.", Xi Yuan replied, "It''s your birthday two dayster. Could you help me spread the word that the position of Xi Corps'' CEO is and will remain, upied for the years to be. That I am not quitting Xi empire anytime soon."

    "Sure.", the man shrugged nonchntly, "I''ll handle it. Don''t worry. But tell me one thing, are you intimidated by those who are eyeing your chair, Son?"

    In reply, the man just shook his head, "No. I couldn''t care less about them, honestly. It''s just that if anyone wants toe for me, they''d bettere for me with the knowledge of the truth. Not assumptions. It gets messier, in the end."

    "You''re smart. Like him.", Xi Chongkun said, impressed.

    "You mean... Grandfather?", the man questioned, looking at his father.

    The old guy nodded, "Yeah. He too was immensely far-sighted. Always looked at the bigger picture. You know, I really looked up to him. But he was way more strict with me than he was with you. He used to always say to me, that his Yuan would grow up to surpass him one day. And you proved him right.

    "Whenever people praise you in front of me, I often think of what he used to say. He was so sure you would be the torchbearer for this family, and I believe him now."

    Xi Yuan inhaled shakily, swallowing, he rubbed his hands. Noticing his son''s reaction, Xi Chongkun stopped speaking. He knew how those memories affected Xi Yuan; he''d seen his son push people away from himself, use work as a distraction to go through grief, live apart from his own family. And as much as it hurt him, Xi Chongkun knew that pain was a very personal thing. He could do nothing but watch his child, his own flesh and blood, suffer by himself, while he stood there helplessly.

 Chapter 431: Couldnt make it

    Chapter 431: Couldn''t make it

    Military Chief Office, 21:00;

    "So we have no idea how this supposed ''Maksoor Khan'' looks like and apparently, he is not even Maksoor Khan. Fake identity; which means a formidable terrorist, for all we know.", the girl threw her hands up in the air defeatedly, scanning through the documents on her monitor screen, Elijah Williams standing opposite her.

    "Yep.", the man nodded, "And he has escaped the hospital, walking among thousands of millions of people in this country. We''ve kind of hit a dead end here."

    David Florence sipped coffee as he browsed through his messages, "Well... the good news is that all the active sleeper cells, even remotely entangled into this whole terrorist attack web, were killed by our dear devil Ripper. So he doesn''t have anywhere to go right now. All he should be trying to do right now is cover his @ss."

    "Agreed.", Elijah smacked his lips.

    "No. Even if that guy was seriously injured, lying on a hospital bed, for who-knows-how-long, these bastards always have ns. A whole lot of them.", the girl shook her head, "He won''t stop."

    Before the two men could figure out what the girl meant, Shawn Florence strode into the office, "Remember the prostitute Ruby, a.k.a., the pregnant inside informer Andrea, who tipped us off about the attack on Mr. Mo''s life?"

    "Yeah?", Rong Xinghe turned her head to look at the man, an immensely negative feeling crawling up her chest.

    "Well, an hour ago, someone tried to kill her. She was found unconscious in her room, drugs choked down her throat.", Shawn squeezed the girl''s cold hands, "The baby couldn''t make it, Xinghe."

    _________

    Xi Corporations Headquarters, 21:30;

    Xi Yuan had, of course, other demons tobat. Unknown to whatever the girl was going through, the man had something else in mind. The questions that''d been haunting him since he was fifteen. Xi Chongkun''s words earlier made him realize how important it was to let go of his past. And the only way to do so was to get all his answers.

    "We''re, yet again, back to square one, brother.", Xi Fang groaned, downing thest bit of espresso in his cup, "Mr. Xi''s story is still a theory. We''ve no way to figure out if Sister-inw was ever aware of whatever happened to grandfather and grandma that night. And you still won''t confront her. So what now? What do you want to do?"

    Xi Yuan remained quiet for about five minutes, tapping his fingertips over the edge of his table. He agreed with his brother at the moment. They were, in fact, in a state of stalemate. Information, which was clearly insufficient. Unreliable theories. And a messed up office, filled up with a ton of files by now.

    "Fix a meeting with this Yang Bolin for me, will you?", the man finally stood up, his tone resolute.

    Aghast, Xi Fang almost dropped his phone. "No.", he shook his head, "I am not going to support you in such an impulsive, rash decision. I am sure we can still get something from here. With you, in safety."

    "Fang.", Xi Yuan buttoned his suit up, as a smile made way to his perfectly sculpted lips, "It''s happening. But before that, I need you to do something else for me, brother."

    ________________

    Mo Zixuan''s Apartment, 22:00;

    Laughing uncontrobly, Mo Zixuan shook his head, "No. She doesn''t want you to fit in. Xinghe simply wants you to explore your darker side. Whilst maintaining legal boundaries, of course. But if you don''t want to do it, you don''t have to."

    Cheng Tai passed the man his medicines, along with a ss of lukewarm water, "But I want to. He Chen once manipted me into misjudging and insulting you and Xinghe."

    "So you want revenge. I get it.", Mo Zixuan nodded understandingly.

    "And... I agree with Xinghe. She was right about embracing this family, the Superfamily, in every aspect. I have noticed that Sister Ningtao, Sister Songyan, Sister Ruo Cy, and even Sister Ching Tong, have this personality, you know?", the woman tried to exin, "That they would fight good and evil, saints and sinners if that''s what it took to protect their families. I admire that. I really do. But I just don''t know what or how to do it."

    Mo Zixuan was about to say something when sounds of something crashing outside their apartment reached the couple''s ears. A flower vase, they assumed it to be. As the couple exchanged doubtful nces among themselves and rushed towards the main door, someone knocked against it, as if intending to break it down.

    "What the hell,dies?!", Mo Zixuan crossed his arms, when he witnessed the scene unfolding in the building corridor. It was indeed a floral ceramic stripe vase, crushed into hundreds of sharp pieces, Ruo Cy and Songyan standing next to it. On the contrary, Ningtao and Ching Tong were much closer to where the couple was.

    There they were, all thedies Cheng Tai had just mentioned, one of them too drunk to even stand straight. The drunk one, was, of course, Ruo Cy. Her alcohol tolerance was the worst, out of all the women in the Six tigers'' life.

    "And where are your husbands, may I dare ask?", Mo Zixuan questioned after a few seconds passed by.

    "They''re busy.", Ningtao shrugged, helping Ruo Cy stand straight, "Xinghe texted us that Tai needs help with some revenge nning. Well, chop, chop, Mister! Let us in."

    "Yeah.", Songyan chuckled, tossing away the broken vase''s ceramic piece in her hand, "And go down and get some ice-cream tubs for us all too, hmm? This is going to be a long night, after all."

    "I am not anyone''s busboy.", Mo Zixuan rolled his eyes.

    "Go.", Ningtao red at the man, "Or do I have to call Xiao and tell her my version of sob story. Then handle your, angry little sister, all by yourself."

    "Going. I am going.", the man said, resigned. Thank God he''d already made ns with Zhi Bo for some drinks, else it would''ve been impossible to handle these five women orchestrating the revenge of the century, while he attended to their demands. He had to admit though, his sister was one unique girl. She might''ve had already realized that Cheng Tai was feeling left out in the family, so making her deal with He Chen, and involving the otherdies into the coterie, she''d shot two birds with one stone. How freakin'' perceptive!

 Chapter 432: "Because you are lying, Xinghe"

    Chapter 432: "Because you are lying, Xinghe"

    Elite Saphhie Penthouse, 23:00;

    Xi Yuan ced the car keys over the table next to his door, as he stepped into the house and took in a long breath. He hadn''t heard from Rong Xinghe yet, but he''d presumed that she was still at work, provided she was preparing for a battle toe.

    The sound of soft sobs reaching him, from the hall, told him otherwise, though.

    "Xinghe?", the man walked into the dimly lit, eerily quiet room, worried, "What is it, Baby?", he questioned, striding towards her after he''d confirmed that it was indeed his Xinghe. "And where the hell is the butler?! Or, other housekeepers? Why haven''t I been informed that you''re-"

    "Hey.", the girl cut in, crashing her lips against his, "I dismissed them for some time. It''s okay. I am okay."

    "No, you are not.", the man looked straight into the girl''s eyes, "What happened?"

    "Nothing. You''ll think I am stupid.", Rong Xinghe bit her bottom lip, looking down at the book in her hand. This time, Xi Yuan didn''t say anything. He simply stared at her, leaving her with no choice but to speak. "I''ve been reading this book. Okay? <em>''The Last Girl''</em>. It''s an intimate memoir of survival, in which, a former captive of the Imic State, Nadia Murad, tells her ultimately inspiring story.

    "I was just reading an emotionally intense part of the novel, that''s it. Sorry, I worried you."

    "You did worry me.", Xi Yuan agreed, tucking one of the girl''s hair strands behind her right ear, a wry smile forming across his lips.

    "I know.", the girlughed weakly.

    "Not because of you crying.", the man added, "But because you are lying, Xinghe.

    "No. I...", the girl tried to say something but nothing came out of her mouth.

    "I see through all your pretenses, Ma''Jolie. Always. And you know it. You could dodge the question, or you could divert the topic. But since you chose to lie, that worries me more than anything. Something terrifying must be haunting you. So tell me. What is it, Love?", the man repeated his concerns.

    Rong Xinghe put the book away, her face inches apart from Xi Yuan''s. He was right. She couldn''t lie to him. She''d never been able to. He was her confidant, an attentive, rapt listener, and her most trustworthy friend, after all. She just didn''t wish to burden him with her issues right after he''d returned back from work.

    But then again, he was her partner, wasn''t he? In grief, and in triumph.

    Nodding faintly, the girl ced her hands into the man''s, "In Military, we hire citizens, civilians from almost every sector of the society, every corner of the country, to forewarn us regarding any unusual activity they might notice in their vicinity. The insiders, or the inside informers, we call them.

    "One such girl is Andrea. She wasn''t born in Country X. She was bought off as property by some businessman, assaulted, abused, and then left here. When we were looking to hire from the Red Light area, the infamous Supaku Lane, I came across her. One nce at her, and I felt a connection between us. She is so courageous, you know. So positive, and chirpy.

    "She had the chance to get out of there. Unlike other girls, who''re born there, trained for prostitution, she wanted out. She did, more than anyone. But she still decided to stay. You know why?"

    Xi Yuan shook his head, his expression earnest, one of his hands caressing the girl''s hair.

    "She wanted to y her part in fighting terrorism.", Rong Xinghe resumed, "Apparently, the businessman who bought her was associated with a terrorist organization too, and used to trade ammunition to those animals. Through her time, being sold and purchased by those filthy men, she realized just how much lust resided in the world of terrorism.

    "Pleasure is just as much a desire to them, as spreading fear in every living soul''s heart is. And she was right. No other inside informer has been as useful to the Army as her. She was the one who''d helped me decode Abraham Fadhil''s initial n too; hence protecting Bro Mo and Bro Al that night.", the girl stopped talking after that, fixing her gaze at her and her darling''s entangled hand.

    "She seems to be an incredibledy.", the man finally said after a silence of roughly two minutes, "Did something happen to her?", he''d figured out as much by then, obviously.

    It was immensely rare for Rong Xinghe to get attached to anyone so deeply. And by the looks of it, Andrea was no less than any other Military subordinate, or even sister, to his girl. If that were the case, he genuinely hoped that this woman was fine. Rong Xinghe was fierce enough when it came to protecting her country, every single person inhabiting itsnd. But she was so much more when it came to her family. One blow at her Bro Mo and the Ripper had unleashed, casting hellfire upon everyone and anyone in her path.

    He didn''t care about the people she''d hurt. He knew that, even in her devil-form, she''d never harm the innocent. What mattered to him was what all that Ripper-ness did to her. He didn''t want her to think of herself as a monster, or some evil incarnate like she did when she first told him about it. He hated when she doubted or looked down upon herself.

    "She lost the child in her womb.", the girl''s lips quivered, trembled, tears slipping down her eyes, "And guess why. Because she tipped me off with that info, that protected my family and this entire country. That''s what you get for being selfless in this world. That''s what costs you. A life that hadn''t even been formed entirely, Yuan.

    "When I got to that hospital, she was just lying there, unconscious. Lifeless. With no knowledge of her loss. She didn''t deserve this, Yuan. She just didn''t.

    "She was a good person.", the girl''s cries got louder as her hands clutched around her darling''s suit cor, "Why? Why did this happen to her?"

 Chapter 433: You belong here

    Chapter 433: You belong here

    Calmly, Xi Yuan allowed the girl to melt into him, wrapping his arms around her protectively as if trying to shield her from something evil, something monstrous. cing his chin over her head, closing his eyes, his shirt soaking in her tears, a wave of realization finally struck him. It was now that he''d realized that amid all his attempts of protecting her, he had forgotten just how important transparency was in this rtionship.

    Even though he knew that Rong Xinghe was hurting, the fact that she''d never hidden anything from him, whether it was about her Ripper incident, or the Andrea''s proved how much she confided in him. He, on the other hand, was constantly keeping her out of the loop, not letting her into his predicaments. Talking about the whole human experimentation stuff, the hell she had once walked through, couldn''t have been easy for her.

    Even so, she went out of her way to open up to him. And no matter how much he lied to himself, that he didn''t want her to feel obliged to help him through his problems, deep down, he knew she deserved to know his pain too. And yet, he was refraining from doing so. The only question that remained, in the end, was why. Why was he doing that to her, and most importantly, to himself?

    "Yuan...", Rong Xinghe pulled the man''s attention towards herself, "Are you okay?"

    "Uh-huh.", the man nodded, focussing on the matter at hand, "So... do you want me toe to the hospital with you tomorrow? I would love to apany you."

    "It''s okay.", the girl shook her head, standing up from the couch, wiping her tears away as she looked into the mirror behind the TV, "I can handle it.

    "Let''s talk about you. Have you had dinner? And how was your day?"

    "It was just the usual.", the man smiled, walking towards the kitchen, the girl following behind him, "Other thaning up with a n to let the Xi family absorb the news you bombarded upon them, nothing special. And about dinner, nah. I will cook something now."

    "I am starving too.", Rong Xinghe said, stretching her neck tiredly, "Should I help?", she asked.

    The next thing she knew, a pair of strong arms snaked around her waist, helping her sit over her usual spot, the kitchen counter, as the man smirked at her, "No. Just talk to me while work, okay?" Eliciting a blush and a smile from the woman, Xi Yuan captured her lips with his, unbuttoning her top two buttons, his fingers slowly making way to her bony yet tense shoulders, massaging them with just the right amount of strength, relief, and alleviation finally spreading through her body.

    ______________

    Mo Zixuan and Cheng Tai''s Apartment, 23:30;

    The five women sat on the huge apartment''s pleasantly swathe balcony, talking andughing, as the cold refreshing air hit their faces. Well, four, to be precise. Ruo Cy was dozing off like an infant on the swing about five meters away from the couches where the otherdies sat. Comfort, it was, actually. At least, the woman wasn''t hell-bent on painting the living room''s wall Baby Pink from Navy Blue anymore.

    "No! They really did that?", Cheng Tai felt her stomach ache due to all theughing.

    "Yes.", Songyan nodded confidently, putting down the third empty ice-cream cup in her hand beneath the coffee table, "Both Rong Xiao, and Rong Xinghe dressed up as their male alias, Su Bo and Lu Xi, and showed up at our wedding. Flirting with women, getting crazy drunk, and all of that. I even vividly remember Xiao kissing a blonde woman at our reception dance."

    "I never knew that this family was so crazy.", the woman sighed, "And nothing about these brothers and sisters is fake. I mean, with their sisters, Zixuan is just not the person the world has known him to be. He is so carefree, and so-"

    "In the moment?", Ching Tong finished the woman''s sentence, "I totally agree! Rogguang is this medical luminary, most respectful neurosurgeon across the globe. But you should see him nning pranks with Xiao someday. I mean, it''s insane!"

    "Same here.", Ningtao added, "There was this time when Xinghe climbed up Lu Mansion''s roof via the fire escape, and like spiderman, hanging upside down, pleaded Wei to join her to view a ''Pink Moon eclipse''. And guess what? The mighty CEO of Lu Corporations didn''t even reason with her. He got up there with a bucket of popcorn and coke instead."

    "Oh Gosh! That''s unbelievable.", Cheng Tai covered her wide open mouth, "But adorable too."

    "Yeah.", Songyan smiled, "It''s not like the men are at fault. They both are special. And the siblings have been together since their childhoods practically. Each one has a special bond with the two of them."

    "I was so foolish to listen to that He Chen back then.", Cheng Tai looked down at her cup of ice-cream, "I should''ve had trusted Zixuan more."

    After a few seconds of silence, Ningtao spoke up, "Xinghe allowed you into Superfamily because you belong here, Tai. Always remember that. Xinghe is just as much her brothers'' protector as they are of her. She was the reason Zixuan divorced He Chen, and she was the reason he married you. And that goes for each one of us, honestly.

    "Your rtionship, your love, your efforts, are barely the factors that brought you two together. But sensing what''s better for her brothers, that''s what she does. She doesn''t force her decisions on her family. But she never stops protecting them too.

    "So if you are married to Zixuan, it could only mean that you have her blessings. Hence, don''t feel guilty for whatever happened in the past.

    "This is Xinghe''s way of forgiveness. Us. Sitting together. In this apartment. You are family now, Tai. You are her Sister-inw and Media Ma Mo Zixuan''s rightful wife.

    "And whates with being in this family is tons of loads of battles. Silent ones, and the diplomatic ones too. At all times, you have to stay prepared for mind games and ill-intended provocations. We''re already immune to it, me, Songyan, Tong, and Cy. You''ll just need some time. Don''t worry though. You''ve got your sisters backing you up here.

    "Tell me now. How do you want to strangle that bi*ch, He Chen?"

 Chapter 434: Quite the nights together

    Chapter 434: Quite the nights together

    Next Moning, 9:00;

    As the cold private hospital ward drowned into Andrea''s sorrows, Rong Xinghe just sat by her side silently. From the minute she''d walked in until the one when she''d told her about the abortion, everything was a blur for the girl. As if her mind had gone numb. Truth be told, she didn''t want to be the bearer of such awful news in the first ce. And yet, she was the only one from whom Andrea deserved to hear it.

    Rong Xinghe remembered how Little Alix''s grave state had broken, terrified, her Sister-inw, when she''d gone through premature delivery. For the first time in her life, Ningtao was on the verge of losing her sanity. She was literally in a state of total denial; going crazy worrying over her child admitted in the NICU, not even considering the possibility of its loss. But Baby Alix fought through it. Andrea''s baby couldn''t.

    The woman sitting next to her was one of the strongest people Rong Xinghe had evere across. But a blow like such could affect the mightiest of people, let alone a twenty-six-year-old woman. The girl did not know of any word or constion that could provide her with peace. Nothing could ever make up for what she''d lost. Not even revenge.

    "I can''t d...do this anymore.", Andrea said after calming down a bit. It''d been almost an hour by then. "I want to go home."

    "Understandable enough.", Rong Xinghe nodded, "Arrangements shall be taken care of. Where do you want to head?" She was still not sure as to where Andrea really came from. She knew it was some town or vige in southern Israel, but she didn''t know the name of the ce.

    "I don''t have a home anymore, Xinghe!", Andrea yelled, frustrated, breaking down again, "They were all... killed. My family, my mother, my husband. All of them! What home is even left for me now?!"

    "I am sorry.", the girl looked down at her shoes, "I thought so too, once. I know it''s a terrible feeling." Unable to understand the meaning behind the girl''s words, the woman looked at her. What did she mean by that?

    "When I left the Rong family, I felt like... I had no home to go to. It was so scary; the loneliness, the uncertainty. I was what, fourteen, then. I feared that my brothers wouldn''t want me, and even if they did, their families wouldn''t. Why would they? A girl from nowhere was what I was, after all.

    "I even tried tomit suicide. The darkness was consuming the whole of me, and I did not know of any other path to walk onto, any other path to escape its ws. Look how I turned out.", Rong Xinghe smiled, "And home? Who''s stopping you from making it here?"

    Andrea did not reply. Rong Xinghe had always been her inspiration. Even though Rong Xinghe was younger than her, Andrea used to look up to her. Why wouldn''t she? That girl was someone who had fought like a warrior through every up and down in her life. The entire nation admired her for her willpower, and resilience, and thoughts. Andrea was no different.

    "I want that man dead.", the woman said in the end, looking into the girl''s eyes.

    "I will bring him alive to you.", the girl shook her head, "You kill him. No one is more rightful of it."

    ______________

    Xi Corporations Headquarters, 10:00;

    Xi Fang looked at his brother as he browsed through the documents on his table calmly. Why did he want to meet that guy? Why Diablos, the man whose name itself meant the ''devil''? Couldn''t he just talk to Rong Xinghe? Why keep her in the dark, and walk into the dangers himself?

    "Good job.", Xi Yuan nodded at the man, a smile making way up to his lips, "Once Dad''s birthday celebration is over, I shall proceed with the next step of the n. Until then, let''s not act on it, alright?"

    The man just nodded, a pinch of worry evident in his eyes. Xi Yuan wanted to assure his brother that everything would be fine in the end, but he was himself no more sure about that. Not afterst night. He hoped it would be, though.

    As the disquieting silence spread throughout the office, Xi Yuan''s phone rang up. It was an unknown number. "Who''s this?", the man picked up at the fourth ring, his expression indifferent.

    "Nice to listen to Mr. Xi''s voice after so long.", the person on the other end answered.

    "Diablos.", Xi Yuan raised his brows, confounded. Xi Fang was no less confused as he walked around the table, by his brother''s side.

    "The one and only.", the manughed, "By the way, did you like the ''gift'' that day?"

    "A dead snake with a note? I''ve had better.", Xi Yuanughed back sarcastically.

    "I guess.", Diablos sighed, "By the way, how is my Xinghe?"

    The moment the man''s words reached Xi Yuan''s ears, a darkness, a volcanic rage, ran through his heart, his eyes turning a few shades darker, dropping down the temperature in the room to a negative. How dare he address her like that?! Was he tired of living this soon?

    But Diablos resumed, "I bet she''s just as beautiful, alluring, and sensationally radiant as I saw herst time. I can still remember her uniquepelling scent when she''d pranced through my base. You remember?

    "You know, it''s a shame she got engaged to you. I mean we''ve had quite the nights together; we could surely--."

    Before Yang Bolin could say any further, the call got disconnected. Letting out a manicalugh, Diablos leaned aginst his chair. He couldn''t wait for the dramas to unfold in the days toe.

    Meanwhile, Xi Fang stared at the device lying in the corner of the room, shattered down to hundreds of pieces, shocked to his core. He had never seen Xi Yuan get so angry; but he''d heard the two men''s conversation a moment ago too. And he knew for a fact, that no man would want to hear something like that.

    "Brother, I think you''ve misunderstood--"

    "I need to talk to Xinghe. Now. Give me the car keys.", Xi Yuan cut in, his tone firm, infuriated even.

 Chapter 435: Lies and betrayals

    Chapter 435: Lies and betrayals

    Military Chief Office, Conference Room, 12:00;

    Rong Xinghe had no idea as to what was happening in Xi Yuan''s life. At this point, all she cared about was getting hold of that psychopath, Maksoor Khan. As far as Abraham Ali Fadhil was concerned, the Hybrids couldn''t do much about it than to stay low for some time, until Aftaab Ali would fix a meeting for Abram Orlov with him in Afghanistan, that was.

    Sitting at the head of the conference table, the woman addressed the group of Special Forcesmando officers, the high quality 85" disy screen lit up with Country X''s map. "I want you all to scatter throughout the entire country''s hotspots, the ones where all the anti-nationalists or militant once resided.", Rong Xinghemanded, her face solemn, "Go civil. No uniforms. Got it?"

    "Yep.", one of the officers, Zhang Lei nodded, "We''re to get this guy...", the man added, pointing his chin at the photo in his hands, "Maksoor, is it?"

    The girl just nodded, "Alive. There''s a possibility that this man might be the guy who knows Ahmed Fadhil''s gamen. We need him breathing."

    "Understood, boss.", another soldier, Ching Bao replied, his eyes scanning through the copy of the same photo in his hand, "There''s a possibility he would have shaved off his beard by now, for the sake of anonymity, of course."

    "You''re right.", Rong Xinghe smiled at the young man, impressed, "Run a facial diagnosis software over this picture. Try to configure it to our requirements as much as possible. Get the tech team involved."

    "Yes, Ma''am.", the man nodded, "Last question, how-"

    It was now that Shou Wu, the girl''s assistant, stormed into the conference room, interrupting the meeting amid, leaning down to whisper into the woman''s ears, "Boss, there''s an emergency."

    "Not now, Mr. Shou.", the girl frowned. It''d been quite some time ever since Shou Wu had known her, and yet, this was probably the first time he''d disturbed her like this.

    "I am afraid this can''t wait, Boss.", the old guy insisted. He was too afraid to notice Rong Xinghe''s gaze at him.

    "Excuse me.", the girl addressed the officers around her apologetically, reverting her gaze back to the man behind her, "What is it?", she questioned.

    "President Xi wants to talk to you, Chief.", the man exined, "He... um, seems infuriated."

    The second the soldiers realized who Shou Wu was talking about, they exchanged nces among themselves, stunned. If there was one thing Xinguan were admired for, it was the way they respected each other''s professional boundaries. Never had they ever crossed that line. Then what on earth could''ve happened for the Business King to neglect the same this time, they wondered.

    _______________

    Military Chief Office, Shooting Range, 12:15;

    "What the hell, Yuan?!", Rong Xinghe charged down the huge empty ground, her fists clenched, "What''s with the impatience?"

    The man turned around, his arms crossed. "I need to tell you something.", he said, his tone much calmer than earlier now that he''d seen her. He understood her rage, of course, he did. He was well aware of what he''d done.

    But he needed her, more than anyone right now. He needed her to listen to him. He couldn''t keep her in the dark anymore.

    The girl was still fumed up, but Xi Yuan''s tone demanded to be heard. As if there was a burden on his shoulders he wanted to let go. And that was something she couldn''t disregard, whatsoever. In the end, she inhaled a long breath, "Speak.", she said.

    "Lately, I''ve been investigating a matter. Concerning my grandparents'' death, and you.", the man spoke up. The girl didn''t say anything, neither did she move from where she was standing. Although she''d concluded that this was what Xi Yuan had been hiding from her all this time, she wanted more details. What did he mean by his grandparents'' demise and her?

    Noticing her silence, the man resumed, "About a week ago, I received a note from Diablos, the ''Werewolf Crew''s'' leader, asserting that you''ve worked for his gang once. I had a word with Uncle Chonglin too, about the assassination that night. And... today, I received a call from Diablos..."

    Xi Yuan invested a total of fifteen minutes summarizing what he''d been up totely. About Diablos''s ims, and Xi Chonglin''s side of the story. He didn''t even conceal the truth about how Diablos had talked crap about the time, the nights precisely, Rong Xinghe had spent with him. He had no intent to hide anything from her at this point, even though he knew how worse all of that made him sound, to her.

    But Xi Yuan had his reasons toe clean to the girl. He had yed this game much longer than anyone. The more he''d hide these things from her, the more he''d be giving Diablos the opportunity to manipte herter. Lies and betrayals had the ability to ruin rtionships to the point of damnation. There was no chance of reviving such rtions after that, no matter how hard one tried. And he would never let something like that happen to him and his Xinghe. Even if it meant upsetting her for a while.

    On the other hand, the more she listened to Xi Yuan''s words, the more she felt a painful sensation running through her body. Bit by bit, her heart was crushing. She was not even sure if this was his fault or hers. Was it him who didn''t tell her all of this deliberately, or was it her who couldn''t make him feelfortable enough to confide in her? Or had he, for a second, believed the sh*t that Diablos had been spouting all this time? If thetter was the case, just how pathetic was it all, really? They''d had a rtionship for about one year now, for hell''s sake!

    "Xinghe, I-", Xi Yuan looked at the girl''s expression, reading right through her, as he took a step towards her. But the girl stepped back, breathing heavily. Shutting her eyes close, the girl lifted her hand mid-air, gesturing the man to stay put. Next thing he knew, the girl picked up the revolver ced over the table beside her and turned around, aiming at one of the trees far beyond.

    BAM! BAM! BAM!

    A minuteter, the girl pulled her phone out, picking up the call from Shou Wu, "All the three dead, Boss.", Shou Wu reported, his eyes fixed at the bodies next to the trunk bottoms of the European Beech trees, "No ID found. We''re on it.", he added.

    "Traverse through the entire MCO base.", the girl ordered, disconnecting the phone, as she turned to look at her fiance, "Coffee, Mr. Xi?", she asked her eyes, her lips void of any emotion.

    *******************

    AUTHOR''S MESSAGE

    Thank you so much for the past two weeks of patience, lovely readers. I have had my Practical exams until yesterday. And I nailed all of them! Thank you so much for your blessings.

    I love you all so so much!

    LOVE_LOVE

 Chapter 436: "This hurts, Yuan. So, so much."

    Chapter 436: "This hurts, Yuan. So, so much."

    Rong Xinghe brought the man to the same cafe she''d once asked him toe to when she was hiding from a terrorist once, much closer to the Xi Corporations'' Headquarters. Throughout the entire ride, the girl didn''t say a word to him, neither did he push her to speak. He was simply intending on epting her reactions the way they''de.

    Even though Diablos had been ying mind games for quite some time now, it was solely Xi Yuan''s decision to keep the girl out of the loop. He was the one who had hurt her; the one who''d upset her. And, that was the truth.

    "I''ve ordered a Latte for you.", the girl grabbed a seat opposite the man, smiling at him, "Hope you don''t mind."

    Xi Yuan shook his head, smiling wryly at the girl, "Say it, Xinghe. That you hate me, and that I disappointed you."

    "I won''t.", the girl replied, a hidden dark meaning behind those words, "I never express hatred with words, Mister. I show it. In the worst way possible. You, of all people in this world, should know that by now."

    "Moreover, I could never hate you. But I need to ask you something.", she added.

    "Shoot.", the man nodded faintly.

    "Did you believe him when he bbered about me spending nights with him?", the girl asked directly.

    "Nope.", Xi Yuan answered, with no hesitation in his tone, "I didn''t."

    "And what if I were to say that he wasn''t lying?", Rong Xinghe raised her brows ever so slightly, observing the man''s smile fading, "What if I were to tell you that I indeed spent mornings in his arms and nights in his bedrooms? That he used to strip me off of my clothes every night, kissing the back of my neck, my breasts, my legs, and every curve, every inch of my body. That he was like a wolf, drowning me in pleasures and satisfactions like no other man ever did. That he owned me. My smile, and my tears. That every time he came into me, I''d bite my lower lip and moan his name out. Would you believe that then?"

    "Why are you doing this?", Xi Yuan clenched his teeth, ring at the girl, his dark grey eyes searching through her hazel ones, for something, anything.

    "What? Are you the only one capable of hurting me?", Rong Xinghe questioned, her gaze bravely challenging him.

    Xi Yuan was, to be exact, shocked. She was right. If there was anyone in this world, who could shatter his heart, his soul, it was her. She was the Queen, after all. She''d never been the one to ept humiliation or pain with tears and desperation. She embraced it with dignity and pride. How could he even think that she wouldn''t fight back to what he''d done? Even though nothing ever happened between Diablos and Rong Xinghe, she used her words as a source to pierce through Xi Yuan''s heart. And she had the right to do so, actually. He knew he deserved it.

    "Why didn''t you tell me earlier?", the girl sighed, pleased with Xi Yuan''s regretful expression.

    This was the question that had been bothering Xi Yuan the most. At this moment, nothing he''d say would make sense. In fact, it''d seem all the more ridiculous. But did he have any other option than to reply to her?

    "I wanted to protect you.", the man said, "I know it sounds stupid, but you were going through so much already. Your brother had been attacked, you had a country to shield. I just thought that this was thest thing you needed to be worried about."

    "Hmm. Someone driving a wedge between my fiance and me by professing that I''ve been hiding a part of my life from you. Indeed you should''ve hidden it from me.", the girl ran her fingers through her hair, exhausted, "Yuan, do you even realize how I am feeling right now?!"

    "Baby, I-"

    "Don''t!", the girl mmed her hands on the wooden table, enraged, "You don''t get to ''baby'' me after making me feel like I am not as much a better half to you as you''re to me.

    "We had a rule, Yuan. Leave work at the door! You were the one to suggest it, remember? We were supposed to be best friends first. Partners, even.

    "What''s the point of expecting transpiracy if you can''t trust me with your truth, huh? I respected your choice, damn it, when you told me you''d tell me about thister. Buting to me now, it''s pushing me think you simply wish to verify the crap an outsider told to you, and not investigate this matter together with me. This hurts, Yuan. So, so much."

    "Sorry.", the man didn''t know what else to say. This had never been his intention, to start with. But no matter what path he walked on, this was always going to be the consequence, wasn''t it? This issue involved her, it questioned her. He had no right keeping her out of it. Then again, the definitions of rights and wrongs had always been subjective, when it came to those in love.

    The girl swallowed, gazing out of the window to her right, her tone distant, "I''ll give you what you came for. Don''t worry.", she said, wrapping her hands around the warm coffee cup in front of her.

    "I don''t know who this Diablos is, neither do I know anyone from the ''Werewolf Crew''. The first time I met him was when he had kidnapped those three of my soldiers. I remember a face. Always. So no, I''ve never met Yang Bolin before.

    "As far as my rtionship with him is concerned, it doesn''t make any sense. I''ve never been romantically involved with anyone but Zhou Che, and you.

    "But there is one thing.", the girl turned to face the man, "About the whole Human Experimentation incident, the Hybrids didn''t escape. We were too weak for that. We were rescued away. But by whom? None of us remember, till date. But the time period of one month after that, it is all a nk. For all of us. Maybe the drugs were too strong for us to retrieve our consciousness back, or maybe our captor did something to us, but I have no memories of that one month.

    "So whatever ims this guy has been making about me and him, it might''ve had happened in those 30 days. Either that, or he is speaking nonsense.

    "I''ve told you everything I could. Rest is up to you.", the girl said, bringing the cup closer to her lips.

    "I didn''t came here for exnation, Xinghe.", Xi Yuan said softly, "I came here to apologize to you. Look, I am sorry that--"

    "It takes time for me to heal, Yuan.", the girl shook her head, "I understand why you did what you did. But it''s still a lot for me to digest. I..."

    "You need your space.", the manpleted the girl''s sentence, "I get it. I just wanted you to know that I''ll be waiting for you. To the end. No matter how long it takes."

    "I know.", the girl smiled, tears threatening to roll down her eyes. How could he do this to her? How could he hurt her, and lover her so much, at the same time? Such a ruthless man, she thought.

 Chapter 437: Take me home

    Chapter 437: Take me home

    Blush Nightclub, 02:00;

    That night, the girl didn''t return home to him, neither did she show up at her brothers''. She did what she always did in a situation like this. Went to a club to drown her sorrows in cocktails, alone.

    As she sat over at one of the stools by the counter, in a corner, she stared at the fourth ss of Whiskey in her hands. The staff recognized the girl very well. The club came under Zhi''s'' and Lu''S private ownership, after all. Their bosses'' precious sister couldn''t face any difort while she was here. So the manager himself was on guard, round the clock, tonight.

    Meanwhile, Xi Yuan watched the Six tigers walk around the Lu Family Mansion, panicked, calling every location they could think of where she might''ve gone to. The Youth Team NGO, malls, the MCO, even her favorite Ice-cream parlor. But nada. Nothing. Contrary to the Six men, Xi Yuan sat oddly calm on the satin blue chesterfield sofa, filling colors in little baby Alix''s coloring book, the chubby girl staring at him with amazement. Even Xi Fang and Xi Ying were on the edge, but the man to whom his Xinghe meant the world was unaffected.

    "Nope. She hasn''t left City A.", Feng Mian strode in, approaching Zhi Al, "Security has been tight ever since Zixuan''s attack. The police have been on high alert, as regted by the Military. She hasn''t crossed any toll za yet. Confirmed."

    "What is she up to?", Ningtao sighed, staring at her phone screen, "Other than this ''At th wbjndvo'' message about an hour ago, she hasn''t texted anything. Is it possible that she is in some sort of danger, Mr. Lu?", the woman looked at her husband.

    "I hope not.", Lu Wei shook his head, stretching his neck backward, tired. The family''s worries were, at once, broken off by Lu Alix''s loud giggles next. As they turned to look at the girl, they realized the coloring book''s second page had been finished too.

    "Are you okay, Yuan?", Zhi Bo crossed his arms, concerned. The Six men were way past ming Xi Yuan for stuff like this. For them, he was family now. Nothing less. In fact, it wasn''t just Rong Xinghe they were worried about at the moment. It was him too. They knew what their sister meant to this man. How could he not be bothered about her whereabouts then?

    Xi Yuan turned to nod at the man, a wry smile across his lips, "I am.", he assured, "Uh... Sister-inw...", he then turned to face Ningtao, "I''ll go and make some tea for all of you. It''s been a cruel night."

    "The butler can do it, Yuan.", Ningtao sighed.

    "Please. I insist.", Xi Yuan shook his head as he nced at the Six tigers, getting up from the couch, "Also, don''t worry about her. We''ll know pretty soon where she''s been."

    Mo Zixuan frowned as he looked at Little Alix following behind Xi Yuan, akin to a little duckling, as he walked toward the Kitchen, "What do you mean?"

    It was now that Xi Yuan''s phone beeped with a message. The man stopped in his tracks, the little girl almost crashing into him, and pulled the phone out, reading the contents of the message. As a genuine smile came to his lips, he turned around to face the family, "She''s at Blush Club.", he informed, "A transaction of 50,000 has been just made through my card.

    "The Military Chief is either drinking too much, or she''s being generous to every soul walking through the club''s gates today.", the man added. Was this her kind of revenge? Spending his money? So adorable.

    The Superfamily and the Xi twins: "..."

    ______________

    The Blush Nightclub, 02:30;

    Xi Yuan was right. As the man reached the location, the Six men after him, the manager greeted them with a bow. He then pointed towards the direction she had been sitting all the while.

    "Military Chief did offer to pay for everyone tonight, President Lu.", the man informed Lu Wei, "We did inform her that she didn''t need to, but she was so adamant, we couldn''t refuse. Our apologies, Boss."

    "Is she okay?", Su Rogguang inhaled sharply. Who cared about the goddamned money?

    "She was, initially.", the thirty-something-year-old man answered, "But after some time, she started crying. She wouldn''t tell any of us why. So we gave her some space. Maybe it was the alcohol."

    "It wasn''t the alcohol.", Xi Yuan shook his head, turning to look at Zhi Xi, "Excuse me." Eliciting a nod of approval from the girl''s brother, the man reverted his gaze back at the manager, "If that''s what she wants, tonight is on me. I''ll pay for everyone here tonight.", he announced before making his way through the crowd to his girl.

    There she was, in the shadows, in the dark, her head down on the counter table, shivering. She seemed so weak, so helpless, but safe thankfully. "Silly.", the man muttered under his breath, taking his overcoat off, covering her shoulders and arms with it.

    "Yuan?", the girl turned to look at the man confused, trying to get up from her seat, "Hi."

    "Hey.", Xi Yuan smiled as he helped her stand up. After every second, she was stumbling, leaning over him, and stepping over his shoes. But not once did she push him away. For some unknown reason, she''d missed him. Despite her anger, her pain, he was her addiction, her drug. She couldn''t let go of him. She didn''t want to, to be honest.

    "Your money... spent.", the girl whispered into her darling''s ear dizzily, trying her best to sound slick.

    "I know. It''s okay.", Xi Yuan replied, "You worried your brothers, by the way."

    "I... mssged... Sis-inw.", the girl furrowed her brows, "Yuan..."

    "Hmm?"

    "Take me home.", the girl said, her eyes closed.

    And just like that, under the scrutiny of hundreds of eyes, the man leaned down and picked her up off the ground. As she buried her head into his shoulder, he carefully walked across the open terrace, to the exit. "I am taking her to my ce.", he told Lu Wei.

    "Tell me if you need something.", the man nodded, cing a soft kiss on the back of his kiddo''s left hand, his heart at ease now that he knew she was fine.

    Xi Yuan wasn''t wrong, but she wasn''t being unreasonable either. The Six men knew that. That was the reason they didn''t say anything to him when they first got to know about what had happened earlier between them. Love was aplex thing.

    Just because Xi Yuan came clean to her didn''t mean she was bound to forgive him. Hiding truth, hiding reality, from the person you love, with the intent to protect them, had always been an easy choice. But it was still, a wrong choice, and with dire consequences.

    And that was why, when the girl was lying on that hospital bed, in a critical state, after the train incident, even though the six men knew how her health could be affected adversely by it, they had decided to tell her the truth about the Rong family''s involvement in that incident. She, of all the people, had the right to know that. Concealing truth could only drift the siblings apart then, and they knew it.

    But Xi Yuan chose differently. No matter what one said, her reaction, her rage, her pain, was natural. She had every right to expect transparency from him because she had never given him anything less. She wanted to be equal. His equal. Not a China doll, that needed to be protected.

    Side-by-side, she wanted to battle his demons the way he did for her. Was it so wrong for her to wish so?

 Chapter 438: Her Soft Spot

    Chapter 438: Her Soft Spot

    Elite Saphhire Penthouse, 03:15;

    Xi Yuan walked into his bedroom and put the girl to bed, carefully adjusting the pillow beneath her head. She looked like an angel. Carefree. Her nose and cheek red and cold from the alcohol. Mesmerizingly still. He could watch her all night. Literally all night.

    The man, after a minute, stood up and strode out of the room, summoning the butler into the living room. He asked the old man to prepare some hot soup along with a bowl of sd and a pancake for the girl, in case she''d be hungry after waking up. After a quick shower, the man swilled out a cold ss of water and grabbed a seat over the couch in his bedroom. He still had some work left to do, and hence, he retrieved hisptop from the bag beside the couch and turned on the dim yellow lights, so as to not disturb the girl''s sleep.

    The atmosphere in the room, tonight was oddlyforting. No one, watching from afar, could describe it any other way. The soft silence, sounds of his fingers dancing over the keyboards, and her soft snores, disrupting it every now and then. Moonlight peeking through the curtains of the open window, water dripping down his wet hair, his eyes traveling from the screen to her, taking in the expressions on her face changing. Every time she wrinkled her nose or smiled softly, or bit her lower lip the way she always did, the manughed tenderly yet breezily.

    Xinguan were endgame. It was all as easy as that. No amount of fights, or mistakes, or disagreements could change that. They belonged together, for what they had between them was epic. Combined, the two made a home.

    It was five until Xi Yuan was done with his work. The man ced hisptop over the coffee table and picked his phone up, checking his schedule for the next day. There wasn''t much, though. Since it was Xi Chongkun''s birthday g today, he had to make an appearance there. Assuming that the girl was still upset with him, he could only go alone, although his Xinghe by his side would''ve made a much stronger statement. Even so, he would never push her for anything.

    The man was pulled out of his thoughts when Rong Xinghe started coughing, hard. As he rushed towards her, he noticed her head covered in beads of sweat, both her hands gripping onto the nket covering her, her eyes partially open trying to figure out where she was. As the familiar ceiling came into her sight, the girl smiled dismally. Of course, she was in his bedroom.

    "Xinghe? You okay?", the man sat down beside the girl, pulling apart the heavy nket from her, "Here, drink some water."

    Obediently, the girl downed the entire ss, sip by sip. As the cool drink surged down her throat, Rong Xinghe felt a bit relieved. "Thanks.", the girl said.

    Xi Yuan nodded, his one hand over the fabric on her waist. The girl was still ufortable, though. Pulling onto the cor of her shirt, weakly moving her legs, trying to get up, she was so close to tearing up. "What is it?", the man asked, worried.

    "So... hot.", the girl mumbled, her tone shaky. Every muscle in her body was sore, everything was hurting, her head, her shoulders, her legs. She had never felt so quivery, so frail before. It wasn''t the first time she had drank. Then why, she wondered.

    Xi Yuan knew what could ease her mise, but it required him to cross quite the boundaries. "Do it.", the girl whispered, permitting him of what he was thinking.

    "But-"

    "Please, Yuan.", the girl begged, clutching onto her darling''s shirt, pulling him closer to her, "I can''t bear the pain anymore.", she said.

    Subconsciously, the man''s right hand reached up, unbuttoning her shirt. One button at a time. As thest button detached from the other half of the shirt, the man separated the olive green shirt, the cold air touching her bare skin. As the maroonce bra contained her breasts, everything else, he could see. Her corbone, her belly, the abs as a result of her regr workout, her perfect curves, everything.

    The man swallowed and lifted his head up, taking in her expression. She seemed much rxed now, but still somehow agonized. Was this woman even realizing what she was doing to him?!

    As the shirt was discarded to the floor, Xi Yuan''s hand-stretched down to her high-waist denim jeans. In roughly three minutes, those were off too, apanying the shirt on the ground. Xi Yuan stared at the girl''s almost naked body, her perfect slender legs, her fairly toned thighs, her slim figure, in disbelief. Oh, Devil! This woman was so damn provocative.

    The man turned around, inhaling a long deep breath. She was in pain. He couldn''t lose himself now. His girl needed him.

    About ten minutester, the man returned back with a hand towel and a bowl of cold water. And then, for about an hour, the man quietly cleaned her up. Soon enough, the girl had fallen back asleep.

    Tucking her hair strands behind her ear, the man smiled. How troublesome, he thought. Sigh... As long as she was content.

    Xi Yuan then got up and helped her put on one of his T-shirts and pajamas.

    The man was about to leave but the girl refused to let go of his hand, "Stay.", she mumbled. Helpless, the man lied down beside the girl, pulling her in his embrace, "Better?", he asked her softly.

    "Better.", Rng Xinghe smiled, opening her eyes slowly, breathing in his scent, calming her nerves. "Yuan...", she said after some time, her eyes never leaving his.

    "Hmm?"

    "I love you.", sheughed, "So much that I have no power over it. Even my anger can''t seem to rece it. You are, day by day, bing my soft spot, Sir."

    "You won''t leave me, right?", the man asked, hesitantly.

    "I won''t.", the girl started crying, "How could I? My Yuan needs me by his side."

    "I am sorry I made you feel so horrible.", the man sighed, wiping her tears away, "I will never put you through such a hell again. I promise."

    "If so, you''re forgiven, dear.", the girlughed, sweetly this time, erasing the distance parting their lips next.

 Chapter 439: A Queen with a Crown over her head

    Chapter 439: A Queen with a Crown over her head

    Xi Yuan wasn''t sure if what she''d just said was something she meant or if it was merely the alcohol talking. While her earnest, assuring gaze directed towards the former possibility, the fact that she was lying in his arms, in his clothes, kissing him after what he''d done, pushed him to believe thetter.

    Rong Xinghe had never been the kind of person to forgive so easily. The thought of letting people in again after allowing them to shatter her soul once scared her. She''d never been able to turn back once she''d decided to move on. Neither had she ever looked back to the Rong family nor did she liberate the Zhous from their guilt. Maybe, he was really an exception to her. Maybe

    As he looked down at the girl, sleeping like a baby, the man sighed. Whether she meant it or not, it was a matter of hours before he''d know that anyway. But he hoped, he so hoped that she would get up the next day, and search for him throughout the house, find him in the kitchen cooking for her, and would hug him from behindzily. The way she did every morning. Watching her cry, watching her hurt, was no less of torture to Xi Yuan.

    He wanted this fight of theirs to end as soon as possible. He wanted her to look at him with the same admiration, same challenge, and the same tenderness, she usually did.

    But this disagreement was necessary. He couldn''t treat her like one of his delicate Italian statues that needed to be protected. She was a grown woman. Yes, she was vulnerable in front of him. And yes, she had quite the busy schedule. But even so, in the end, she was a Queen. A Queen with a crown over her head. A warrior, who''d shed blood more than most of the men ever had in the history, and fought battles better than most of the finest soldiers ever did and still pranced out unscathed.

    She deserved to be treated as his equal, for she was soon to share his throne someday. He had to start trusting her with his wounds too, or he could end up losing her. Underestimating her selflessness, her capabilities, and her ability to be there for him was akin to disrespecting her. Humiliating, even. He had been so focused on shielding her from his problems that he never realized how his actions had pained her pride.

    "I am so sorry, Baby.", the man rubbed the girl''s lower lip with his thumb, his throat closing in gradually, "I''ll never disappoint you again. Ever."

    The girl was too asleep to respond but the feel of his skin against her lips was no more unfamiliar to her. The more his fingers yed with her petal-like soft lips, the more rapidly her heart would beat. Gradually, her lips stretched to form a smile. A soft satisfied smile.

    __________

    Elite Saphhire Penthouse, 11:00 a.m.;

    The next morning, the girl opened her eyes, in response to the bright sunlight, curling up inside the nket, exhausted; ufortable, throbbing pain shooting through her head. What was with the weakness, she worried. Had she had too much to drink? But the number of sses she''d downedst night wasn''t even half her regr limit.

    As she stepped down the bed, her eyesnded over the mirror across the room. His clothes Pushing herself back on the edge of the bed, she sat, all the events fromst night returning back to her mind, one by one. He had watched her unclothed. And yet, he didn''t

    Burying her face in her hands, the girl groaned. Way to go, girl!

    Rong Xinghe stood up a minuteter, walked into the kitchen, and then the living room, and then the backyard, unable to find the man. He must''ve gone to work, she presumed. She wanted to talk to him. About the things she said, the things she meant. So inconvenient.

    Only when she stepped into the washroom to freshen up did she found a freshly ironed set of her clothes and a sticky note pinned against the mirror loosely.

    ''Off to Dad''s Birthday. Breakfast and coffee in the dining. Meds on the side-table. Stay safe. I''ll miss you. :-( '', it read.

    Unable to contain her smile, the girl brushed her free hand over the clothes. He must''ve had went to the Elite Diamond to get them, she thought. Such a considerate man.

    ______________

    Xi Family Mansion, 13:00;

    "What do you mean she isn''ting?!", Li Jungah red at her son''s reflection upon the floor-to-ceiling mirror, "Did you upset Xiao Xinghe?", she asked.

    "I", the man nced at Xi Wei suppressing hisughter beside him, "might''ve let her down.", he confessed, "Just don''t let Dad introduce her name alongside mine tonight, okay? I don''t think she''ll show up."

    "Then what are you even doing here?", the woman questioned, adjusting her ne calmly, "How could you let her be alone at such a time, hmm? You had a better upbringing than that, Son."

    "I''ll stay for a while, Mom.", the man pinched the space between his brows, "People would understand if the Military Chief wouldn''t show up. But I represent the entire Xi Empire. Not to mention, I am the birthday man''s son. It''s different for me."

    "I agree, Aunt.", Xi Ying joined her brother as she looked ravishing at the moment, "Besides, Sister-inw can''t be reached right now, anyway. I called in at the MCO to check on her.", she smiled, looking at her elder brother, "It seems she has been testing the Air Force''s fighter jets since the past few hours."

    Raising his brows, Xi Yuan looked back at his sister. Smart. "Oh.", Li Jungah said, turning around, "Fine, then. I''ll go and talk to your Uncle, Ying."

    The siblings waited for the woman to close the door behind her before they exchanged nces among themselves. "Is she okay?", Xi Fang broke the silence. "Hopefully.", Xi Ying answered.

    "Is the Superfamily here yet?", Xi Ying shook his head, slightly heartbroken. Maybe it was just the alcohol then, he sighed to himself internally.

    Meanwhile, in Zhi Bo''s Art Museum, the girl stepped back, her face covered in different shades of paint colors, one hand wrapped around the huge brush, another holding onto the palette. Proudly, intensely, her gaze grazed over her creation. There was a spark in her eyes, a delight, a triumph to her risen cheeks.

    "Hermosa! Perfecto!", she mumbled to herself in Spanish, turning off Shawn Mendes''s ''Teach me how to love''. She couldn''t be more thankful for the excruciating hours she spent alongside her Bro Bo, learning to embrace this skill.

    A whileter, when she was done admiring the canvas, she ced the palette and the brush in a corner, getting rid of the vibrantly spoiled apron next. For some unknown reason, despite the medicines, the headache was still there. More severe than before now. But she shook her head, trying to concentrate on the matters at hand.

    As the pain subsided for a bit, she pulled her phone out, "Last but not the least, got to have a gown!", she reminded herself, for ''olde worlde'' was the dress code to the Xis event.

 Chapter 440: Her, sweet, sweet, Yuan

    Chapter 440: Her, sweet, sweet, Yuan

    Orgueil Banquet Hall, 17:00;

    Xi Chongkun might not have been an avable parent, but he was undoubtedly a formidable businessman. Even without the position of Xi Corporations'' CEO under his belt, he was an impressive negotiator and relied on his own capabilities to uplift the empire.

    Xi Yuan had always been a better leader than anyone in his family, for each one of his decisions since the beginning, had proved to be fruitful. Sprucely, the young man had distributed every sector of Xi family''s business to each one of those whom he found deserving of it, be it the members of the family or old trustworthy employees. Carefully, not poking onto anyone''s pride, giving them the independence to call the shots, allowing them to believe that they were in power; not entirely, though. He observed. Coolly. The mistakes they made, the developments they brought, the losses, and the profits. A mistake repeated thrice, and there would be a recement. No debates eptable then.

    Xi Chongkun was, in charge of manufacturing automobiles. The old man had quite an excellence in physical production kind-of industries, unlike his son, who was more into technology andworking. He enjoyed every bit of it. Every second he spent in those factories, chatting with the workers, and the managers, and the associates.

    Seldom, Xi Yuan imagined his father in his seat. The man would''ve made an eminent President to the Xi Corps., he believed. His resilience and determination came from his father, of that he was sure. In fact, Xi Chongkun one of those, Xi Yuan rarely questioned, or monitored, for that matter. The old guy had always been in control, and ''President Xi'' nned to keep it like that till the end of it all.

    As Xi Yuan looked at his parents, greeting their guests one-by-one, epting theirpliments and gifts, opening them on insistence every now and then, acting amazed, he sighed. He knew, better than anyone, that until now, none of those gifts had been able to capture his father''s heart. Diamonds, ridiculously expensive pieces of jade jewelry, watches worth millions of dors, exquisitely rare tea collections, and whatnots. And still, they were pretending to like it.

    He could never act like that, he thought to himself. He was worse at it. Putting on a pretense. But she could, and she would. She was better than most of the actors out there, almost at par with her eldest Sister-inw Ningtao, a professional A-list actress. Sigh... there it goes again. Her, ruling over his heart, his mind, and his very soul. Turning around, the man ordered another drink for himself, Xi Fang beside him.

    "What is it?", the man asked his elder brother, "You okay?"

    "Yeah.", the man nodded, getting back to the group of guests approaching him. He was lying. Xi Fang could tell. There hadn''t been a single person who''d stepped into this party and hadn''t questioned the Xi family, or the Superfamily, about Rong Xinghe. Their answers were the same, though. Military. Air Force. Fighter jets'' testing. It wasn''t as if it were a lie anyway. Right?

    But Luo Youyou was upset by the girl''s absence. To her, it was humiliating for the Xis. What was Rong Xinghe even trying to prove? That her work was too important to show up at an event personally hosted by the Xi family. How arrogant was she to act like that?! Even the Jiang family was here, despite the fact that Xi Fang had called off the wedding with Jiang Yue months ago. But her, why was she acting all high and mighty out of nowhere? So naturally, when she answered the queries about the Xi family''s to be daughter-inw''s whereabouts, her tone was filled with ridicule and mockery.

    "She is the Military Chief. What can we even say anymore?", she''d say.

    Neither Xi Yuan nor the Xi trio was aware of this, obviously. They were too busy strengthening their rtionships with their business partners. The Superfamily, on the other hand, was there to rx and enjoy their evening. As for Luo Youyou''s hostility to their Kiddo, the Six men were unaware too. But her Sisters-inw weren''t. Ruo Cy and Ching Tong had been rushing across the room, toward Songyan and Zhi Xi when they''d listened to the woman speak ill of their Xinghe. Infuriated, the two women were about to confront Luo Youyou there and then. How dare she?!

    But before they could tap onto her back, a series of screams and awws erupted from the other end of the huge, finely-decorated banquet hall. Following the source of the hues and the cries, they turned around, and so did everyone else.

    Each one in the hall was confused, but him. As a smile crept up to his lips, Xi Yuan raised his brows in astonishment. He knew exactly who it was, who had the audacity to electrify every mortal''s heart with just her risen eyes, or curled up lips. As unbelievable as it was to him, his Xinghe was here.

    He was right. It took a moment for the girl to silence the people surrounding her, another minute to dismiss them, but then there she was, visible to all the others. Bedizened in an elegant Wine-Red Satin off-the-shoulder gown, she appeared marvelous. Her jet ck hair was curled up, bouncing against the back of her waist as she walked in the same shade of pumps, oh-so-royally. She had her makeup on too. Nothing intense, though. A inyer of foundation, a liquid matte of her gown''s tint over her lips, and a basic ck eyeliner. And yet, she looked phenomenal. Breathtaking, even.

    Nodding at her brothers lightly, the girl made her way to her darling, a man following behind her, holding onto something enclosed in a silk embroidered navy blue box, tied up with a vintage-stylece ribbon.

    Looking at him, amid the crowd, and yet alone, her heart ached for him. Neatly suited up in a ck tuxedo, his hair done, he seemed just fine to the world. But to her, he seemed tired, as if he''d drained off of hisst bit of energy. Oh... her Yuan. Her, sweet, sweet, Yuan.

    Eliminating the distance between them, the girl hugged him, tightly, intimately, allowing him to embrace her back. Softly then, she whispered into his ear, "I meant it. Every word of what I saidst night.", she giggled next, "I love you, Yuan. More than you can even begin to imagine."

    Xi Yuan did not say anything, as quietly, he tightened his grip around her waist, burying his head into her shoulders. A secondter, the girl felt a warm drop of tear roll down against the skin of her corbone, and she gulped, running her fingers through his smooth hair affectionately. She then parted from him briefly, pulling him in for a kiss, cupping both his cheeks with her hands, wiping his tears away at once. She couldn''t let the onlooker get suspicious, could she? As long as they thought that the two of them had lost themselves to the moment...

    "I love you too.", Xi Yuan finally said back after he had calmed down enough, "A Virgin Mojito, Ma''jolie?", he asked her with a smile.

    Laughing at the man''sment, the girl answered with a wink, "Without the alcohol, yes, Mr. Bartender."

 Chapter 441: The (metaphorical) Present

    Chapter 441: The (metaphorical) Present

    Orgueil Banquet Hall, 17:05;

    It wasn''t the first time that Xinguan had tormented the public or the media with their PDA. But the intimacy between them tonight was too much to handle for those who watched them, as they stood afar, wishing, wondering, worshipping. But that''s all they could do. Hope to have what they had, and dream to be what they were.

    The way they looked at each other, the way they held hands, and even the way they talked, was a statement. That they were meant to be. That no other person could fill the void left by any of them. And that they belonged to each other.

    As Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah stared down at their son, smiling for the first time probably that evening, subconsciously, their hearts were at ease too. It hadn''t had even been five minutes since her arrival, and she''d brought out the true spirit of the event, exciting and cheering on the guests, talking to them with utmost decency, listening to their stories as if nothing else mattered more, while their son stayed by her side as he looked after her drinks and appetizers.

    And that was when the old man and the olddy realized just how lucky their son was to havee across someone so special. She hadn''t even married him, and yet, she was interacting with everyone associated with the Xi family as if they were her own. She was quite thebination of fierceness and propriety. A two-sided sharp sword, with a handle of delicate, and magnificent boration. She wasn''t someone any ordinary man was worthy of even speaking to. Only someone as... secure and resilient as their son could rightfully hold her hands.

    At the moment, as they looked at the two, standing together, people amazed by the power they held, for some unknown reason Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah felt proud. Xinguan seemed so perfect as they smiled at each other, least bothered by the number of eyes envying them. He had chosen the right woman for himself, they sighed, thinking back to all the attempts they made into arranging those ludicrous blind dates for him. He never showed up to any of them, though. Thankfully, as they thought of it now.

    "I have a gift for your father.", the girl turned to her darling the moment they were alone, "Would he mind?"

    Xi Yuan raised his brows, stunned, "He wouldn''t.", the man shook his head, "But you didn''t have to. They already like you."

    "It''s his birthday, Mr. Xi!", the girl smacked the man on his arm lightly, "Don''t tell me you didn''t bring him gifts."

    "..."

    "Oh my God! You didn''t bring him gifts?", the girl stared at the man, shook to her core, "What is wrong with the kids these days?!", she groaned, clutching onto her chest, acting as if the man hadmitted a sin. Looking at her, acting all ''responsible, tired old aunt'', Xi Yuanughed out. How cute!

    "Juste with me.", Rong Xinghe rolled her eyes, grabbing onto the man''s right hand, as she gestured to the man behind her to pass her the box in his hand.

    Xi Chongkun''s smile widened as the girl made her way toward him, her steps careful while she climbed the stairs. Xi Yuan was more worried than her, actually. Why couldn''t she let him hold the gift, he muttered under his breath. Silly girl. Slightly, he bent down as he helped her hold her gown up a bit so she could walkfortably.

    And almost instantly, the paparazzi, at the range provided to them aimed their cameras at the couple too. What a gentleman-ly moment! President Xi and the Military Chief were quite the lovers, weren''t they? Most importantly, just what did thedy n to gift to her to be father-inw?

    Actually, that was something almost every guest throughout the hall was looking forward to too, including the girl''s Sisters-inw. The Six tigers, on the other hand, weren''t even a tad bit worried about it. In fact, their major concern was to decide what drink to chose next. As hrious as it looked, they knew how their little sister''s brain worked better than anyone. Whatever she was to give to the old guy, the Six men knew how unbelievably beautiful it would turn out to be. After all, her presents, just like her, had been known to be exceptionally impressive.

    "Happy Birthday, Sir.", the girl smiled with a nod as she reached closer to the old couple, "How have you been?"

    "Call me Dad, youngdy.", Xi Chongkun smiled fondly, cing his one hand over her head as he blessed her, "How was your Military work?", he then asked.

    "Everything went well.", Rong Xinghe answered, well-aware of the cover-up story her brothers and the Xi family hade up with. "I am not sure if you''d like it but there''s a little something from me and your son, on this delightful asion.", the girlughed, pointing her chin toward the box in her hand.

    "Oh?", Li Jungah raised her brows, untying the vintage-styled blue ribbon, uncovering the box''s top next. About half a minuteter, the woman pulled out the framed painting from the box, holding it out to her husband while he and Xi Yuan took in the sight of it, both men''s eyes open wide.

    It was, of a father and a son. A little boy, standing in front of a mirror, chubby, concentrating on the tie in his little hands, struggling to put it on as perfectly as his father did. And the father, peeking into his son''s room, his one hand on his chest, a content smile on his lips, outred in a formal suit but missing a tie around his neck. Metaphorically, the tie in the little boy''s hands was the one that replicated the design of the suit the father was wearing.

    The two characters in there were none other than Xi Chongkun and Xi Yuan. It was shocking as to how the artist had painted down their exact features from years ago. It was as if the painting was a picture clicked then. But it wasn''t. That was something, both Xi Chongkun and Xi Yuan remembered precisely.

    Unable to utter a word, Xi Chongkun looked at the girl. So did the equally surprised Li Jungah and Xi Yuan. Who painted this? How? Why? So many questions on their minds, yet, they were short of words.

    The girlughed, understanding their dilemma, as she spoke up, "Yuan once told me that when he was about four or five, he would often sneak into your room to grab a tie. He couldn''t speak then, because of his Acute Autism; but he wanted to grow up to be like you. So he would check every morning if the tie would look as great on him as it did on you.

    "Ying, after some days, told me, just how much Dad enjoyed this routine. So he''d sometimes ce one of his ties in Yuan''s room himself, watching him from a distance as he tried to put it on.

    "I found this story too adorable. So much so that I wanted to capture it. So a few days ago, I asked Fang to get me some of you two''s pictures from back then.

    "Yuan and you, Dad, might not have had the most interactive rtionship, but it was, in a way, still very innocent and captivating. I wanted both of you to always hold onto that and cherish it. He is lucky to have you, and you are lucky to have him.

    "So when he told me about your birthday a month back, I couldn''t think of anything else but to give that incident a form and paint it down.", she concluded, her tone filled with nervousness.

    It took some time for the two men to digest the girl''s words, but when they did, they were still not sure of what to say. She painted it herself! That was already mind-boggling enough. She was more of a professional than most of the artists out there were, just like her Brother Zhi Bo.

    But what amazed them the most was the amount of thought and efforts she''d put into it. Just how were they even supposed to begin appreciating that?!

 Chapter 442: Flickering Dark Desire

    Chapter 442: Flickering Dark Desire

    Orgueil Banquet Hall, 17:10;

    Li Jungah was the first one to stretch her arms wide open, pulling the girl in for a warm motherly hug, "Oh child...", she said, tears clouding her sight, "Thank you so much. This... this is just lovely."

    Xi Chongkun joined in, patting his hand over her head, clearing his closed throat, "This, daughter, is the most precious gift to me, and for it, I couldn''t be more thankful.", he smiled, "So tell me, where would you want me to hang it up?"

    "The painting over the wall behind your office desk is pretty dull, don''t you think?", the girl scratched the back of her head awkwardly as she shrugged, "Just a suggestion."

    Letting out a peal of breezyughter, just like his son, the old man nodded, "Understood. That painting goes down first thing in the morning tomorrow."

    "By the way, Xiao Xinghe...", Li Jungah took the girl''s hands into hers, her eyes moist, "You said Yuan helped you. How, exactly? Because as far as I can remember, this young man has never painted before."

    The girl bit her lower lip as her eyesnded upon her darling, his gaze fixed over the painting she''d painted over a course of three months, to the extent of perfection. The man''s expression was earnest, grave. He hadn''t looked at her, nor had he uttered a word to her since the moment he''d seen it. And the girl realized just how difficult it was for him to express himself. He''d always been like that. So be it, she thought to herself. She wouldn''t push him for anything anyway.

    Reverting her gaze back to his parents, the girl rolled her eyes exhaustedly, "He hasn''t. But he stayed awake through the nights, brewing me coffee and cooking midnight treats. So he did have a part in this creation.", she giggled, "He fed the artist!"

    As both Li Jungah and Xi Chongkun burst outughing, the people standing below, the girl''s Sisters-inw, the man''s family, the people varying from a variety of fields, and the journalists, were shaken to their bottoms.

    Who would''ve thought that the Military Chief of Country X would turn out to be such a skilled genius?! Had it been one of Zhi Bo''s upscale and cliquish art exhibitions, there was no way that this piece of art would''ve gone even a cent down from the five hundred million USD bar. The vibrance to the borders, the uracy to the smallest bit of features, the mindblowing blend of dark and light paint shades; it was just too professional! And this was something only the true art lovers could appreciate.

    Even so, the two Xi family elders hadn''t been as intrigued or amazed by any other present as they were by this one. Almost everyone in the crowd could tell that. The thought behind this gift was way too deep than any other so far, after all. And so, their reaction was totally natural.

    But that wasn''t something the media had its eyes on at the moment. Furiously, venturesomely, crazily, the cameramen and the camerawomen clicked the pictures of the painting, for they knew that Rong Xinghe had always been a woman of mystery to those who admired her.

    She wasn''t a singer as she was once before. Neither was she any celebrity. And yet, the number of her followers always seemed to outnumber the sum total fans of the top ten celebrities, globally.

    The reason was simple. The second anyone would dare to assume that they''d figured her all out, she''d pull out another one of her quirks, akin to the feathers of the Devil, proving them wrong altogether. She had the personality to keep people glued to her, luring them to read the next chapter of her story, promising them that they''d definitely find something enigmatic and interesting.

    Hence, nothing boosted up news channels'' rating the way Rong Xinghe''s littlest kes of actions did. And that''s why, even after quitting the music industry years ago, she''d never been able to step out of the spotlight.

    :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

    Orgueil Banquet Hall, 17:30;

    Only when Xinguan reached down the stage did the girl grabbed her fiance''s hand and hauled him into one of the silent corridors, away from the prying eyes. He needed the quiet. He always did, at times like this, and she knew that.

    "Hey!", the girl nced at the closed door behind them once they were at a considerable distance from the craziness, "You okay?"

    In response, Xi Yuan simply nodded, swallowing, inhaling a shaky breath.

    "What''s going on, Baby?", Rong Xinghe questioned again, her tone filled with anxiety now. Had she hurt him in some way? Or was it too soon to mend the bridges between him and his parents? Was she intruding too much into his family? Maybe... she shouldn''t have done it, to begin with.

    As the man didn''t answer this time too, the girl sighed, "Fine. Whenever you want to talk." And about ten secondster, she turned, reaching for the handle of the suitably tall door.

    But before she could step out, a pair of built familiar handsnded against her waist, pulling her against a firm broad chest, sending an electric sensation down every nerve in her body. The next second, he turned her around so she could face him, his lips inches apart from hers, an indescribable amount of heat building up between the two.

    "Why?", he finally said.

    "Huh?"

    "Why are you such an angel, hmm? Why are you able to express every word I wish to speak? And why are you able to feel every emotion that I feel?", the man asked, his voice raspy and heavy, "That was my most favorite memory from childhood. The routine you painted. I wanted to remember it. I truly did. But that was all it was going to be; a wish, until you made it a reminder. Thank you so, so much, Love."

    "You don''t think it wasn''t my ce to do it?", the girl questioned, her body and her heart underneath, tensed.

    "Why would I?", the man furrowed his brows, "You''re trying to do something no one ever did for me. You''re trying to heal my age-old wounds and fill the voids of my childhood. You were trying to get me closer to my father, and it''s not a crime. That''s probably the most considerate and meaningful thing anyone ever did for me.

    "Moreover, I am no one toment, you see. It''s between you and Dad. It was his birthday and it was his gift. And his favorite one at that, I must say. He was truly pleased, Honey, trust me."

    The girl nodded, relieved. nting a quick peck against his lips, she smiled.

    "Let me go.", she red at him, unable to break free from the strong arms caging him. And for a second, she saw something dark flicker in his eyes; a desire, she believed.

    He leaned into her, teasing the mole behind her right ear with his teeth, "We, sweetheart, are not going back to that party.", he whispered to her, revealing his intentions as his right hand traveled from the small of her back to a little above, pulling the chain of her dress halfway down.

 Chapter 443: The Invasion

    Chapter 443: The Invasion

    Orgueil Banquet Hall, 18:00;

    Unknown to where their son and to be daughter-inw was, Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah took advantage of the event to oppress those who''d started to imagine taking over their son''s throne since Rong Xinghe had announced his position in the Military. Of course, Rong Xinghe''s presence alongside Xi Yuan was a stronger statement itself, warning and subjugating anyone who could possibly wish to rece Xi Yuan in the Xi Corporations. But even so, the Xi family''s elders'' opinions would prove to be a full stop to it all.

    Every power-seeking individual around tonight talked in circles, trying to understand the authority status of the Xi family, and yet, not daring to suggest anything atrocious. But there was one person throughout the event, who wished to propose a name, desperately too, at that.

    "I am simply worried about Yuan, Sister.", Luo Youyou''s brother, Luo Chen, said to her, his voice loud enough for it to reach the old couple''s ears as well as the girl''s brothers, "He can''t be exhausted too much, provided his workload. But what can we say? It''s as if he''s possessed by that Rong family''s pathetic daughter. How could he even fancy someone so awful anyway?

    "And if he really wants to do it, why not pass on his responsibilities to Xi Fang. Our Fang is no less capable, don''t you think?"

    Xi Chongkun was infuriated by the man''s words obviously. It wasn''t like he looked down on his nephew, or thought of Xi Fang as unworthy for the position. Why was this guy implying something so irrational or absurd, then? Li Jungah, on the other hand, had her eyes fixed upon the Six tigers. Not even the Xi family could endure the consequences of enraging the Superfamily; she knew of it. And as she''d expected, their expressions were petrifying, dropping down the temperature of the entire hall to a few degrees, a frightening cold aura radiating through them.

    Even Luo Youyou realized that, as a shiver ran down her spine. Gulping, she quickly held onto her brother''s hand, tugging onto it, attempting to silence him. But he didn''t sense the uing danger until Zhi Al''s handnded over his right shoulder. As Luo Chen turned to face the man, internally, Luo Youyou could feel her legs trembling. She could only hope for mercy now. Nothing she''d say could pacify them at this point, of that she was aware.

    "Urghh!", as a pernicious punchnded across his face, leaving behind a mark right under his left eye, blood spilling down over the clean floor, the man stared at the girl''s brother opposite him, enraged.

    Lu Wei and Zhi Xi exchanged nces among themselves and shrugged nonchntly. Zhi Al was the most short-tempered of them all. Getting into fights, creating troubles, causing chaos, was what this brother of theirs did for as long as they could remember. Usually, they would''ve reprimanded the youngest of them sternly for what he''d done just now. But not this time. That son of a bi*ch had iting.

    "Oh my God! Chen...", Luo Youyou rushed toward her brother, tears brimming down her eyes. As the media turned to point their cameras at the dramatic situation, Luo Chen felt embarrassed, humiliated, even; sitting on the cold white floor. He was like a beaten dog, onlookers spitting at him. But he wasn''t. He was the CEO of the Luo Corporations, damn it!

    "I will kill you!", he stood up with a struggle, his eyes bloodshot with rage, as he pounced onto Zhi Al, "How dare you?!" But before his fist could reach Zhi Al''s nose, another strong hand snaked around its wrist, twisting it such that the man shrieked out in agony.

    "He is one of us. Off-limits!", Zhi Xi said indifferently as he stared down at the phone in his other hand, reading through the notifications at its top.

    "Yeah.", Lu Wei smiled cunningly, grabbing a seat at the couch behind him, "You see, Al hates to have facial injuries. It takes a lot of time to heal. So we can''t let you ruin our brother''s face."

    "This is illegal!", Luo Chen cried out in pain as Zhi Xi''s grip tightened further, "L-leave me."

    "Sorry for the invasion, Mr. Xi.", Zhi Bo nced at Xi Chongkun apologetically, "But this has to be taken care of by us if you don''t mind.

    "After all, no one ever dared talk of our Sister in such a harsh and insulting manner as this disgrace of a person just did."

    And for the first time that evening, Xi Chongkun understood the power and control the Six tigers enjoyed in Country X. They ruled the ce they walked in, regardless of whose territory it was, just like their sister. They didn''t care about the media, or the scandals, or the gossips. For them, as long as their sister''s honor was at stake, they''d shed blood anywhere they stood. Rong twins were their bottom line: end of the story.

    Questioning Xi Yuan''s position was one thing. But associating their precious Kiddo to the monstrous Rong family, disrespecting her in public, calling her pathetic and awful; wasn''t that a straight-up death wish?!

    ___________

    Orgueil Banquet Hall, The VIP Suite; 18:05;

    Xi Yuan mmed the door behind them, pinning her against the cold surface of it, kissing her at every spot essible to him, as she moaned his name every now and then.

    "Don''t... Yuan.", the girl whispered, as he left behind a trail of love bites on her neck and her corbone, his lips traveling down to her bosom next, his hands slowly pulling down the zip of the chain, to the end, this time.

    As the gown slid down her shoulders, revealing her bra and the bare skin concealed underneath, the girl bit her lower lip, the way she always did, and held onto his face, making him look into her Hazel Brown eyes, "Yuan.", she said softly, "I have periods. First day."

    Running his hands through his hair, the man closed his eyes, controlling his overflowing emotions. Then, after a while, he ced a tender kiss against her forehead, "I am sorry.", he said, "I should''ve asked."

    "I don''t mind if you really want to.", the girlughed tiredly, her head throbbing with the same hammering pain again.

    "I don''t.", the man shook his head, "Nothing''s more important than your health.

    "Tell me, are you okay? How are the cramps? Do you want me to get you some chocte? Or Ice-cream? Are your legs sore? Would you feel okay if you''d get some sleep? And-"

    The girl ced her right index finger over the man''s lips, pulling him close enough to rest her head against his shoulder, shutting her eyes close, "So many questions...", she sighed, "Let''s just stay like this for a while. Okay?"

    "Okay."

    As he caressed her hair, massaging her head gently, Xi Yuan looked up at the ceiling of the grand suite. Why were there so many interruptions when it came to them? Either it would be the calls disturbing their moment, or her old childhood wounds, or his siblings. And now, menstruation? Excellent!

    "Yuan..."

    "Hmm?", the man looked down at the girl. She looked so pale, her face drained of any color. What was happening to her?

    "I don''t feel good.", she said slowly, losing herself to the darkness overpowering her eyes and her mind, as her hands lost the hold over his suit''s cor and fell back downward, the tip of their fingers turning cold from the loss of his warmth.

 Chapter 444: "She is in pain."

    Chapter 444: "She is in pain."

    Orgueil Banquet Hall, 18:10;

    Clueless about their Kiddo''s state, the Six tigers were focused on dealing with Luo Chen. Deep down, almost every invitee witnessing the ruthlessness of the girl''s brothers was aware of the fact that whatever it was that they were doing, it wasn''t illegal. Defamation of Country X''s Military Chief was a terminal offense, the punishment of which, ording to the Military Protocols, was death. Notifying police would onlyplicate matters for Luo Chen, for there was no escape from the subsequent decree in the history of Country X.

    The Superfamily was carrying out the government and Military''s job, and at most, they''d be charged with a fine for violence in the end. Not that any of the high-ss socialite public there tonight were interested in standing up for Luo Chen.

    Luo family had a reputation for living off of the Xi family''s favors. In fact, Luo Youyou''s marriage in the Xi family was but a result of greed and temptations. Unlike Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah''s love marriage, Xi Chonglin was charmed by the woman''s beauty and smartness years ago. Moreover, Luo Youyou hailed from a wealthy family background back then, so there was no hindrance in their marriage. Agester, the Luo Family was on the verge of bankruptcy due to some financial intion, leaving the Xi family with no choice but to lend a hand to them.

    After Luo Youyou''s father passed away, Luo Chen took over, assured that he had the Xi family''s back. Even Xi Yuan didn''t care about such trivial issues after he''d reced his grandfather at the age of eighteen, aiding the Luo''s every time they were in trouble. But as dependency became his habit, Luo Chen''s behavior changed, arrogance and insolence reeking off him. Luo Youyou, too, knowing all of it, would turn a blind eye to her younger brother''s temperament, allowing him to benefit from the Xi''s.

    That, though, never went unnoticed. No one in the event tonight was even remotely fond of Luo Chen. They, in fact, were enjoying the show to their fullest. Who would''ve thought this man would overstep the boundaries created by Superfamily, one day? Afflicted by Luo Chen''s rash and tyrannical threats, every businessman there was left with no mercy to help this bully of a man anymore. He wasn''t worth drawing swords against the Six men, after all. Let''s just watch him rot of humiliation, they decided ultimately.

    "So, Mr. Luo, our sister is pathetic, you say?", Zhi Xi mocked his victim, inserting further pressure over the man''s twisted hand, his tone dark, dull.

    "N-no! Ah!", the man winced his eyes in sheer pain, "Let me go, please. I- I didn''t mean to hurt anyone."

    "Hurt?", Mo Zixuan raised his brows, walking over to where Lu Wei sat, passing him a ss of whiskey, "You really believe you are capable enough of ''hurting'' us? Just what world do you live in?"

    Laughing out, Zhi Bo nodded, "Thankfully, our Xinghe isn''t here. She hates the mention of the Rong family, to start with. What more, you had the audacity to address her as one of those. She would''ve been upset by what you said, Mr. Luo. And if that were to happen, we would''ve involved the Military directly. But she isn''t present here.

    "As for us? You''ve simply offended us. She was fourteen when we took over her custody. We''ve been her rightful guardians ever since. You made it seem like her entire upbringing had nothing to do with her brothers. Now, that is inly uneptable, don''t you think? So tell me, how do you want to make it up to us?"

    Luo Chen did not know what to say at this point. There was nothing he could offer the Superfamily. Money, fame, honor, poprity. They were the synonyms to all those terms, literally. They were ying with him, using him to re-establish their somewhat lost fear among the diplomats and the rich. And there was nothing he could do to get out of it but to beg Xi Chongkun for help.

    "Save me.", he cried out, "Please, brother Chongkun!"

    But before Xi Chongkun could say anything, all the phones owned by the Superfamily''s members, the ones in the men''s pockets and those in thedies'' purses beeped up with a message, together. Stunned, they pulled their devices out, only to find a message from Xi Yuan in theirmon chat group.

    ''OTW to Elite Multi-speciality Hospital. Something''s wrong with Xinghe. Unconscious. Reach ASAP!'', the text read.

    The message was a bolt from the blue for the family. Subconsciously, the members turned to stare at Su Rogguang, muddled. Being the girl''s official doctor, Su Rogguang kept track of her medical history and medications along with her diet. Howe, all of a sudden...

    Su Rogguang and Rong Xiao, equally shocked by the news, caught each other''s eye across the room, worried. So far, Rong Xinghe was recuperating just fine from her recent wounds, neither was there any symptom of the Migraine kicking in. Then just what was happening?!

    Pushing Luo Chen away from himself, Zhi Xi adjusted his suit, nodding at Lu Wei faintly. Nothing was more important than her. Everything else could wait. Even the renewal of their forgotten strength.

    __________

    Elite Multi-Speciality Hospital, 18:30;

    As Rong Xinghe lied upon the stretcher, amid the busy corridor, a physician and a neurologist checking on her. Xi Yuan stood beside, catching his breath, his hand refusing to leave her rtively cold one. It hadn''t been even a minute since he''d stepped foot inside, and he''d already summoned the most senior doctors currently avable in the hospital, such were his worries.

    Meanwhile, the two men, calmly, noted down the pattern of her breathing, the size, and the reactivity of her pupils, her eye movements, and her oculovestibr responses, as a frown of confusion appeared across their faces gradually.

    ncing at Xi Yuan, one of the two men said, "Mr. Xi, we need to shift her into the emergency ward right about now. Her body seems weak, yes, but fine. Only after running some blood tests and imaging scans of the brain, can we say anything. She shouldn''t have fainted, assuming that she''s been taking her medications and food on time. Usually, with Migraine patients, such incidents could get lethal in a blink."

    Listening to the man, Xi Yuan nodded, leaning down to ce a sweet kiss against her forehead, finally letting go of her hand.

    "I''ll handle the formalities.", he said after some time then, his eyes still fixed upon her fatigued colorless face, "Just... help her.", he added, the next few words more of a whisper, "She is in pain."

    As the man looked at the girl disappear from his line of sight, he picked up the phone that''d been vibrating in his pocket for a while now, "Mr. Shou.", he acknowledged the person on the other end. Why was Rong Xinghe''s assistant calling him out of nowhere?

    "President Xi! Military Chief''s life is in danger.", the old man reported in a rush, as if he''d just ran a mile, "We just caught... a weasel who was trying to sneak into the Military Chief Office. Before we could interrogate him, he shot himself to death. But his phone rang up as we searched his body. It was the mastermind, I believe.

    "Sir... Military Chief, she is being poisoned."

 Chapter 445: Ad Infinitum, indeed

    Chapter 445: Ad Infinitum, indeed

    Elite Multi-Speciality Hospital, 18:35;

    Xi Yuan remained silent for a few minutes, digesting Shou Wu''s wordspletely, the blood inside his veins freezing to coldness, his heart pounding underneath his chest. Poisoned? His Xinghe? For the first time in his life, Xi Yuan felt a weakness in his legs, as he found himself unable to stand or even speak. Swallowing, the man closed his eyes, forcing himself to catch his breath, for he knew that now was not the time to lose himself.

    Finally, he managed to ask, his tone no more confident, "What poison?" There were a lot of questions, actually. Who was the perpetrator? Since when was it all happening? How did the ''poison'' reach her exactly? But none of those doubts were as urgent as knowing how fatal the toxic element running through her body was, what was it doing to her exactly, and from where to seek treatment from.

    But to his disappointment, Shou Wu had no idea about it. "I passed on the information as soon as I received it, Sir.", the old man replied, his voice helpless, "I am afraid that I don''t have more to offer. I will seal the entire MCO, seizing the movement of every servicing staff next. As soon as I get to know anything, I''ll inform you, President Xi."

    Xi Yuan did not have the strength to even disconnect the call. So when Shou Wu cut it, Xi Yuan let out a shuddery breath, his eyes fixed at the direction in which they''d taken her. Even though the verdict of those blood tests and brain imaging scans weren''t out yet, he knew what the future beheld, for him, and for her. As a stinging pain arose in the corner of his eyes, Xi Yuan felt anxious, scared, even.

    It was now that a hand rested on his left shoulder, pulling the man out of his pain with a jolt, a start. It was Lu Wei, the five men behind him. Her family...

    The Six tigers were concerned. Not just for her health, but by Xi Yuan''s reaction too. The girl had undergone an illness multiple times before, but this was the first time they had seen him in such a terrible and terrified state. One look at him and the men could tell that he knew something they had no clue about. But what, they would know soon.

    ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

    Xi Yuan spent the next half hour exining everything to the Six men, uncertain of what to do next. He told them about Rong Xinghe''s weakness just before she fell unconscious and about Shou Wu''s call, as calmly as he could. Of course, the girl''s brothers were equally dismayed by the piece of news, but they couldn''t lose hope. Neither could Xi Yuan. They had to stay strong. For her.

    As much as they wished to squeeze the life out of whoever had dared to orchestrate this entire bit, they didn''t have time for it. Right now, it was much more important to understand the chemicals torturing Rong Xinghe, as every second passed.

    "I''ll go and check.", Su Rogguang was the first one to speak as he unbuttoned his suit with one hand, nodding at Ching Tong, signaling her to get him a pair of gloves from his cabin just a floor down, "Do me a favor, you all. Ask Xinghe''s assistant to hand over the MCO''s Kitchen arena to the food forensics department.

    "We need to know theposition of her food from thest two weeks, along with the raw ingredients used therein. As soon as possible."

    "I am on it.", Feng Mian volunteered, pulling her hair up to tie them in a messy bun, "I have contacts in the Forensics. They''ll definitely overwork for Xinghe. I''ll get the reports by two at the midnight. Will that be okay?"

    "I don''t know. Depends on the kind of poison in her body. Urge them to be as quick and efficient as they can.", Su Rogguang said, tossing the suit jacket over one of the unupied hospital benches, "Just keep the media out of it."

    "Don''t worry about that.", Mo Zixuan waved his hand in dismissal, "I and Cheng Tai will take care of it."

    "And I''ll head to the MCO with Mian.", Zhi Al joined, "Provided that Shou Wu spoke to the Mastermind, I might be able to trace the perp''s current location. All I''ve got to do is hack into the national identification bureau''s portal and traverse through it to get the bastard''s specific details."

    "I''ll be here.", Xi Yuan finally said, his tone void of any emotion, "I won''t be able to concentrate on any of these investigations right now. Keep me updated, though. I really want to be of help. I do.

    "But I need to be here. By her side. It''s just something I have to do."

    Songyan approached the man and pulled him in for a warm hug, "We understand, Yuan.", she smiled, tears streaming down her eyes, "She''d want to see you when she wakes up."

    "True.", Ruo Cy added, "We can only imagine the hell you must''ve experienced all this while. But don''t worry. Your family is here now."

    Xi Yuan smiled wryly, not sure what to say. It suited them all. The name ''Superfamily''. No matter the situation, they stuck together, protecting each other fiercely, loving each other just as much passionately. Ad Infinitum, indeed.

    ______________

    Elite Multi-Speciality Hospital, 00:30;

    It took Su Rogguang hours to step out of the hospital ward, as Xi Yuan sat alongside Zhi Xi and Lu Wei outside, waiting patiently. Xi Fang had already arrived at the hospital about an hour after the Superfamily had, and Ningtao and Songyan had to leave early, for they had Little Baby Alix and Zhi Taio to put to sleep. Although they wished to stay with their family at the moment, the kids were used to the warmth of their mothers and wouldn''t go to bed with caretakers just yet. The two women would call and check on the girl''s state every thirty minutes, though.

    "The Prime Minister knows.", Zhi Bo returned back after attending a call, "It was him just now."

    "What did he say?", Rong Xiao frowned.

    "Nothing much. Just that Xinghe''s health needs to be stable and that there would be no recement for her in her absence. Behind the curtains, one of the Hybrids, Elijah Williams, would regte the Military.", the man shrugged, "I guess the decision is fair."

    "It is.", Ching Tong nodded. It was just then that Su Rogguang came out of the room, closing the door behind him as he pulled off his mask. Xi Yuan stood up, his eyes looking at the man questioningly.

    "What is it?", Rong Xiao asked, her tone tensed.

    "Shou Wu was right.", Su Rogguang sighed, "It''s a slow poison. A form, actually. One of a kind, I believe. But the worst part is that it is dissolved into her blood. It''s difficult to tell what it was originally.

    "And it''s harming her brain."

    "What do you mean?", Lu Wei directed the question this time.

    "It''s weird. One by one, whatever this toxicant is, it''s clotting the blood in her brain, cutting off the oxygen supply to her brain cells. It''s as if the attacker knew she had Migraines. Because the more this happens, the more will be the chances of a severe Migraine stroke, the consequences of which, I dare not speak.

    "It is an extremely rare but very serious situation. I''ve so far tried every medication I know of, but nothing is working. With every passing second, her pain is only increasing. It''s brutal, and draconian, really.

    "We need to know theponents of this form now more than ever. I can''t inject anything that would only speed up the harmful chemicals, inside her body. Without the name of the drug, I''ll only end up elerating her misery.

    "We can''t wait till two. We are losing her, Wei. We really are. And it''s scaring me."

 Chapter 446: The moment of truth

    Chapter 446: The moment of truth

    Elite Multi-Speciality Hospital, 00:40;

    Listening to Su Rogguang''s diagnosis, Lu Wei and Zhi Xi were both shocked. When it came to any of his patients, this brother of theirs was quite the resilient individual. He never gave up until thest moment. But this time, he was confessing to something he never thought he would. Fear. What more, the person on the other end was their Kiddo.

    Xi Yuan''s reaction was no different. Rong Xinghe was a Migraine patient. It was the third mostmon disease across the world afflicting one out of seven people, statistically. Although the disease, in itself, wasn''t terminal, it could still be lethal if the brain cells were to not receive a sufficient supply of oxygen.And blood clots in a person''s brain could stop this very transfer. The ''poison'' in Rong Xinghe''s body was allowing such clots to form, pushing her towards a death that would seem natural, provided her medical history.

    The man had read a lot of medical books and research papers rted to Migraines, bullet wounds, and stab injuries, about two months after getting together with Rong Xinghe. He had had his research even over the scars on her body too, for he wanted to know if there was any way to ease so much as a bit of her pain. So he knew pretty much a lot about Migraines by now, and hence, understood everything Su Rogguang had just said. And he had to admit, it wasn''t looking good.

    "Can I see her?", he asked the girl''s brother after a minute.

    "Sure.", Su Rogguang smiled, "But after fifteen minutes. They are cleaning her up and helping her with the meds."

    "Okay.", the man nodded.

    "Yuan, I will need your private chopper.", Su Rogguang said after thinking for a while, "There''s a senior from my post-grad medic school back then. I will need her advice in this case. But she lives in Ennd. Although she has agreed to take a look at Xinghe, all the flights to Country X are already booked. Not to mention, it''ll take a lot of time for her to reach here. Mine, or Wei, or Zhi Xi''s chopper bases are too far from here. So-"

    "Go ahead.", Xi Yuan shook his head, pulling the phone out of his pocket, "I''ll inform the aircrew to refuel it right now."

    _____________

    Military Chief Office, 00:50;

    Feng Mian looked at the person''s body who''d shot himself not too long ago, her expression solemn. Clearly, he was a professional hitman,ing from one of the strictest underworld organizations. Such dark powers had austere punishments against their client''s confidentiality vition. Worse than death, apparently. Therefore, often, whenever they''d take on any case, they''d chose to die than to reveal their boss''s identity.

    But such assassins came at a price. More than ten million USD, usually. Only someone with extreme hatred against their enemy or insanely wealthy would hire someone like this person. But who? That was the question bugging her.

    "Any progress on the forensics side?", the woman sighed as she walked out of the Mortuary, Shou Wu following behind her. "They''re almost done, Officer.", the man reported.

    "Alright. Tell Samantha toe to me with the reports as soon as she is done.", Feng Mian nodded, "And where is Al?"

    "Mr. Zhi has been working on Military Chief''s system in her office for the past few hours now, Ma''am.", Shou Wu answered, "He has hacked into the national identification database, but finding one number''s details in a record of millions is no different from searching for a needle in a haystack. So he is designing some software right now, to run an automatic scan. It shouldn''t take long for him to create it. But he seemed exhausted earlier."

    "Get him a cup of espresso.", Feng Mian sighed, "One for me too. I''ll be with him."

    "Got it, Ma''am."

    ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

    00:55;

    "Hey, you.", the woman walked in, approaching Zhi Al worriedly, "How''s everythinging up?"

    Zhi Al turned around, slightly stunned as if she''d pulled him out of some whole other world. But as he realized it was his girlfriend, the man let out a sigh of relief. Standing up from Rong Xinghe''s seat, the man ced a soft peck against her lips, finally letting go of the straining exhaustion on his mind.

    "We should know the current location of the phone in a few minutes.", the man replied, "Even if it''s a temporary number, it''d help us with the location. It won''t be long before we would know who did it, Mian. Let''s just hope she knows the name of the poison the attacker was using."

    "She?", the woman frowned.

    "Yeah.", Zhi Al nodded, "Shou Wu confirmed that it was a woman he''d talked to when he''d picked up that dead guy''s phone."

    "Oh.", Feng Mian raised her brows, "We''ll get that bi*ch then. Don''t worry. But first things first. How are you holding up?" It was now that one of the servicing staff walked in, a tray of two coffee cups in her hands. The couple waited for her to leave before they picked one cup each, bringing them to their lips.

    "Honestly? I am terrified.", Zhi Al said truthfully, "Why is it always her?! I mean... why Xinghe? Ever since she was a child, she has been a victim of nothing but violence, tortures, and pain. She has carried the wounds on her body from her childhood like no other child could. So gracefully, and bravely, even. She is so strong.

    "But does that mean that God has to test her endurance every single day for the rest of her life? This is not what I wanted for her. None of us Six did. And yet..."

    Feng Mian knew what Zhi Al was going through exactly. The uncertainty, the fear, the anger. She had been there too. But unfortunately, she could only watch him go through it all alone, for nothing she''d say or do now could help him. "Al, she''s a fighter.", the woman said a momentter, "Trust her."

    "I can''t lose her, Mian.", the man sighed, his voice breaking, "I just can''t."

    "I know.", the woman nodded, wiping away the tears rolling down the man''s cheeks, "She is precious. And she will pull through. I am positive."

    While the couple was busy in their conversation, a woman in her mid-twenties knocked on the door, "Here are the results of the forensics, Mian.", she smiled, "And guess what I found."

    "Oh? Thank you so much, Samantha.", Feng Mian turned around, smiling brightly, "What''s odd?" Zhi Al reverted his gaze back to the screen in front of him, and then back to the two women. While the reports in their hands would reveal the kind of poison his sister was suffering through, he was thirty seconds away from knowing the identity of the psycho who engineered it all. So this was the moment of truth, one could say.

 Chapter 447: "Shell survive"

    Chapter 447: "She''ll survive"

    Military Chief Office, 01:00;

    "Not odd, actually. That''s the whole point here!", Samantha said excitedly, as if she''d discovered something mind-blowing.

    "What do you mean?", Zhi Al frowned.

    "No one ever suspected anything because theposition of this ''poison'' is prettymon.", the woman turned to face the girl''s brother, passing him a chit of paper she''d brought along. In a scribbled handwriting, it was the exact amount of all the elements used in the venom given to Rong Xinghe, "The attacker was running after he''d concocted the toxicant into Military Chief''s regr food, clearly. So I had my eyes set on the freshly prepared eatables ever since I stepped in here.

    "Turns out, my suspicion was right. It was a mix of an NSAID and an addictive drug, Cocaine. NSAIDs stand for nonsteroidal anti-inmmatory drugs, like Ibuprofen and Naproxen, which are damnmon. Barely harms the human body. But here''s the catch. Combined with a drug as powerful and deleterious as Coke, it is more than capable of clotting blood with quite the swiftness, especially if the target is a Migraine patient.

    "Military Chief''s meals are tested and tried by a lot of security staff every day, but no one ever underwent what she''s going through right now. The only reason behind it is that Military Chief''s Migraine provided an opening to the form, whilst normal people barely felt any difference after consuming it.

    "It was as if this poison was designed just for her, for this incident could end up as a perfect murder. Both NSAIDs and Coke have the tendency to dissolve in blood, literally disappearing from the normal blood tests. And that''s why Dr. Su won''t find anything even if the reportse out. Although death from Migraines is rare, it wouldn''t be unbelievable as nothing suspicious would show up in the post-mortem files too.

    "This is probably the most frightening, calcted, and savvy n through my forensic career, so far, I must say. A clean quit. Whoever this person was, Mr. Al, knew what he or she was doing. Cocaine has been used in an extremely insignificant amount here, high dosage of the Indomethacin though, the NSAID here."

    Zhi Al nodded, noticing the piece of paper in his hands. The name of the drugs used and the quantities of each given per dosage. Clicking a snap of it, Zhi Al forwarded it to Su Rogguang and the other four men, and then to Xi Yuan, giving them a heads up with a text.

    The man then nodded at Samantha appreciatively, "Good job.", he said, "Mian, inform Rogguang about theposition of the form. ASAP.". Next, he turned to look at the girl''s system monitor as it beeped up with a message. The number''s location had been tracked.

    Feng Mian got her phone out, taking the piece of paper in Zhi Al''s hand while the man sat back down in his sister''s chair. As he''d already expected, it was a temporary number registered under a fake name. But it didn''t matter. Zhi Al was Country X''s best technocrat so far. In a matter of seconds, he was able to reallocate the phone''s location at the time the Mastermind had talked to Shou Wu, and it took him about ten more minutes to hack into Country X''s satellite footage system next.

    Country X''s security was one of the finest in the world,ced with probably the most reliable navigation and technical systems. Even the Military had satellites assigned to them, which were used for detecting any dubious or doubtful activity taking ce. The satellites owned by the Armed Forces had exceptionally developed cameras, though, with astounding scope resolution, magnifying to even the smallest nail of a person''s hand with rity. And therefore, the man hacked into those systems first.

    Zhi Al was insanely good with the world ofputers, so breaking the lines of codes, down for about half a minute was no huge deal for him by this point, no matter what the organization or authority was.

    As the pictures of the phone number''s location appeared across the vast screen, Zhi Al calmly browsed for the ones that were clicked around the same time when the call was made. And by the time Feng Mian returned back to her boyfriend, there was a face over Rong Xinghe''s monitor screen. A woman, as Shou Wu had imed the attacker to be. Someone who''d once been a part of Superfamily. Someone the Six tigers and the Rong twins'' Sisters-inw could recognize even in their sleep. Someone they''d never thought was capable of doing something this sinister.

    "We''re going to the Elite Hospital.", Zhi Al clenched his teeth, as he stood up from the girl''s seat, "I want my Kiddo to get out of it safe and sound before I burn this bi*ch alive!", he said, storming out of the office, Feng Mian rushing behind him worriedly.

    ____________

    Elite Multi-Speciality Hospital, 01:10;

    "What did she say?", Ruo Cy questioned, her expression anxious, as she looked at Su Rogguang, "Do we know the name of the poison?"

    "Yeah.", Su Rogguang lifted his head up from the screen, an expression of confidence over his face, "I can save her now. I will save her now. I just need to prepare for surgery. I know what to do exactly from here."

    As Su Rogguang walked back into the emergency ward, the remaining family members exchanged nces among themselves, a mix of emotions over their faces. Confusion, delight, ease. Mostly relief, though. Su Rogguang wouldn''t reassure anyone the way he''d just did unless he was himself positive. It had to mean that everything would turn out all right, after all.

    But among them, there was a certain someone who couldn''t describe his tion in words, or hugs, or smiles. Xi Yuan sat down on the bench next to him, burying his face into his hands, his shoulders shaking lightly. She would be okay, he whispered to himself. Again, and again, and again. His Xinghe would live on. And for the first time that evening, Xi Yuan found himself breathing, his heartbeat returning back to a normal rate. As if he''d found the courage to live once more.

    "Hey...", Lu Wei squeezed the man''s right shoulder after some time, "Come here." Xi Yuan did not have the energy to stay reserved anymore. Giving in, the man stood up and hugged back Lu Wei, as tightly as he could.

    "She''ll survive.", the man said softly, as a tear of euphoria rolled down his right cheek.

    "She always does.", Lu Weiughed, patting the man''s back.

    The Six tigers had gotten a lot closer to Xi Yuan in the past few months, so neither Ching Tong nor Ruo Cy was even the slightest bit stunned by the harmony between the two men. Moreover, it was such an emotional moment; who were they to me any of them?

    As Su Rogguang walked into the Operation Theatre, ready to perform a Burr hole drainage surgery on the girl along with some other allopathic procedures, a group of other surgeons following behind him, Mo Zixuan, Cheng Tai, Ningtao, and Songyan returned back to the hospital too, for none could bear to stay away from their family at such a crucial moment.

    And about five minutester, Zhi Al and Feng Mian arrived there too, holding back the information about the brainbox they had. Only when they were sure that Su Rogguang was nowhere near, and that his emotions wouldn''t be affecting the girl''s treatment, did Zhi Al spoke up, his tone enraged.

    "He Chen did it.", the man said, his voice resounding through the quiet hospital corridor.

    "What?", Lu Wei turned to look at the man along with the entire family and Xi Yuan.

    "He Chen was the brains behind this whole assassination operation. Zixuan''s ex-wife. The Chief Operating Officer, the COO of MZX Networks Line.", the man confirmed through gritted teeth, "She was the one who orchestrated this misery for our Kiddo."

 Chapter 448: Supposed to be off-limits

    Chapter 448: Supposed to be off-limits

    Elite Multi-Speciality Hospital, 01:30;

    Shocked by Zhi Al''s revtion, the Superfamily did not know what to say. Although Rong Xinghe had publicly humiliated He Chen a few days back when she''d intentionally created trouble for Xi Yuan and her by leaking some confidential information concerning them, leaving her with no choice but to go live and do the damage repair; but attacking someone as influential as the country''s Military Chief was ridiculously gutsy and totally unexpected. Even for her.

    Feng Mian and Zhi Al realized that the family needed much more than just a name, so they spent the next few minutes exining to them how they reached the conclusion. Zhi Al''s programming and hacking skills had never been an unreliable source for the Six tigers, so it didn''t take them much time to ept the certainly behind the man''s words.

    "Is she stupid?!", Ningtao raised her brows, infuriated, "Manipting Cheng Tai, sabotaging Mo Zixuan and her rtionship, publicizing Yuan and Xinghe''s private life, engineering a freaking murder. Why does she want to destroy us so desperately?"

    Lu Wei nced at his wife, his expression solemn. She was right. Ruining people''s rtionships was one thing, but attempting a homicide,mitting a felony, it was all truly disturbing. No one had had the audacity to challenge the authority of the Superfamily so brazenly here before. Not the Rong family, nor the Zhou''s, despite the fact the Six men had made their lives a living hell after what they''d done to their sister. Then how could He Chen be so smug? Or was it the mercy they''d shown her that led to all of this?

    "Maybe I know why.", Cheng Tai said after a while, interrupting the five tigers'' and Xi Yuan''s thoughts.

    "What do you mean?", Mo Zixuan turned to face his wife, confused.

    "Uh...", Chen Tai stretched her hand behind her back, pulling her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans, looking at Songyan and Ningtao nervously, "We sneaked into her house a few days ago, to search for some leverage against her. Sister-inw Songyan suggested the idea since we wanted her to pay the expenses of the legal fine MZX Network Chain would''ve to face because of her personal vendetta against Xinghe and Yuan.

    "Back then, I found something. So I clicked its picture. Here.", the woman, passing the phone to her husband, a photo of what looked like a Medical report across its screen.

    "She is a patient of Obsessive-cumtive Disorder, or OCD, one could say. A type of it, actually. ROCD- Rtionship OCD. And she is at stage three, a critical one, doctors im. Itprises images or urges that are unwanted, distressing, and interferes with a person''s life.", the woman resumed, "She is obsessed with Zixuan. I mean, initially, I didn''t believe it because you guys divorced so long ago. How could someone''s obsession stick for so many years?

    "But when you told me of how she used to interfere in each one of your decisions while you guys were married, it started to scare me. She wanted to control you back then, and she wants the same control now.

    "I mean she tried to push us apart first, leaked Xinghe and Yuan''s news so that it would drive you apart from your Kiddo, nting most of our stringers around the Superfamily in order to dig up our lives. But I still didn''t think she could go to such extremities just to get you back. Murdering the highest Military Authority of Country X... it''s just petrifying!"

    "Yeah, Tai mentioned to me about it too.", Ching Tong added, her face expressionless, "I even had a chat with Rogguang about it since he has an expertise in neurology. He was surprised, of course, but he assured me that OCD was a prettymon mental disorder and that people had the tendency to get suicidal due to it, if it were to advance, at most. But he had never seen a single patient harming anyone around their loved ones due to it. He had heard of it, yes. But never personally witnessed it.

    "Even so, I''d hired a Private Investigator to look into it along with some people to keep an eye on her activities. It was about our family''s safety, after all."

    "Maybe... because she''d operated this entire operation over the phone, they couldn''t trace her exact ns.", Zhi Bo rubbed the temple of his head, fatigued. It was all too much to take in. For all the men.

    Mostly, for Xi Yuan. He didn''t care of what mental disorder any of his or their enemies were facing. He didn''t give a fu*k about anyone else''s life, actually.

    But how dare that woman so much as even think ofying a finger over his to-be-wife?! Rong Xinghe was supposed to be off-limits, regardless of whatever obsession He Chen had for the girl''s brother. And yet, she was lying in there, her life under threat, while he stood outside, listening to some psycho''s fantasies.

    Xi Yuan inhaled a long sharp breath, as he tucked his right hand into his pocket, getting his phone out of it. It took him a moment to browse through his contacts before he brought the phone to his ears, the Superfamily''s eyes glued to him.

    "He Chen. COO of MZX Networks. Keep her breathing.", the manmanded into the phone, his tone stone-cold. Listening to the wordsing out of Xi Yuan''s mouth, the girl''s family knew that Xi Yuan wasn''t the one to be messed with at the moment. His rage, in fact, was justifiable. He could''ve lost the woman he loved more than his own existence today, after all. It was only natural for him to take matters into his own hands this time.

    "Zixuan...", Cheng Tai sighed, cupping her husband''s face in both her hands, "Say something. Please. Are you upset?"

    Mo Zixuan shook his head, switching the phone in his hands off, "No.", he answered, "You didn''t tell me because you weren''t sure yourself. Why would I be upset? You did the right thing, Tai.

    "As for He Chen, I''d dly see her rot in hell. That woman isn''t worthy of my attention. Talking to her, or even killing her would give her the pleasure of my presence.", the man said, turning to look at Xi Yuan, "I want her dead, Yuan.", he stated, his tone darker than that of the Devil himself, "How clear am I?"

    "You have my word, bro Mo.", the man answered, his gaze fixed at the closed doors of the O.T., wherein his beloved fought the fight of her life, "He Chen will wish for death a thousand times before she breathes herst."

 Chapter 449: "Do it for me, lover?"

    Chapter 449: "Do it for me, lover?"

    Elite Multi-Speciality Hospital, 07:05;

    Burr hole drainage surgery is a surgical procedure used to remove blood clots formed near the brain. These blood clots are known as subdural hematomas, found under the proactive covering of the brain called the dura. Being one of the mostplicated medical surgeries, Burr hole drainage requires absolute delicacy and patience from surgeons. One wrong move and the procedure can birth life-threateningplications to the patient.

    But Su Rogguang had no other choice than to perform this operation, for his Kiddo did not have the liberty of time. Not to mention, the man couldn''t inject the girl with general anesthesia or any other sedation, since it would only speed up the Cocaine''s properties running inside her. But he had done this thousands of times. This surgery. Different people with different ages and different medical histories. And never did he fail for once. He wasn''t nning on failing this one too, of that he was sure.

    For Su Rogguang, an Operation Theatre was what a battlefield was to a soldier, a piano to a pianist, a canvas to a painter. He was used to this. Switching his emotion off, looking at nothing but a body that needed to be healed. Not his sister, not his family; but a person in pain.

    It took Su Rogguang more than five hours to perform the surgery. The sun had set and risen amid the long exhausting night the Superfamily and Xi Yuan had had. None of them had anything to eat, or even a minute of sleep since the moment they''d known of what''d happened to her. Messed up hair, loosened ties, disheveled shirts and gowns; one nce at them and anyone could tell the kind of tiring night they''d all had. They didn''t care about it, though. They cared about nothing but the girl inside.

    So when Su Rogguang came out, most worn out of all, they surrounded him, anxiously. The man smiled, "She is safe.", he announced casually, pulling off the blood-stained gloves from his hands and the mask from his mouth, one after the other, dumping them in the trash bin by the door.

    As for the Superfamily, even though they''d presumed his sess tonight, it still seemed like they were living a dream. But as the reality dawned on them, the Six tigers were overjoyed and so were the girl''s sisters-inw. Pulling the man in for a tight hug, Zhi Al refused to let go, followed by Zhi Bo and Mo Zixuan, as they pounced onto him together.

    "I love you, Roggie!", Zhi Alughed out, "So goddamn much."

    "Stay away.", the man yelled, pushing him apart, "You''ll make Tong misunderstand, you moron!"

    "Rude!", Zhi Al scoffed, still unable to suppress the tears of delight in his eyes.

    Su Rogguang red at the man and turned to Xi Yuan, "She cannot work for the next 4 to 8 weeks, Yuan. And by that, I mean zero mental or psychological exertion. She needs to be distressed at all times. I''ll have her diet nned along with her medication chart.

    "I am trusting you here, Yuan. With her health. Do you get me?"

    "Yeah.", Xi Yuan nodded, his tone earnest, "I will take care of her better than anyone ever possibly could."

    "Alright then.", the man nodded, assured, "She''ll get her consciousness back in about two to three hours.

    "Until then, fill me in on our fu*ked up perpetrator here.", he smiled devilishly.

    ________________

    Elite Multi-Speciality Hospital, 10:00 a.m.

    Closed in throat, heavy eyes, stinging pain in the wrist of her left hand. She hadn''t felt this ufortable for a long time. But to her relief, the throbbing pain in her head was gone. Vanished, to be truthful.

    Opening her eyes slowly, Rong Xinghe inhaled the sweet smell of the bouquet ofvender flowers ced upon her side table, staring at the navy blue ceiling of the hospital ward. Of course, a hospital... But what''d happened exactly, she wondered. Why did she faint?

    Curiously, her gaze traveled through the entire room as even the simple activity sapped her. But it was then that she realized that she wasn''t alone and that someone was holding onto her right hand. It was her darling. Sitting on a stool, his fingers inteced with hers, his eyes closed, his head supported by his other hand.

    She didn''t know if he was asleep. He was a light sleeper with a habit of power napping. She hoped he was sleeping, though, for she knew how difficult it must''ve had been for him. Watching her pass out like that, all of a sudden, facing the uncertainties and horrifying doubts all by himself.

    "Xinghe...", the man woke up with a start, as he felt the girl''s index finger move in his hand, his voice wearied, "Are you okay? Is it hurting somewhere? You-"

    "Hush.", the girl smiled, cing her right hand upon his lips, silencing him, her throat aching as she spoke, "Come here."

    Xi Yuan nodded obediently as he climbed onto the girl''s bed, lying down beside her, allowing her to bury her face into his chest. He then silently hugged her carefully as he pulled up the nket that''d been tumbled down due to their movements.

    Noticing the man''s silence, Rong Xinghe looked up at him, her heart at unease, "What happened?"

    "He Chen tried to kill you.", the man answered honestly, "Slow poison. A form of Indomethacin NSAID and Cocaine. Bro Su had to perform Burr hole drainage surgery to remove the blood clots from your brain; it was a sess."

    The girl processed the man''s words for about two minutes, quietly, her cold fingers pressing against his jawline. And the man, as always, observed her as she digested it all. He knew his Xinghe way too much to conceal the truth this time. She couldn''t be overstressed for the days toe, and expecting her to leave things be, wasn''t even an option. She never gave up. She''d keep digging until she would get the answers she needed. So what was the point of worrying her?

    "Where is that s*ut?", the girl questioned with a hint of rage in her voice.

    "Wishing for death. Regretting the second the idea of hurting you shed across her slick little mind.", Xi Yuan replied, his tone dangerously indifferent, "I haven''t killed her. Yet. But she is not watching tomorrow''s sunrise. I was just waiting for you to wake up and decide as to who will finish it, for good. You, or me?"

    "I would.", the girlughed weakly, "But I feel so powerless, right now.

    "Do it for me, lover?" Rong Xinghe knew what Xi Yuan meant by ''wishing for death''. But it wasn''t as if she was unaware of this side of his since the beginning. She was, after all, in love with the devil himself.

    Listening to the girl''s soft request, the man''s lips curled up in amazement, "As the Queenmands...", he said, capturing her lips into his.

 Chapter 450: The consequences of being one of the Superfamily

    Chapter 450: The consequences of being one of the Superfamily

    Elite Multi-Speciality Hospital, 10:05;

    Mo Zixuan red at the girl lying in Xi Yuan''s arms from the other side of the door as a few tear droplets soaked through the fabric of his shirt. She was fine. Thank God, she was fine. Rong Xinghe was Mo Zixuan''s anchor, the only person who held him together amidst the toughest of the storms. She was his strength. His Kiddo. And not too long ago, he could''ve lost her.

    Although he knew that everything that his sister had gone through recently wasn''t his fault, he couldn''t help but feel guilty. He was the one to bring He Chen into the Superfamily, to begin with. Despite Rong Xinghe''s initial warnings about her, he''d wed her. And even now, as she hurt those around him, emotionally and physically; he simply watched her act on it.

    "Zixuan...", at this time, Cheng Tai appeared from the man''s behind, rubbing his back worriedly, "What is it?"

    The man turned around, shaking his head, "It''s nothing.", he smiled bitterly.

    "Oh? Well... ''nothing'' can''t bother the Media Ma to this extent.", the woman sighed, wiping away the tears from his cheeks, "Talk to me, Mr. Mo. What''s on your mind?"

    Inhaling strongly, the man grabbed a seat for himself on the cold hospital bench at a distance of roughly five meters, Cheng Tai following behind him. When the woman held onto the man''s hand, squeezing it lightly, the man looked at her, his expression earnest, "She doesn''t deserve this, Tai. Neither do you, nor Yuan.

    "Everything that happened to her, happened to him too. I could see the life drain from his face the moment Rogguang confirmed Shou Wu''s lead. He was dying inside, Tai. For every second she spent in that Operation Theatre, Yuan was facing literal hell out here.

    "And you? I can''t even begin to imagine how you must''ve felt when you got to know about all of this. The insecurities, the fears, the stress. And that too, you''d to go through all of that by yourself.

    "Why? Because I wasn''t as amazing a brother to Xinghe as the other five. I trusted the wrong person, Tai. Years ago. I admit to it. But that could happen to anyone. The worst part was that I let her in into my life again. I allowed it all to happen!"

    Cheng Tai fixed her gaze at their intertwined fingers, as a smile appeared across her lips. About a minuteter, she finally spoke, "A few weeks ago, I had a night stay with Sister Ningtao and Sister Songyan, remember?"

    "Yeah.", Mo Zixuan shrugged, "I got ice-cream tubs for you guys that night."

    "They talked to me about my guilt regarding He Chen''s maniption, that night.", she resumed, "And there was one thing I didn''t quite understand then. But I guess I do now."

    "What?"

    "Whates with being in this family is tons of loads of battles. Silent ones, and the diplomatic ones too. At all times, one has to stay prepared for the mind games and ill-intended provocations.", the woman stated, "Yuan and I are a part of it now, Zixuan. This weird legacy of yours and the other five.", she said with augh.

    "Yuan is much smarter than me. He figured it out quite early. He understands what you Six mean to Xinghe. She can kill for you and she can die for you. Without a second thought, and there is no ce for anyone trying to break you guys apart, in this family.

    "He respects you, Zixuan. Just as much as she does. And that''s why, even though he was in hell for the five hours she was under the knife, he never med or said a word to you. He gets what it means to be one of Superfamily.

    "As far as I am concerned, I don''t care about anyone but you and Xinghe and this family. So yeah, I was scared. But not of He Chen or her intentions for you; but for you all. And now that it''s all okay, I will be fine too.

    "So stop being so hard on yourself. Alright?"

    Mo Zixuan''s lips curled up in a sweet but sad smile as he listened to the woman''s words calmly. She was right. Being Country X''s most influential family, thousands of pointed fingers, scads of questions, and innumerable enemies; this was the destiny shared by every person hailing from this family of theirs. Surrounded by controversies and followed by the spotlights; that was what it meant to be one of them.

    Besides, it wasn''t the first time that one of the Rong twins had been targetted by the Six men''s foes. They were simply unable to foresee it this time the way they usually did.

    Rong Xinghe had chosen them over and over again for a reason. And he needed to start respecting that, for his enemies had always been her nemesis too, and vice-versa. He needed to believe that she wouldn''t me him for this attack just as he hadn''t inculpated her for the recent terrorist ambush against him. The Six men and the Rong twins had always been a team; having each other''s back in the arduous of times.

    As unfortunate as this incident was, it was in the past now. The only thing he could do at this point was to talk to her and look out for the dangers ahead in her path.

    ______________

    Elite Multi-Speciality Hospital, 10:07;

    Only when they were out of breath did the man let her go, his gaze traveling from her to the multipara monitor screen behind her and back, "You scared me today, Xinghe.", he said then, "So, so much. From the moment that you fell unconscious, all I could think of was how I failed you, how I should''ve known, how I could''ve lost you, and how I let us fall apart when we were supposed to stand tall together."

    "You never failed me, Yuan.", the girl shook her head firmly, her voice barely a whisper "You never can. I love you too much for that to happen, Mr. Xi. We had a disagreement. A necessary disagreement, might I remind you. But we would''ve found a way eventually. My heart knew that the second you came clean to me.

    "It hurts me to see you in so much pain, Baby. It really does.

    "I''ve got Six men waiting outside, condemning themselves for what happened. And they''ll be quite overprotective for the next few days too. So can you please not add yourself to the list? For the sanity of my heart. Hmm?"

    Xi Yuanughed as he listened to the girl''s soft requests, pulling her against his chest as he ced a peck on her forehead. "Okay.", the man nodded, "I won''t think much about it. As long as you''re here, by my side, safe and sound, I''ll do whatever you say."

    "Good boy.", the girl chuckled, hugging the man back tightly.

    It was now that a nurse walked in onto the snuggly couple, a tray of syringes in his hands. And despite Rong Xinghe''s struggles to pull apart, the man refused to let go. In the end, the girl gave up, surrendering to the strong arms around her.

    But as she nurse walked out awkwardly after cing the tray over the girl''s side table, Rong Xinghe rested her chin upon her darling''s shoulder, watching him exit the room. "Oooh! What an @ss...", she gasped, as she checked him out.

    Next thing she knew, Xi Yuan had pinned her back to the bed, both her hands above her head, his body overshadowing hers, his face inches away from hers. As he red into her eyes precariously, akin to a beast observing its prey, an electrifying shiver traveled down her spine. And even though she knew he was jealous, she was enjoying every bit of it; for the sight in front of her now was much better than the male nurse''s back. Those dark grey, hypnotic eyes; and those still, perfectly carved lips. Her dominant and alpha fiance was just the medication she needed.

 Chapter 451: "Lets elope!"

    Chapter 451: "Let''s elope!"

    Elite Multi-Speciality Hospital, 10:10;

    "What an... what, Military Chief?", Xi Yuan demanded, his tone challenging the girl to repeat what she''d just mumbled.

    "Nothing.", the girlughed, cupping her darling''s face with both her hands, "I love you."

    "Is this your way of messing with me?", the man scoffed, squinting his eyes at the woman under him, "Or is Ms. Rong simply bored?"

    The girl raised her brows at the man, unable to stop herughter. He was so cute! How on earth was she to get bored of someone like him? He was her most favorite human being, after all.

    "I love you, baby bub!", the girl said again, her voice still a whisper as she closed in up to him feebly, erasing the distance between their lips. Slowly, one of her hands reached the back of his head as it started ruffling through his wavy light hair, while the other hand clutched onto his cor, pulling him to herself.

    It took the girl about ten minutes of kiss-showering and sweet nothings to finally pacify him. But it was okay. He deserved to feel cherished and loved and valued every now and then. They''d been together for about a year now and never had he ever expected her to put in endeavors for him. All he''d ever wanted was for her to stay by his side. That''s it.

    But whilst Xi Yuan was Rong Xinghe''s listener, advisor, confidant, and so much more, the girl wished to be nothing less to him. She doted on him just as much as he did, and she loved and respected him the same way he did.

    She''d never believed in the societal perception of rtionships. The idea of one gender suppressing their feelings, emotions, and fears from their partner; as they silently fulfilled their lover''s every requirement and expectation; she had always found it unfair.

    To her, Xi Yuan was a person with emotions and needs too. And an excellent person at that. Just because he was undemanding in their rtionship didn''t mean she could back away from her responsibilities. Moreover, Rong Xinghe loved to make him smile andugh, she found pleasure in teasing him, annoying him with her childishness at times, and she relished every moment of watching him sleep peacefully through the nights too.

    Efforts beautified rtionships. Rong Xinghe knew that, and thence, despite her strenuous schedules, she would always make time for her family, her friends, and most importantly, her Yuan.

    The man got off the girl and lied down beside her, revealing an enticing smile. As he stared at the ceiling above him, the girl took in all his quintessential features with admiration. She didn''t know if it was the weakness in her body or just the silence, but she felt like it''d been years since they''dst met.

    "Yuan...", the girl said, her voice mellow.

    "Yes, Love?", the man turned his head to face the girl beside him.

    "I miss you."

    Xi Yuan''s brows furrowed when he listened to the girl''s words. Why would she say that? They had been together before her surgery and they were together now. Then what did she mean exactly?

    "Not physically.", the girl shook her head, "I miss ''us''. Initially, when we''d started dating, we used to be so carefree. We used to have crazy unnned dates and nine-hour-long movie marathons. We don''t do that anymore, you know?

    "I get it. Both of us have work, and that we literally live together now. But most of the time, either you or me, someone has to stay upte while the other one has to go to bed. Am I even making sense to you?"

    Xi Yuan thought about what the girl had said for a while before he finally spoke up, "You''re not wrong.", he smiled, "I miss that too.

    "You know what? Let''s elope!"

    "What?!"

    "Yeah! I have a farmhouse in Scond.", the man sat up as he looked at the girl exuberantly, "It''s very rxing and peaceful over there.

    "Let''s go there. You need it, Xinghe. We both do."

    "But-"

    "Hear me out.", the man cut in, "Bro Su has already had a word with the Prime Minister and the President. You can''t go back to work for the next one to two months anyway. And as far as Xi Corporations is concerned, it won''t be the first time that I would entrust Fang with it. I''ll handle all the urgent matters by tomorrow and then we should be free to flee."

    "I am jobless?", the girl stared at the man, shocked. Among all the trivial things he''d told her, this was the one-''minute'' detail he didn''t find important enough to release. Xi Yuan, on the other hand, nodded his head faintly, not even attempting to conceal his excitement.

    Rong Xinghe sighed, sitting up with the help of Xi Yuan, "I have a terrorist on the loose, Yuan."

    "Trust Elijah with it, Xinghe.", the man shrugged, "He was next-in-line to you for the very position you''ve so rightfully earned. In fact, I''d had a chat with Shawn and David not too long ago. The Hybrids are stillying low in Afghanistan, for Abraham Ali Fadhil hasn''t yet tried to reach them out. Everything else, the ten Hybrids of yours are perfectly capable of managing.

    "So! What do you say?"

    The girl looked at the man in front of her weakly. Even this little strain had started to tire her out. No wonder her brothers had gone on to involve the highest governmental authorities of the country into it. Letting out a long breath, the girl rubbed her forehead, contemting her choice.

    She had to admit. Xi Yuan''s n was much more thought-through and solid than the one her Bro Su had in mind. Instead of being grounded in Elite Saphhire Penthouse for two months, exploring the vibrance and elegance of Scond was much too tempting. So in the end, the girl looked at her fiance, a helpless smile across her lips.

    "Let''s go.", sheughed just as ebulliently as him, pulling him in for a warm hug as her giggles resounded throughout the entire hospital ward.

 Chapter 452: "It would be her first time"

    Chapter 452: "It would be her first time"

    Elite Multi-Speciality Hospital, 10:30 a.m.;

    Xi Yuan waited for the girl to fell asleep before he stepped out of the hospital ward. Shortly after, he told the girl''s mnage of his intentions to take her away for a while. While Rong Xiao and her sisters-inw were satisfied by the man''s decision, the Six tigers'' reaction was nothing of such. They had but onemon question for him.

    "What the hell were you even thinking?!", Su Rogguang voiced it as he red at the man, infuriated.

    "Exin, Yuan.", Lu Wei added, his expression dour.

    "Now, now, guys.", Ningtao stared at her husband and her brothers-inw, "Calm down! He wouldn''t put Xinghe''s life at risk intentionally, would he? No need to get all cautious and wary. Let him speak his mind first."

    Xi Yuan lifted his head up and smiled thankfully at the woman, fixing his gaze at the girl''s eldest brother next.

    "She won''t be at peace in Country X.", he said in a low voice, "It doesn''t matter how much of the excellent medical services she''s provided with. This nation is her home. She has an innumerable amount of responsibilities here.

    "She might take a break for one to two days at most.But one glitch in the national security, and she''ll find a way to get back to work. Irrespective of who issued the orders. You, or the Prime Minister, or the President.

    "The only way to keep her out of it is this. A vacation. Scond''s ruggedndscapes and eternal sceneries are what she needs in order to recover from such an intense and critical surgery.

    "And as far as her medications are concerned, I will personally look after it. Besides, any of you can check on her every once in a while, provided we''re going to Earlston; not too far from the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, which is barely an hour-long drive from my ce. Inte connectivity is one of the finest there too since it''s a property owned by the Xi Corporations. So you are free to call or VC her anytime you feel like."

    The Six tigers listened to the man''s exnation calmly as they finally understood what he was trying to do. It wasn''t an impulsive decision, of that they were sure now. Rong Xinghe was indeed a workaholic. Taking a break wasn''t a concept she really believed in. Maybe... Scond wasn''t as bad an idea as they''d assumed it to be.

    "What property are we talking about here?", Zhi Xi asked further, "The twenty-room castle-like farmhouse you own?"

    Xi Yuan nodded.

    "Hmm.", Zhi Bo crossed his arms, exhausted from theck of sleep, "What about working staff? Edibles and everything else."

    "I am not trusting anyone with Xinghe''s food for the next few months.", the man shook his head firmly, "There will be cleaning staff, of course, and one of Xi household''s most trustworthy butlers as well. But I will be cooking for her by myself."

    "Then what about work?", Mo Zixuan exacted the next question, confused. Xi Yuan was the CEO of Xi Corporations. How could he look after such trivial issues whilst an empire awaited to be run?

    "I''ll leave things to Fang for some time.", the man shrugged, "It''ll be fine."

    The Six tigers exchanged stunned nces among themselves as a smile appeared across their lips. He really had this thought-through, hadn''t he? From how to convince the girl to what to do with his work, he had all of it already figured out.

    "Alright then.", Lu Wei nodded approvingly, "Do as you wish. Just be careful, okay? And do not hesitate to tell us anything if you need."

    "Yeah.", the man smiled, much rxed now that he had the men''s blessings. In normal circumstances, there was no way they would''ve allowed this craziness, and he knew it. But Rong Xinghe was their little angel. Her health, her safety, her well-being; had been the reason for their very existence for years now. And as much as it hurt them, Xi Yuan knew that they would let her away from their sights if it meant that there was even a tad bit of a chance that it could ease her pain.

    :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

    Elite-Multi Speciality Hospital, 10:45;

    The Six men made appropriate arrangements for Xinguan in Scond via their extended contacts including municipal facilities at the man''s farmhouse, professional bodyguards fortifying the arena, and whatnots. It barely took them ten minutes to get over with all the necessities. And even though they were aware of Xi Yuan''s ability to handle it all, they insisted on doing the chores by themselves.

    As they walked out from the hospital corridor, towards the cafeteria to grab something to eat, seven certaindies surrounded the man, who was busy on a phone call at the moment.

    "Keep the jet ready by tomorrow evening.", the manmanded into the device, "We shall leave by seven."

    Only when he''d disconnected the call did Ruo Cy coughed softly, pulling the man''s attention back to them. Startled, the man turned around as he looked at the wicked smirks stered across their lips.

    "Yes, Seoras?", he smiled softly. Of everyone in the Superfamily, he loved to interact with them the most. Possibly because the confidence in their eyes was somehow a replica of ''her'' gaze. But mostly because they went easy on him, unlike the girl''s brothers.

    "So...", Feng Mian raised her brows, "Xinghe and you. Alone for the next two months, huh?"

    "What--", the man stared at the woman, "No! I don''t n to..." Just how did theye up with such unspeakable ideas in such a situation, he wondered. And for some unknown reason, their hopeful eyes had started to scare him with each passing second.

    "Don''t worry.", Ching Tong cut in,ughing at the man''s reaction, "Her health won''t be affected by intimate activities. I assure you. Regardless of what Rogguang would want you to believe."

    "I... Her brothers never discuss that with me. Why would they!?", the man had never felt so cornered in his life before.

    "Don''t change the topic.", Songyan pouted, "Just be gentle with her. It would be her first time, after all. Not to mention, her bodycks its usual strength right now."

    "And use protection.", Ningtao warned.

    "Or not.", Rong Xiao shrugged, "Honestly, brother-inw, I''d love to see my nephew or niece as soon as possible."

    Xi Yuan: "..."

 Chapter 453: Like the alpha he truly was

    Chapter 453: Like the alpha he truly was

    Elite Saphhire Penthouse, 16:00;

    Only when Su Rogguang had approved was the girl allowed to leave the hospital. Xi Yuan, obviously, volunteered to take her home, for he knew just how upied the Superfamily would be for the next few days with the media.

    Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan''s sudden absence from Xi Chonglin''s birthday was not a small issue. Not to mention, He Chen had attacked the highest Military Authority of Country X. Sooner orter, she would undergo a public execution, bringing the Superfamily into headlines yet again. And about a week after, a detailed investigation would be carried out by the President''s office, regarding the deadly attempt, surveying and traversing through every officer and bureaucrat closest to Rong Xinghe.

    One thing was for sure, though. The Superfamily wouldn''t go down the list of trending controversies for the next one to two months. People would kill to get even a single interview with any of the family members. They would want to know everything. Every little thing. All the hows, and all the whys.

    And that was why, deep down, the Six men were d that the girl would be away, rxing and recovering, while they dealt with the mess here. What more, Xi Yuan would stay by her side through it all as well. Over the past few months, they''de to like that guy. They trusted his intentions and sincerity for their Kid the most. So they were relieved, more so than anything else at the moment.

    "Urgh!", the girl bit her lower lip and she winced in pain as Xi Yuan helped her sit on the living room''s couch.

    "What is it?", the man questioned as he knelt to the ground, cing his right hand over the fabric on the girl''s thigh.

    "Just tired.", Rong Xinghe smiled feebly, shaking her head.

    "Get thedy some water, Butler.", Xi Yuanmanded, "Warm Water."

    As the old man returned after a few minutes, Xi Yuan passed the ss to the girl before he turned to Xi Fang. "Bring her in.", he said, his tone indifferent. But the moment the girl listened to the man''s words, she knew who it was that he''d summoned.

    It didn''t take long for Xi Fang to haul in the woman inside. Covered in multiple deep bruises, her clothes cleaved here and there as a result of struggle, hands tied brutally from behind with heavy rusty iron chains; such was the state of the Chief Operating Officer of MZX Networks then.

    "She confessed.", Xi Yuan stated, his eyes glued to his precious fiance, "Along with admittance to the authenticity of all the shreds of evidence against her."

    Rong Xinghe didn''t say anything. She''d stopped drinking water the second she''d seen He Chen''s awful physique. It wasn''t that she intended to show mercy upon her, but. She simply hadn''t expected her darling to get so ruthless this time. Truth be told, in each one of He Chen''s wounds, Rong Xinghe could see his fear; of losing her, and of never being able to hold her in his arms. And as the realization dawned upon her, she felt the corner of her eyes burning, her throat slowly closing in.

    Xi Yuan, as usual, gave her sufficient time to calm herself down. Patiently, he waited for her to down the entire ss in her hands and take in some deep breaths, while everyone else in the room stood watching them, silence spreading through it gradually.

    "Get me my gun, Assistant Shou.", the girl tossed her head to one side, her tone much cold now.

    As the two waited for Shou Wu to retrieve the girl''s revolver from her car, Rong Xinghe fixed her gaze at the woman already staring at her. The expression over her face was petrified, for the first time since she''d arrived probably.

    "Who?", Rong Xinghe asked, "Who helped you? From within?"

    "You''ll kill me, won''t you?", the womanughed, "Then what''s the point?"

    "Don''t tell if you don''t want to.", the girl shrugged nonchntly, her hands resting against her darling''s shoulders, "It''s not like I''d trust you even if you give me a name. By the way, how is your father doing?"

    He Chen red at the girl, enraged, as she spoke through her gritted teeth, "Don''t you dare touch him, Xinghe! I take responsibility for everything I did. Punish me, if that''s what you want. Just stay away from my Dad."

    "Oh no, no.", the girl shook her head, "I wouldn''t want to harm him. But that doesn''t mean he won''t be harmed."

    "What do you mean, Sister-inw?", Xi Fang questioned, muddled.

    "He Chen will be hanged publicly first thing tomorrow in the morning.", Rong Xinghe nced at the young man, "She''ll be announced an anti-nationalist, an enemy of the state then. And do you know what happens to the family of such abominations?

    "Humiliation. Attacks. Taunts. An existence without honor. At least, in Country X, her father won''t be able to survive. Ironically, though, he is a politician from the ruling government. Where else would he possibly go? The media will kill him. Literally."

    "You bi*ch!", He Chen stared daggers into the girl''s eyes, the lost strength in her body regaining, "It''s a shame that you didn''t die. You don''t deserve my Zixuan. And you don''t deserve any of this. Neither the Xi family nor your so-called brothers!

    "Slu*s like you are supposed to be treated the way the Rong family treated you. Like animals. Or even worse. You should''ve been sold into that sex very market years--"

    But before the woman could continue any further, a cold sharp metallic object pierced through the woman''s forehead, about three inches above the point connecting her brows. Followed by two more savage firing shots, it was over. The story of He Chen. Just like that. In a blink.

    Rong Xinghe looked at the man in front of her. She hadn''t even noticed as to when he''d borrowed her gun from Shou Wu or exactly when he''d turned around to aim at the woman. But she got it. His rage, and his resentment. And above all, his reasons. Xi Yuan wasn''t the kind of person to stand by and watch his love get stained or insulted. It''d never been his personality, to begin with. He was the one to fight back. Like the alpha he truly was.

    Xi Fang, the working staff nearby, and Shou Wu, on the other hand, were shocked to their very cores, for the first time in their lives had they witnessed the man lose control over his emotions. He killed her! Without giving it a second thought or instead of letting the others do the dirty work for him, he did it himself...

    "Yuan...", the girl stood up, holding the man''s hand, "Calm down."

    Xi Yuan stared at the girl in front of him nkly, his gaze giving away no expression.

    "I am fine.", she said, carefully taking the gun from him. Then, the girl turned to look at Shou Wu, "Follow Military protocols when you hang her body tomorrow. And wipe away Yuan''s fingerprints from this baby''s trigger and grip. I don''t want any usations bothering him. Got it?"

    "Yes, Ma''am.", the old guy answered modestly.

    "Xinghe, I--", Xi Yuan was about to say something but was cut off by the girl, "Let''s go to our room.", she smiled softly, "I want to sleep for a few hours more before we pack our bags for thend of the castles. Care to join me, Mr. Xi?"

    Relieved, that she hadn''t paid heed to He Chen''sst words, the man smiled back at her, "After you, Ma'' Jolie.", he said, brushing his lips against hers ardently.

 Chapter 454: The chosen one

    Chapter 454: The chosen one

    It was a long night for Xi Yuan. An indescribable amount of coffee cups, and hundreds of unsigned files. Whilst the girl slept soundly upon his bed, he sat in the study for hours through the midnight, distributing responsibilities to the Xi trio. The three too eagerly took on everything they were given, for they were just as excited about their brother''s vacation as the girl''s sisters-inw and twin, were.

    Most importantly, this was the first time Xi Yuan had stepped back for himself from the Xi business empire. Ever since their grandparents'' death, Xi Yuan had but one goal; to transform his family''s legacy into the most dynamic and high-octane association one could only imagine to ever exist. To those who didn''t know him, he was a prideful hardworking man. But only the ones who''d known him from up close were aware of the truth.

    This was his way of dealing with grief. Challenging himself every morning and every night, so that he wouldn''t have to face the harsh absence of the people he''d dared to love. Xi Corporations was, but a mere distraction to him.

    In reality, Xi Yuan had never wanted to be a businessman. He''d wished to be a soldier, instead. He''d always enjoyed the thrill of it all, the time pressure, the honor that lied underneath those badges. Unfortunately, though, he wasn''t at the liberty to choose his destiny as he wished. Xi Mengyao''s will, his grandfather''sst wish, changed everything for him. Overnight, he''d been crowned the one worthy heir to the family business while the Xi trio stood behind him, under his protection.

    He would''ve had rebelled, for it hadn''t been his younger siblings'' tender age. Xi Yuan couldn''t bear to scathe their innocence, their ''perfect'' childhoods, with the burden as suffocating as the position of Xi Corps''s CEO. And when all of a sudden, he witnessed the brutal deaths of both his grandparents, he could only uphold theirst wishes with utmost sincerity.

    "Brother, what about Diablos?", Xi Fang questioned the man, "What if he contacts you again?"

    "He won''t.", the man shook his head confidently, his gaze fixed at hisptop screen, "He is smarter than that. Approaching me, again and again, would make him seem terribly desperate. Provided that he wishes to pursue Xinghe, he''d stay low and wait for me to make a move. Your Sister-inw admires patience."

    The Xi trio looked at their brother''s calm expression in a daze. How could he be so irvoyant, they wondered. The way his calctive mind worked was simply and utterly, impressive!

    "Then will you be making a move?", Xi Ying questioned, as she sat down opposite him.

    "Not yet.", the man answered inly, "Not until Xinghe recuperatespletely. Everything else can wait."

    "Fair enough.", Xi Wei nodded, "By the way, brother, Xiao seems to be pretty electrified about this trip of yours. She''s been busy nning something with her sisters-inw since this morning. Did she say anything to you?"

    As the man''s mind traveled back to his interaction with the Superfamily''sdies not too long ago, his gaze moved hastily from hisptop to the view outside his window. Laying back, the man shook his head as he mumbled, his voice more of a whisper, "They''ve gone crazy.", he sighed.

    After a minute or so, Xi Yuan spoke up again, "Ying, do me a favor."

    "Yes, brother?", the girl sat up straight, listening to the man attentively.

    "Prepare a list of the most exquisite wedding venues in Country X by the time I return back from Scond.", the man resumed, "A detailed record of meaningful marital customs, regardless of country or religion of origin. Flowers, jewelry, gowns... everything."

    "Sure... but why now?", Xi Ying questioned, slightly enlivened by the man''s words.

    "Because I can''t wait anymore.", the man replied, his eyes fixed at the window still, "I want her by my side until I breathe myst, and I want to give her the warmth of a home. She deserves it, Ying."

    _______________

    The next evening, en route to Scond;

    Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe bid adieu to the girl''s family and the Xi trio at the private airport before the jet finally took off.

    "Wine?", the girl askedter to the man as she stretched her arms, a small yawn escaping her mouth while they made their way to the poggenpohl mini-bar together. "Let''s go for some juice.", the man smiled gently as he held onto her left hand.

    "Bro Su said I can drink alcohol, Yuan.", the girl chuckled helplessly, "Don''t worry."

    "Just in case...", the man muttered under his breath. He then raised his hand up in the mid-air, clicking his fingers twice, summoning one of the staff at service, "Prepare a warm bath for thedy.", he ordered, "And get two sses of mixed fruit juice along with some roasted snacks to the multimedia room."

    "Got it, President Xi.", the woman in her early-twenties bowed down obediently before she turned around and left again.

    "This ne has a multimedia arena?!", Rong Xinghe gasped, her eyes wide open, "Wow!"

    Stunned, the manughed out, "You do realize who your boyfriend is, right?", he stated as a matter-of-factly, "Of course, I would want to give you the best."

    Gleefully, the girl blinked at the man, unable to hold back the shine in her eyes, "So what are we watching?"

    "F.R.I.E.N.D.S.?", Xi Yuan suggested, "Or Avengers? Or if there''s anything else on your mind, do tell."

    "Let''s go for the first option.", the girl smiled sweetly, singing the series''s theme song in her oh-so-melodious voice, "So no one told you life was gonna be this way..."

    Rong Xinghe was a crazy fan of this particr web series and Xi Yuan knew it. The T-shirts quoting ''Joey doesn''t share food'' and ''Smelly Cat'', were, to date, some essential elements of her daily wardrobe; proving his point. But he''d never seen it. Despite her pleas. He''d never had the time, honestly.

    But time wasn''t going to be an issue for the next few weeks, was it?

    "Do not tell me spoilers.", the manughed at the girl''s silly childish dance as she swayed to the song she sang. She was so cute!

    Offended, the girl stopped her movements and red at the man, "Mr. Xi Yuan! I, Rong Xinghe, have always been a responsible audience and admirer of the art. Following and making people follow movie ethics is what I was born for, must you know."

    "Oh?", Xi Yuan raised his brows, "Such a noble purpose behind one''s birth, my Queen! You truly are the chosen one."

    "Indeed.", the girl scoffed akin to some arrogant royalty.

    Bursting intoughter, the two sank into the jumbo bean bag behind them, their faces inches apart. And about three minutes and a halfter, the huge screen in the room lit up with one ssic and quite a famous dialogue, ''And I just want a million dors!''

 Chapter 455: Her adorable dork

    Chapter 455: Her adorable dork

    It was a fourteen-hour flight from Country X to Edinburgh, the capital of Scond. In normal circumstances, Xi Yuan would''ve utilized this time to go through Xi Corporations'' financial files. But this time was different. This time, he had the most riveting partner of all, apanying him. And for the first time in his life, he wasn''t a speck exhausted through a journey as tedious as such.

    She''d binge-watched about seven episodes of FRIENDS''s first season with him, consuming about two and a half hours for it. Initially, Xi Yuan was taken aback by how finely she remembered each and every dialogue from it. But then he''de to enjoy it himself. Both the series and her sudden interferences. She''dugh at every hrious bit from it as if she was watching it for the first time, and that was just so endearing to look at.

    Then, she''d taught him how to make swans and monkeys out of towels, followed by an borate yet immensely august faux calligraphy ss with the help of the fine-point ck fountain pen in his office. She even told him about her love for baking and cake decorating, and that she''d always wanted to own a small bakery of her own one day. That was the first dream of a person who''d grown up to be an awe-inspiring and influencing role-model for millions of souls.

    Had he fallen for her, though, if she would''ve been a baker, he''d thought then. Had they even crossed paths throughout their lives? Who knew...

    She was in the washroom now, exfoliating herself, rxing in the warmth of thevender salt-infused water of the bath. Staring at the structure of the night sky pattern ceiling, he lied on the bed as waited for the girl to step out of the restroom.

    "I am hungry.", Rong Xinghe''s voice reached him a few minutester, making him turn his head to look at her. She had her gray hooded bathrobe wrapped around her damp and soft skin, her ears and nose red in response to the steam.

    The man gulped, his ears turning hot, as his gaze stopped at the waterdrops over her slender neck and the delicately thin corbone below. Damn it, he cursed internally. And at once, he sat back up, climbing down the King-size bed, fixing his eyes to the ground. "I''ll see to it.", he nodded, as he stormed out of the room.

    As the door behind him closed shut, Rong Xinghe blinked at it, confused. What was up with him suddenly? But then she let go of it. Men could be more confusing than women sometimes. She''d grown up with Six weirdos to have known that by now. A minuteter, she put on her maroon set of undergarments, followed by one of Xi Yuan''s Emporio Armani gray sweatshirts and her regr ck lounge pants.

    Standing in front of the washroom''s mirror, she smiled to herself. Perfect! She had never paid attention to her looks before. Part of it was because of her job. For the past few years, she hadn''t woken up to a bruiseless face. She was more used to her injuries than she was to the national position that came with it.

    But most of it was because of him. Her Yuan. He never demanded anything of such sorts from her. No makeup. No ''top-notch'' clothing articles. He''d never let her feel that she needed to change herself in order to stay by his side. He was probably the only person in this world who''d joked to her about marrying her whilst she walked down the aisle in her pajamas. Such an adorable dork, he was.

    "What do we have?", the girl walked into the living room wherein her darling sat.

    "Sliced fruit tter, first. In appetizers, we''ve got Mushrooms Fricassee with Thyme Cream on toast. And for the main course, we could go for Lasagne Bolognese.", the man answered, "They are preparing the dining area right now."

    Rong Xinghe leaned against the rounded-edge entrance, her lips pressed against one another, eyebrows raised, "And what about the deserts?"

    "Double Fudge Chocte brownies.", Xi Yuan answered, his tone suspicious. He knew that look. The ''freaking rich'' look she had. "What?", the man smiled at the girl, pulling her to sit beside him over the white leather sofa.

    "Nothing.", the girl shook her head, resting it over hisp, stretching her slender legs to the end of the settee. It was now that the man noticed the clothes she''d changed into. His shirt. It suited her more than him, honestly. Either that or he''d gotten used to this habit of hers.

    "What is it, Xinghe?", the man''s lips curled up as he ran his fingers through her freely falling jet ck hair.

    "I am just curious.", the girl said, her expression nk, "Have you always had such an affluent lifestyle? Like a royalty or something."

    "Kind of.", the man replied, "I mean... having Xi family''s legacy passed down to you has its perks."

    "Oh... how unfortunate."

    "Huh?", Xi Yuan nced at the girl, puzzled. Howe... People out there dreamt of leading a life he had. And yet, his Queen thought of it as unfortunate. Just how did her mind work, really?

    "Well... yeah. You''ve got hundreds of skyscrapers beneath your foot and you''ve got a wealth that''s just straight up unmatched. But that''s the point. You are so high above everyone else that you''ve never enjoyed the little wonders of the world. The things that really matter do not matter to those on the top of the human chain. And it''s so hurtful, you know.", the girl exined calmly.

    Xi Yuan listened to the girl attentively before his fingers stopped their movement as his mind wandered off in the thoughts of its own. She was right. He''d never seen what she''d seen. She, on the other hand, was an explorer. She loved interacting withmoners, local vegetable vendors, and roadside food stall owners, despite the fact that she was just as much a prominent a personality as he was. She was like water, able to blend into his crowd and into hers. And he admired her for that. She knew his world. But did he knew hers?

    "Show me, then.", the man finally broke the silence, his expression earnest.

    "Hmm?"

    "Show me the things you''ve seen, and the things that fascinate you, Xinghe.", Xi Yuan said, "Show me the world that shaped your personality into this; into this deadly mix of beauty, brains, and bravery."

 Chapter 456: "Open your eyes and look at the truth"

    Chapter 456: "Open your eyes and look at the truth"

    With a soft, amused smile, the girl agreed, "Got it, Boss.", she winked at him, a hint of thrill in her sparkling eyes.

    "But let''s have this ridiculously expensive dinner first, chrie?", Xi Yuanughed, helping the girl sit up, cing a soft kiss against her forehead.

    "Okie Dokie!"

    _______________

    Meanwhile, Xi Family Mansion, 00:30;

    "Speak to your father with respect, Fang!", Luo Youyou said through gritted teeth, her eyes open wide. "He simply enquired to you about work. How could you insult him like that?!"

    Xi Ying stood behind her twin, anxious. Why did it have to be them? Why their family?! It was literally the fifth argument between Xi Fang and Xi Chonglin this month, despite Xi Yuan''s efforts. And now that their elder brother was no more there for them, who''d shield the rtionships destined for damnation inside this family?

    Xi Fang had visited the Old Xi Mansion to get some signatures from Xi Chongkun upon the projects that required Xi Yuan''s final approval. Little did he know, he''d run into his father. What less, instead of letting him leave, Xi Chonglin started questioning him about the files in his hands.

    "Because Mrs. Xi...", Xi Fang red at the woman in front of him, "Your husband seems to be interested in Xi Corporations'' confidential documents. And dare I remind you, he is not the acting CEO of thispany. My brother is. How else did you expect me to react?"

    Xi Fang''s words were sharp, pointed, prickly; his tone merciless. It was almost as if he was speaking to some strangers. In a way, he was. Provided the kind of childhood the Xi siblings had had, they''d always found it difficult to connect to their parents emotionally. Xi Yuan had started to conversate with his mother just recently, thanks to the Six tiger''sdy luck. But Xi Fang''s situation was worse.

    Unlike Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah, Xi Chonglin and Luo Youyou expected their kids to respect and love them irrespective of how irrationally they would act. They did not put in the efforts or gave them the necessary space. Instead, they had a tendency of forcing the weight of rtionships on their children, which was much too brutal than one could even begin to imagine.

    Troubled by the chaos outside, Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah soon joined the family of four in the living room. As Li Jungah looked at Xi Fang''s dark expression and Xi Ying''s tearful eyes, she inhaled sharply. "Dismissed!", shemanded the staff who''d been enjoying the ''supposed'' drama so far.

    "Come here, Ying.", she opened her arms then, pulling Xi Ying in for a warm affectionate hug, "It''s alright. Calm down."

    Xi Chongkun, on the other hand, focussed on Xi Fang''s dull guise, "What happened, son?", he questioned, "Are you okay?"

    "I am, Uncle.", the young man nodded, smiling bitterly at him, "Thank you for your time. Rest well. I should get going too. I''ll be waiting outside, Ying."

    At this time, Luo Youyou grabbed the man''s left hand, squeezing it with all her might, "You speak to them with so much respect, but treat your own parents like pieces of trash. What''s wrong with you, Fang?! I was the one who''d carried you in my womb for nine months, and this is how you repay me? How could you be so unfilial, so ungrateful to us? How?!

    "Is this what your elder brother has thought you all these years? Impudence? Insensitivity? Ruthlessness? Or was it Rong Xi-"

    "Not a word more, Mrs. Xi!", Xi Fang yelled, his eyes zing with rage, akin to a wounded lion. The pitch of his voice was so high that one of the maids walking across the room next door jumped up frightfully as the tes in her hands slipped down her fingers and shattered into thousands of tiny pieces. No one had ever seen the Second Young Master of the Xi family react so furiously ever before. Why was the seconddy pushing him to this extent, they thought.

    But Luo Youyou had lost it at this point. So much so that she wanted to reim her territory, her son, even if it meant that she''d have to hurt him in order to achieve that.

    "Open your eyes and look at the truth, Fang!", she shouted back, her nails digging into the flesh of his palm as each second passed, "While you were given the position of Xi Corporations'' Vice President as a handout, he ruled as the heir to the throne. While you gave up the woman you loved for him, he got engaged to the Military Chief of this country, strengthening his stature far above you! While you ruined your rtionships with your parents, he is gradually mending fences with his.

    "You are losing everything, Fang. One by one. But he? He hasn''t undergone one setback ever since that girl came into his life. Her so-called ''meaningful'' gift to your Uncle was nothing but an attempt to ease the air between them. She is one calctive woman, you know? She knows that these little things would make your Uncle and Aunt like her. That Yuan would be drawn to her further. That she''d gain control over you, and Ying, and Wei''s minds ultimately too.

    "And why not? She''d want Xi Yuan to remain the CEO of the Xi empire so that she would get hold of his wealth one day. After all, who wouldn''t want to seduce the men from the Xi family? She is nothing but a goddamned golddigger!"

    "Oh, really?", it was now that an unfamiliar yet somewhat known voice, resonated across the room, sending a chill down Luo Youyou''s spine. She hadn''t expected anyone from the Superfamily to show up tonight. Let alone, one of the Six men.

    Reactions of the Xi twins and the other family elders were no different. No matter how tough an exterior they put on, deep down, they were all intimidated of this lot, for it hadn''t been long since they''d witnessed the preview of their brutality.

    "I wonder what else Mrs. Xi thinks of my sister?", Lu Wei chuckled coldly, loosening the tie around his neck, Ningtao following behind him, her face giving away no expression. The man escorted his wife to the couch and helped her sitfortably before he crossed his arms and looked at his prey, "It''s going to be a long night. Shouldn''t we get some coffee?", he smiled at the woman then.

 Chapter 457: Truth or Dare

    Chapter 457: Truth or Dare

    En route to Scond, Xi Corps'' private jet;

    It was a long flight with hours to waste, and none of the two were sleepy just yet. So they spent the night ying one ssic game. One good old source of entertainment. Truth or dare. It was a fun way to know each other better. Furthermore, both the man and the woman were perfectlyfortable with revealing their truths to one another.

    "Dare.", Xi Yuan shrugged.

    "Umm... do me.", the girl said a whileter, "Do my impersonation. Let me see how you notice me, how you look at me exactly."

    "Okay.", the manughed, climbing down the bed at once and walked out of their bedroom. About five secondster, he returned back, stepping in casually, looking at the ne''s interior next to the bed''s right side-table with wide-open eyes, "Is this how you are going to go on a date with who could possibly be your potential wife, Bro Mo?!

    "Everyone, back off! Let me have a look at his wardrobe first.", he said, turning to approach the wall, both his hands over his hips, "Remember one thing, Bro Mo, women enjoy special treatment. Now, Miss. Cheng might be a self-reliantdy, but you could alwayspliment her eyes, her smile. Not clothes, though. Make her feel cherished for her natural form, hmm?

    "And yeah, DO NOT look at any other woman when she is sitting opposite to you. Watch her as if she''s an angel or a mesmerizingndscape. Divine. Charismatic. Got it?"

    Xi Yuan then turned around, smirking at Rong Xinghe, "And Yuan, you, are you making notes?"

    "Wha--", Rong Xinghe burst outughing, "I am not so strict with my brothers!"

    "Yes, you are.", the man shook his head in denial, "And will you let me finish please?"

    "Okay, okay. Sorry.", the girl said amid herughter. He was so focused!

    Xi Yuan turned back around, pulling his phone out of his pocket, "What is it, Mr. Shou?", he said into it, furrowing his brows, "Oh... Since he isn''t confessing to anything, he is of no use to us. Just kill him then. I don''t care if he''s the son of a politician. This disgrace of a creep shot two of my men right in front of my eyes, terrorist or not. I want him to beg for death before he breathes hisst, Mr. Shou. Do we understand each other?"

    Rong Xinghe looked at the man''s uracy with amazement. He was so observant. It was as if he had memorized every word she''d ever said. She did speak like that to her brothers in the former tone, and to Shou Wu in thetter one. Did he really notice her so intensely, she pondered?

    The man then tucked the phone back into his pocket, approaching the girl with swiftness, "I got to go, Mr. Xi.", he said, capturing her lips into his for a quick peck before letting go and blinking twice, "Miss me, okay? I love you! Buh-bye."

    He then got down the bed again, and tossed his head to one side, "How was I?", he asked in his usual andforting deep tone.

    "Wow!", the girl pped her hands excitedly, "Hats off, Mr. Xi!"

    "Thank you, thank you.", the man smiled cheekily, sitting back on the bed beside her, "I''ll be waiting for the Oscar.", he added, eliciting another breezy giggle from her.

    "Your turn.", he said after some time as the neck of the bottle pointed towards Rong Xinghe, "Truth or dare?"

    "Truth.", the girl answered as a yawn skipped her mouth.

    "Alright.", Xi Yuan tapped his chin, "What did you think of me when we first met?"

    The girl giggled, remembering their meet-cute, "Well, I assumed you to be a bartender. Let''s start there."

    "Go on.", the man smiled.

    "But there was something. I felt it. Your eyes. Or maybe your aloofness. I don''t know.", the girl confessed, her voice sweet and entrancing, "I''d never felt like that before, of that I am sure. I had never found any other man as breathtakingly handsome as you.

    "I liked you, you know? Since then. Even though I''d addressed you as a bartender, you didn''t allow others to make fun of me. You yed along, instead. You shielded me from humiliation then. You always do. But that night, you were such a gentleman. Maybe I never realized my feelings until I almost lost you, but I''d always liked you, Yuan. Since the night we met."

    Xi Yuan did not say anything. He simply closed in onto the girl, erasing the distance between their lips. His kiss wasn''t soft at the moment. It was fierce, passionate, intoxicating, replicating the ze she''d ignited inside his heart with her warm, mellow words.

    The girl too did not struggle. With her toes, she pushed the ss bottle down the bed, in case it''d end up hurting him. Xi Yuan helped the girl lie down carefully, adjusting the pillow beneath her head, his body overshadowing hers. He couldn''t go further than this, and he was aware of it. Rong Xinghe was too weak right now. Not to mention, she was still on her periods.

    He just wanted to feel the fervor of her touch, her lips, her fingers behind his ears, for it made him feel the warmth of a home. She made him feel like no one else ever could. And he wished to celebrate it, for the next second, the next minute, the next hour, and for the limited eternity, he had with her.

    _______________

    Xi Family Mansion, 00:50;

    "I... I did not mean...", Lu Wei''s presence was so overbearing, so strong, that Luo Youyou couldn''t even speak without fumbling for words. The palms of her hands had already been covered in sweat, her legs trembling with fear.

    "If there is one thing I hate more than false usations, it''s lies, Mrs. Xi.", the man scoffed, "You meant it. Every word of it. Specifically, the ''golddigger'' part."

    "We apologize to you, Son.", Xi Chongkun said in a defeated tone, "Let go of it this time. I request you."

    Xi Family had always had high regards for Lu and Zhi family. The three families had had years of friendship together. And he couldn''t let Luo Youyou''s stupidity affect that, could he? What more, Lu Wei and Zhi Xi were the ones who''d molded Xi Yuan into who he was in the world of business. The King. Xi Yuan looked up to these two men the most. He respected them from the depths of his heart. How could he allow the Xi family''s internal politics to scar the connection his son shared with Lu Wei then?

    "Please, Uncle, do not apologize.", Lu Wei responded lightly, "You haven''t wronged Xinghe''s honor here. And as far as forgiveness is concerned, I am afraid that''s not how my family works. There are consequences. Even to words.

    "Besides, it''s not happening for the first time, is it? Her brother, Luo Chen, did something simr on your birthday too. I cannot just sit back and watch such an ill-reputed family scandalize mine, can I? These miscreants need to be taught a lesson, now more than ever."

 Chapter 458: The Xi Familys Worth

    Chapter 458: The Xi Family''s Worth

    Lu Wei hailed from one of the most honorary families in Country X, and for him to use such demeaning words was as rare as hen''s teeth. He was the kind of person to destroy his enemies silently, with one deadly strike. He preferred to act from darkness, rather than dirtying his hands openly. But this time was different.

    And that was what was bothering Xi Fang the most. He didn''t know the Six tigers the way his brother did, but he could sense the change in Lu Wei''s usual manner of conduct. The reason behind this difference, though, he was yet to know.

    Lu Wei sat down beside his wife on the ck leather couch as he calmly pulled his phone out, dialing a number he''d had imprinted in his mind, clearly. "You still at work, Xi?", he asked into the phone about ten secondster.

    "Yep.", Zhi Xi replied, his tone zoned out.

    "Ok. Tell me something.", the man nodded faintly, unbuttoning his suit, "What is Luo Empire''s current worth?"

    "Umm...", the man raised his brows, listening to the man attentively now, "About 250 million USD, overall. Why?"

    "Buy it. Now.", Lu Wei smiled, his gaze fixed at the pale-faced Luo Youyou, "If you''re up for it, of course."

    "Are you kidding me? A forced buyout?", Zhi Xiughed, his voice thrilled, "I love this part the most! I''ll do it. Just wait for my call."

    Lu Wei waited for the line to disconnect before he tucked his phone back into his pocket. He then nced at Xi Fang inly. "Anyments?", he questioned the young man after some time.

    The man did not know how to reply. What Lu Wei was nning to do was wiping away the possibility of subsistence of the Luo family from the face of the business world. A forced buyout, was but a dead end, for the mightiest of thepanies. Quick and effective. Luring the major shareholders of apany to sell their shares into much higher prices inparison to their actual values, was nothing but a path to straight-up destruction. Even with the Xi family''s backing, the shareholders would want to leave Luo Chen with such an opening, for thepany challenging the Xi Corps''s authority would be Zhi Corporations; an organization equally powerful and dynamic.

    Without another thought, Xi Fang shook his head, cing his phone upon the table in the middle of the living room, turning on its silent mode, "This is about Sister-inw, Sir.", he said, "I have no objections.

    "I am in power right now, so the employees would try to reach me out of desperation. However, I won''t be picking up their calls. So here you go. The ball''s in your court now."

    Lu Wei stared at the man''s phone before lifting his head up and smiling at him appreciatively, "No wonder both Yuan and Xinghe are so fond of you. You''re smart, Fang."

    "I''ll order some coffee for you.", the man smiled back modestly, "What would you like, Ma''am?", he turned to look at Ningtao next.

    "Almond milk.", Ningtao answered, "Will that be fine?"

    "Absolutely.", Xi Fang shrugged as he approached the old family butler standing across the other end of the room.

    Lu Wei and Ningtao waited to receive their drinks before they finally revealed the real reason they''d visited the Xi Family''s Mansion at such odd hours. "We did not mean to awake anyone here.", Ningtao was the one to brief them this time, "It was Zixuan who''d tipped us about some paparazzi trying to bug Xi family members in order to get information concerning Yuan and Xinghe''s unexpected absence.

    "We thought it''d be fine to forewarn the butler or the security staff here about it since we were already passing by this ce. But Mrs. Xi''s voice was too high to not notice.", the woman smiled, bringing the cup of milk to her lips.

    "P-please don''t h...hurt my brother, Mr. Lu.", Luo Youyou pressed her hand against one another, teardrops rolling down her eyes, "I beg you."

    "Why don''t you use your authority now?", Lu Wei chuckled, his tone like that of the mirthless devil himself, "Why not pull out the ''Xi family'' card, hmm? You were quite audacious earlier, weren''t you? What is it now then?"

    "Must you take so harsh measures, Wei?", Li Junhah sighed, "Xinghe wouldn''t have taken Youyou''s words to heart, you know?"

    "You''re right.", Ningtao responded on behalf of her husband, smiling at the woman meaningfully, "She wouldn''t have. She never does. But does that mean that her brothers should just stop protecting her and looking out for her?"

    "She did not mean it like that, Daughter.", Xi Chongkun tried to exin quickly, his expression a little cautious.

    "I know, Uncle.", Lu Weiughed, "But Tao is right. Xinghe and Xiao are the ones whoplete our family. We are their brothers. Protecting their honor and their reputation is what we are supposed to do. Specifically, in a family asplicated as the Xis."

    Listening to the man''s trenchant and brusque words, the Xi twins and the family''s elders realized what was happening. The girl''s brother wasn''t here to simply destruct the Luo family''s absolute existence tonight. His agenda wasn''t limited to just that, but to something much more critical. Luos were but merely an excuse for him to spread a stronger message; loud and clear. But what exactly, they would soon know.

    "Of course you''d aim at two birds with one stone, Son. What else can be expected from Lu Hogguang''s flesh and blood?", Xi Chongkun smirked, grabbing a seat opposite Lu Wei, "Whatever it is that you want to say, say it. No need to be formal with us."

    Lu Wei smiled at the man, cing his empty coffee cup over the apothecary table in front of him. "Since I am at the liberty to voice my opinions, I would like to discuss the way Xi family would go on to treat my sister once she gets married to Yuan.

    "Honestly speaking, the way your brother''s wife just spoke of my little angel, I am not sure if the Xi family is even worthy of general acquaintance with the Superfamily, let alone holding a wedding with our beloved sister."

    "Ever since Xinghe got into a rtionship with Yuan, we''ve been hearing ridiculous rumors about her. Questions like if she deserves to stay by his side, and whether she is after his wealth are the only kind we''vee across. What I don''t understand, though, is howe my Kiddo ising out to be the viin through this whole fiasco.

    "Why did no one from the Xi family stand up for her then, other than Yuan? Why did she have to prove her eligibility in order to be one of you? And who gave your fu*ked up rtives and business associates the right to judge or look down upon the highest authority of this nation, really? I am here for answers tonight, and I won''t be leaving without them.", the girl''s eldest brother roared, akin to the ferocious tiger that he was.

 Chapter 459: "Shes is his need, his drug, his desire"

    Chapter 459: "She''s is his need, his drug, his desire"

    Xi Family was well-known for keeping a low profile. It was rare for them to put their personal lives on disy for the world toment on. And that was why, journalists killed to get even a single interview with them, irrespective of their position in Xi Corporations. Most difficult to get ess to was Xi Yuan, amongst the lot, obviously. But this mysterious conduct of theirs was also the reason behind Country X''s never-ending curiosity for them. Even the smallest of articles concerning the Xi trio or the Business King Xi Yuan would escte rapidly, akin to the fires in the forests.

    Even so, the Xi family were fiercely protective of their own. Regardless of how many internal conflicts they shared, this family would alwaysbat each other''s enemies together. Xi Chongkun and Xi Chonglin''s disputes over the position of Xi Corps''s CEO was the first and thest time that the media ever got hold of the family''s weaknesses. Xi Yuan''s strict leadership suppressed it years ago and no one ever witnessed anything of such sort since then.

    So Lu Wei''s rage was totally understandable. If they''d really deemed Rong Xinghe as a part of their family, howe they never defended her in public?

    "We never realized Xiao Xinghe went through so much, Wei.", Xi Chongkun responded carefully after some time, "Trust me."

    "That''s pure crap, Uncle.", Lu Wei shook his head, "The only effort I''ve noticed from the Xi family for her are these false usations, taunts, and mockery. And she hasn''t even married Yuan yet. Just the thought of what you''ll put her through after their wedding disgusts me to my very core."

    "We treat Xinghe just like how we would''ve treated our own daughter.", Li Jungah exined anxiously, "She has been nothing but an angel to Yuan, and to us. We are indebted to everything she has done for us, Son. Don''t misunderstand our intentions for her, please."

    "If this is how daughters are treated in Xi family, I pity Ying.", Ningtao sighed, "You must know, Mr. and Mrs. Xi, that silence is just as much a crime as the wounding words are. Luo Youyou here, with the help of her brother, has been wrongly inculpating Xinghe for quite some months now, sure. But do you think your and Mr. Xi''s low-key temperament has gone unnoticed? It''s equally hurtful, you know?

    "Besides, just what does this family think of itself? I genuinely desire to know.", the woman chuckled coolly, "I still remember Mr. Chonglin''s reaction when Yuan announced Xinghe as his prime advisor in Xi Corporations. He didn''t even bother to hide his spite then.

    "No, seriously. What is it? What is all the arrogance about, really? Why do all of you believe that everyone out there has their eyes set on your goddamned wealth?!"

    Ningtao''s words were spine-chilling and wrathful, making even Lu Wei turn to nce at her. He knew his wife better than anyone there. She hated the way this society had normalized the idea of women having materialistic objectives for going after men. Ningtao was the kind of person who''d never relied on him for her expenses. In fact, at the beginning of their rtionship, he had to act as a middle-ss man to pursue her. That was how much she despised the shallow mindsets of high-ss families. And now that his sister, her favorite person, was bing a victim of this very trap, how could she simply stand by and watch it happen?

    The woman too soon realized how resentful her tone had been, so she turned to look at her husband with uncertainty, waiting for him to speak up. Lu Wei, in response, leaned back against the back of the couch, a cunning smile making way to his lips, "Go on.", he finally whispered to her.

    And as she received his green signal, the woman turned to face the Xi family''s elders confidently. Rong Xinghe had always been her first child. Little baby Alix was her second one. How could she not protect the girl now when she needed her the most? What were mothers supposed to do anyway, if not to shelter their kids?

    "Mrs. Lu... I--", Xi Chonglin was about to exin himself but Ningtao stood up before he could say any further, ring right into his eyes, her presence no less terrorizing than her husband''s.

    The woman waited for the man to shut his mouth before she finally spoke up, "Xinghe doesn''t need the Xi family, or its money, let me make this very clear today. Lu Business Empire, Zhi Empire, Su family''s hospital chains, MZX Networks, and everything Superfamily owns to date, lies at her feet, making her a Trillionaire in a blink. Much more powerful than the Billionaire tag the Xi family carries oh-so haughtily.

    "So I don''t want to hear the rumors that Yuan was the one whopleted her, or that he''ll be the one getting bread in their home, revolving around anymore. She isn''t, and will never be, a damsel in distress waiting for her prince charming. Her brothers raised her to be a warrior princess, and that is what she will always be.

    "And one more thing. Xinghe chose to be with Yuan, and not the other way around. She fell for his efforts, his love, his patience, and his resilience. She acknowledged the real him, not his position in Xi Corporations. Truthfully speaking, Xinghe doesn''t give a fu*k about his riches. Hence, Superfamily will not be entertaining any other side to this story, henceforth.

    "Xinghe isn''t Yuan''s property. She''s is his need, his drug, his desire. Never forget that. He is empty without her, just the way she is without him. So don''t make her look like a trophy he has won.

    "Else, this ego of yours, the one this family''s elders have been holding onto for years, Superfamily won''t even think twice before demolishing it to grounds. And trust me when I say this, you wouldn''t want to see the consequences of our rage. Ever.", Ningtao concluded, inhaling a deep breath, calming herself down.

    Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah hadn''t expected Ningtao to express herself so artictely. She''d literally threatened the entire Xi family household, drawing a fine line between their do''s and don''ts. No one, until tonight, had ever dared to speak to the Xi family members like this before, regardless of how infuriated they were. They were so used to watching people suppress their anger in front of them that they hadn''t imagined a day like this toe. Luo Youyou and Xi Chonglin''s reactions were no different. But all they could do was listen to the woman''s sour remarks without retaliation, for they were the ones who''d awoken the tiger and the tigress this time.

    Xi Fang, on the other hand, was in a state of approbation. No wonder his Sister-inw was brought up by them. She''d inherited his domineering personality, and her confidence, clearly. Actually, she was a mix of all her brothers and her sisters-inw. And the way they were protective of her this night was scarily enthralling to watch.

    About a minuteter, Lu Wei received a call from Zhi Xi. Turning the speaker to it on, the man asked his brother, "Done?"

    "Yeah. Luo Chen is back on the streets. To where he belongs truly. Like a stray dog on the loose.", the man on the other end answered, "What happened, though? Why the sudden sweet revenge?"

    "Mrs. Youyou attempted to defame Kiddo.", Lu Wei replied casually.

    "What?! Why so merciful, then?", Zhi Xi questioned, his tone infuriated, "Shouldn''t we buy off her shares in Xi Corporations too?"

    Lu Wei fixed his gaze at the terrified expression upon Luo Youyou and Xi Chonglin''s face before he said to his brother with a short breezyugh, "They are going to be Xinghe''s inws someday, Zhi Xi. For the sake of our sister, let''s not rip them off of their pride, yeah? What if they bully Kiddo after her and Yuan''s wedding?"

    "They wouldn''t. Not after tonight.", the manughed back with a hidden meaning behind his words.

 Chapter 460: Perfección

    Chapter 460: Perfi��n

    Zhi Xi was right. If there was one thing that Lu Wei and Ningtao''s visit to the Xi Family Mansion was able to sessfully pull off, it was to set the boundaries the Xis couldn''t cross. It was utterly necessary to do so.

    The Xi family, despite having progressive mindsets, held indescribably unrealistic expectations from their daughters-inw, and the Six tigers had always known about it. In fact, that was the primary reason they were against Xinguan''s rtionship through the initial months. Even though they were aware of Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah''s admiration for their Kiddo, they couldn''t foretell the kind of sacrifices Rong Xinghe would''ve to make once she''d be in too deep with them.

    But Xi Yuan, and the Xi trio, had always been tremendously supportive of Rong Xinghe''s dreams. So in the end, the Six men had to give in and ept their love. However, it didn''t stop them from discerning the man''s family from up close. It was a dangerous game they were ying. Tying the knot with a family as influential as this required intense alertness, for there were innumerable ways in which they could harm Rong Xinghe.

    They needed to ensure that no one would so much as even think toy a hand over their sister. And for that, the Xi family needed to realize the powers behind Rong Xinghe. They needed to know that she''d always have her brothers and Sisters-inw by her side. Ad infinitum.

    ____________

    Earlston, Scond, 20:15;

    The next evening, Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe reached the innocent town of Berwickshire, unknown to the hellfire Lu Wei had unleashed upon the Xi and Luo family not too long ago. They hadn''t had the time to check on their families, actually.

    Since they were in a foreignnd, and out of the media spotlight, they didn''t need their security staff to pick them up from the airport. And so, the man had simply ordered one of his drivers in Edinburgh to leave behind a car, at the airfield, earlier that morning.

    As the Aston Martin DB11 drove through the rtively silent roads of Earlston, dim and warm lights of small cafes and regr shops blinking back at them, Rong Xinghe rolled down her side of the window, her lips curling up in a rxed smile. This was perfect. The silence here. The people, and the atmosphere. Everything was just perfin.

    From the corner of his eyes, Xi Yuan nced at the girl and smiled to himself. He knew she''d like it. Reverting his gaze at the three-way road in front of him, he turned the wheels to the left smoothly. The farmhouse wasn''t too far from there. Thankfully, he''d ordered his staff to clean and warm it up already. Winters stuck longer for most of the year in Earlston. And Rong Xinghe had just undergone a crucial surgery. She couldn''t handle the extremes of the Scottish winters, at least, not yet.

    "This is a paradise, Mr. Xi!", the girl gasped as she took in the sight of the huge farmhouse, while the man tossed the keys of the car to the valet at the entrance, holding onto her hands tenderly, "I mean... so grand. And it looks like a pce, you know?"

    But most of the buildings in Earlston appeared to be the same. Tall. Rich in history. Lavish. And with spectacr infrastructures. This farmhouse contained around twenty-rooms in itself, along with a widespreadwn. Xi Yuan''s grandparents had received this property as a gift from one of the politicians here back in the day. The view here was so peaceful and magnificent that the thought of selling it never urred to any of them. And so, the gates to this castle aka royal farmhouse would open for none but the Xi family members.

    "Come on in.", Xi Yuan smiled at the girl, "I''ll make you some tea."

    The internals to the ce was no less entrancing. It had a vintage air to it. But it wasn''t all old-school. Xi Wei had redesigned this ce about seven years ago, giving it a rustic as well as a modern look. The furniture was all made of wood but carved off of the finest ones. Teak. Mahogany. Rosewood. They must''ve hired some skillful woodsmen, the girl thought, for the intricate work over the surfaces of the fitments spoke for itself.

    She''d fallen for it. This ce, and its beauty. She''d been to Scond before. For work, and the Youth team. But never alone. Never with a partner. And for some unknown reason, she felt that she''d treasure every second she would spend here. That she''d t cherish Scond, and Edinburgh, and Earlston, for the rest of her life. The reason was simple. Him.

    "Sit here.", Xi Yuan escorted the girl back to the living room after giving her a brief tour of the farmhouse, helping her getfortable into the dark brown velvet sofa, "I''ll be back soon. By then, you could talk to the staff here."

    "Go ahead.", the girl smiled at the man.

    ::::::::::::::::::

    By the time Xi Yuan returned with two cups of milk tea in both his hands, the girl had befriended almost the entire work staff he''d hired. Including the Xi family''s butler. Lovely.

    "Mr. Tang, I''d really appreciate it if you could get me the keys to the underground library the first thing tomorrow.", the girl said to the old man, "Since I have nothing else to do here, I would love to get back to reading."

    "Sure, Madam.", the butler nodded obediently. Noticing the presence of his Master beside him, he then bowed to her, "We wouldn''t want to intrude your and Sir''s privacy, Ma''am. Have a good night."

    Xi Yuan waited for the crowd to disappear from his line of sight before he walked around the table, passing the girl one of the cups he''d brought along, "Library? Seriously?"

    "What? You know I love to read.", the girlughed.

    "I know. But it can be tiring too, baby, and the surgery--"

    "Yuan.", the girl interrupted the man, cing a quick peck upon his right cheek, "Please?"

    Now how could he turn down those hopeful pleading eyes? Urgh! "Fine.", the man sighed, his tone defeated, "But sleep when I tell you to. And no tantrums concerning the medications. Alright?"

    "Yes, Boss!", Rong Xinghe giggled, sipping the zesty sweet tea in silence, "Hey! Did you get the DSLR?"

    "Yeah. Why?", Xi Yuan looked at the girl, puzzled. What the hell was brewing inside that slick little brain of hers now!?

    "Nothing.", the girl chuckled, "Just checking."

    "..."

    Liar, he thought, as he squinted his eyes at her. Why was he having the feeling that she wasn''t going to rest here, as they''d originally nned? And that she would go on and cause a lot more trouble in Scond than she did in Country X?

 Chapter 461: Hitched

    Chapter 461: Hitched

    Scond, Earlston, 22:30;

    Xinguan ate their meal together before the girl went to bed, exhausted. She''dtely realized that ever since the surgery, she would get tired over the smallest of activities. She couldn''t practice herbat moves with as much ease as she was able to do before the entire ''poisoning'' incident. Neither was she able to read or speak for long durations without her head starting to ache. How vexatious!

    Xi Yuan was d about it, though. He knew that her lost strength was upsetting her. But he also was aware that she''d regain it, sooner orter. Until then, at least her body would make her get proper sleep and consume a healthy diet. Sometimes, it was important for even the mightiest of warriors to slow down and let go of their swords, in order to fight even bigger battles. She needed time to recuperate, and one couldn''t rush such things, right?

    As he stepped out of the shower, only to find her asleep in his T-shirt and her pajamas, a helpless smile appeared across his lips. Did she even realize how cold it was out there, he wondered. With discreet footsteps, he walked over to her, covering her with the doubleyered navy blue nket. Then, after cing a soft kiss against her forehead, he switched off the lights of the room, leaving just the nightmp on. He randomly selected something for him to put on too, a full-sleeved sweatshirt and a solid ck track pant, before he rushed out of the room, closing the door behind him.

    He had just plugged in the coffee maker when the phone in his pocket rang up with a VC. Absent-mindedly, the man pulled it out and turned on the coffee machine, ncing down at the caller''s identity next.

    "Everything alright there, Fang?", the man asked his little brother, who seemed to be in his office at the moment. Scond shared a time difference of five hours forty minutes with Country X, which meant it was almost dawn over there. So why hadn''t Xi Fang left the Xi Corps'' HQ up till now?

    "It''s nothing, brother.", the man shook his head, worn out, "The Mexico clients preponed the date to today. I was just going through the contract personally to make sure there''d be no problem during the meeting.

    "Don''t worry. I''ll take a power nap and get changed before the conference.", the man smiled, running his left hand through his hair.

    "Firstly, Fang, I don''t care about how you look in the meeting. The point is, how dare they treat you as an errand boy?! Cancel the meeting now. I don''t care about the losses.", Xi Yuan stated indifferently, "And secondly, what''s that mark on your hand? I''ve never known for you to get into street fights. What happened?"

    Xi Fang nced at the scratch marks Luo Youyou had left behind in an attempt to stop him from leaving the Xi family mansion, stunned. His brother had the gaze of an eagle. Sharp and observant. There was no way he could keep him in the dark about it, could he?

    In the end, inhaling a long deep breath, Xi Fang borated to his brother the doings of the Superfamily, and the reasons behind it. From Luo Youyou''s insensitive remarks to Ningtao''s threats, from Luo''s demolition to Zhi Xi and Lu Wei''s conversation, he told the man everything. Xi Yuan listened to his brother calmly, pouring the espresso into a gray ceramic cup for himself.

    "Do you think I should''ve shielded Luo Chen?", Xi Fang questioned the man a few secondster, "After all, he has been under the Xi Corps''s wing for the past few decades now."

    In response, Xi Yuan shook his head, "You did the right thing, Fang.", he said, "They had iting."

    "And what about Mr. and Mrs. Lu? They did threaten Uncle and Aunt, you know."

    "They were protecting Xinghe.", the man sighed, "It''s natural for them to do so, don''t you think? I wouldn''t want to limit the Six men. I don''t have the right to, honestly.

    "Ever since she was a child, they''ve excogitated her career paths, chalked out her every move, her every decision with so much cautiousness. How could they let the Xis ruin her spirit then? Me, being in her life, shouldn''t mean an end to her ambitions, and personal identity, Fang.

    "Nothing her brothers didst night was, in any way, unjustified. Xinghe will always be their Kiddo. It doesn''t matter what throne we give her, or what luxuries we provide her with. She''ll always be theirdy luck, and they''ll always be her Six pirs of support. It''s as easy as that."

    Xi Fang listened to his elder brother''s words quietly, as he found himself marveling at them. This was the very reason Xi Yuan had always been his inspiration. Men, in general, were expected to conceal their arrogance under theyer of pride and put on a tough exterior so as to get validation from the society. But those expectations suppressed the real them, the humane them.

    Xi Yuan had never allowed outsiders to intervene in his sanity. He was practical andpassionate, and a man of principles. He knew right from wrong and had never been scared to admit his faults, which made him the dignified person he was today. Surely, only such a person deserved to stand by his Sister-inw''s side.

    "Understood, brother.", the man said to Xi Yuan after some time, "Oh, another question, why did Sister-inw tweet the emojis of a groom, a ring, a church, and a bride right after you guysnded?"

    "About that...", Xi Yuan scratched the back of his neck, "Apparently, Xinghe once endorsed for Jiang Empire''s ''Scintiit Diamonds'' collection. Around the time when she''d reached ''Voice of the World'' finale, I guess. Back then, her ambassadorship had boosted up Jiang Empire''s worth to the top ten global jewelry brands.

    "To sum up, Jiang Qiyang looks up to Xinghe a lot since then."

    "And?", Xi Fang furrowed his brows, waiting for the man toe to the main point. Jiang Qiyang was Jiang Yue''s father. The same Jiang Yue he had fallen for during their high school and was still crazy about. Unfortunately, he had called off their wedding months ago, when Xi Yuan had been attacked and was in aa for months. He had ruined his rtionship with the Jiangs then and hadn''t had the time to win them over again. Just what had his Sister-inw done, he asked himself, as panic began to cloud his mind.

    "And... she visited the Jiangs about a few days back and exined everything to Mr. Jiang on our behalf, apologized to them, and requested them to give you a second chance.", the man stated, "I swear I didn''t know about it. At all."

    "What?!", Xi Fang was shocked to his core, "How? When? Yue''s father is a strict man, bro. What... did he say?"

    "He was impressed by your sense of responsibility, she told me. He even regretted to have misjudged your intents for his daughter.", Xi Yuan answered honestly, "And in conclusion, he agreed to meet up with the Xis again. About your and Yue''s wedding.

    "Which exins your Sister-inw''s military-level ''confidential'' tweet, I believe.", the manughed, "Congrattions, baby brother, for you shall get hitched too."

 Chapter 462: "Its about time we meet our to be daughter-in-law, I think."

    Chapter 462: "It''s about time we meet our to be daughter-inw, I think."

    Earlston, Scond, Xinguan''s Farmhouse, 07:30;

    The next morning, Xi Yuan opened his eyes exhaustedly, as he shut off the ringing rm beside him, agitated by the noise. He then stretched his right arm to the other half of the bed. He was habitual to it by now. cing his hand over her waist, pulling her against his chest, breathing in her uniquely intoxicating scent, before getting up to prepare breakfast for the two of them. But as his handsnded over the cold, empty, organized sheets, he frowned, finally turning to search for her. However, thedy wasn''t there. That was unusually strange, for she wouldn''t wake up before nine, in general.

    Then, at once, he sat up and threw the nket from him away, getting down the bed. It was not until the warm, sweet aroma of pancakes wafted to him, did his worries came to a halt. It couldn''t be the staff, as they weren''t to show up until eleven that day. But why was she up so soon? And why didn''t she wake him up? He could''ve helped her in the kitchen, at the minimum.

    Xi Yuan leaned against the wooden door frame of the kitchen, suppressing the rush of adrenaline the sight of her often produced through his veins. He wondered why, sometimes. But mostly, he didn''t bother to think at all. He loved to watch her. Busy. Indulged in tasks at hand. Her long ck hair tied up in a messy bun, a few strands rebelling though, as they brushed against her lips and cheeks, and corbone. She had put on her Bro Al''s headphones, humming to the song she was listening to. God... she looked beautiful. As pretty as a painting. All of her.

    At this time, the girl turned around to check on her brewing coffee, only to notice her darling gawking at her from a distance, and she panicked. The batter bowl in her hand almost slipped through her fingers, as she encountered a mini-heart-attack.

    "Yuan!", she red at him, removing her headset abruptly, "You scared me."

    "Good morning, Love.", the man smiled, walking over to her. "How are you feeling today? Did you get proper sleep?", he asked then, nting a soft kiss against her left cheek, "And what''s with all the cooking?"

    The girl waited for her heart to ease down before she replied to him eventually, "I feel great, actually. I woke up around Six. I tried to sleep back but I couldn''t. So then I thought why not enjoy my me-time, which by the way, includes roaming throughout the house like a witch, baking, and listening to sad heartbreaking songs."

    "..."

    The man looked at the girl''s wise expression, not knowing what to say. Roaming like a witch? Who on earth talked like that?! So... adorable.

    "Got it.", the man burst outughing, "But now that I am here, let me handle the haunted pancakes, okay?"

    "I am not letting you take credit!", Rong Xinghe turned down the man''s suggestion, "Just grab a chair from the dining and talk to me while I do the decoration part."

    "Okay.", Xi Yuan gave in to the woman''smands with a sigh, "Just don''t tire yourself out too much."

    "I won''t. Don''t worry.", the girl giggled, picking up the butter pack next to the carton of milk from the fridge, "So what''s on your to-do list today?"

    "It entirely depends on your to-do list, Xinghe.", the man shrugged, "I''ll be, of course, apanying you."

    "I haven''t decided, yet.", the girl said, "I mean... there''s so much to do. But I simply wanted to check out this mysterious underground library of yours today. So I''ll probably just crash here. We could go out for a stroll in the evening, but. What do you think of that?"

    "Works for me.", Xi Yuan smiled.

    ___________

    Meanwhile, Xi Family Mansion;

    Luo Youyou stared into the mirror, the nails of her right hand digging deep into the flesh of her left palm. She''d just gotten off of the call with Luo Chen. The man was devastated, literally trembling in fear that''d been inflicted upon him overnight by the Superfamily. She would never forget the p she''d received the night before, she swore to herself. She would make them pay for their sins!

    "Forget it, Youyou.", Xi Chonglin walked into the room, his tone perturbed, "I''ll help your brother reopen some other business. Just treatst night like a bad dream, alright?"

    "Don''t you understand my troubles at all?", Luo You said through gritted teeth, her eyes bloodshot with rage.

    Shaking his head, Xi Chonglin grabbed a seat beside the woman, squeezing her handsfortingly, "I do. But we are at a dead end right now, dear. You heard Fangst night. He didn''t so much as even blink an eye as Lu Wei pushed Luo Empire into damnation.

    "Even if we were to fight, who would we be fighting for. You and I, we both know that of all the three kids of ours, Fang is the only one who is worthy enough to rece Xi Yuan.

    "Let''s say, Yuan decides to step down from his position. Even so, Fang would rather let the entire business copse than take it over from him."

    Luo Youyou closed her eyes shut, inhaling a long deep breath before she finally spoke up, "Then let''s win our son back, Mr. Xi. It doesn''t matter how much he adores and respects his saint of a brother, we still are his parents. He can''t just give up on us, can he?

    "Let''s just approach him benignantly next time, you know, the way brother Chongkun and sister Jungah have been treating Yuan since they returned back. Their method is working just fine, apparently.

    "Once Fang begins to trust us again, we''d be able to move on to the next part of our n."

    "But how do we do it?", Xi Chonglin questioned, his tone intrigued now.

    "He loves that girl, right? Jiang Yue?", the woman chuckled, "It''s about time we meet our to be daughter-inw, I think."

    Luo Youyou and Xi Chonglin''s intentions weren''t pure, clearly. Nheless, they thought otherwise, at the moment.

    Xi Corporations was a legacy passed down to a fifteen-year-old years ago, leaving a bruise upon their minds, and hearts, for that wasn''t how it was supposed to be. Despite thousands of disagreements and diplomatic battles between Xi Chongkun and Xi Chonglin, neither of the two brothers was allowed to taste the fame and power that resided inside that particr throne of business. As if that wasn''t enough of an insult, theirpetitor''s son was now calling the shots in Xi Corps today.

    The old man had the audacity to chose Xi Yuan over Xi Fang, not giving their son even an opportunity to put up a fair fight. To them, Xi Yuan''s current might and pride were Xi Chongkun''s victory. And that was just intolerable to the couple. So by hook or by crook, they were going to take back what was rightfully ''theirs''. One day, they would, definitely.

 Chapter 463: Enticed

    Chapter 463: Enticed

    Earlston, Scond, 18:00;

    Unknown to Luo Youyou and Xi Chonglin''s pernicious intents, Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe were in a world of their own. Kissing, and teasing, and exploring one another. Loving every moment of the silence they shared, and of the intimate touches too.

    Xi Yuan had long known of Rong Xinghe''s obsession with books. She loved to read. To imagine a life other than the one she had. To travel without actually moving. To feel the things that couldn''t be exined to realists: magic, vampires, werewolves, and ghosts. She was, truly, and from her very core, one crazy bookaholic, with certain side-effects to distractions and disturbances, one could say. Therefore, he gave her the space and liberty of quietness through the day. Not talking too much to her; enquiring about nothing but food, and medications, that was.

    It was not until the evening that the girl finally stepped out of the library, searching for her dearest darling throughout the huge house. She found him, eventually, in the kitchen. He was brewing two cups of Indian tea in there, a piece of Bluetooth ear-piece attached to his left ear.

    He had put on a slim-fit White shirt over ck jeans along with his funky dark Gray sneakers. And damn it, he looked stunning! It was unusual for Rong Xinghe to see him wearing anything other than his regr three-piece suits. Either those or his basic T-shirts and joggers at home. He rarely donned himself with such casuals. It was for the better, but. No other woman deserved to ogle at this sexy-side of his, her being the exception, of course.

    "Buy her some Jewelry or something, Yuan.", Li Jungah advised her son excitedly, "Make her feel special."

    "I don''t think that would be necessary.", Xi Yuan said as he waited for the tea to boil in the milk pan, "Just keep an eye on Uncle and Aunty for a while, alright?"

    "Don''t worry about that.", Li Jungah answered, her tone firm, "I will not let anyone ruin my son''s life, okay? Not after everything you and Xiao Xinghe have been through. I promise."

    "I trust you, Mom.", Xi Yuan said as a shortugh escaped his mouth. Li Jungah, on the other hand, was taken aback. Xi Yuan had never spoken so sweetly to her before. Love did change people, didn''t it? Suddenly, she remembered Ningtao''s words from the night before. ''He is empty without her, just the way she is without him'', the woman had said then. She was right. Rong Xinghe did inspire Xi Yuan to be a better man. And for that, Li Jungah couldn''t be more thankful.

    But before the woman could say anything, she heard a Camera shutter sound through the other end. Xi Yuan noticed it too. Stunned, he turned to search for the perp. It was not until his eyes traveled down to behind the kitchen entrance did he notice the she-devil lying on the floor.

    "Psst!", the girl waved her hands off, "Turn a little to left. Let me capture the bulging arm abs, Mr. Hotness!"

    Xi Yuan: ""

    Li Jungah: ""

    But as she realized his stern reaction, she quickly stood back up, smiling at him awkwardly, "I couldn''t resist. Sorry."

    "Oh. Incapability tobat temptations? That''s okay, then.", the man raised his brows, his tone filled with sarcasm, "You could''ve caught a cold, Xinghe. You do realize that, right?"

    Li Jungah, instantly, reprimanded her son as she listened to his tone, "How dare you scold my daughter? Pass her the phone. Right now."

    Hence, obeying the olddy''s orders, the man turned off his phone''s Bluetooth, tossing it to the girl beside him.

    Rong Xinghe had no idea that her to-be Mother-inw had been talking to Xi Yuan all this while, and that she''d heard everything the girl had just said. But as the word ''Mom'' popped upon the man''s phone screen, she broke out in a cold sweat. What?! Nervously, she brought the device to her right ear, "M- Mother?", she managed to utter.

    "Don''t be scared, Honey.", Li Jungah smiled softly. Such a modest child, she giggled to herself then. "Yuan is your fianc now. You have every right to trouble him, whichever way you like, okay?

    "And the next time he scolds you like that phone me immediately. No one lectures my daughter, alright? I''ll teach him a lesson worth remembering for years."

    Rong Xinghe spoke to the woman for a few more minutes before the call got disconnected and she passed the phone back to Xi Yuan.

    "What did she say?", the man asked, giving the girl her cup of tea.

    Rong Xinghe inhaled a long deep breath and sipped the lightly sugared tea. About half a minuteter, she finally found herself able to answer him, "She just put forward some ideas, by which, I could ''entice'' you with my beauty."

    Xi Yuan stared at the girl for a while before he leaned in onto her, capturing her lips into his, taking the cup away from her hands. Only when she was out of breath did he let go of her. Then, he pulled her in a hug, lightly biting her left earlobe, sending a shiver down her spine.

    "You, my Love, have had me enticed since the first time Iid my eyes on you.", he whispered to her, his voice deep, and irresistibly maic.

    And there it went again. Her innocent little heart, beating rapidly, with excitation, and fear, at the same time. His touch did that to her. His lips against her neck, his hands upon her bare waist underneath the fabric of her tank top. It had been about a year since their rtionship, and he still had the same effect on her. Then, who was the one really ''enticed''? Him, or her?

    "Yuan", the girl moaned, shutting her eyes close.

    "Hmm?", the man smiled against the skin of her delicately voluptuous corbone, "Periods, right?"

    Rong Xinghe didn''t reply but ced both her hands against his chest, in admittance. The man groaned, painfully this time.

    "I love you.", the girl tried to cheer up her agitated admirer, "So, so much."

    "I know. But destiny doesn''t, clearly.", Xi Yuan mumbled under his breath, "I am telling you, Ms. Beauty, Brains, and Bravery; once they are over, I won''t even try to be a gentleman. Okay? I hate this!"

    Letting out a peal ofughter, the girl nted a soft kiss on his cheek, "You will always be a gentleman, Lover. That''s just who you are.", she stated with a shrug.

 Chapter 464: Such a Queen

    Chapter 464: Such a Queen

    Earlston, Edinburgh, Scond;

    It had been around seven in the evening by the time Xinguan went out for a stroll. Their fingers inteced with one another, their footsteps in sync. Rong Xinghe had showered before she had put on a Brown wool overcoat over a in ck full-sleeved turtleneck top and denim Blue jeans, along with her white sneakers.

    But even so, Xi Yuan had forced her to throw on a knitted beanie too.

    ''I look like a Kid!'', the girl hadined then.

    ''No, Baby, you look astoundingly breathtaking.'', he hadughed, ''Besides, I am not taking chances with your health.''

    She knew that. She had never known him to be a stubborn person until it came to her safety and well-being. There was no way he wouldpromise even a bit, or give in to her pleadings if there was even a tad of a threat to her immunity.

    But that was alright. His fears, his concerns were all alright. He had almost lost her this time, and the times before. It wasn''t fair of her to expect him to behave as if nothing had happened.

    Moreover, there was nothing wrong with him wanting to make her feel a littlefortable, right?

    "So what have you been reading?", the man questioned the girl, the cold Scottish breeze hitting his face.

    "The Notebook.", Rong Xinghe replied, distracted, "It''s about to end. And I am not liking it."

    "The book

    "No. I loved it!", the girl shook her head immediately, "I hate the current plot, I meant."

    "Nichs Sparks won''t break your heart, Love.", Xi Yuan chuckled, bringing the girl back to reality, to him, "Of that, I am sure."

    Rong Xinghe nced at the man walking beside her, the dim yellow lights bouncing off of her face. "You are so much like Noah Calhoun.", she mumbled,paring him to the male lead of the novel she''d been reading all day long.

    "I am?", he smiled.

    "Yeah. Calm andposed.", Rong Xinghe exined, "Always supportive of the female lead''s ambitions, and dreams. Cannot see the woman he loves in pain."

    Xi Yuan raised his brows, clearly delighted to listen to the girl''s observationalplements. "And how much does this Noah loves his female lead?", he asked.

    "A lot. So much so, that for the sake of her happiness, he isn''t even afraid to let go of her.", the girl sighed, "But I don''t want that from you."

    "What do you mean?", Xi Yuan frowned.

    "I mean I would never want you to give up on me. Even if I''d im to have found my happiness somewhere else, do not ever let me go.", the girl said, raising her head up, smiling at the twinkling stars spread through the dark sky like a nket, "Help me find my way back to you. Okay?"

    Xi Yuan thought for some time before he replied with a faint nod to her, "OK.", he promised, "Firstly, I''d never let you leave me in the first ce. But even if, in some parallel universe, that happens, I''ll fight for you, Xinghe.

    "Not because you asked me to do so. But because I wouldn''t know how to live without you. You''re my anchor, Honey. The one thing that makes me want to look at this world, smile,ugh, breathe even. You make me feel alive. How could I not be selfish enough to hold onto someone like that, hmm?"

    Rong Xingheughed out, her voice melodiously sweet, "You''re getting good at the flirting game, President Xi.", she remarked. It was now that, from the corner of her eyes, the girl noticed a small food-van, and her gaze sparked up with delight, "Ooh! Spicy Sausage."

    Akin to a small child, she released her darling''s hand and strode towards the vehicle hurriedly. They were now in the central Marketce of the town, with a variety of edibles and hundreds of clothing articles avable at low prices. ces like these were Rong Xinghe''s territory. Listening to people''s stories, enquiring about the tourist spots nearby, were the things she truly enjoyed.

    Turning to follow behind her, Xi Yuan shook his head defeatedly. There was no way he could forbid her from eating street food, was there? Who, in their right minds, would even believe that this girl was brought up by the Six fanciest, and the wealthiest men in the world, he wondered next. Anyhow, she was allowed to have eatables of her choice, as per her Bro Su. The quantities of the consumption, though, had a limit to it.

    As the man walked past the group of zealous people, who''d been pushing each other fiercely, he grew more and more impatient. He had never been to a flea market before, let alone on a Sunday. It was not until he''d spotted Rong Xinghe at the counter of the small shop did he rxed a whit. God! How did she get there so quick?!

    But when he reached there, he noticed the girl''s dismayed reaction, her eyes glued to something over the salesman''s shoulder. It was an infant. Lying upon a small mat, the baby was crying endlessly. Maybe, Xi Yuan thought, it was frightened by the noisy mob of people. And despite wanting to aid the child, the salesman had his hands full with his customers. How unfortunate

    While the man was still pondering as to what could be done, a pair of hands yanked onto his left arm. "What?!", he looked at the girl, horrified by the devilish smile across her lips.

    "You wanted me to show you my world, right?", the girl raised her brows, a hint of thrill in her gaze. "Uh-huh.", the man nodded, uncertain of what was toe.

    "Follow my lead then.", Rong Xinghe winked, making her way to the entrance of the van, approaching the exhausted salesman. Then, she said something into his ear, giving him an assuring pat over the shoulder. And about a minuteter, the man bowed down to her, his gaze giving away gratitude and relief.

    As the man picked up the child and started rocking it in his arms, Rong Xinghe turned around to address the incensed crowd, "Ladies, and Gentlemen", she smiled humbly, her tone that of the warrior she was but, "Please calm down. All your orders shall be prepared soon. Kindly, stand in a queue."

    Intimidated by the strong presence in front of them, the group of people, at once, yielded to hermands. Xi Yuan stared at the woman, a little surprised. Why was she like that? Why was she such a Queen, he thought.

    As his lips curled up in an amused smile, he climbed into the van too. Pulling his long sleeves up to his elbows, Xi Yuan then nced at the pre-order list upon the counter, "A Tonkatsu, two Shrimpy Chilis, and a cokeing right up.", he announced solemnly. As long as it brought her tion

 Chapter 465: "Kind to be kind"

    Chapter 465: "Kind to be kind"

    Earlston''s Marketce, Scond, 23:00;

    Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe were both excellent in the art of cooking, their expertise sourcing from different experiences but. While he had his quirks in poaching, and grilling, and chopping veggies, the girl had a natural inclination towards the ''country'' side to it, spicier, and sizzling. Together though, they formed a great team.

    It took them almost four hours to serve the unending trail of customers. But they had noints. Initially, the man had been worried about how tiresome the job was for Rong Xinghe. But when he looked at her running around enthusiastically, treating each buyer with immense hospitality, he realized just how much she was enjoying it. She, clearly, was happy to be of help. Even if it was to a stranger. Sweet.

    However, he''d always known this about her. Going out of her way for the ones in need, were but simply one of her heart-warming personality traits. What he didn''t understand was the unusual feelings overwhelming him.While he baked the beans and chopped the pork meat, he felt an odd sense of satisfaction, pleasure even, which was bizarre. Why would he feel like that, he pondered. He obviously didn''t know these people he was cooking for, and neither had he ever seen this salesman he was helping, before. And yet, he felt familiar to them. Why?

    Only after the salesman''s child had fallen back asleep and the crowd had subsided did the couple finally stepped down the van.

    "Thank you so much!", the owner bowed down to them repeatedly, grateful to the two beyond words. His name was Ewan, that much the girl had gathered up till then, for that was all Xinguan needed to know.

    "Don''t mention.", Rong Xinghe smiled at the thin man, replying to him in fluent English, "The baby needed you."

    "I don''t know how could I ever possibly repay your goodwill, Madam.", Ewan said, teary-eyed, "I am an only parent.", he said then, pointing his chin towards the sleeping baby, "Her mother left us a month after giving birth to her. Since then, it''s just been hard"

    The woman listened to the man intently, before she inhaled a deep breath. She could rte to the little girl at the moment, more so than anyone ever could. She knew what it meant to not have a mother. To not have someone to look up to and want to grow up to be like. But, at least, she had a father. An emotionally avable, and hardworking, father.

    "You''ll get through this, Ewan.", the girl assured the man, her voice barely a whisper.

    Xi Yuan sensed the girl''s difort, and subconsciously, his handsnded against the small of her back, turning her around to pull her in his embrace, "Hush it''s okay.", he pacified her softly.

    As the man held her firmly in his arms, the girl breathed in his clean, masculine scent, putting her heart to ease. She had him, if no one else, she told herself. He was her home, her sweet, sweet Yuan. What else did she need?

    On behalf of his fiance, the man then said to Ewan, "You do not owe us anything.", he smiled, "So don''t worry. Please take care."

    Shortly after, when the girl had calmed down, he took her to a cozy yet well-maintained restaurant. As they waited for their orders to be served, he stretched both his hands across the table, holding onto her cold ones tenderly, "You okay?", he asked, concerned.

    "Yeah.", Rong Xingheughed, "I know it was silly."

    "It wasn''t.", the man smiled, "You''re allowed to grieve, Honey. They are your parents. I just want you to know I am here for you."

    "Thank you.", the girl said nting a kiss upon the back of his right hand.Xi Yuan did not push her to talk any further about it. He knew she would appreciate a distraction more. Rong Xinghe didn''t prefer to talk about her parents too much. It brought back a lot of sour memories. But that was fine by him. He had no issue waiting for her to open up to him by herself, anyway.

    "So what did you think of our today''s little thing?", the girl questioned the man after a while.

    "It was unexpectedly interesting.", the man remarked, "It''s fascinating how they do this every day, you know. So much physical exertion."

    Rong Xinghe smiled at the man''s observations, "True.", she chuckled, "Unfortunately, the money they earn after all of it is, more often than not, unjustified. There are thousands of people like Ewan out there, beneath the poverty line, struggling and hustling just to get some bread into their mouths."

    "Why do I have the feeling that you''ve done this before?", Xi Yuan asked helplessly.

    "Oh, I have. Ice-cream parlors. Grocery stores. Roadside vegetable vendors.", the girlughed, "I love to talk to them. This, Yuan, is the real public. With real problems. They keep me rooted to the things that really matter. They remind me to value family, and friends, more than anything, for those are the only things that shall sustain in the end.

    "Besides, it''s kind to be kind. Selflessness is good for our soul, Mr. Xi.", she added, "Wouldn''t you agree?"

    "Well I am starting to think so.", the man replied, "Thank you for today, Love. By the way, which one of your brothers inspired you to interact with themoners? Surely, not Bro Lu. It couldn''t have been Bro Zhi Xi either. So who?"

    "Guess.", Rong Xinghe smirked.

    "Bro Mo?", the man said after thinking for a few seconds, "Since he is into journalism, he must''vemuned with a lot of people."

    "Nah.", the girl shook her head, "I mean yeah, he does know a lot of civilians. But nope. Not the human brother, really. He is more of a badass robot brother."

    "Then?"

    "Bro Bo.", she answered.

    "Oh yeah.", Xi Yuan said as the realization finally struck him, "UNESCO. Artistry. And all of that"

    "Right.", the girl giggled, listening to the man''s description of her brother, "He has always been like that. Sensitive. Compassionate. An outstanding listener. A benevolent humanitarian.

    "Honestly, of all my Six brothers, he is the only one who cares about the little things so much. And I love him for that. I mean it''s so easy to talk to him. I still remember how I used to spend hours in his art gallery when I was eight, telling him about every little detail of my day, while he ran his paintbrushes against the huge unfinished canvases."

    Xi Yuan was relieved as he looked at the girl smiling, her eyes sparkling up with sugared and carefree memories, clouding the dark, brutal ones. This was how she was supposed to be. Untroubled. Chirpy. Euphoric. How he wished to watch her like this for the rest of their lives.

    But they had ruined it for her. The Rongs. And her parent''s jet crash. Those were some terribly horrifying remembrances she''d had etched to her heart ever since she was a kid. How could she ever forget those bits? Just how?

    Little did he know, he was the only cure to the wounds she had carried through those monstrously appalling years.

 Chapter 466: "I will write you a better book"

    Chapter 466: "I will write you a better book"

    Country X, City A, blouir Eatery, 14:00;

    Xi Fang raised his head up as the restaurant''s doors opened and Jiang Yue, along with her father, stepped inside, her expression anxious. The old man had requested to meet him in person before discussing their rtionship with the Xis.

    Naturally, he was nervous too. Jiang Qiyang''s approval and blessings mattered to his woman, and hence, to him. If there was one thing he''d learned from his brother, it was to treat your partner''s family as your own. Xi Yuan had put in a lot of effort in order to win over the Six tiger''s hearts, even though Rong Xinghe had never asked him to do so. But he knew it was crucial. And so was convincing Jiang Yue''s father of his sincerity for the girl.

    Calmly, Xi Fang stood up and walked around the table, pulling a chair out for Jiang Yue, helping the girl sit down. Noticing the young man''s etiquettes, Jiang Qiyang smiled to himself. No wonder Rong Xinghe spoke so highly of him thest time she''d visited the Jiangs'' Mansion.

    "What would you like to have, Sir?", a waiter showed up about two minutes after the three had settled in.

    "A Boeuf Bourguignon, and a Quiche Lorraine for me.", Jiang Yue read from the menu, passing it to her fatherter. The two men ordered for themselves as well and only when the waiter had disappeared from their line of sight did Jiang Qiyang leaned back in his seat, his gaze fixed at Xi Fang.

    "Your to be Sister-inw came to me a few days back.", he said solemnly.

    "I am aware.", the man nodded.

    "Did your brother send her on your behalf?", the old man questioned then.

    "No. He didn''t.", Xi Fang shook his head twice, "He had no idea about it, actually. It''s impossible to understand whatever goes on in her mind, anyway."

    "I agree.", Jiang Qiyang smiled, "Xiao Xinghe has always been somewhat a mystery. Who would''ve thought that the ''Voice of the World'' would grow up to be such a warrior?

    "I hope the Xi family realizes just how lucky they are to have her as their daughter-inw."

    "We do, Sir.", Xi Fang answered, amazed by the impression and power Rong Xinghe had over someone as strict as Jiang Qiyang.

    "Call me Dad.", the old man corrected him, hauling the man back to reality.

    "Huh?", Xi Fang raised his brows, absent-minded.

    "I said you could address me as Dad.", the elderlyughed, "And you don''t need to impress me at all. The moment Xiao Xinghe showed up at our doorsteps, I was no more in doubt of your worth. You and Yue have all my consent. Next week, I shall meet your family elders in order to discuss the wedding."

    Xi Fang stared at the man in front of him, stupefied. Just what had Rong Xinghe said to him, he thought. He had never known for Jiang Qiyang to be so carefree. Then howe

    "I think we should not rush, Dad.", Jiang Yue turned to speak to her father then, a bright smile across her lips, "The Xi family still has a wedding on hold, after all."

    "You''re absolutely right.", the man nodded after thinking over the girl''s words, "What do you think, Fang?"

    Xi Fang, a little rxed now, shrugged, "I can wait.", he said with a smile, "Not to mention, Yue would have an elder sister too, if we get married that way. Xiao Xinghe adores her a lot, from what I''ve heard up till now."

    "She does?", Jiang Qiyang raised his brows, turning to nce at his precious daughter, "That''s great, then. Always stick by her side, Yue.", he advised happily, "You''ll learn a lot from her."

    "Yes, Dad.", Jiang Yue smiled, her tone filled with obedience.

    _________

    Meanwhile, Earlston, Scond, 08:00;

    Xi Yuan opened the library''s entrance carefully, a tray of coffee mugs and cookies in his other hand. It was not until he''d ced it upon the table beside her that he realized she wasn''t reading. She was sobbing. Softly, and quietly. Her face buried in both her hands.

    "Hey hey.", he approached her worriedly, making her look at him, "What happened, Love?", he asked then, wiping away the tears from her cheeks, "What is it?"

    "It is so not done.", sheined, crying even more now, "Why did Allie get Alzheimer''s?! Noah was so alone by the end"

    So it was about the book. Of course, it was about the book. Suppressing his urge to smile, the man pulled her in for a warm hug, spoiling her with a lot of forehead kisses, "I know. I know.", he said, "It shouldn''t have happened like that. I am sorry Nichs Sparks broke your heart.

    "I will write you a better book.", he promised then.

    "I want a happy ending.", she mumbled, "Please?"

    "You got it.", Xi Yuanughed.

    "And nothing sad.", she added, "I hate it."

    "Sure."

    "Also, a lot of make-out scenes."

    "Steamiest of them."

    It took Xi Yuan quite some time to cheer up the girl. But he didn''t mind. It wasn''t the first time she''d cried over a novel. He was used toforting her in such situations by now. He was a professional at it, one could go on to say.

    This time, though, she didn''t talk to him for long, for all the crying had drained out a better part of the energy from her. Shortly after eating the cookies, she fell asleep in his arms, leaving the two cups of coffee to cool down on their own. The man, after a while, carried her to their bedroom. Pulling the nket up to her shoulders, he then turned to leave.

    But then, he turned back around and lied down beside her. What if she were to have a bad dream? Or worse, what if her migraine were to kick in due to so much exertion? It was smarter to be by her side until she woke up again. Not to mention, he would never get tired of holding her in his embrace, taking in the sight of all her facial features, as she slept soundly. It was, after all, his favorite pass time.

 Chapter 467: The blessing in disguise

    Chapter 467: The blessing in disguise

    Earlston, Scond, 11:00;

    The girl woke up to Xi Yuan''s ringing phone with a groan. Who was it? Impetuously, she stretched her right hand toward the device and grabbed it, bringing it to her ears, "President Xi is not avable. May I get the message?", she said.

    "Sister-inw", Xi Fang''s voice came through the other end, surprised, "I am so sorry. I shouldn''t have disturbed your rest. I''ll callter."

    "No, no!", the girl sat up on the bed, her senses alert now, "What''s up? How is my favorite Brother-inw doing?", she asked kindly.

    The man smiled at the girl''s gentle excitement, "I am fine.", he answered, "Thanks to you."

    "Yuan told you, didn''t he?", the girl giggled.

    "Uh-huh. So did Yue''s Dad.", the man nodded, "I wonder, though, how did you convince him?"

    "It''s a secret.", Rong Xinghe purred, her tone mischievous, "But don''t worry. I did not threaten or kill anyone."

    "That''s a relief then.", Xi Fangughed, "But seriously, Sister-inw, thank you. Else, I''d given up on the hopes of ever seeing Yue again."

    "I am alive yet, Mr. Little Xi.", the girl announced, "How could I let Yuan''s brother dearest, to let go of his one true love, huh?

    "Besides, you''ve stuck by his side for so many years. Fang, he might not say it often, but you are his best friend, his confidant, and his most reliable advisor, for as long as he can remember. Always hold onto that. Alright?"

    Xi Fang was taken aback by the girl''s words. He''d always known that Xi Yuan cared for him, and Xi Ying, and Xi Wei, genuinely. And he''d never expected more. He had always considered serving Xi Yuan as a part of who he was. But at the moment, as the girl reminded him of how important he was to his inspiration, an odd sense of warmth and delight rushed through his heart. Her words, were evocative and stirring, truthfully.

    "I will, Sister-inw.", the man promised, his tone emotional yet firm.

    "What''s going on?", a familiar deep voice cut through the thin air.

    "It''s Fang.", the girl looked at her darling as her lips curled up in a riveting smile, "You want to talk to him?"

    Xi Yuan frowned as he sat down beside the girl. Taking the phone from her hands, he then turned on its speaker mode, "You woke her up?", he asked his brother.

    "I I didn''t mean to-", Xi Fang tried to exin to the man but the girl came to his rescue first, "Do not scold him, Mr. Xi.", she red at her fianc.

    "I am not scolding him.", Xi Yuan exined to the woman, his tone intimately tender, "I was questioning him."

    The girl rolled her eyes, turning to focus on her to-be brother-inw, "How''s everything there, Fang?"

    "Umm... Everything''s fine, honestly. The Superfamily has been rtively busy since He Chen''s body was hanged in front of the MCO. The entire nation is in an uproar, enraged by the attack. The media has been surrounding Xi Corps''s entrance for more than 48 hours now, demanding answers. The situation at Lu Corps and Zhi Corps is no different.

    "We had no option, but to reveal that you both are not in the country for the time being. But we didn''t disclose your current location. So you guys won''t have to worry about the paparazzi at all.

    "But your brothers have been too upiedtely, Sister-inw. From interviewing about the attacks to cooperating with the confidential investigation being carried out, they''ve barely had the time to sleep. The situation with your Sisters-inw is the same, unfortunately."

    Rong Xinghe listened to the man''s words closely, before she clenched her fists. Would it get better if she were to return back, she pondered. It wouldn''t. She knew it better than anyone. This attack wasn''t orchestrated by some terrorist organization or Country X''s rival nations. It was a matter of personal importance to the Superfamily. A drama. Something public craved for. An obsessive ex-wife of the nation''s Media Ma attempting to murder the country''s Military Chief. It wasn''t even domestic news anymore. With the kind of reputation she''d built up all these years as the highest Military authority of the state, the mes were bound to reach foreignnds too. What a headache...

    "What are you thinking?", it was now that Xi Yuan spoke up, squeezing the girl''s right hand,fortingly.

    "I need to talk to the Prime Minister.", she answered, "It won''t take long. I promise."

    "Sure.", Xi Yuan smiled. The fact that she hadn''t suggested returning back to City A was already a miracle. He couldn''t prohibit her to try and make things easy for her family there, but. And that was understandable, for the girl doted on her lot as much as they did. She couldn''t sit idly by while they suffered, obviously.

    __________

    Earlston, Scond, 11:30;

    "What did he say?", Xi Yuan questioned as the girl sank down on the couch beside him.

    "They won''t be troubled by the bureaucrats and the media anymore.", the girlughed, "Let''s just leave it at that."

    "He will shut the investigation files first thing tomorrow morning, won''t he?", the man smirked knowingly.

    "Smartass!"

    "That I am.", he chuckled, "Let''s go for a ride.", he added next.

    "Where?"

    "Edinburgh.", Xi Yuan shrugged, "It''s just an hour-long drive from here."

    "Please, oh, please, let''s visit Edinburgh Castle!", the girl stood back up, her eyes zing with an unexinable spark, "I''ll owe you one."

    "You like pces?", the manughed, eliciting a ''rattle drum nod'' from the woman. "As you wish.", he shrugged, "I''ve got to make some calls first, though. Will that be okay?"

    "Yeah. Totally.", the girl sped her hands, exhrated, "I''ll get changed in the meanwhile."

    Xi Yuan had never seen Rong Xinghe so thrilled before. This trip was proving to be a blessing in disguise for him, of that he was sure by now. He had learned so many things about her in the past few days that he couldn''t have ever known in Country X. So she loved historical ces too, he noted down mentally.

    The man then picked his phone up from the side table, making a phone call. After exchanging the formal pleasantries, he then said into it, "I''d like to book the entire Edinburgh Pce for tonight."

 Chapter 468: His charming-ness

    Chapter 468: His charming-ness

    Edinburgh Pce, Scond, 12:30;

    outred in a stunning mustard yellow high waist gown, Rong Xinghe took her darling''s outstretched hand as she got down the Bugatti Chiron, an enthralling smile stered across her lips. Xi Yuan, on the other hand, had put on a casual Olive Green shirt, along with a pair of ck jeans and his ck overcoat. But even so, they had the aura. The ''match made in heaven'' aura. Theyplimented each other. They always did.

    The second sheid her eyes upon the enormously regal castle, Rong Xinghe felt an odd sensation of exuberance crawl up her spine. Edinburgh Castle, a stronghold that was once the residence of Scottish monarchs, now stood mostly as a museum. For a girl who cherished the world of dragons and magic, majestic pces such as these served as a warehouse in the storm. Naturally, the pce was bound to stir quite some unexinable feelings inside her.

    Xi Yuan didn''t care much about the magnificence, but. He had been to royal houses before. For different reasons, through different seasons. And yet, to him, nothing in this world had ever been as captivating and marvelous as the woman in front of him. Her smile, her eyes, the mole behind her right ear, and every other bit of her body; he found all of those so damn morepelling than the royal building in front of him.

    Hence, today, while she nned to study the princely nd walls, he intended to gaze at his Queen. The two had their priorities sorted, after all. And thus, their visit to the Edinburgh Castle began.

    Holding onto his DSLR, he would click her pictures every once in a while, as she walked a few steps ahead of him, pointing and telling him everything she knew about the vast building, giving him her version of the tour.

    "You know we are approximately 135 meters above Sea level.", the girl said, a smile never leaving her mouth,"Between 1296 and 1341, this castle was captured by the English invaders twice and twice was it re-imed by the Scottish warriors. Heroic, isn''t it?

    "Look, the Stone of Scone! Also known as the Stone of Destiny, it is a block of sandstone, upon which, monarchs were traditionally crowned for years. This stone came to Scond only in 1996.

    "And this outer ce is well-known as Edinburgh Castle Esnade, wherein a seating is installed every year for the international military music festival, called as the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, and for other summer concerts. Isn''t it bizarre?!"

    "It is.", the manughed, capturing yet another picture of her, in the camera, and his mind, "How do you know so much? Inte?"

    "A little bit.", the girl shrugged, "But mostly books."

    "Ah. And I thought we would need a guide.", Xi Yuan smiled to himself, "Aren''t you hungry?", he questioned then.

    "I am. But we are almost done watching the pce. Just a bit more, okay?", she turned to look at the man, earning a gentle nod from him.It was not until three in the afternoon, that the girl was done admiring the impressive beauty of the city of Edinburgh.

    Then, the man brought her to a fairly famed restaurant by the castleter. Whilst she sat opposite him, looking through his camera gallery, he requested one of the staff to get him a menu.

    "A Shellfish bisque, garlic croutons, rouille and Gruyere for Starters. As for the main course... Roast grouse from Balmoral Estate, Parsley porridge, young turnips, brambles, and game chips.", the man ced both their orders by himself, for he was au courant of her tastes, "And a Sloe Royale for the drinks."

    "Yes, Sir.", the waitress noted down the final order, smiling shyly at the man. The young woman was used to serving a lot of foreigners by now, provided their facility was located beneath the scrutiny of one of the world''s most famous tourist locations. But none of those as charming as him. She liked this one. This man. His facial features, his voice, his eyes. God! He was handsome. "Anything else, Mister?"

    "No. That''d be alright.", Xi Yuan shook his head inly. The man then waited for the woman to disappear before he finally turned to his lover, "What''s up?", he then asked, "Good enough?"

    "Excellent clicks, Baby!", Rong Xinghe looked up at her darling appreciatively, "I look like a princess in all of them. Specifically, this one...", she said, turning the camera''s disy for the man to peep, "Beside the firece. Damn! I look hot."

    "Tell me about it.", the manughed out heartily.

    "No. I am going to post some of these on my Instagram and Weibo. For sure.", she announced, resolute.

    "Up to you. I''ll mail them once we get back to Earlston.", he said, "But let''s frame the firece photo in our bedroom."

    "No. It should be the picture of both of us.", the girl smiled, "You could keep it in your office, though."

    "You''re the in-charge.", Xi Yuan raised his hands in surrender, "Just don''t post anything yet. Your fans would know your whereabouts in seconds if that were to happen. And thest thing I want is for the media to show up at our doorsteps."

    "Of course."

    About a few minutester, the hotel staff returned with the food they''d ordered and left shortly after. But Rong Xinghe didn''t dig in at once. Instead, she just sat, staring at him, not uttering a single word.

    "What are you thinking?", Xi Yuan asked, noticing the girl''s silence.

    "That waitress over there likes you.", the girl said, leaning back against her chair, squinting her eyes at the man, "How troublesome!"

    "What? How do you know?", the man raised his brows, stunned. He then looked at the woman standing in the corner of the ce, her eyes traveling to him now and then. She did seem interested! But how could Rong Xinghe have known about it since she didn''t so much as squiz at her earlier? Did she have some radar or something?

    "She stammered about seven times while suggesting you the specials of this eatery, what do you think?", the girl stated the matter-of-factly, "She''s been blushing ever since we came, and do not even get me started on how quickly she changed her hairstyle to mine."

    "..."

    "Bringing me to Scond won''t change who I am, Yuan.", Rong Xingheughed then, "Observing things around me and keeping all my senses alert round the clock, that''s what I do.

    "But that''s not the point here."

    "Then what''s the point?", Xi Yuan let out a defeated sigh. Her Sherlock Holmes obiter dictums scared him sometimes, honestly. But then again, as she just said, Scond couldn''t change everything. And not her extraordinarily active brain cells at that.

    "The point is your charming-ness.", she said earnestly, "What should we do about it now?"

    "Makeup?", the man suggested.

    "No."

    "Mask?"

    "Maybe."

    "Sulphuric acid attack?"

    "Considerable enough."

    "..."

    Such a ruthless woman, the man gasped at the thought. But she was kidding. They both knew that. She just loved to see his expression change because of her. Truthfully, she''d never let anyone hurt him. To her, everything he cared about was for her to protect. His life, his belongings, his family. She intended to protect these things for the littlest of eternity they had together. How could she scar him then?

    Let the world admire him, and desire him, she would often think in silence. She''d never felt intimidated or insecure by other women before. He''d never given her the reasons to feel so, all past incidents considered. And for that, she couldn''t be more thankful. With someone who''d read her expressions like a book, by her side, why would she need to bother herself with such trivial issues? She trusted him. His intentions, his willpower, his sincerity, and above all, his love. She had expectations from him, not the ones who craved for him. It was all just as simple as that.

 Chapter 469: Indecent fantasies

    Chapter 469: Indecent fantasies

    Edinburgh, Scond, 19:05;

    As the Bugatti drove through the silent roads of Dunedin, Rong Xinghe took a shine to the dreamlike city. The lights blinked back to them from the huge finely-built buildings, as they passed by at a considerably safe pace. Beside her, Xi Yuan sat, his eyes focussed on the road in front of him. He wasn''t yet done spoiling her. There was, but one more thing, on his list tonight. But he intended to keep it as a surprise from her.

    She had spent the entire noon shopping today, hunting for souvenirs for her family, and for his. It was a thoughtful gesture, so the man hadn''t stood in the way of it initially, and only when she''d started to feel exhausted did he rush her out of the busy, crowded streets.

    "Thank you for today, Lover.", the girl turned to her darling, smiling at him sweetly.

    "Just down your energy drink.", the man replied, his tone earnest, "And try to get some sleep if possible, okay?"

    "I am fine.", Rong Xinghe sighed, "Don''t worry."

    "Seriously?", Xi Yuan then red at the girl beside him, "Why did you fight with that woman?! By the end of your little argument, you were trembling, Xinghe. Literally."

    "She pushed you!", the girl shot back, infuriated, "You could''ve tripped."

    "It was a flea market."

    "So?"

    "You do remember we were masked and that not everyone in Scond knows us, right?", Xi Yuan tabled, "She must''ve taken me for a local..."

    "But you''re not. Even amongmoners, you stand out, Mr. Xi."

    "Flirting is not going to help here, woman!", the man squinted his eyes at the girl, his soft voice telling otherwise.

    Noticing her escape, the girl let out a burst of nervousughter, "Let bygones be bygones, please?"

    "Alright.", the man said after a few seconds of consideration, "But on one condition."

    "What?!", the girl gasped, "I am not going to kiss you just for the sake of forgiveness. Let me make that very clear."

    Xi Yuan then hit the brakes, as the car came to halt in front of the red-light traffic signal. Fixing his attention at her stern expression, he then smirked, "I was going to ask you to guzzle down two more bottles of the energy drink."

    "Oh...", the girl looked away from him, embarrassed.

    "But please go on.", the man chuckled, closing in on her, "I really want to know exactly what kind of novels and mangas you''ve been readingtely, Military Chief. Please. Enlighten me."

    "I--"

    But before she could say any further, the man captured her perfectly sculpted red lips into his. The touch of his hands, and that of his lips against her skin, was indescribably fierce. As if he wanted to own the whole her. And yet, he released her shortly after, leaving her to crave for more.

    "There you go.", he winked at her then, a breezyugh resounding through the warm atmosphere, "I honored your indecent fantasies."

    "Wha-", the girl''s eyes widened as she smacked the man''s arm repeatedly, "Those are not my fantasies!!"

    But Xi Yuan loved to tease her. He enjoyed her childishness the most, for she barely revealed this side of hers to the world. With the kind of responsibilities she carried upon her shoulders, she had to put on a tough, reserved, and mature exterior. And that was understandably fine too.

    However, she was at absolute liberty to behave the way she wished to, in front of him. Lazy, crazy, sensual, and emotional. What was the use of having a partner if she couldn''t be her real self with him by her side, right?

    ________________

    Country X, City A, 00:10;

    Whilst Xinguan was busy enjoying the fascinatingnd of Scond, immersed in each other''s invigorating presence, a woman strode through one of the still corridors of a western-style high-rise hotel, the sound of her heels resonating throughout the empty space. She took a turn to the right, and then, entered a VIP Suite.

    Presidential Suite-1001, to be exact.

    "President Rong.", she addressed the man sitting over the couch, her voice filled with confidence.

    "Miss Huang...", the man raised his head up at the disturbance, a devious smile making way to his mouth, "Wee. Please make yourselffortable.", he added next.

    "If you insist.", Huang Biu smiled back, grabbing a seat opposite him, "I wonder why, someone as powerful as the Young Master of the Rong family, would summon me?"

    "What''s the hurry?", Rong Yufan responded with a question, his eyes glued to the sparkling ret wine in his ss, "Let''s start with a few drinks, shall we?"

    "As you wish.", the woman shrugged, pouring herself some wine too. In the quiet then, she did not utter another word to him. Rong Yufan wasn''t the kind of person one could just joke around with. Huang Biu was smart enough to know that by now. A person with an unparalleled reputation in hypnosis could be considered much more dangerous than terrorists and murderers out there. Not to mention, the way he had climbed up in the world of business since the past two years was frighteningly odd. There was no way he would''ve been able to achieve so much without someone strong backing him up.

    But even then, she had her reasons toe to such a person sote at night.

    "Of all the things I know about you...", the man said after some time, "I never thought of you as a quitter."

    "What do you mean?", the woman frowned.

    "Your brother asked you to give up on Xi Yuan and you did, despite liking him for so long.", Rong Yufan exined, "I don''t know what rtionship he shares with Xinghe, but the fact that hepromised his own sister''s happiness for her sake, is too disturbing.

    "Honestly, I''ve always shipped you and Mr. Xi. You both would''ve been quite the match, may I dare say."

    There. That was her reason. That, and her vengeance for Rong Xinghe. As punishment for troubling Rong Xinghe''s ''private'' life, her elder brother, Huang Ling, had ripped her off of all her powers in the Huang Business Empire. Both her career and her love were ruined by that woman; something she could never forget. She wanted Xi Yuan to fall for her, yes. But more than anything else, she wanted to defeat Rong Xinghe. Making the life of Country X''s Military Chief a living hell was, at this point, her one and only desire.

 Chapter 470: "A mini-me, and a little you"

    Chapter 470: "A mini-me, and a little you"

    Country X, City A, 00:15;

    "I heard Mr. Xi and that girl, are both in Scond at the moment.", Rong Yufan said, swirling the drink in his ss, "All by themselves.

    "You should pay them a visit, don''t you think?"

    "I should?", Huang Biu raised her brows, her tone suspicious, "Why would President Rong want his own sister to suffer, I doubt."

    "Sister?", the man red at the woman in front of him, sudden darkness in his voice, a tension in his muscles, "Do you even realize who you''re talking to, Miss Biu?"

    "I--", the woman fumbled for words, as she broke out into a cold sweat. She could feel a shiver run down her spine, her heartbeat racing furiously. So it was true! The infamous train incident. He really was the one behind it.

    Huang Biu hailed from a family of high repute. Naturally, she''d nevere across such dangerous people before. Even though her elder brother was one of the ten Hybrids, the Huangs had never known about it. ording to them, their son had simply undergone some regr Military training and returned home to take on his responsibilities. The Hybrids weren''t allowed to reveal their identities to their dear ones. Neither family nor friends. And provided the kind of enemies each one of them had, it was only rational to keep the people they cared for, out of the immediate dangers.

    Nevertheless, tonight, this piece of information would''ve been much more advantageous to Huang Biu, had she known it beforehand. She wouldn''t have, even in her wildest dreams, made such an unwise and vacuous choice then.

    "Let''s destroy Rong Xinghe together.", she decided after some consideration.

    "Cheers.", Rong Yufan chuckled, raising his ss up in the mid-air. One more puppet to y with, he told himself internally. Another person to take the bullets for him. That was the worth of Huang Biu to him, in the end.

    ____________

    Edinburgh, Scond, 19:30;

    Xi Yuan brought the girl to one of the most prominent pubs in the city; The Waverley Pub. He knew she was already full, and that she would appreciate a round of traditional storytelling after the day she had. Thankfully, Scond was a country of tremendously intriguing tales. There was, literally no end to them on thisnd. That, and the opportunity to enjoy Scottish Whiskey Tasting.

    This particr tour uncovered the secrets of Scotch Whiskey-making along with the enlivening experience of authentic storytellers. He couldn''t think of any other way to close the day, for the woman he was in love with, loved to listen to spiels and recitals. And he was right to think so. The girl did enjoy every second of that evening.

    "Many of Scond''s literary legends were influenced by the taste of whisky. Robert Burns penned entire poems in the drink''s honor, in fact.", the raconteur said, delighted, "The drink in your hand right now is Glengoyne 10 Hignd whiskey. With 40% alcohol content, this drink is heathery and rtively delicate to the other ones you''ve tasted so far. In this one, we can find plenty of ginger, cut apple, and a lot of vani. Moving on, we..."

    "I love it!", the girl whispered into her darling''s ears, "Let''s take one bottle home. Please?"

    "As you wish.", the man smiled.

    "Why don''t you drink?", the girl questioned, passing the man her ss.

    "I have to drive, Baby.", Xi Yuan replied helplessly, cing the crystalware upon the table beside him, "I''ll definitely apany you when we get home safely, okay?"

    "Okay.", Rong Xinghe nodded, her lips curling up in an appreciative smile.

    About an hourter, the tour finally came to an end. Xi Yuan walked out of the pub with bottles of every variety in both his hands, hoping to find the girl in the passenger seat of the car. She was drunk. Too drunk. Despite his attempts to stop her, she''d downed about six shots of the Scotch Whiskey tonight. Although he''d already called Su Rogguang at her third shot and had confirmed that she''d be fine under eight to ten of them, he had concerns other than her health as well. Rong Xinghe was one troublesome drinker. He still remembered thest time she''d gotten high and beaten up a group of drug dealers to death, almost. How he wished to find her asleep in the car now...

    But, of course, she wasn''t there. Damn it!

    The man''s gaze traveled from ce to ce until it finally halted at a litter of puppies not too far from the Chiron. There she was. On the ground, ying with them. Letting out a sigh of relief, the man strode towards her and stretched his hand in her direction, "Come on. Let''s go.", he said then.

    "No!", Rong Xinghe shook her head, hugging a white-furred puppy tightly. Xi Yuan had seen the rejectioning, obviously. How could it be so easy?

    Massaging his forehead, the man turned around and shoved the bag of whiskey bottles inside the car''s trunk, and came back with his DSLR. Calmly then, he sat down upon the ground beside her, picking one of the other whelps up and cing it on hisp.

    As she looked at him with the little ones, a gentle smile soon appeared across her mouths. Every once in a while, he would click their pictures, or tickle them, or caress their necks and backs. The girl looked up and took in the sight of the empty road. What would people think if they were to figure out the identity of this man, she wondered. The Business King sitting on the unclean ground of Scond, ying with a bunch of young dogs. It would be one hell of a treat to the ck cameras, for sure.

    But she didn''t care. He deserved to have off-days too. From the pressures of avoiding media, and acting all high and mighty. He needed this. These simpler times, in order to maintain his sanity. This wasn''t just her vacation, after all. It was his too.

    "You''ll be an amazing father.", the girl let go of the pup in her hands and turned to nt a quick peck against her darling''s right cheek.

    "What?", the manughed, "Dogs and human infants aren''t the same, Xinghe."

    "What do you know?", Rong Xinghe scoffed, resting her head against the man''s shoulder next. Staring into the distance then, she asked him, "How many kids do you want?"

    "One.", Xi Yuan answered after some time, "Through a surrogate mother."

    "Why?", the girl furrowed her brows, puzzled.

    "Because I won''t be able to see you go through the pain of childbirth.", he said, releasing the puppy he''d been holding for a while. The next she knew, he leaned back a little, holding her in his arms tenderly, "I can''t bear to put you through all of that."

    The girl burst outughing, her fingers reaching behind his ear, "You are so cute."

    "What about you?", the man rolled his eyes.

    "Two, I guess.", Rong Xinghe answered, "A mini-me, and a little you. Sisters-inw tend to like that idea too, you know."

    "I know.", Xi Yuan nodded painfully. How could he not know, after the kind of absurd conversation he''d had with thediesst time in the hospital?

 Chapter 471: "Protect yourself too"

    Chapter 471: "Protect yourself too"

    Edinburgh, Scond, 20:00;

    Rong Xinghe soon dozed off in her darling''s arms, right there on the silent road. His eyes, his voice, his warmth; they were all just too peaceful. And so was Edinburgh''s breeze tonight. Calm.

    Xi Yuan smiled to himself, as the sounds of her soft snores made their way to his ears. Diverting his gaze from the puppies, he looked at the girl. Her left hand held onto his overcoat''s cor, tightly, while the other hand lied effortlessly upon the fabric of her dress over her belly. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the engagement ring on her left-hand sparkle. It suited her. The ring. ssy, sophisticated, light. Just like her, he thought.

    Then, after a few minutes, the man carried her to the Bugatti waiting for them at a distance. After he''d buckled her up in the passenger seat, he walked around the vehicle, and shortlyter, the wheels began to turn, their pace steady, for he didn''t intend to disrupt her sleep.

    The man was halfway down the road to Earlston when the phone in his pocket rang up. Hastily, the man connected his Bluetooth earpiece to the phone and picked up the call. The girl hadn''t woken up by it, thankfully.

    "Who''s this?", he said into the phone, his voice deep yet more of a whisper.

    "Al.", the person on the other end replied, his tone earnest, "How is she?"

    Xi Yuan furrowed his brows, as he nced at the time in his watch. It was almost 2 a.m. in Country X now, considering the time difference. Not to mention, Zhi Al''s words had a pinch of consternation in them and not just general concern for his little sister.

    "She is alright, Bro Al.", the man assured the girl''s brother honestly, "What''s going on?"

    "I''ve been keeping track of Xinghe and your enemies for quite a few months now, Yuan.", the man jumped straight to the point, "I mean, their social media ounts, their bank ounts, and everything else in-between.

    "Do you remember Arkady Kusov, by any chance? Your Russian business rival?"

    "Uhh... yeah.", Xi Yuan answered after thinking for a while, "He used to be one of Xi Corporations'' major shareholders. But his gambling habits and hical methods pushed me to kick him out of the empire.

    "Even so, it has been about seven years since I cklisted him. Are you suggesting--"

    "He is still after you? Yes.", Zhi Al cut-in, "In fact, I am more than sure that he was the guy behind your Mexico product-quality scam. The load of money he''s paid to underworld organizations through his Assistant''s ount is just too shady, you know.

    "What worries me the most, though is the fact that he has transferred exactly 30 Million USD to SNM_Steven1984 about half an hour ago, followed by a Weibo message. ''01896. Him. Or her.'' Yuan, this Steven is an A-grade assassin, let me forewarn you."

    "And 01896 is the dialing code for Earlston.", the young man let out an inaudible scowl, "Fu*king bastard!"

    "I am afraid you two can''t be left unprotected anymore.", the man on the other side smiled, impressed by Xi Yuan''s decoding skills, "Your and her securities should arrive by tomorrow noon, okay? But until then, I just thought it''d be wise to give you a heads up."

    "Thank you, Bro Al.", the man nodded sincerely, "I''ll protect her with my life."

    "I know you will.", Zhi Alughed out, "I wanted to ensure you protect yourself too. To tell the truth, that was the reason I called you.

    "You are her love, Yuan. And most importantly, you''re family. So be safe, alright?"

    Taken aback, the man took a moment to digest Zhi Al''s words. A lot of things had changed since the moment he''d first met her. But the Six tigers'' approval was something that still seemed to be a dream to Xi Yuan. Although they weren''t as expressive as the girls'' Sisters-inw, he was aware of their recognition for him. And honestly, it felt more of an honor than anything else. To be a part of the high-principled and incredibly eminent Superfamily, truly was a matter of prestige.

    "Got it.", the man responded, suppressing his smile.

    "Now don''t smile like a dork.", Zhi Al mumbled irritatedly, already knowing the young man''s reaction to his words.

    "..."

    ____________

    City A, Country X, 02:15;

    David Florence made his way across the working-ssmercial corridor stealthily, skillfully concealing the revolver inside his jacket. Oblivious to the battlefield it would soon turn into, the Realeza Hotel''s building stood tall, and in all its mor tonight.

    While their Alpha recuperated in Scond, the Hybrids had been handed out the responsibility to fill in the void she had left behind. These were just standard Military protocols though. Country X''s three supreme positions couldn''t be, for a second, stay abandoned. Regardless of the situation, which in a way, was understandable as the entire nation couldn''t just survive on its own, right?

    Unfortunately, Rong Xinghe did not have a sessor to her throne, or an alternate, for that matter. Military Chief training did not take ce every other month in Country X, for not everyone in the Army stood out enough to undergo something as exigent, as demanding as that. To make it out of the training alive was a challenge in itself, let alone reaching the chair of the nation''s highest Military Authority. So, at a time like this, none were worthy enough to rece the woman. Not even one of the Hybrids. Hence, all Ten of them had to take on the different sectors of her work.

    However, the government didn''t dare to reveal their identities, since the simple action could end up weing an innumerable amount of formidable enemies to thend. As a result, the Ten men had no choice, but to act undercover.

    "Are you sure our guy is here?", David asked into his CT-36 headset.

    "Positive.", Elijah Williams replied, his eyes glued to the monitor screen in front of him, "Maksoor Khan''s right-hand man, Neil. That man must''ve contacted him right after escaping from the St. Mary Hospital that night. I believe that Neil would surely know of his whereabouts at this moment.

    "So keep him alive, David, okay?"

    "You lost me at the ''keep him alive'' part, brother.", the man chuckled coolly.

    "..."

    "Xinghe will chop our heads off if we fail this mission, Florence.", Huang Ling joined in, addressing the man on the other end, "Moreover, Andrea deserves justice for her unborn child''s untimely demise. We cannot dy her revenge anymore. I hope you get that."

    "Right.", David answered, his tone much serious now, "I''ll kill everyone, but Neil. Will that be fine?"

    Elijah Williams and Huang Ling exchanged nces of corroboration among themselves before one of them finally spoke up, "On one condition."

    "Make the deaths painful.", the other one added.

    "Isn''t that a given?", Florenceughed out as a sensation of thrill rushed through every nerve in his body. Man, he loved this job!

 Chapter 472: Still not appropriate?

    Chapter 472: Still not appropriate?

    City A, Country X, 02:30;

    Cautiously, the Hybrid sneaked into the Hotel''s private suite, clothed in the attire of a waiter. He had to confirm the authenticity of their informer''s lead before making a move. Hybrids, of all the soldiers, couldn''t afford to shoot in the dark and endanger a civilian''s life, based on nothing but a hunch. Recklessness, in their field of work, had the ability to put the entire nation in a state of uproar. And the one thing that the nation''s Army carried around oh-so-proudly as a badge, was the trust their country citizens held for them. Hence, in no way could the Hybrids allow the public to feel insecure by their bare presence.

    As he walked into the huge yet dim-lit room, instinctively, the first thing he did was to figure out the number of people in there. Around twenty. Easy, he scoffed to himself. Then, his gazended upon the man sitting on the bed, the twenty men facing him. Neil.

    David Florence never forgot a face. None of the Hybrids did.

    Clearly, they''d been indulged in some sort of ssified conversation before he had entered. The agitation with which they were all staring at him proved so. Only after the man had ced the bucket of chilled beer bottles at the corner table of the room, about five meters away from Neil did they rx a bit.

    "Your order, Sir.", David said to Neil, his tone giving away nothing but casual hospitality. Earning a slight nod from the guy, the Hybrid then turned around to leave the room. But he didn''t leave really. He simply took a cover behind one of the four floor-to-ceiling broad pirs inside the room after he was sure that they were no longer observing him. Calmly, he listened to them for a few minutes then.

    "She might''ve sinisterly executed our brothers, but we''ll make her pay for it!", Neil ''preached'' to the other men, "Her end will be our beginning. Her blood is what our swords desire the most. Now more than ever."

    David Florence, obviously, wasn''t unaware of the identity of this ''her''. And by the looks of it, it seemed like these twenty men were to be trained to rece the Sleeper Cells that''d been terminated by Rong Xinghe not too long ago. ''Jeez! Where does this sickness end?!'', the man groaned internally. It was as if the more they killed, the more they became stronger.

    Clenching his fists, Florence waited for his opportunity. As much as he liked the idea of wiping off all of them from the face of this earth, he was on a mission. He needed to get Neil alive. And the only way to do so was a thunderbolt ambush.

    Hence, it wasn''t until the leader of the cult disappeared to the rear of the washroom doors that the man finally sauntered his way to one of the men in the back.

    "Urgh!", as the sound of someone''s neck-snapping resounded through the quiet room, the group of people turned to follow the source of it. Down on the cold white floor lied theirpanion, his body unmoving. The perp was nowhere to be seen but.

    "Hullo idiots!", suddenly, a voice came from the other end of the room, hushing down the panic-stricken murmurs.

    Neil walked out of the washroom about three minutester, only to find his newfound guinea pigs ughtered throughout the huge ce. "F*ck!", he yelled through his clenched teeth, his right hand reaching behind his back to pull out the revolver tucked in.

    "Toote for that, baby boy.", David Florence said, gulping down one of the beer bottles Neil had ordered, leaning back against the ck leather armchairzily, "Budweiser or Carlsberg?"

    _________

    Earlston, Scond, 23:05;

    Xi Yuan knocked against the changing room door, waiting for the girl to respond. "Everything okay in there, Love?", he questioned, his tone tender. Couldn''t she just sleep in the gown she''d been wearing all day, he wondered? It seemedfortable and light. Then why did she have to wake up all of a sudden and n on getting her clothes changed?

    "Do n-- not cross the boudariesss, you Duke of Pump... Pumpkinbroke!", the woman said through the other side of the door, her voice defensive.

    "Pembroke, you mean.", Xi Yuanughed out, helpless, hounded by the girl''s adorability. Whiskey. And period romance novels. Quite the interesting blend, he had to admit. The girl''d been imagining a world of her own, wherein he was, apparently some Duke, tonight. But that was fine. She would sober up until the next morning eventually anyway. He could survive the craziness till then, of that he was sure.

    A minuteter, the girl finally stepped out of the fancy little room, her eyes fixed to the ground. She had put on a floral-print Navy Blue dress, her wavy jet ck hair bouncing against her shoulders gracefully. "I need to rest.", the girl said then, her tone that of a princess, "You shall le... leave."

    "I should?", the man raised his brows, his gaze fixed at the spellbinding woman in front of him.

    "I be... believe so.", Rong Xinghe nodded. In reply, however, Xi Yuan bent down a bit and swept the woman''s feet off of the ground. "But the Duke wishes to spend the night with the Lady. Allow me?", he smirked at her, carrying her to the center of their bedroom.

    "Th... this is inappro... riate!", the girl red at the man, her eyes wide open. But without uttering another word, the man gently lowered her to the bed.

    Closing in on her then, he eliminated the distance parting his lips from hers. It was a long, passionate kiss, thatsted for about a minute. "How about this? Is this inappropriate as well?", he asked her, enjoying the shock in her eyes. The girl did not say anything, for she was out of breath by the simple activity.

    Next, he nted a sweet kiss on her neck, "Now?", he added to the question. Then, he nibbled the mole behind her right earlobe, "Still not appropriate?", he grinned as a moan escaped the girl''s mouth.

    And just like that, he kept teasing her for the next few minutes until she dozed off in his arms, exhausted by the vain attempts to resist the effects of his touch upon her. Such a shameless man, she mumbled to herself before giving in to his warmth in the end.

    __________

    City A, Country X, 05:00;

    David Florence had skillfully knocked down Neil unconscious, for the sake of ease after a two-hour-long strict interrogation concerning Maksoor Khan. The guy was a tough nut to crack, definitely, provided he hadn''t confessed to anything but his association to Ahmed Ali Fadhil''s organization up till now. Lashkar ul-Mujahidin, to be exact. But it wasn''t an impossible task to break him, the man had concluded by now.

    As the four trainee officers sneaked the passed-out man away from the hotel on a stretcher, David strolled through the long high-ceilinged corridor, getting rid of the bloodstains on his hands with the help of some wet hand towels. All of a sudden, he sensed someone staring at him from a distance. Warily yet quickly, he turned to nce at the intruder but the person had walked away expeditiously by then.

    Even so, being one of the intellectually blessed Hybrids, the man could figure out the person''s identity in an instant.

    "What''s up, Florence?", Huang Ling questioned the man, as he nced at the corridor''s CCTV footage from the MCO.

    "What was Biu doing here at such unexpected hours, Ling?", David answered with a question instead.

 Chapter 473: She did not want a Second Best

    Chapter 473: She did not want a ''Second Best''

    City A, Country X, 07:15;

    Huang Biu tiptoed into the Huang Family Mansion, certain that her family was asleep. It was not until her brother''s voice resounded from her behind did she stop dead in her tracks, a chill crawling down her spine.

    "Where the hell were you all night?!", Huang Ling questioned her, his voice stern. The woman turned around to face the man, who''d been leaning against the study room''s door frame for who knows how long.

    He still had the clothes from thest night on. The Navy Blue three-piece suit, its top two buttons undone. He mustn''t have sleptst night, she thought.

    But that wasn''t unusual. Not at all. Provided, the kind of life Huang Ling lead. Managing an entire business empire was no joke. What more, he''d been involved with the political aspect of the country as well recently. Why, though, she''d never understood. All she was aware of was that her brother was well-associated with the Prime Minister and the President of the nation. She''d never asked him, honestly. As long as Huangs stood mightily upon thepetitive grounds, she didn''t care much about anything else.

    "With a friend.", the woman looked down at her feet, a pinch of guilt in her tone.

    Huang Ling squinted his gaze at the woman, positive that she''d just lied. But he chose to let go of it. He''d already been treating her with quite the austere for the past few months. He didn''t have the choice, though. Huang Biu was family, but Rong Xinghe was so much more. He couldn''t allow his sister to get in conflict with someone like Rong Xinghe. Not after what they''d been through in those five years of Military Chief training.

    Hence, letting out a sigh, the man approached his sister, "Biu... Just don''t do anything reckless. Okay?"

    Listening to the man''s concern-filled words, the woman lifted her head up, looking at him, stunned. He seemed tired. As if he''d lived a hundred years, and had walked through a million storms. But today, after weeks of giving her a cold shoulder, and freezing her rights in the Huang empire, when he talked to her so gently, she felt an indescribable amount of pain surge through her heart. At the moment, all she wanted to do was turn around and call off the agreement she hade to with Rong Yufan the night before. The love and concern in Huang Ling''s eyes were urging her to do so, truth be told.

    "I... Can I ask you something, brother?", the woman asked.

    "Hmm.", the man nodded, a smile stered across his lips.

    "What is the rtionship between you and Rong Xinghe?"

    "She''s my inspiration.", Huang Ling answered after thinking for a while, "I was in the Military when she''d been dered the ''Trial Case'' for the position of Military Chief. I saw her begin from the scratch and I watched her ace everything she did by the end of it all. Xinghe is unique, Biu. She is one specialdy."

    "And are you in love with her?", the girl questioned then, taken aback by the man''s words. Never had her brother ever praised someone like that before. None that she knew of, at least.

    "No.", the man shook his head,ughing out, "I simply admire her. As far as love is concerned, I am not worthy enough to even imagine that.

    "But Xi Yuan is. That man is possibly the only person, in this entire world, who deserves to stand by her side, I believe.

    "I know you''ve always liked him, Biu. But there are plenty of other men too, you know. You are smart, and proud, and elegant. I promise I''ll help you pursue anyone you like. Anyone but him."

    And in that very second, Huang Biu''s guilt vanished in the thin air. She did not want a ''Second Best''. Not when she''d always dreamed to get the Alpha. She was not going to settle for anyone less. She was Huang Biu, damn it! She was the Queen who deserved to apany that King, and not Rong Xinghe.

    _________

    Earlston, Scond, 08:00;

    "God! It''s so cold in here.", Rong Xinghe climbed down the wooden staircase, rubbing her hands. Xi Yuan had ced a ss of water alongside a tablet of aspirin upon her side-table, for he knew she''d wake up with a headache this morning. Such a sweetheart!

    It was the month of January, hauling Scond to its ''real'' wintery self. The temperature, here in Earlston, had dropped down to 9C by now. And as scary as it sounded, it could go down to 4C this year, with a possibility of high snowfall. Rong Xinghe had never been fond of winters. She could handle it, obviously. But she didn''t prefer to. She loved the rains. Springs too. But not the frosty weather.

    To her relief, when she reached the living room, she found her darling indulged in lighting up the firewood in the hearth of the farmhouse. From the corner of her eyes, she could see the water in the kettle boiling across the same room. He had hisptop ced on the table in front of the TV. Work, of course.

    Xi Yuan was just done adjusting fire when he turned to the sounds of furniture screeching against the cold floor. "What the...",he stared at the girl, puzzled. What was she even doing? In a matter of seconds, she''d shoved away, literally, both the couch and the table from the center of the room, leaving nothing but the huge carpet in there.

    The girl giggled at the man''s expression and returned with about three to four books in her hands. As a kid, then, she sat down on the ground, patting the empty spot beside her, winking at him.

    Xi Yuan was at a loss of words with the girl by this time. She was hopelessly dramatic at times, he pondered. But he enjoyed that about her, for he was hopelessly in love too, wasn''t he? Without bantering with her any further, the man also left the room and came back with huge pillows and a nket, passing them to the woman one by one.

    "I''ll get two cups of Hot Chocte.", he offered then, "And some snacks?"

    "Did I, at all, mention that I love you, today?", Rong Xinghe blinked at the man dreamily.

    "I love you too.", Xi Yuan smiled down at the girl, "Now, pull up the nket, Love. And getfortable beneath the warmth of it. I don''t want you to catch a cold, okay?"

 Chapter 474: "That baby, youre the one"

    Chapter 474: "That baby, you''re the one"

    Earlston, Scond, 08:30;

    "Here you go.", Xi Yuan said as he handed the girl one of the two ceramic cups he''d brought along, flumping down beside her a minuteter. "You still cold?", he asked her then, wrapping his rtively warm hands around her fingers.

    "A bit.",the girl smiled, turning to look at her darling. He looked handsome. He always did. But in that very moment, as the zing fire reflected in his Gray eyes, his stunning facial features lit up in the color of those enthusiastically burning woods, she felt as if she was falling for him. All over again.

    His eyes. They had an intensity and patience, and gentleness to them; which was just straight up unparalleled. They looked at her as if telling a tale, or singing a melody. Sweetly, and affectionately. As if he wished to capture a mental picture of her in his mind. And for some unknown reason, she hoped for such to be the case.

    "What are you thinking about?", the man questioned the girl, his lips stretched enough to form a tender smile.

    "You.", Rong Xinghe answered, "You remind me of a poem. My favorite poem as a child."

    "Oh?", he raised his brows, slightly surprised. Sipping the warm drink from his cup, he then looked at her, "Do you still remember it?"

    The girl responded with a faint nod as she tried to remember the exact words before she eventually spoke up.

    "You look at me as if I''m the only girl around.

    You make me feel important and never let me down.

    "You''ve shown me how to live,

    How to smile, what to say.

    You''ve shown me what it''s worth

    To love someone each and every day.

    "So this poem goes out to you

    For everything you''ve done,

    And I hope now you understand

    That baby, you''re the one.", the girl whispered to him, meaning every word of what she''d said.

    Xi Yuan simply stared at the girl for roughly two minutes, unknown of what he could possibly say to appreciate something so heartfelt. There was a time in his life when he had given up on every possibility of happiness. To him, his life was but an iprehensible burden. Why was he even breathing, he would often questioned himself at that time.

    But then, akin to some miracle... she happened. And she changed everything; painting the empty colorless canvas that his life was in the most vibrant, and the brightest of the colors.

    She made him want to smile, and talk, andugh. She healed him and liberated him of the pain he had never been brave enough to let go of. The things she had done for him meant so much to him that he never looked at how she saw him. He had never wondered about the difference he''d brought into her life. But the way she described her feelings to him just now, was so serene, and so soul-stirring, that he was out of words which could express even a tad of his delight.

    "You''re the one for me too, Xinghe.", the man finally managed to speak, nting an adoring kiss against her forehead, "Thank you."

    "Wee, wee.", the girl giggled.

    "When are we getting married, by the way?", Xi Yuan asked after some time, fixing his gaze at the woman seriously.

    "By the end of the next month.", the girl replied, her tone equally earnest, "Before I get back to MCO. Now that I am unemployed for the next two months, let''s not postpone it, Yuan. Okay?"

    "Are you sure?"

    "I''ve always been sure of ''us'', Lover.", Rong Xingheughed, "It''s just that I''ve wished to have a peaceful wedding, not the one where we''re stuck with our work. I think the timing''s perfect."

    "I don''t know.", the man shook his head, unsure of the idea, "There is no way I''ll let you stress yourself with the Wedding preparations right now. You haven''t yet recovered from the surgery, Xinghe."

    "Then I''ll wait for your and Bro Su''s approval.", the girl shrugged, "In case you guys arefortable with the idea by the end of this month, we''ll get hitched on February 25th, okay?"

    "The 25th?", Xi Yuan grinned, "The first time we met..."

    "Exactly.", the girl let out a hearty peel ofugh, pecking the man against his lips.

    "Alright.", the man finally agreed, "We could do that. And hence, ording to the deal, you''ll be under observation for the next three weeks."

    "Yes!", Rong Xinghe almost yelled out, "I''ll eat like a cow if that''s what it takes to recuperate, Mr. Xi. I promise you."

    "..."

    But the girl wasn''t going to be that patient, of course. She had already told her Sisters-inw and Rong Xiao to begin with the perfect Wedding preps before she''d boarded the flight to Scond with Xi Yuan. While Ningtao was in charge of selecting the wedding theme, Songyan and Ruo Cy were requested to list in different locations for every wedding ritual, ranging from Bridal Shower to that of both her and his Bachelorette Parties. Ching Tong and Feng Mian were told to take care of all the cuisine selection, leaving Cheng Tai and Rong Xiao with the responsibilities to take over the dance and choreography stuff.

    The girl had even roped in the Xi trio along with her Six brothers into the arrangements, keeping her Yuan out of it all with quite some difficulties.

    All she had to do was rx here with him by her side, in Earlston, and wait for her family to handle everything on the other end.

    Rong Xinghe had always been a calctive and far-sighted person. She knew that Xi Yuan would never agree to the idea of her freaking out about the wedding chaos. And as rational as his concerns were, she didn''t want to wait any longer. She wanted this. She wanted him, for the littlest of eternity they had together in this life.

    Moreover, it wasn''t a necessity for the Bride and Groom to tire themselves out with every little detail, right? With the best Wedding Organizer in the family, why would she want to trouble herself with such trivial matters. Songyan could manage everything with ''the'' perfect professionalism. Of that she was sure. In the end, Xinguan would simply need to select one of the several finest choices their family would keep saved for them beforehand. Now, wasn''t she the smartest?!

 Chapter 475: "She is the reason he breathes"

    Chapter 475: "She is the reason he breathes"

    Earlston, Scond, 11:30;

    Clutching onto the edges of ''Jane Eyre'' written by the English Novelist Charlotte Bront, the girl read the book to her darling, her toes curled by the arresting words inscribed within.

    "I should not shrink from you with disgust as I did from her: in your quiet moments you should have no watcher and no nurse but me; and I could hang over you with untiring tenderness, though you gave me no smile in return; and never weary of gazing into your eyes, though they had no longer a ray of recognition for me.", she read out, her tone more of a whisper.

    Unable to read any further, the girl adjusted her favorite bookmark between the pages and shut the book close. So emotional...

    Letting out a shaky breath then, she turned to her Yuan forfort, only to find him slumbering behind her. His head upon one of the luxe faux fur pillows he''d brought along, his one hand upon her right thigh.

    She had seen thising, though. He was too exhausted to stay awake, provided he''d been working since the early morning; preparing breakfast for the two of them whilst handling his office work simultaneously weren''t tasks that could be thought of as undemanding. But that was alright. She could pacify her sentimental little heart with choctes and cakes too, right?

    The girl was about to stand up from the floor when a strong and equally wise hand wrapped around her left wrist, and in the very next second, yanked her against a broad chest. "There is no cake in the house.", Xi Yuan mumbled sleepily, "Stay."

    "Wha-", Rong Xinghe blinked at the man, shocked to her core. Did he just listen to her thoughts? Bloody hell!

    "Don''t think too much.", the man added next, "I''ve been listening to you. It''s sad. What the girl in the book is going through. But don''t you dare to slip away from me because of that.

    "It''s not safe for you to go on a food hunt in bakeries throughout Earlston right now, Xinghe."

    He listened to that thought too, the girl gasped, her eyes open wide.

    "Wait. What do you mean by ''not safe''?", the girl shook her head, focussing on theter part of Xi Yuan''s words.

    "Xi Corporations. Old rival. Steven1984.", the man answered in short, knowing she''d fill in the nks by herself, his eyes still closed.

    "Informer?", the girl raised her brows.

    "Bro Al."

    "Got it.", Rong Xinghe nodded faintly a whileter, resting her head upon his shoulders, closing her eyes lightly, "You know I can protect myself, right?"

    "I know.", the man smiled, pulling up the warm nket that''d tumbled down by the girl''s movements, up to her shoulders, "But who will protect me if you''d be gone, Ma'' Jolie?"

    Listening to the man''s words, the girl couldn''t help butugh out a short genialugh. He could be so cute at times...

    About half an hourter, when Xinguan were both asleep in each other''s irresistible presence, the firece a few meters from them still burning with zing golden mes, Butler Tang walked in, his footsteps nearly inaudible. The old man looked at the couple with a hint of nostalgia in his eyes for a few seconds, before he pulled his phone out and clicked a picture of the two. Ah, the young love, he smiled to himself; as he forwarded the photo to Li Jungah.

    Shortly after, the woman called him, her tone immensely cheerful, "Thank you for putting my heart at ease, Mr. Tang.", she said, her voice relieved, "Look out for them until their security arrives, alright?"

    "You have my word, mydy.", the Butler replied, "I will protect Young Master with thest drop of blood running through my veins if that''s what it takes to make sure that he lives on. You have nothing to worry about here."

    "Shield the Young Lady too, Butler.", Li Jungah smiled tenderly, "She is your Young Master''s heart. She is the reason he breathes."

    "Certainly, Ma''am.", the man replied modestly, "I''ll watch out for her too."

    "And while you are at it, please click more such ardent pictures of these two.", the woman grinned, "We''ll be needing a lot of those before their wedding."

    "..."

    ____________

    Rong Family Mansion, City A, Country X, 17:35;

    "What were you doing with the youngdy from the Huang familyst night, Yufan?", Gu Hong approached her son, an envelope of pictures in her hands, "And what if the media were to get hold of them?"

    Rong Chang and Rong Quiang too soon joined the mother and son in the old mansion''s living room, as they followed the source of disruption.

    "It''s nothing, Mom.", Rong Yufan responded indifferently, reverting his gaze to the files he''d been reading, "She happened to be in the same hotelst night, so I invited her for some drinks. We''re barely acquaintances, to be truthful."

    "Huangs can''t be messed with, dear.", Rong Quiyang exined to the man calmly, "Even if you like her, pursue her carefully. From what I''ve heard, Huang Ling treasures his sister more than his entire business."

    "Yeah, but Yufan needs to start thinking of forming a family too, right?", Rong Chang suggested, his eyes glued to the pictures in his hands, "And to gain the Huang family''s backing, it''d surely be a great advantage for us. What do you think about it, son?"

    "I don''t like women who are spoiled by their families.", the man scoffed, shutting theptop on the coffee table, "I want someone much... tamed and powerless. I could use Biu for as long as I want. But do not get your hopes high, Dad. Huangs and Rongs are not happening."

    As the young man disappeared from their line of sights in the study, the three elders exchanged helpless nces among themselves. To date, they did not know the person who''d been secretly backing them up. The fear of that person pulling back his financial support at any time was always a constant, hence.

    And therefore, they were hoping to find someone more reliable. The best way to do so was Rong Yufan''s marriage, but the man refused to even consider the idea. He seemed to trust this mysterious investor of theirs too much, they thought. But who was this person? Only if there was a way to figure that out. Sigh... how troublesome.

 Chapter 476: The Buzzing Bee

    Chapter 476: The Buzzing Bee

    Earlston, Scond, 09:00;

    Another week passed by, but Xinguan barely stepped out of their ce. It had started to snow out there. And unlike Earlston''s liquid-equivalent regr snowfall, this year was different. It was white and deep. Dangerously dry, at that.

    The couple didn''t mind staying in, though. The girl had an entire library to herself, while Xi Yuan, on the other hand, had her to take care of. Ensuring that she''d stay warm, preparing meals three times a day with her distracting him, reporting her brothers about her recovery status; were but just a few of his daily activities.

    Although the ''supposed'' attack hadn''t happened yet, both their security teams had been summoned to thend of the castles. The couple''s safety could not bepromised, not for even a second. While one was the backbone to Country X''s defense, the other one''s indirect taxes alone ounted for about 5.8% of the nation''s finance collection, per annum. Not to mention, the international spotlight they brought to the country, individually, and together, was pretty much unparalleled. How could their lives be taken for granted in such circumstances, then?

    "What are you doing so early in the morning?", Xi Yuan walked in into the kitchen, cing both his hands upon the girl''s waist, resting his chin over her right shoulder.

    "Cake.", the girl answered, rubbing her right cheek to his clean, shaved one, akin to a yful little kitten.

    "What is this?", the manughed out, satisfied by the girl''s cute, subtle gesture, "Preparation for your great ''post retirement'' bakery business?"

    "Kind of.", Rong Xinghe smiled, filling the piping bag with the whipped cream, "I''ll still need a sponsor or something though."

    "I could finance you.", Xi Yuan shrugged, nibbling onto the mole behind her ear, his favorite spot on her body. "Don''t...", the girl sighed, her handsing to an abrupt halt. Damn, this man! Such a distraction. Did he even realize the effect he had on her?

    The man chuckled against the girl''s skin before he lowered his index finger into the bowl of vani-vored cream, turning the girl around then. Puzzled by the man''s actions, the girl looked into his eyes. He did too, not giving away anything but.

    Secondster, the girl felt the sweet coldness of the cream on her lower lip. And the next thing she knew, he leaned in on her, arresting her sensitively soft lips into his. The kiss was insanely vehement. Strong. Mirthless. As if he''d desired for this for years.

    Only when the man had licked the cream off of her lips did he chose to part from her, taking in the sight of her flushed, red face."Sweet.", he grinned, "Now that''s the kind of dessert I like."

    "Shameless!", Rong Xinghe squinted her eyes at him, "I would never want a Boss like you."

    "Why?", the man asked, confused.

    "Because you''ll never let me bake in peace! Such a buzzing bee.", the girl scoffed, "Now get out, will you? I need to decorate the cake."

    "Fine.", the man rolled his eyes, "I am going. Just remind the maid to clean up the kitchen after you are done. I need to cook the afternoon meals."

    :::::::::::::

    Earlston, Scond, 09:30;

    "Got it.", Xi Yuan nodded faintly, his eyes fixed to Xi Fang''s face upon hisptop screen, "I''ll stock up the essentials. Thanks for forewarning about the uing blizzard, Fang."

    "Don''t mention, brother.", the young man on the other side smiled, "Scond is used to snowstorms by now, but this one is expected tost for a while apparently. So just stay safe, you two.

    "By the way, what''s the update on Steven1984?"

    "Nothing.", Xi Yuan shook his head, "He''ll make a move, though. I am sure of that, given his past records. He must be waiting for some sort of opening."

    "In that case, do you need me to send over more men?", Xi Fang enquired.

    "I am with a woman who is used to leaving behind a trail of bodies wherever she goes, little brother.", the manughed, shaking his head in dismissal, "I really don''t think I''d be needing any more security personnel. She is recuperating really well."

    "I am d to hear that.", the younger manughed back, "By the way, I took care of what you asked me to do yesterday."

    Xi Yuan shut the files in his hands close, his expression solemn now as he looked at the man. Diablos. So he had a soft spot too. Perfect!

    At this time, Rong Xinghe walked in, both her hands holding onto therge, fragrant cake, "Care to taste this baby, Mr. Xi?", she giggled, her sweater a mix of vani and chocte sauce she''d used in an attempt to beautify it.

    "Sure.", the man stood up as he helped the girl ce the dish over the table, next to hisptop.

    "Thank God Wei isn''t here, Sister-inw.", Xi Fang chuckled through the other end, "He would have been crushed to see you feed just brother. That guy is already missing your food over here."

    "He is?", Rong Xinghe raised her brows, surprised, "My Little Panda is the best. Tell him I''ll make up for it as soon as Ie back, alright?"

    "Okay."

    BANG!

    Xi Yuan was about to sit down on the couch when the sound of the gunfire traveled to him followed by a feminine scream, and instinctively, he pulled the woman beside him much closer to himself. "You okay?", he questioned her, running his gaze over her face, and the middle, and then to her legs.

    "Yeah.", Rong Xinghe nodded, "I am fine."

    "Go and change your clothes upstairs. In the meantime, I''ll have a look outside.", the man inhaled sharply, his tone relieved, "Also, keep my revolver by your side, just in case. It''s in the bottom drawer of your closet."

    "I aming with you, Mr. Xi.", the girl resisted, clearly not liking the idea of abandoning her darling. "There might be paparazzi out there, Honey.", Xi Yuan smiled helplessly, a sweet sensation of warmth running through his heart. He liked how concerned she was for him. He truly did. "You are a public figure, Military Chief. Just change quickly. Besides, I will be careful. Promise."

    It took the girl a few more seconds to finally agree to his idea, still. As she disappeared from his line of sight, the man turned to pick up his overcoat from one of the couches. And then, he rushed out of the living room."What''s going on?", he demanded as he proceeded toward the group of assembled soldiers in front of thewn.

    "Someone shot thisdy, Boss.", one of the men informed dutifully, "From a distance. We couldn''t locate it. But the shooter seemed to be a professional."

    "Who is the woman?", Xi Yuan frowned as he reached the unmoving body as the officers surrounding her slowly dispersed.

    "It''s the youngdy from the Huang family, Sir.", another soldier bowed down, "Miss Biu, if my memory serves me right, is her name."

 Chapter 477: "Thats intimate"

    Chapter 477: "That''s intimate"

    Earlston, Scond, 11:00;

    "Are you sure about this?", Xi Yuan nced at the shut guest room doors, his tone uncertain.

    "Yeah, Yuan.", Rong Xinghe nodded, "More so than anything else. Lieutenant Jang has expertise in this area. He''ll pull the bullet out in no time. Don''t worry. Moreover, she was shot in the left shoulder. I believe she''ll survive."

    "But--"

    "This is a freezing town with minimal healthcare facilities, Yuan. Do you really think it''s a better idea to browse for hospitals throughout Earlston right now?", the girl shook her head.

    "Fine.", the man groaned, rubbing the back of his neck tiredly, "Just get rid of her once she wakes up, alright?"

    "It depends on her health, Mr. Xi.", the girl sighed, helpless to the man''s indifference.

    At this time, one of the soldiers on duty during when the attack had happened marched in, greeting Rong Xinghe with a firm salute, "Long live Country X, Military Chief!"

    "Long live Country X, Officer Hong.", the woman turned to him, her tone much distant now, "How did it happen?"

    "The shot wasn''t directed at Miss Huang, Boss.", the soldier in his mid-twenties exined, passing the tablet he was holding to the girl, "Look at this CCTV footage. Although we can''t see the shooter''s face here since he''d concealed it well with the mask, we can tell that this is the Thompson M1921 Submachine Gun, by just a peek at its handguard liner.

    "And if we follow the direction to which it was aimed at the time it was shot, we''d know that this bullet was targetted at President Xi, to begin with."

    "Okay.", Rong Xinghe said after a while, her eyes fixed to her darling, "Keep looking for more clues that could take us to the attacker. This is not enough. Dismissed."

    "Understood, Military Chief.", the young man bowed down before he left the ce to the couple.

    "Xinghe...", Xi Yuan sensed the girl''s silence, and calmly, made his way to her, pulling her in hisforting warm embrace, caressing her head tenderly.

    "Th... That could''ve been y... you.", the girl fumbled for words as her trembling hand hugged him back, tightly, her tone filled with fear.

    "We''re okay, Love."

    It took the girl roughly fifteen minutes to calm down still. To her, Huang Biu was an outsider. But him? He was her love. The person she couldn''t imagine her life without. What would she have done if something was to happen to him, the thought alone terrified her, to her very core.

    "We need to catch the perp. As soon as possible.", she mumbled, running her fingers through her freely falling hair. Xinguan was indulged in their conversation when the doors to the guest room opened and an elderly man in the Military uniform appeared in front of them.

    "She is good to go.", he said to Rong Xinghe, his tone respectful, "The bullet didn''t pierce in too deep."

    "As expected of a Military doctor.", Rong Xinghe chuckled, "Thank you, Lieutenant Jang. I appreciate the help."

    "Oh, no. Please don''t embarrass me, Military Chief.", the man bowed down in an instant, "It''s an honor to serve you. I shall take my leave now.

    "I''ve already prescribed her a few medications. Please remind her to not lift up anything heavy for the next few days."

    __________

    City A, Country X, 17:30;

    "What is she even doing there!?", Huang Ling clenched his teeth, as he stared at his mother, enraged, "Of all the ces, Scond? Does she take me for a fool?!

    "Thank God that the Military Chief and Officer Jang were there when she got shot. She could''ve died today, for God''s sake, if it''d happened otherwise.

    "And to what extent does her obsession for Xi Yuan go, really? Also, how could you both not tell me about her little escapade beforehand? Do you both seriously support this nuisance?!"

    "Calm down, Ling.", Huang Ling''s father, Huang Honghui said, loosening his tie, "She didn''t know that President Xi would be there too. She wanted to go on a vacation. Couldn''t it just be a coincidence?"

    Huang Ling red at his parents in a daze, unable to voice his thoughts to them. How would they even begin to understand theplicated world he was a part of? How could they possibly ept the double life he''d been leading all these years? Damn it! This was all so messed up.

    "She is safe there though, right?", Huang Ling''s mother, Gu Chenhua questioned her son anxiously, "Did you speak to Miss Rong?"

    "She is, as of now.", the young man nodded, putting his parents'' heart at ease, "The Military Chief called me about half an hour ago concerning the matter. There''s a snowstorm approaching Earlston right now. So she has decided to let Biu stay in their home until it''s safe enough.

    "But for the love of the Almighty, teach your daughter to not bite the hand that fed her, will you? Tell her to keep a distance from President Xi."

    With those words, Huang Ling turned around and left the family''s old mansion, striding towards his car, infuriated. No one knew his sister better than him. With Huang Biu, there could never be coincidences. She was the type of person to n every little detail of her life. How could this be a ''go with the flow'' decision then? Sigh... couldn''t she just forget him?! Did she have to make things so difficult for her own brother!?

    __________

    Earlston, Scond, 12:30

    "Is Mr. Xi alright?", the woman lying in the bed asked, her voice barely audible.

    "He is.", Rong Xinghe smiled, "Thank you."

    "It was just instinct.", Huang Biu shrugged, implying to the girl that there was nothing in this world she wouldn''t do for Xi Yuan. Rong Xinghe sensed that, of course. But she chose to ignore the arrogance at the moment, for intentionally or unintentionally, she had saved her Yuan''s life.

    "Do you know anyone in Earlston here?", she asked then, leaning back in the armchair.

    "Yeah, a friend. She lives four blocks from here. I was on the way to her ce but the passage went by this farmhouse.", Huang Biu stated, "I noticed a man holding onto this long gun while I was driving past the street in my rearview mirror. I then realized that it was pointed in Yuan''s dire--"

    "Yuan?", Rong Xinghe interrupted, a bone-chilling chuckle escaping her lips, "That''s... intimate."

    "Uh... my apologies, Miss Rong.", the woman whispered sincerely. But who was she trying to fool with that? The person in front of her had the ability to read humans like the books she read.

    "Address him as Mr. Xi.", the girl stated, "It''s not appropriate for President Huang''s sister to trouble amitted man, don''t you think? Moreover, Yuan doesn''t allow just anyone to storm into his personal space. So know your limits while you are here, okay?"

 Chapter 478: Sly little Wolf

    Chapter 478: Sly little Wolf

    Earlston, Scond, 15:40;

    This wasn''t the first time Rong Xinghe hade across Huang Biu. She knew how well-acknowledged this woman was in the world of business, and that in the past, almost every business family in Country X had presumed for her to tie the marital knot with Xi Yuan one day. She was this perfect woman; sharp-witted and gracefully delicate, who had every quality to be the eldest daughter-inw of the Xi family.

    At times, Rong Xinghe did wonder if her darling deserved better. Someone much more worthy than her, to stand beside him. Maybe he did. Maybe there really was a woman a cut above her. But if there was one thing her Six tigers had taught her ever since she was a kid was to know what was hers, and to put up a fight to hold onto it then. No matter what it took.

    People who loved them, and worshipped them, were of the opinion that Xinguan were meant to be. That they were soulmates. That no one else couldplete them the way they did. But Rong Xinghe didn''t believe in soulmates. She seemed to like the idea, though. Prince charming and his one true love. The ''movie'' love, was what it was, in the end, but.

    Real love was not that. To Rong Xinghe, Love was knowing that there''d always be someone better out there, and still choosing to be with that one person. For everything he was, and everything he had. Regardless of every temptation, luxury, andfort; Love was choosing that person, over and over and over again.

    She''d do that for Xi Yuan. And she knew he''d do that for her too.

    "Croque monsieur will do, Yuan.", the girl pinched the space between her brows as she looked at the man running around in the kitchen anxiously.

    "It''s not sufficient, Baby.", Xi Yuan shook his head, his tone agitated, "I was supposed to be done with the afternoon meals by now, had it not been for that woman!"

    "Wha-", Rong Xinghe smacked the man''s right forearm, silencing him at once, "Hush! She is a guest. Behave, will you?

    "Besides, she is much weaker than me right now. I don''t mind her eating my portion of food."

    "The food I prepared for you, keeping your nutritional requirement in mind, Miss Rong.", the man corrected her, "That was my fiance''s meal."

    "Okay, okay.", the girl sighed, cing her left palm upon his mouth, "Please stop shouting. I am begging you. I get it, and it''spletely reasonable for you to get offended. But forgive her this time. Just once?

    "I''ll finish all the fruits, instead. How''s that forpensation?"

    Xi Yuan stared at the girl for a few seconds before he smiled against her cold skin, giving away his eptance of the offer. Warily then, the girl pulled her hand back, waiting for him to say something.

    "Go ahead and continue reading your book.", the man pped his hands twice, ted, "I shall join you in about five minutes with your fruit sd, okay?"

    ::::::::::::::::::::::::

    15:46;

    Huang Biu strolled through the still house, her phone in her right hand. How dare she threaten her? Who did she think she was?! But she had to admit. Rong Xinghe had an immensely intimidating personality. Her tone, her gaze, her smile. Everything about her was so intense, so overbearing.

    But she was immune to people like her. Her brother radiated the same aura, after all. No matter how calm andposed a demeanor he carried, one could always sense the danger in the voidness of his tone. All the soldiers were like that, probably, she concluded then, conciliating herself.

    It wasn''t until she''d reached the living room''s entrance that she noticed them, sitting in silence. In front of the hearth, their legs cocooned within the Navy Blue fur nket, the couple were upied in themselves. As she read the book in her hands to him, he listened to her with undivided attention, feeding her finely chopped fruit pieces every once in a while.

    "You be. It takes a long time.", the girl recited, her fingers supporting the sides of the novel, "That''s why it doesn''t happen often to people who break easily or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out, and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don''t matter at all, because once you are real, you can''t be ugly, except to people who don''t understand."

    "Touch.", Xi Yuan smiled, catering the girl with yet another chunk of Apple.

    "Insightful.", Rong Xinghe nodded, satisfied by the written art, "And profound."

    So this was how she''d won him over, Huang Biu thought, stunned. With such insignificant efforts? Xi Yuan was a man of excuisite taste. The entire business world was aware of that. This man had never, in his life, set his eyes on anything even remotely ordinary. He had always been surrounded by people who stood out in the crowd, and amongst those intellectuals, he had the tendency to stand out himself. That was the degree of his excellence. Then why on earth, had he chosen someone like her? Someone so... unexceptional? Or was he barely toying with her? How she wished for thetter to be the case...

    "Come in, Miss Huang.", Rong Xinghe announced after a while, not even bothering to confirm if it was her at the door. Taken aback, Huang Biu crossed her arms, stepping into their room, "How did you know?"

    "Your perfume is... one of a kind.", the girl chuckled, adjusting the bookmark in her book. She could literally feel the man beside her scowl silently. God! He really wasn''t fond of her, was he? He could put on a pretense, at least. But nope. It was as if he wanted to chase her away from there, as soon as possible. How childish!

    "I wished to greet President Xi.", Huang Biu smiled bitterly, nodding faintly at the quiet man, "How have you been, Yu-, I mean... Mr. Xi?"

    Listening to the woman''s sudden improv, Xi Yuan''s lips curled up in an amused smile, and subconsciously, he squizzed the she-devil next to him. Adorably enough, the girl refused to look back at him then. Instead, she fixed her eyes upon the ferociously burning wood inside the firece, heat crawling up to her cheeks and ears slowly. Of course, she did that. His sly little wolf.

 Chapter 479: "Ill do the honors this time"

    Chapter 479: "I''ll do the honors this time"

    Earlston, Scond, 15:50;

    "I believe I should thank you, Miss Huang.", Xi Yuan said, passing the te of fruits to Rong Xinghe, "How would you like for me to repay your kindness?"

    "I... um... There really is no need.", Huang Biu shook her head modestly, "Thank you so much."

    "I insist, though.", the man smiled, "I don''t like staying indebted to anyone. Take your time, if you need, and I shall fulfill your wish as long as it isn''t beyond my limits."

    "Alright.", the woman responded shyly, "I''ll think of something."

    Rong Xinghe listened to the two calmly as she finished off her fruit sd. Sigh... did the rich people talk so formally? How boring. Shemunicated with a roadside vegetable vendor better than that. And in addition to it, Xi Yuan and Huang Biu were schoolmates. How could they not have anything inmon to chat about?

    "Let me suggest you something, Miss Huang.", she joined in then, putting away the empty te in her hands, "Go for ''Heritage in Blossom'' diamond ne. It''s worth 200 Million USD, apparently.

    "Or maybe one of the recentlyunched Sports Cars. Anything ridiculously expensive, actually.", she chuckled, mouthing ''He''s rich!'' to the woman, a mischievous smile stered across her lips.

    Xi Yuan rolled his eyes, shaking his head defeatedly. Why was she like that? Such a troublemaker.

    "I heard you were attacked a few days back too, Miss Rong.", Huang Biu diverted the topic with a smile, "How did it happen? And is that why you''re here?"

    "Sit down.", the girl said, pointing her chin to one of the chairs next to the woman, "You seem to have brought along a lengthy list of questions." Heeding the girl''s advice, Huang Biu grabbed a seat opposite the couple, "Nothing like that. Actually, the media has been in a state of turmoil since then. The incident has helped their TRPs to skyrocket to unimaginable degrees.

    "The public wants to listen to nothing but that, you see. So I was just curious."

    Rong Xingheughed helplessly, "The TRP greed, of course.", she mumbled, "Well, yeah, I was indeed attacked. It was Yuan''s idea, actually, toe here and rx till I recover."

    "Mr. Xi is so considerate.", the woman smiled her tone a little dull.

    "You guys went to the same High School, right?", the girl questioned then, "How did you two meet?"

    "We weren''t--"

    "Friends.", Xi Yuan cut in, pulling his phone out from his left pocket, "I talked to her for the first time in a charity event after I''d taken over the position of CEO in Xi Corporations.

    "Sorry. I''ve got a few calls to attend.", he added then, standing up from the couch. As he left the living room, Huang Biu''s expression darkened.

    Rong Xinghe gasped at the man''s revtion, and turned to the woman, shocked, "Sorry for his tone, Miss Huang. His mind must be elsewhere."

    "I understand.", the woman smiled, bottling up her humiliation within.

    But Xi Yuan didn''t care. He wasn''t going to let Huang Biu brew up stories of her own and nod along. She wasn''t worth it. Had he not rified everything then and there, he knew that the other woman would''ve definitely taken advantage of it.

    He really had never been in contact with Huang Biu when he was in school. In fact, he didn''t have a lot of friends as a kid. Partly, because of acute Autism. But mostly, due to the fact that they would befriend him for his family background and not the real him.

    She was no different. In fact, she was the worst of them all. He had never uttered a single word to her all those years, and yet, she''d went on to spread rumors about their ''rtionship''. He''d never defied her ims, for there was no one deserving enough of his rification, but his distaste for her only grew over time. He hated liars. And he hated those who used his name to acquire fame or benefits. However, this woman had done both.

    Those kids or their opinions didn''t matter to him a bit then, but Rong Xinghe''s did. There was no way that he would entertain her lies in his personal life anymore. Not for a second.

    :::::::::::::::::::

    22:00;

    "Wow... he never talked to her!?", Songyan was surprised as she listened to Rong Xinghe''s dramatic reporting, "I always thought that they must''ve had at least dated, you know?"

    "Tell me about it, Sister-inw!", Rong Xinghe sighed, "I mean I would''ve dated her, had I been her ssmate. She looks mesmerizing. Such a shame..."

    "Do you realize that it''s your boyfriend you are talking about?", Zhi Xi questioned his Kiddo, agitated, "Shouldn''t you be d that he doesn''t like her?"

    "I wanted to know what he was like in school.", the girl pouted, "Besides, I am still having a hard time digesting that I am his first love. That he has never been in a rtionship before me."

    At this time, one of Rong Xinghe''s security staff knocked on the bedroom door, "We''ve located the attacker''s current address, Boss."

    "Okay...", the girl nodded, reverting her attention to the phone in her hand, "Talk to youter, brother. Good night, Sister-inw." Disconnecting the call then, she strode towards the man, "Where is he?"

    "He is living in one of the deserted houses on the outskirts of Earlston currently, Ma''am.", the young man answered, "The guy is extremely vignt and uptight.

    "But we can handle him. The men are waiting for your orders though, Chief. One word from you and we''ll rip him apart in pieces."

    "You won''t.", Rong Xinghe shook her head, clenching her fists, "He had the audacity to aim at Yuan. I''ll do the honors this time. And don''t you dare report this to Mr. Xi."

    "But--"

    "Officer Hong,e on.", the girl smirked, silencing the man at once, "I will be leaving at three tonight. Everyone should be sound asleep by then. Just keep the Military van fuelled up before that.

    "It''s finally time for the nation''s Military Chief to sharpen her sword, don''t you think?"

 Chapter 480: Why the sudden change of plans, Ma Jolie?

    Chapter 480: Why the sudden change of ns, Ma Jolie?

    Earlston, Scond, 02:50;

    Xi Yuan was a light sleeper. It wasn''t possible for the girl to slip out of the room without disrupting his slumber, and she was aware of it. So that night, she insisted on pulling an all-nighter with the book she''d been reading. The man didn''t refuse her request straight away, since she''d slept for about three hours that noon. He, as usual, just offered to apany her. But she''d turned him down, prompting him to get some rest as he''d been working and attending meetings all day long.

    ''You need to understand that your health is no less a matter of concern to me, Yuan'', she''d told him, ''And since my ease of mind is necessary for the recovery, go to bed.'' Left with no counter-argument, Xi Yuan had to give in to her demand.

    Now, as she sat in the Willys jeep, staring at the 50 Desert Eagle in her hand, roughly twenty meters from this infamous Steven''s temporary abode, the girl had but one motive in her mind. To make one of the most malignant killers in the world beg her for an easy death.

    She didn''t care about his confession, nor did she wish to know of the Russian Mastermind behind all of it. Xi Yuan would take care of it in his own ways, of that she was sure. That wasn''t why she was here. She was here to unleash her rage onto a psychopath, and she didn''t intend on backing out of it.

    After she was done loading all the seven bullets into her gun, Rong Xinghe got off the vehicle, and with swift noiseless footsteps, she approached the shed-like house. Thankfully, not a singlemoner lived nearby, else, it would''ve been too troublesome for her.

    When she was fairly close to the remote ce, she peeked inside the house through the open window, only to find the bed empty. And as if regted by her reflexes, she turned around and with no hint of contemtion or hesitation in her gaze, pulled the trigger to her handgun.

    "F*ck!", the man behind her yelled out in pain, his eyes bloodshot with fury. How did she even know that he was behind her?!

    Rong Xinghe nced at the M16A2 Assault rifle in the man''s right hand, and the next second, another 300-grain bullet pierced through his right shoulder, the firearm in his hand falling to the ground, as a result.

    "You bi*ch...", the lightplexioned man swore through his gritted teeth.

    "Good point.", the woman chuckled coolly, "Let''s take this conversation inside, shall we, little boy?" With that being said, she grabbed onto his cor and hauled him through the poorly supported doors of the house, shoving him over the bed, his blood ruining the fine setting of it.

    "How did you..."

    "Dry snow and human feet make noise together, you know?", the girl remarked with a smirk, "A crispy crumbling sound."

    So that''s how she figured it out. God! The woman was impressive, Steven thought. He regretted not targetting her earlier then. But just because she''d shot him in the left forearm and the right shoulder didn''t mean he couldn''t deal with her. He had a reputation to uphold in the underworld, for hell''s sake. He couldn''t be killed off by a woman, damn it!

    However, Rong Xinghe had mastered the skill of reading through people''s minds by now. She could tell what was going on in that cunning brain of her perp at the moment. She found the situation hrious, honestly. How valorous of him to assume that he still had an escape out of it.

    BANG! BANG!

    As the tiny room filled with the man''s painful cries, the girl inhaled sharply and grabbed a seat for herself on the wooden chair facing him. She fixed her eyes on both his legs, blood oozing down his trousers gradually. He shouldn''t have dyed the kick he was about tounch at her, she thought. Sigh... poor soul.

    Calmly, the girl tucked the gun into her overcoat''s pocket before leaning back in the chair. She waited for his voice to go down before she raised her left foot and poked onto one of his wounds, making him bellow even more. It wasn''t until she was satisfied by the man''s screams that she finally stood up and knelt to the floor beside his bed, pulling out the blue Kerosene canister from underneath it.

    "No, no, no!", Steven shook his head violently, his eyes wide open as the woman tossed away the container''s cap and began pouring the oil down on him.

    "Just shoot me in the head!", he begged her, "Or slit my neck, if you want. Anything... but this!"

    But the girl wouldn''t listen, for she knew he didn''t deserve a painless death. He needed to suffer before it''d alle to an end. He''d killed hundreds of innocent people to date, just for the sake of money. People like them, she loathed the most. Did they even realize what they put their victims'' families through? Did he, for once, think of how she would''ve suffered if something were to happen to her Yuan the day before? No! Then why would she show mercy to a monster like him?!

    ______________

    Earlston, Scond, 06:00;

    Xi Yuan woke up to the sound of his phone ringing, exhausted. "Who is it?", he questioned sleepily into it.

    The man listened to the person on the other end, and for a moment, he thought he was hallucinating or dreaming still, of the sorts. But when the girl''s voice reached him through the device, he sat up straight on the bed, startled. He requested the man to repeat himself, hearing to him with much attention this time.

    "What?!", he almost shouted by the time the other person was done, "I''ll be there in fifteen minutes."

    :::::::::::::::::::

    Earlston Police Station, 06:12;

    Xi Yuan stormed into the department''s sanctuary, two well-dressed men following behind him.

    "Where is she?", he asked one of the officers sitting in the corner, his tone anxious.

    "Here...", Rong Xinghe answered instead from across the huge hallway, waving at her darling desperately. Xi Yuan turned to look at the girl sitting at the other side of the lock-up, rendered speechless by the mess she had gotten herself into.

    He nodded at the two men beside him faintly, gesturing them to go ahead and take care of the paperwork, as he made his way to his woman. The girl too stood up and walked closer to the iron bars.

    The man didn''t reprimand or lecture her as he reached her, though. He simply cupped her face with both his hands and smiled worriedly, "Are you okay?", he questioned. That was the only thing that mattered to him, truth be told.

    "Yeah.", Rong Xinghe smiled back.

    "What happened?", the manughed then, "Weren''t you supposed to read tonight? Why the sudden change of ns then, Ma Jolie?"

    "I assassinated Steven1984.", the girl whispered to the man, pulling him a little closer to herself.

    "Good God...", the man raised his brows, taken aback, "But... the Police Inspector didn''t--"

    "No. They don''t know.", Rong Xinghe shook her head, smiling cheekily, "That''s not why I am here."

    "Oh."

    "Yeah. I was driving back home after that and stopped at a caf for a cup of Espresso.", the girl resumed, "There, a customer dropped his wallet and I picked it up to give it to him. I was about to go over to him when Officer Hong called me. So I brought my hands to my pocket to turn off the phone, but-"

    "The Inspector who was right next to you assumed you were stealing.", Xi Yuan finished the girl''s sentence, "So you''re in for theft. Lovely."

    "That... and not having my passport.", Rong Xinghe said, smacking her forehead lightly, "Also, I refused to go to the station with him. I didn''t know they could arrest you for that here. I thought they''d just put on a penalty of a few bucks."

    "I gotta say this, Love.", the man grinned, barely suppressing herughter, "Never in my life did I ever think that I would''ve to bail my to-be-wife out from a prison."

    "..."

 Chapter 481: Seven feet under

    Chapter 481: Seven feet under

    Earlston Police Station, 07:30;

    Even after an hour-long investigation, the Chief Inspector refused to release the girl. He was a thirty-two-year-old offbeat local man, who had no idea of Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan''s identity. His working style was known to be strange and even out-of-protocol at times. However, despite that, he was an immensely resilient and stubborn person with a deep concern for his town. So people in Earlston, more often than not, chose to let go of his negatives.

    Not to mention, amid all the formalities, an advanced handgun had been discovered from the girl''s car, thinning her chances of freedom. Although not many people carried firearms in the country, they weren''t illegal in Scond.

    But be that as it may, it was highly unusual for people to carry guns around in the small town of Earlston. Not every day did the department came across cases like these. Hence, the second the 50 Desert Eagle was unveiled, the entire police station was in a state of rm.

    ''There is no way CI Lathurna would let her off anytime soon.'', one of the women officers whispered, ''He is not even taking a nce at her Passport. I pity her actually.''

    ''I don''t know. Chief always has a hunch about these things, you know.'', a Constable remarked, ''Besides, why would a foreigner carry a gun on ournd unless she''s dangerous?''

    ''For self-defense?'', the woman shrugged, ''Just look at her. And him, too. They clearly seem... individuals of high repute. I even saw some soldiers standing outside the station. They don''t appear to be general tourists to me if you ask.''

    ''If that''s the case, the CI should at least let her out of the lock-up.'', another officermented, ''He doesn''t really have any authentic evidence against her, you see. He is keeping her behind the bars on the basis of nothing but his spections.''

    ''I agree.''

    ''On a totally different note, the foreigners look stunning, don''t they?'', thedy officer added, a hint of admiration in her tone.

    ''I was going to say!'', the Constable nodded, ''And did you notice? He hasn''t left her for even a second ever since he has arrived here.''

    ''He cares for her genuinely.'', a Sergeant joined in this time, ''Ah! The young love.''

    Meanwhile, as the wave of murmurs spread throughout the Police Station, Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan inhaled a long tired breath. They both had begun to run out of patience now. Had it been Country X, it wouldn''t have been this difficult for her to get out, provided her position therein. But it was a foreignnd, with an obstinate Police officer, who wouldn''t pay heed to a single word they''d say to him. He had to do things his ''own'' way, apparently.

    "I want to go!", Rong Xinghe protested all of a sudden, enraged, joggling the iron bars furiously.

    "Shut up!", Lathurna yelled back in response, pointing his index finger at the woman, "This is not a flea market,dy."

    "Watch yournguage!", Xi Yuan red at the man, his tone calm yet high enough to silence everyone in the vicinity, "I don''t care who you think you are but talk to her like that again, and I''ll personally ensure that you''re buried exactly seven feet under this very hellhole you call Police Station. Such a clown!"

    This was probably the first time Xi Yuan had raised his voice after walking past the station gates, and it shook the department''s staff to their very cores, including the Chief Inspector. Even Rong Xinghe gulped, slightly scared of her darling''s rage. She hadn''t expected him to threaten a government staff with such intensity for her, to start with.

    But as she thought of the situation from his point of view, she realized just how difficult a position he was in. Watching her suffer while he stood outside, unable to help her get out, was bound to make him feel helpless, and angered. And on top of that, how could he let a random stranger speak to her so disrespectfully? She wouldn''t have tolerated that either. What more, with her health on the line, a baseless and unreasonable police investigation was but a matter of least concern for him.

    "I didn''t mean to frighten you, Xinghe.", the man turned to the girl, noticing her silence.

    "It''s okay.", Rong Xinghe smiled understandingly, "They won''t find Steven''s body, even if they dig out the entire town. It''s just a matter of time that I''ll be out."

    "I know that.", Xi Yuan nodded, his lips curling up in a devilish smirk, "You''ll be out in five minutes."

    The girl frowned, "What do you mean?"

    But before the man could answer her question, a team of Police jeeps wheeled towards the station house, the sound of their sirens resonating through the cold air. And in that very instant, Rong Xinghe knew what was happening. Disconcerted, she blinked at the man in front of her, "You involved him, didn''t you?"

    "I might have.", the manughed, shrugging nonchntly.

    "Crap!"

    A minuteter, the Chief Superintendant marched into the station, followed by about twenty-five police officers. The man didn''t so much as even bat an eyelid at any of the station staff as he wend his way toward Xi Yuan directly. Only when he was at a suitable distance from the man did he outstretch his hand, offering a handshake, "It''s an honor to have you here, President Xi.", he then said, his tone firm.

    Xi Yuan took the man''s hand with a nod as a form of acknowledgment. The Ch Supt then turned to Rong Xinghe apologetically, "I am ashamed of how my department has treated you, Military Chief.", he said then, bowing his head down to her. "You!", he looked at one of the constables next, "Let her out. Now."

    "But Sir--", CI Lathurna walked over to the old man anxiously as the woman stepped out of the prison.

    "Who permitted you to imprison her, Mr. Lathurna!?", the man cut in, a tweak of frustration in his voice, "Do you even know what you have done?!

    "Because of your stupidity, the officials high above us all, are in such chaos right now. The Permanent Representative for Country X in UNESCO called into the First Minister''s office about half an hour ago, forewarning him that he''d unveil Scottish PD''s ''insincere'' conduct to a global level."

    "UNESCO?!", a Sergeant, standing behind Lathurna gasped in disbelief, "Who is the Representative for Country X, Sir?"

    "Director Zhi Bo, you idiot!", the Chief Supt said, "She is Country X''s Military Chief, for God''s sake. Of course, she''d carry a gun. And regardless of the fact that the Director is her elder brother, it''s his duty to speak for his country.

    "Do you even know that the Cab Secretary and the Presiding Officer were the ones tomand me to handle this in person? That''s how far you have escted such a small matter."

    "I... "

    "You''re being transferred to somewhere much remote than Earlston, Lathurna.", the Chief Superintendant announced, unbuttoning his zer, "And just thank the Lord that you weren''t fired after what you''ve done."

 Chapter 482: "So today, my love, dont stop"

    Chapter 482: "So today, my love, don''t stop"

    Earlston Police Station, 07:45;

    As the Chief Superintendant reprimanded CI Lathurna, Xi Yuan allowed the woman in his embrace, nting a soft kiss against her forehead, relieved. He then took a step back and grabbed a chair next to him, helping her sit down. "Warm water.", he ordered one of the officers standing behind her, sitting down on his knees as he pulled his overcoat off of his shoulders and wrapped it around the girl.

    None of the staff in the Station house had the nerves to repudiate the man by this point, for they knew that he wasn''t anyone ordinary. His one phone call had wreaked havoc upon even the highest government authorities in their country, so much so that the Cab Secretary and the Presiding Officer had to step in into it personally. If such were his powers and influence on the most diplomatic intellectuals of Scond, only God knew what he was capable of doing tomoners like them. It''d be straight-up foolish of them to lock horns with this man, they concluded.

    "Here you go, Sir.", the Sergeant said, passing the ss to the man. Xi Yuan waited for the girl to down it whole before he tossed the ssware back to the officer, holding onto the girl''s cold hands into his.

    "Increase the temperature of the ce.", he said to the Sergeant again, "She is still cold."

    "Ok- okay."

    As the young man disappeared from his line of sight, Xi Yuan looked at the girl. "I will be fine, Mr. Xi.", she said, pinching his nose yfully, "Calm down."

    "You really are a troublemaker, Miss Rong.", the man scoffed, pulling away from her.

    At this time, the phone in the Chief Superintendant''s pocket rang up, and absent-mindedly, he brought it to his ear. "Yes, Sir.", he responded into it after a while, his voice like that of a soldier on duty, "I''ve delivered yourmands to Mr. Lathurna. And the Military Chief has been released too."

    "Well done, Mr. Fletcher.", the person on the other end said, satisfied, "I''ll be transferring the call to Director Zhi. He desires to speak to her."

    "Got it, Sir.", the old man said obediently, peering at the girl a few meters from him. "Ma''am...", he smiled, handing the device over to Rong Xinghe then, "It''s him."

    Knowing very well as to who this ''him'' was, the girl inhaled a deep breath before taking the phone from the Ch Supt, "Hello, Brother.", she said, an exuberant smile across her mouth.

    "Prison, Kid? Seriously?", Zhi Bo sighed, his gaze fixed at the paintbrush in his other hand, "Just what should we do with you?"

    "I am sorry.", Rong Xinghe looked down at her left hand enclosed within her darling''s, guiltily, "Really, really sorry."

    Zhi Bo chuckled, listening to his Kiddo''s change of tone, "It''s no big deal, Kiddo.", he said then, "I was bored, anyway. But you should''ve informed Yuan before leaving the house, no? He must''ve been worried sick for you when the officer called him."

    "You are not angry?", the girl questioned, stunned.

    "Why would I be?", Zhi Bo smiled, "It''s rare for thedy luck of the Superfamily to stir up troubles for her brothers. I feel honored to be able to help you, honestly.

    "It''s as if you don''t need us anymore, you know? Always handling everything on your own. I was afraid you''d forget us someday like that."

    "Don''t say that.", Rong Xingheughed, the corners of her eyes reddening. Xi Yuan took the phone from the girl and resumed the conversation with the man as he observed the change in her tone, "She is too tired to talk to you right now, Bro Bo.", he said.

    "She is crying, isn''t she?", Zhi Bo shook his head, "I know her, Yuan."

    "Hmm.", Xi Yuan raised his brows, a bit surprised, "She''ll call you backter."

    "Take care of her.", the girl''s brother said before disconnecting the call.

    _________

    Earlston, Scond, 08:30;

    "I am not cold anymore, okay?", the girlined, throwing away the nket Xi Yuan had enveloped her in, not too long ago, "And could you not worry, please?"

    He had brought her directly to their bedroom before she could even resist. "Just get some sleep.", the man said, shutting close the curtains to the floor-to-ceiling window, "We''ll talkter."

    "Come here.", Rong Xinghe patted the empty spot beside her on the bed. Complying to her words, Xi Yuan smiled wryly, "What?"

    The girl took the man''s right hand into hers as she squeezed itfortingly, "What is on your mind, Bub? Tell me.", she said.

    The man stared at the girl for a few minutes in silence before leaning his head against the wooden headboard of his bed, letting out a weakugh. The woman could see through him; he was no more doubtful of that. She could sense his internal battles way before he''d see theming himself. As if she resided inside him. In a way, she did.

    "I thought you were fine when I saw you in that lock-up.", he spoke up a minuteter, "That''s why I didn''t say anything to you, initially. But did you really think I didn''t notice your legs trembling, and you rubbing your head over and over again, after you were out of there? I was terrified, Xinghe.

    "I thought that you would''ve to face the aftereffects of that surgery behind those bars. And that I''d lose you... Xinghe, I--"

    "I was terrified too, Mr. Xi.", Rong Xinghe interrupted as she spun around on her knees and sat down on her darling''sp, looking straight into his eyes, "When I got to know that I could''ve lost you because of that fiendish man. I know I should''ve told you but I needed to be the Ripper I truly am while I watched him breathe hisst. And I needed to do it alone, which I am more than sure you wouldn''t have allowed.

    "So I am sorry to have hurt you unintentionally, but this was just something I had to do."

    Xi Yuan gazed at the woman with mixed expressions clouding his mind, as the curls of her Jet ck hair brushed against his shoulders, her left hand over his chest, pinning him to the edge of the bed. Without him realizing, he was drowning in those stern yet captivating Hazel Brown eyes, and in those words enwrapped within her melodic but resolute voice. He knew that she was trying to make a point to him, but in the moment, he found it difficult to focus on anything but her remarkably enthralling lips. God! She was... magnificent.

    And before he could get a hold of himself, his left hand traveled to the back of her neck, bringing her closer to him. The next thing she knew, their lips met. There was a strange urgency to his kiss today. It was fierce, and intoxicating, and powerful. But she didn''t fight it. She never fought his touches and kisses. She sank into them instead, for they made her feel protected, and at home.

    As his tongue slipped inside her mouth, tender but demanding, she dissolved into him. Her veins throbbing, and her heart pounding to the extent of being heard by them both, she ran her fingers through his soft hair, pulling him even nearer to her.

    Suddenly though, Xi Yuan pulled back, looking into the girl''s eyes, uncertain and nervous, a thousand questions bottled up in his eyes.

    But this time, the girl cupped his face affectionately, smiling at him with confidence, "I want this, Yuan. I want this to happen with you.

    "No more work calls. No periods. None of our siblings walking in on us. It''s just you and me.

    "So today, my love, don''t stop, for I crave to be consumed by you and your love."

 Chapter 483: "Ill be gentle, Love"

    Chapter 483: "I''ll be gentle, Love"

    Earlston, Scond, 08:40;

    Xi Yuan stared at the girl in a daze, her words still resounding in his mind. ''I want this, Yuan'', she''d said, ''I want this to happen with you.'' All those doubts, and uncertainties, flooding through his heart; those words were an end to them all. And it was then that he knew they were ready to be one another''s. Entirely. With every atom in their body.

    He was at a loss of words to express his tion at the moment. He was no artist like her. He couldn''t recite poems to her, nor could he make such simple words sound like magic the way she did. But he was her Yuan. He didn''t need to do any of those things. The power he and his touches had on her; he''d always been au fait of them.

    Hence, responding to her words, the man tightened his grip around the back of her neck and swiftly yet assiduously, lowered her against the bed, switching their positions in an instant. A little startled, Rong Xinghe bit her lower lip, an unusual blend of nervousness and exhration rushing through her veins.

    The man kissed her on the lips first, and then her cheeks, her chin, before finally moving to her sensitive spots. Her proudly arched neck, the mole behind her right ear, and the other ear. Each kiss, and each bite, equally stimting.

    The girl was no still. Her hands made their way to his broad back first, bringing him closer to her, and then to his front, brushing against the fabric of his shirt over his strong build. Tenaciously then, she reached for the buttons of the denim cloth, parting the two halves of it one by one.

    The man''s lips curled up as quietly, her fingers skimmed across his fine muscr shoulders in the process of removing the clothing. How restless, heughed to himself, getting rid of both the shirt and the undershirt at once, revealing his upper-self to her. And as he returned to her, Rong Xinghe touched his well-maintained abs, and his chest, and his arms, taking her time with every inch of him.

    About a minuteter, Xi Yuan pulled up her sweater a bit, snaking his left hand around her waist till he reached her bra''s sp. As he unhooked it, the girl closed her eyes shut, halting her movements altogether. She wanted to feel everything that was toe next, for she wished to savour this sensation for all her life.

    Considerately, the man brought his right hand to her front, and beneath her clothes, grazed her skin with his fingers. Her belly, and waist, and then her breasts. But it was lenient. The touch of his hands. And yet, somehow phenomenal. So much so that the girl, influenced by ecstasy, dug her nails into his shoulders, gripping onto them tightly. Xi Yuan groaned, pulling away to look at the woman in his arms. She''d never looked more beautiful, he thought, a genuine smile escaping his mouth.

    Shortly after, all their clothes lied on the ground, discarded, and by this time, there was no curve on her body that he hadn''t seen or felt or relished. The same was the case for her. What surprised them the most though was how natural it seemed to them. Despite being naked in front of each other, there was not even a tad bit of nervousness or awkwardness between them. In fact, it felt right. And perfect. As if that was where the two belonged. In each other''s arms.

    There was just one thing left to do now. Both of them knew of that. "I am asking this for thest time, Xinghe.", Xi Yuan pulled back from their kiss, "Are you sure?"

    The girl nodded approvingly, looking away from him as the heat rose up to her cheeks. Xi Yuan smiled lightly, stretching his hand toward the left side-table by the bed, grabbing a packet of condom from it. Howe the farmhouse had such an item in the first ce, Rong Xinghe wondered, as her brows furrowed with skepticism.

    Noticing the darkness in the woman''s gaze, Xi Yuan realized that she might''ve had misunderstood something as he exined to her quickly, "We are to marry soon, Xinghe.", he said, "And with you, I''ve never trusted my self-control. I just prefer to stay prepared, beforehand. Don''t take it otherwise.

    "You are... my first too. I''ve been waiting for you, Ma Jolie."

    Listening to the man, the girl''s gaze softened as she pecked him on his lips, "I love you.", she confessed.

    Relieved, the man thoughtfully shielded himself for her, eliminating the distance between them. "I''ll be gentle, Love.", he promised her, his tone solicitous, "But it''ll still hurt." The girlughed weakly as she looked into his sincere eyes. What had she done to deserve him?

    It would hurt, of course, she knew that. It was her first time, after all. But the way he was calming her down was so... sacred and caring, that she could feel herself dissolving into him, her eyes reddening gradually. "It''s okay.", she said, her voice shivering a bit.

    Worried that she might catch a cold because of the intense Scottish weather, the man tugged the nket over them, nting a kiss on her cheek. The girl smiled at the man encouragingly, cupping his face with both her hands. Certain that she was fine, the man inhaled a long breath, as he kissed her on her gracefully slender neck, focussing on her feelings at the same time.

    It was painful, yes. In the beginning. She cried, wing at his back and arms in an attempt to hold onto something dearly. Xi Yuan didn''tin but. He had to go on, for that was the only way to lessen her pain now. So he did. Gently. Softly. While kissing her, he made her his, and in that very second, became hers.

    He waited for her pain to vanish as he started moving, slowly. Carefully. Allowing her to get used to him. His presence inside her. Watching her smile through the tears.

    That was the thing about the rtionship between lovers. Uniting with someone to the limit beyond the possibility of distinction. Making love had never been about just pleasure. Not for true lovers, at least. It was more about the closeness, and the connection, and thefortability, for such people. About devotion, and loyalty, and everything else in between. Xinguan had always been like that, hadn''t they? Each other''s ''One Epic Love''.

 Chapter 484: "Not again... Yuan"

    Chapter 484: "Not again... Yuan"

    Earlston, Scond, 12:15;

    Hours after, Xi Yuan woke up to Rong Xinghe''s movements. ncing at the clock on the table that read noon, he fixed his gaze upon the woman who was clearly tired by the indescribable things they''d done to each other not too long ago. The man smiled softly as he pulled her in his arms, cing a soft kiss against her lips.

    "Not again... Yuan.", the girl mumbled in her sleep, eliciting augh from her darling.She was so adorable. And so irresistible at the same time. How was he ever supposed to get enough of her, he wondered.

    The man adjusted the rumpled nket over her again, covering her naked body with it before he leaned back a little to take in her sight. They were one. Finally. The man smiled at the thought of how far they hade. From that one party, from the first time they''d seen each other... to this. Friendship, heartbreaks, confessions, and rejections. It had been one crazy ride, really. But he didn''t mind any of that. As long as the person on the other end of the string was her, he intended to hold onto his end with all his might. His Xinghe was just worth it all.

    :::::::::::::::::::::::::::

    12:35:

    Huang Biu was talking to her brother when Xi Yuan raced down the stairs to his bedroom, rolling his sleeves up in a hurry. "Do not let anyone in.", he instructed one of his security staff, "She needs the silence."

    "Got it, Boss.", the man nodded, his tone resolute.

    The man didn''t so much as squiz at the woman drooling over him as he rushed into the kitchen, no one but the Butler following behind him, "Is Madam unwell, Young Master? She doesn''t rest until thiste usually.", the old man asked.

    "She is... simply exhausted by theck of sleep. After all, she stayed awake reading all night.", the man shook his head, skillfully concealing the prison and the ''lovemaking'' part of the story. "She''ll be up soon, though. I''ll be needing your assistance in preparing a fine meal for her by then, Mr. Tang."

    "Whatever you need.", the elderly man smiled.

    "Could you chop the tomatoes and red onions for me?"

    "Sure."

    Xi Yuan waited for the man to vacate the space in front of the fridge before he grabbed some cucumber and red chilies himself. "What are you cooking for lunch today?", Huang Biu walked in, a gleeful smile across her mouth. The man simply blinked at the woman for a while before he turned to pick out a few more cucumbers. Of course, she would want to eat too.

    "Panaze.", the man said then, trying his best to not sound inhospitable or unweing. Had it been up to him, he wouldn''t have even allowed her into the farmhouse in the first ce. Unfortunately, he knew Rong Xinghe wouldn''t entertain the thought. Now, how could he let his lovely fiance down?

    "I didn''t know President Xi could cook.", Huang Biu grabbed a chair opposite the man, smiling at him more widely, "How impressive! Can I help you with something?"

    ''Just stop talking!'', Xi Yuan almost yelled out. How could someone be this annoying, he was yet to understand. But of course, he had to say something a ''host'' would say, even though this wasn''t something he had wished for from the very beginning. "I''ll be fine, Miss Biu.", the man said, inhaling a sharp breath.

    "No need to be formal, Mr. Xi.", the woman waved her hands shyly, acquiring a jar of coffee from the kitchen counter, "You must be tired. Let me make some coffee for you, at least."

    Swamped by Huang Biu''s constant buzzing, the man simply gave up. Until and unless the woman wouldn''t trouble his Xinghe, she was free to do anything.

    It was now that the Butler approached the man from behind and stood by his side, chopping the vegetables assiduously, "This Miss is nothing like Madam, Young Master.", heined to Xi Yuan in a whisper, "Always asking for something to eat, and criticizes a lot too. Very demanding."

    Taken aback by the butler''s words, Xi Yuan let out an inaudible yet surprisedugh, "You don''t like her too?", he asked then, d to have found a partner.

    "Why, of course, I dislike her, Master.", Mr. Tang chuckled, "I''ve had so many guests in here all these years, yet, none so nagging. Even you, being the King to the throne of the Xi Empire, are so forbearing.

    "And don''t get me started on how kind-hearted Madam is. Her heart is made of gold, you see. But this woman, extremely arrogant."

    "You have an eye for people, Mr. Tang.", Xi Yuan smiled, "Now, how do I convince Xinghe to kick her out of here?"

    "I think you should y the victim, Young Master.", the Butler suggested, "Madam can''t see you in pain. I''ve watched her re at Second and Third Young Master through the video call during your long conferences."

    "You are a genius!", Xi Yuanughed, his tone a little high as a result of the excitement.

    "Wh-- what happened?!", Huang Biu turned around, shocked by the man''s sudden ebullition.

    "Umm...", the old man exchanged nces with Xi Yuan before he looked at the woman, "I proposed another method to cook Panaze to Sir, is all."

    "Huh!", the woman clicked her tongue, irritated, "You think you''re eligible enough to advise him? How ridiculous.

    "Don''t listen to him, Mr. Xi. He is not that great a Chef himself.", she said then, turning to the younger man in the room.

    Xi Yuan smiled inly as he looked down at the knife in his hand. "You''re right. Such an immodest woman.", he said to the man next to him, his voice low.

    "I told you.", Butler Tang shrugged helplessly, "Only you can save us from her now, Young Master. Please encourage Madam to let her leave. Kindness isn''t meant for everyone, you know."

    "I agree... Stick with me, Mr. Tang.", Xi Yuan sighed, "I have no one but you against this wench. Let''s get rid of her together, okay?"

    "Yes, Master."

 Chapter 485: The thing about true Kings

    Chapter 485: The thing about true Kings

    Elite za, City A, 19:00;

    "Eat up, dear!", Luo Youyouughed, passing another bowl of noodles to Jiang Yue, "Don''t feel shy."

    Both the Xi family and the Jiang family had gathered together that delightful evening for a casual dinner. The families needed to get along on an amiable note for the days toe for the sake of their children. Xi Fang and Jiang Yue were back together and they''d marry one day, eventually. Even though Jiang Yue''s father, Jiang Qiyang knew that Xi Fang intended to wed his daughter after his elder brother''s wedding, the Xi family elders were yet to know of the same.

    Xi Fang frowned as his mother chatted with the girl in such a benevolent manner. Lately, both his parents had been oddly warm to him. Checking on his meals every once in a while and keeping track of his regr working hours, ensuring that he''d get some rest. They''d even send over the family doctors to advise him to not overwork himself, for they knew he wouldn''t even bother listening to them. Almost as if they''d suddenly remembered that they had a child. How pretentious...

    Had they acted like that since his childhood, he might''ve fallen for their show. But wasn''t it toote now? A man who had never spoken to him about anything but his desire to see his son obtain the seat of Xi Corps''s CEO was, out of nowhere, a changed person, a concerned father? Did they take him for a fool!?

    "Youngsters these days no longer eat nutritional food just to maintain their body.", the woman resumed, ncing at Jiang Yue''s mother, "But it is important for girls to have a healthy body in order to bear babies in the future. Don''t you agree, Mrs. Jiang?"

    Jiang Yue''s mother, Deng Changying nodded slightly, a gentle smile across her lips, "Yue has always been a picky eater. I can only hope for Fang to change this habit of hers.", she said then, turning to the young man sitting next to her daughter, "And as far as babies are concerned, let''s not rush them. They both have a lot of time."

    "Even so, I can''t wait to be a Grandmother.", Luo Youyou pointed out ebulliently.

    As Jiang Qiyang and Deng Changying smiled vaguely, Xi Chongkun and Li Chungah exchanged nces among themselves. They''d known Xi Chonglin and Luo Youyou for years now and hence were no strangers to all their foxy tricks, their behavior tonight wasn''t any exception. They were nning on stripping Xi Yuan off his powers in Xi Corporations, clearly.

    The rush to get Xi Fang married to the Jiangs couldn''t possibly be their only desire. The couple wished to use Jiang Yue and her status in both the families as an element for argument in winning over all the major shareholders in the Xi Empire. Lu Wei and Ningtao''s firm approach a few days ago was bound to make them realize the strength Rong Xinghe would procure after getting wedded to Xi Yuan. The woman was already at such a high status in Country X, regardless of her family background. Xi Yuan would simply go on to be straight-up undefeatable with the Superfamily''s sour, years down the line if they were to ever put on a fight for Xi Fang.

    Sigh... their greed. Where did it end?

    "Stop embarrassing my to-be Sister-inw, Mom.", Xi Wei said, smiling at Jiang Yue assuringly. The man had returned from his Hawaii vacation but a day ago, and still had been hauled to this boring family get-together by Xi Ying despite his cries for help. But as much as he hated all the elderly talk, he was fond of both thedies his two brothers had chosen. Both Rong Xinghe and Jiang Yue got along well with him and tolerated his craziness without anyints. That''s all he needed from his Sisters-inw, really.

    It was now that Xi Fang''s phone, ced next to the tes, rang up. As Xi Yuan''s name popped up on its screen, the man picked it up quickly, bringing it to his right ear, "Is everything alright, Brother?", he asked, worried. The man had been waiting for an update on the assassin who''d been hired by their business rival for quite some time now.

    "Xinghe handled it.", Xi Yuan replied solemnly, "I called you for something else. Could you mail me all the details you have on Arkady Kusov?"

    "Sure.", the man gave a faint nod, "But is Sister-inw fine?"

    "Hmm.", the man on the other end responded, "She is sleeping. Oh, also, pass the phone to Mr. Jiang. Let me greet him."

    "How did you--", Xi Fang gasped, taken aback, "You know what, forget it." The man then leaned a bit forward, handing the phone over to Jiang Qiyang, smiling helplessly.The old man raised his brows, pressing the device to his ear, he thenughed eagerly, "The King of the Business World, is it?"

    Xi Yuan chuckled, adding a pinch of salt to the bowl of mixed vegetables in front of him, "Apologies for the absence, Mr. Jiang.", he said, his tone sincere, "Please ept a small present on my and Xinghe''s behalf for that."

    The man in his mid-forties knit his brows, looking around him, only to realize the restaurant''s manager approaching him from the left. The man distributed all three bags in his hands to Jiang Qiyang, Jiang Yue, and Deng Chingyang one by one. Upon unveiling the ''presents'' as the young man had imed them to be, the Jiangs were, for a minute, rendered speechless. A Franck Muller Aeternitas Mega 4 watch for the man, a Hermes Birkin Bag by Ginza Tanaka for hisdy, and the world-renowned ''Coeur de Gloire'' ne for his precious daughter. There was no way any of these things priced below the range of 1 to 1.5 Million USD, Jiang Qiyang''s years of experience told him.

    "I picked out the watch myself.", Xi Yuan said as he listened to the astounded gasps through the other side, "While Xinghe was the one to select the bag and the neckpiece."

    "Mr. Xi...", Jiang Qiyang cleared his throat, unknown of how to rmence the conversation any further, "This is too much. It is embarrassing to ept gifts from someone so young, honestly."

    "This is not just a gesture to show our apology, Sir.", Xi Yuanughed, "I intended to thank you as well. For my brother to have someone like you backing him up is a huge honor for the Xis. I hope, from the bottom of my heart, that Fang would grow more alongside Yue under your blessings.

    "And as far as these presents are concerned, everything that belongs to you and Mrs. Jiang will eventually belong to your daughter one day, right? So it stays in the Xi family, one way or the other. And this way, both me and Xinghe seem filial. It''s a win-win for me, you see."

    At the man''s words, the old man couldn''t help butugh out, stunned, "Quite the Businessman you are!", he remarked, looking at Xi Fang approvingly, "Of course, I will look after him."

    Xi Yuan disconnected the call shortly after he was done exchanging the pleasantries with the man, fixing his attention back to the bowl by the kitchen sink. He didn''t need to be in Country X to look through his Uncle and Aunt''s intentions.

    If Xi Fang were to ask him directly, he would resign from his position at that very moment. That was how dear his brother was to him.

    But what he despised the most were such crafty and duplicitous schemes being engineered behind his back. He had never been obsessed with the Xi Corps''s throne the way his family elders had been all their life. To him, it was but a legacy left behind by his Grandparents which needed to be looked after. It never was ''his'' to own, he believed. He had simply been watching over it for the past few years.

    But his honor and reputation were for him to protect.

    With or without Xi Corporations, he was a King. Of that, he was confident. He was certain of his abilities to uplift any business from the scratch, and turn it into something much powerful than the Xi empire itself. But such was the thing about true Kings. They couldn''t bow to their enemies and let them have the satisfaction to burn their integrity into ashes. Even if he was to leave the Xi Corps someday, he''d do it with his head held high. That was the goddamned bottom line.

 Chapter 486: "We stick together, no matter what"

    Chapter 486: "We stick together, no matter what"

    Rong Xinghe woke up at two in the day, an exhausted yet content smile across her mouth. As the memories of their first time floated in front of her eyes, like some shcards, she giggled, turning to one side of the bed. Of course, he wasn''t there.

    The girl sat up on the bed and as she did so, a sharp pain shot up through her head. "Ugh!", she groaned, rubbing her temple lightly. But the headache wouldn''t go away. A warm bath might help, she thought, as she got down and put on her slippers.

    About half an hourter, the woman stepped out of the dressing room, her hands cold. She had Xi Yuan''s gray sweatshirt on along with one of her favorite warm woolen pants, her hair falling over her shoulders, unfettered.

    As the girl reached the Kitchen entrance, she stopped in her tracks. Huang Biu was pouring her darling a cup of coffee, as he looked at hisptop screen, focussed. "Thest time I visited Auntie Jungah, she told me she''d been worried about your health.", she said to him, her tone shamelessly concerned, "You should have more green vegetables in your meals, you know." Xi Yuan didn''t respond. He didn''t even bother to look at her.

    Rong Xinghe didn''t mind such trivial things as well. What struck a nerve for her, though, was when the woman ced her hand upon his left forearm and leaned against him from his behind, peeking into the document he''d been going through. What a bi*ch! The girl clenched her fists as the throbbing pain in her head intensified for the worse. She felt as if someone was hammering her skull at the moment, her throat closing in.

    "Yuan...", she barely whispered, tipping to the left side of the doorframe. But Xi Yuan heard her. He could recognize her voice even in a stadium full of people, let alone a small room like this. She didn''t need to be loud to reach him, at least. Turning around, the man strode toward her worriedly, leaving Huang Biu behind. "What is it, Baby?", he questioned her, pulling her in his arms, "Where is it hurting?"

    Only when the man had helped her sit down on one of the dining chairs did the girl smile at him, "It''s just a headache.", she answered, "And my back and legs are a tad sore too. But I''ll be okay."

    "Okay? Are you even listening to yourself?", Xi Yuan pinched the space between his brows as he took off his overcoat, "Wear it. Now.", he said, stretching it open for her to sink in her hands one by one into its sleeves. The man then picked his phone up from the table and dialed a number, turning its speaker on next, he ced it back. While he waited for the other person to ept the call, he ced his hand against her forehead calmly, attempting to catch her temperature.

    "What is it, Yuan?", the call went through at the fourth ring, a familiar voice resounding through the device, "I have a crucial surgery to perform right now. Make it quick."

    "Her head is aching.", Xi Yuan informed, "Could it be--"

    "Does she have a fever?", Su Rogguang cut in.

    "Doesn''t seem like it."

    "Try with a thermometer, Yuan.", the girl''s brotherughed, "Anyway, provided that she''s been doing well for the past two weeks, it''s unlikely for things to go downhill now. It might just be Scond''s weather.

    "Do we have any other problems?"

    "Her legs and back are hurting too."

    Su Rogguang did not say anything for a while as the girl covered her face with both her hands anxiously. Did he even realize that he was talking to a ''Medico Luminary'' at the moment? A man who had studied the human body all his life couldn''t just shut his eyes to the unhitched functioning of a frame. And certainly, not of his own patients.

    "Hmm.", Su Rogguang tried to sound professional, irrespective of a change in his tone, "Check her temperature. And if it is above 38C, give her a dose of Indocin and Advil. Alright?" Never in the history of Neurosurgery had a patient been afflicted with back or leg pain due to a Burr Hole operation. And he knew his sister''s physical condition better than anyone else in the world. There was no way that this pain of hers was the result of a surgery.

    He had figured it out, hadn''t he? Just the thought of it sent a chill down the girl''s spine. God! This was embarrassing.

    "Got it.", Xi Yuan replied, looking at Rong Xinghe shaking her head, with a muddled expression.

    "And give the phone to her.", the girl''s brother added, "With the speaker off."

    "Sure."

    The girl squinted her eyes at her fianc akin to an infuriated little kitten as she brought the device to her ear, not daring to utter a word to her brother.

    "Kiddo...", the man said softly, waiting for the girl to say something.

    "Hel... hello, bro Su.", the girl managed to speak half a minuteter, a pinch of unease and apprehension in her voice.

    Su Rogguang just sighed, for his spections had finally met their end. Inhaling a long deep breath, the manughed casually, "Just use protection, okay, Kid? You two can''t be careless, given your positions and repute in Country X.

    "And don''t worry, I won''t tell the other brothers."

    Rong Xinghe was stunned. Of all the possible reactions from him, this one was not even in her list, "You aren''t--"

    "Nope.", the man interrupted the girl, walking towards the Operation Theatre leisurely, "Yuan and you are in love, Kid. It''s not really my ce to judge orment on you. None of your brothers would ever do that to you. And you should know that.

    "You''re allowed to make your own choices, Xinghe. Without worrying about how your brothers will react to them. We are family, honey. We stick together, no matter what. So even if you screw up, I want you to know that you will have us. Ad infinitum. Okay?"

    "Oka.", the girl smiled, a tear rolling down her right cheek, "I love you, brother.", she said to him.

    "I love you too, Kiddo.", the man said before disconnecting the call and handing it over to one of the assistant surgeons standing behind him, as he grabbed a clean scalpel from the tray filled with medical instruments.

 Chapter 487: Butler Tangs stupid idea

    Chapter 487: Butler Tang''s stupid idea

    Huang Biu red at the couple in silence as she stood in the corner of the room. He helped her with the medicines, and he fed her with his own hands. As if she were some delicate ssware. And yet, the same person had such an insensitive approach towards her. Where had she gone wrong, she wondered.

    In every aspect, she was better than Rong Xinghe for him. His ''ideal'' partner, the media had once dered them. Unlike this girl, he would never need to worry about her well-being or safety, or health; for she was not a soldier. Just like him, she was a businesswoman. He would never have to fear the thought of losing her. Or that of waiting for her to return from some deleterious mission. She was the person he would always find standing by his side. They were equals. From every angle. Professionally. Personality-wise. Even their family backgrounds were somewhat at the same level. While Rong Xinghe, on the other hand, didn''t even have a family. Not a blood-rted one, at least. Weren''t the Six tigers and the Rong twins, in the end, just a bunch of strangers?

    It was now that the phone in her hand rang up, and she peeped at it, alphabets ''YR'' popping over the screen. Urgently, the woman rushed out of the Kitchen, towards thewn. Only when she was at a considerable distance from the couple and their security staff did the woman pressed the device to her ear, "Hello."

    "Are you thinking of settling in there with them, Miss Huang?", the man on the other end chuckled sarcastically, "Or is it that you''ve been swayed by President Xi''s excellently impressive looks?"

    "No... no, Mr. Rong.", the woman shook her head violently as a bead of sweat ran down her head, "I... have been waiting for them to lower their guards."

    Rong Yufanughed out, a coldness in his tone, "You need toe up with better excuses if you really want to fool Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe. Especially, my dear little sister. She has always been the shrewd, vignt one.

    "Also, I have a task for you. Figure out Xi Yuan''s system password and IP address. Not of the Xi empire''s official website. Hisptop''s. As soon as possible.", the manmanded indifferently, "That''s it for now."

    "I-- ", Huang Biu opened her mouth to protest, but the line got disconnected before she could do so. Who was she kidding? Rong Yufan wasn''t the kind of person she could defy anyway. The guy was much too scary to be fought against. Although she didn''t want to hurt Xi Yuan in the process, Huang Biu had made a deal with the monster. She couldn''t back out of it now. Else, she was just as good as dead. She didn''t wish to step away from it, anyway. Certainly, not after witnessing Xi Yuan''s concern for that woman.

    ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

    15:40;

    "... And then she suddenly circled her hand around mine!", Xi Yuan sat facing his girl in the living room, readjusting her beanie for the fourth time now. As the firewood burned behind him, he told the girl everything about how Huang Biu had been behaving with him since the morning.

    "She didn''t!", Rong Xinghe gasped, pulling the nket to her chest, "Then what did you do?"

    "Of course, I yanked it away.", the man smiled proudly, "Only you have the right to stake a im at me like that, Baby."

    Rong Xingheughed at the man''s words, pecking onto his lips tenderly, "Smart move. And interesting stories, if I might dare add.", she said, leaning back against the couch.

    "..."

    "What?", the girl smirked, "You really thought I wouldn''t be able to tell it when you lie? She doesn''t have enough guts to disregard my threats, Lover. I looked into her eyes when I warned her about you. She was terrified to her core then, akin to some lonemb.

    "But what''s gotten into you is the question here. Why the sudden membership of the ''I hate Huang Biu'' club, huh?"

    Xi Yuan stared at the woman in front of her for a long time before he muttered something under his breath and stood up, sinking into the couch she was sitting on. As he ced his head upon herp, he looked at her innocently, "It was all Mr. Tang''s stupid idea.", he confessed to her in a low voice.

    "Butler Tang?", the girl furrowed her brows, confused.

    "Well... we both aren''t that fond of her.", the man nodded, "And only you can decide whether she stays or not. So Mr. Tang suggested that seeing me in pain could melt your heart, and then you''d send her away."

    Upon listening to the man''s exnation, Rong Xinghe was no longer sure how to react. "Wow.", she pressed her lips, digesting her darling''s words for a minute, "What a fine strategy, Mr. Xi.", she resumed then, "There was just one glitch in the execution but."

    "What?", Xi Yuan asked the girl, intrigued.

    "Mr. Tang''s observations were quite alright.", the woman stated, "But your stories were more of about difort than pain, you see. If she would''ve attacked you physically, or hurt your feelings, or harmed even a hair on your head; I might''ve thought of those incidents as painful.

    "And thank God that none of those happened, for I wouldn''t have been merciful enough to just kick her out of here."

    "What do you mean?", the man questioned, catching a hint of devil in her eyes.

    "I would''ve killed her.", Rong Xinghe shrugged, the ze of fire in front of them reflecting in her gaze.

    Xi Yuan knew she wasn''t jesting. But he didn''t mind. He was not the one to sit around, while she fought her battles alone, too. Truth be told, he liked her protectiveness for him. Despite knowing that he was perfectly capable of turning his enemies'' lives upside down, she still preferred to shield him herself. For some unknown reason, he found it sweet and thoughtful. All his life, people around him had either abandoned him or feared him. But this woman was different. She chose to stay by his side. And for that, he loved her with every atom in his body.

 Chapter 488: President Xi Yuans first debacle

    Chapter 488: President Xi Yuan''s first debacle

    Earlston, Scond, 17:00;

    Rong Xinghe lowered her gaze from the book she had been reading to her darling. It''d been about one hour since he had fallen asleep on the couch itself, his head on herp. He must''ve been tired, she inferred. Did he have to get up so soon to prepare meals? Couldn''t he leave things to the staff for his own sake, for once? Such a stubborn man he was.

    As she was almost done with her novel, the woman shut it close, a yawn escaping her mouth. The girl leaned back a little, stretching both her arms, before bringing them to cup Xi Yuan''s face. nting a tender peck against his forehead, the Rong Xinghe rested her own head against the couch edge, closing her eyes to rx them for a bit, only to be drawn to a sweet peaceful slumber.

    Momentster, another photo reached Li Jungah in City A. "Look, Chonglin!", she handed her phone to her husband, who was going through a business article in the newspaper, "I''ve never seen our Yuan so carefree and rxed before."

    As he looked at the picture, Xi Chonglin''s mouth tipped up to one side, "You''re right.", he said, "And it''s all thanks to this girl.

    "He better treasure her for the rest of his life."

    Meanwhile, as Xinguan enjoyed their siesta in stillness, Huang Biu traversed through almost every document inside the man''s study. Anything, that could hit Xi Corporations with a formidable blow, was what ''that'' person had asked her to bring to him. Would he really act on it, though, she pondered. Xi Business Empire was a multidimensional organization with a lead in technology. But its branches went on to expand to the Entertainment industry, the hotel chains, and even the medical field.

    And granted that every sector of this mighty empire was of ace quality, provided they were all led by those personally chosen by the acting CEO; the Telmunication and Technical section stood the tallest, for it came under Xi Yuan''s direct surveince. The man had literally introduced Country X to 8Gworking on the ground level, and with quite the efficiency, one could say.

    It''d be too foolish to challenge such a person''s authority, she thought. Xi Yuan was an immensely smart man. There was no way he would have left any of his systems unprotected from hackers or unforeseen threats. Why would Rong Yufan want to lock horns with this man then? Weren''t they up against Rong Xinghe? And most importantly, what if she were to get caught up in the crossfire? Thank God that there were no CCTV cameras installed inside the Farmhouse since the Xi family barely visited the small town of Earlston. But she still needed to be cautious in there, for no matter what she did, she couldn''t let her brother know about who she''d collided with.

    ________________

    Xi Corporations Headquarters;

    City A, Country X, 14:00;

    The next day, Xi Fang stormed into his office, followed by a team ofwyers as thepany employees crowded in front of the 138-inch high-definition TV screen behind the fancy reception desk, shocked to their very cores.

    "For the first time in history, Xi Corporations has lost a battle in business.", the news reporter stated, a tremor of thrill in his tone, "Yes! You heard it right. The French medicinalpany, Sogement Pharmas, was supposed to sign a contract with the Xi Corps'' ''Regality Pharmaceuticals'' today. But our sources have confirmed that, at thest moment, recentlyunched Koreanpany ''Jeong Pharmoholics'' stole the show bying up with an even better proposal.

    "None of the threepanies have made a statement yet, but from the looks of it, Xi empire might suffer a loss of 20 Million USD from this defeat! This might be President Xi Yuan''s first debacle since he took over as the CEO of the conglomerate establishment. But is it his loss, really? Or should Vice-President Xi Fang be held ountable for the downfall, for he was the one to manage the entire..."

    "Who the hell sold such a ssified proposition report to the Jeongs?!", Xi Fang clenched his fists, his back facing the seven legal practitioners.

    "Calm down, Sir.", one of the men sighed, "We will not let Sogement Pharmas use us of copying Jeong''s ideas, which was ours, in the first ce. We assure you of that."

    "I asked a question, damn it!", the man yelled, turning around to re at the bunch of men, "Who did it? It''s my brother''s reputation on the line here. A small drugpany had the nerves to--"

    The man was interrupted mid-sentence as the phone in his pocket rang up. The man extracted it to peer at his elder brother''s name across its screen. Inhaling a sharp breath, he picked it up a momentter, gesturing the men across the room to stay quiet, "I am handling it, brother.", he said into the device.

    "I did it.", Xi Yuan disclosed through the other end.

    "I will get the entire PR team to suppress the headlines and-- Wait, what?!", Xi Fang was bbergasted.

    "Not me, exactly.", the man shrugged, "But the file went through my system. I am sure."

    "How is it even possible?", the younger brother scratched the back of his neck, muddled, "You literally have the most secure and advanced software lodged in all your devices, brother. It''s just not possible to hack into them."

    "There are always loopholes in technology, Fang.", Xi Yuan smiled, "Nothing is invincible. What bothers me though is why would the hacker use such an insignificant file to attack us. It''s weird how they disregarded the other important ones. 20 Million is such a small scar."

    Xi Fang shook his head, exhausted, "What do you suggest I do then, brother?"

    "Well... file awsuit against Jeongs before they aim at us. Press the charges for copyright infringement upon them. Assemble everyone in the team who worked on this proposal and urge them to prove our authenticity in the court, and gather all the shreds of evidence supporting our case.", the man informed calmly, his voice undeterred, "Stick to your PR n, on a simultaneous note. Aside from that, don''t face the media head-on. Keep Ying and Wei away from the journalists too. It''s better for all the three of you to lie low for some time. I will take care of it, Fang. Don''t worry."

 Chapter 489: A drop in the ocean for Xi Corporations

    Chapter 489: A drop in the ocean for Xi Corporations

    Earlston, Scond, 09:30;

    Rong Xinghe rushed into Xi Yuan''s study as soon as she''d woken up, her one hand gripping onto her phone. "What happened?!", she questioned him, anxious, "Are you alright? I just had a word with Little Panda."

    Xi Yuan raised his head to look at the girl, his brows knit together. He seemed to be upied with something urgent, so the girl halted at the entrance, waiting for him to conclude his work. The man reverted his gaze to hisptop screen a momentter, typing furiously over it. Five more minutes passed by before the man shut the device close and leaned back in his chair, worn out with fatigue."I can''t believe this.", he mumbled under his breath.

    "What is it, Yuan?", the girl asked, her feet frozen to the threshold of the room. His typing speed wasn''t average. In fact, it was nowhere near average. The only person she''d seen wieldputers with such proficiency was her Bro Al. And from the looks of it, she was sure he was creating or editing some sort of software program. She''d always known of him to be a technocrat. But to think of his foundational skills, it was somewhat surprising, even to her.

    "Come here, Xinghe.", the man said, his eyes close, his voice soft yet jaded. It crushed her to watch him in such a state. But at the moment, she did not know of what could pacify his distressed mind. All she could do wasply with his wishes. So she walked over to him obediently.

    Gradually, the man opened his eyes, turning to look at the woman; the sight of her pleasantly rosy face, her disheveled hair, tranquilizing his heart to an unimaginable extent. At least, she slept fine, heforted himself. His work was important, yes. But even so, none were as much a priority to him as her. As long as she was recuperating well, nothing else mattered.

    "What is going on?", Rong Xinghe blinked at the man, repeating her question.

    "Well... I was trying to figure out who hacked into the system, and as to why the central emergency rm inside it didn''t go off.", Xi Yuan exined, taking both her hands into his, "The software installed in all my gadgets is highly sensitive, so much so that the moment an intruder is to get through thest line of the security code, the system self-destructs itself. Hence, it bes impossible for the interlopers to ess any of the internal documents.

    "But not only did the hackers managed to get through such aplicated program without exterminating the system, they even grabbed a privileged business file.", he nced at the girl, a cunning smile across his mouth, "Frankly speaking, I am significantly impressed by the hackers'' finesse at this point."

    "Hackers?", the girl frowned, "As in plural?" From what she''d known after her years with Zhi Al, hackers didn''t prefer to operate in groups, for their job required utmost concentration and delicacy. Whilst dealing with Xi Yuan''splex software, why would one take such risks?

    "Yeah.", the man nodded, "From what I could find out up till now, two devices received ''root'' ess to theptopst night. Somewhere around half-past two. I couldn''t get hold of both the IP addresses though, for I wasn''t there during the in-action intrusion. Otherwise, I would''ve at least located them.

    "But it''s strange how they stole the most trivial file. Twenty Million Dors is but a drop in the ocean for Xi Corporations. It didn''t affect the Medical section of the business too savagely either."

    Rong Xinghe thought for some time before she looked at her darling, "What if they did take every other file too, and are waiting for another opportunity to attack thepany? Couldn''t that be their strategy?"

    "My software wasn''t that weak, Love.", Xi Yuan smiled, "It records the screen in an automation mode, even while I am not working. No matter what the hackers might''ve had done, the system would have captured every little detail of the process. Only the ''Sogement Pharmas file'' was copied to an external drive. Everything else, they left untouched."

    "Oh.", the girl nodded, her expression earnest, "So what should we do now?"

    "Well, we should have breakfast first.", the man stood up from his seat now, "I''ll quickly prepare some Omelette with sauteed mushrooms while you finish your Banana-Berry smoothie. I am sorry I didn''t prepare the meals before you got up, though. It won''t happen again. I promise."

    "Mr. Xi, leave things to the staff for once, will you?", Rong Xinghe sighed, "Do you have to be so hard on yourself always? I am sure you''ve been up for hours already."

    "You expect me to trust outsiders with your diet after what He Chen did to you? Seriously?", Xi Yuan stared at the girl, his expression cid, "Not happening."

    "I can cook too.", the girl pointed out, "You should get some sleep first, Yuan. I will handle the meals for today."

    "Xinghe--"

    "You need to realize, Lover, that looking at you like this hurts me more than any disease, or bullet ever could.", the woman cut in, her voice stern, "Go and get some sleep. It''s an order."

    "Firstly, I am not your Military Subordinate.", the man crossed his arms, smiling cheekily, "Secondly, even if I were, you''re practically jobless right now. Yourmands are of no meaning currently, Sweetheart."

    "Do you have to remind me of that?", the girl groaned, pouting at the man.

    For the first time that morning, Xi Yuanughed out, his voice resonating through the small wood-paneled room. "Fine. You really wish to cook?", he looked at her then, eliciting a nod of excitement from the girl.

    "Alright.", he said approvingly, "But I''ll be watching you. I don''t need sleep, Xinghe. I need you. I want to listen to your insights about this issue. And your suggestions about what should be done next. Please? I won''t work at all. I will just apany you while you cook, the way you usually do."

    "Okay.", the girl agreed after a few seconds of consideration. She wouldn''t have been able to sleep as well, had it been any of the Military Forces at risk.

    There had been times when no matter how much it shattered them, her brothers and Xi Yuan had chosen to respect her decisions, of putting her own life under threat. This man stood by her side, regardless of the dangers that came with her profession. Then, how could she not honor his decisions and choices now? Wouldn''t that be too hypocritical of her?

    "So do you have any suspect?", the man asked her, as they stepped out of the study.

    "Huang Biu.", the woman replied, a bone-chilling coldness in her gaze.

 Chapter 490: "Leave our Big Boss!"

    Chapter 490: "Leave our Big Boss!"

    Earlston, Scond, 10:00;

    "The software installed in all your devices is one of a kind, Yuan.", Rong Xinghe said, dicing the onions over the wooden chopping board, her technique smooth, "Until and unless someone gave them the direct way into the system, it''d be too risky for the hackers. Don''t you think?"

    "How would she know my Password?", the man questioned, grabbing the knife from the woman, smiling at her meaningfully. Her eyes would itch, he reminded himself. How could he watch her suffer then, no matter how insignificant it appeared?

    "She seems to be an observant woman.", the girl shrugged, walking over to the fridge and picked out a bottle of tomato sauce and cheese with both her hands. She intended to bake the ssic American Chop Suey for breakfast. Her Bro Su had taught her the recipe a few years back, and she''d really liked the sumptuous taste of the dish. Why not let her darling enjoy it too then, she thought.

    "Even if that''s the case, we don''t have any evidence against her.", Xi Yuan stated, "Provided that she has a reputation in the business world, we can''t point fingers based on nothing but our spections, you know?"

    "Yeah. That''s why I haven''t done anything to her yet.", the girl nodded. "We are back to square one, aren''t we? We don''t know the hackers, nor do we have anything against our ''guest''."

    "Don''t worry too much about this, Xinghe.", the manughed, peeking at the woman''s serious expression, "This loss is no big deal for the Xi Corps." She looked like she was in the middle of a battlefield.

    Rong Xinghe turned to look at the man, agitated, "Financially. Of course, it''s nothing huge.", she said, "But they are questioning your and Fang''s abilities, Yuan. The journalists.

    "Come to think of it, even though the ''Sogement Pharmas file'' was of zero importance to you, it still stirred quite the trouble for the Xi family. As if the attacker was trying to make a statement. This incident might seem like a small issue, but the public''s opinion is surely swaying due to it. I am afraid that the others would fall for these tricks as well, Baby."

    Xi Yuan fixed his eyes upon the woman, finally realizing what she was referring to. He was fairly aware of who these ''others'' were, after all. Xi Corporations'' shareholders. She was absolutely correct. It was highly possible for that to be the Mastern; turning the major shareholders against him by insinuating that the acting CEO was no longer capable of managing the empire. Damn... she was a genius at this!

    This had urred to him too, initially. But even then, he felt that there was something amiss in this theory of theirs. That this wasn''t what it looked like. He was sure that none of this had anything to do with Xi Chonglin or Luo Youyou. Xi Fang wouldn''t have been dragged through the mud alongside him if that were to be the case. Then who else could it be, he cerebrated.

    "Let''s focus on doing the damage control first.", Rong Xinghe smiled at the man softly, "We need to suppress the news before it bes a source for unwanted rumors."

    At this time, Butler Tang rushed through the doors, breathing heavily. With trembling hands, he passed the phone in his hands to Xi Yuan, "It''s your mother, Young Master.", he managed to speak, looking at Rong Xinghe with concern in his eyes.

    "Hello, Mom.", the man furrowed his brows, "What is it?"

    "Does Xinghe know your Laptop''s password?", the woman exacted her question directly, her tone calm.

    "Yes.", Xi Yuan replied in a casual manner, "Provided my Emergency Share transfer papers are registered under her name, I am obliged to keep her in the loop, Mom."

    "Lord... This is worrisome.", Li Jungah inhaled a sharp breath, "Check the trending headlines on Weibo or Instagram right now. Someone with a fake ount is iming that your systems were hacked through and that Xiao Xinghe was the one to do it, hence, causing the whole turmoil."

    Despite the fact that the phone wasn''t on speaker, Rong Xinghe could listen to what the person on the other end was saying, by the dint of her extraordinarily alert senses. Subconsciously, the woman reached for her phone next to the jar of sugar and scrolled through her personal Weibo page.

    "I knew it! How could the Big Boss lose without even stepping into the fight? It wasn''t his fault from the beginning.", someone hadmented.

    "Exactly. And Vice-President Fang could never let his brother down. He is excellent with negotiations. As it turns out, there was a backstabber amongst them. Rong Xinghe knew his system''s Passcode!"

    "It''s hard to believe the Military Chief would do that, though. Don''t they love each other?"

    "A lot of women admire President Xi for his powerful financial and family background! And from what I know, she''s lived in South Korea for months during her training years. She must''ve made some sort of deal with the Jeong family. Who knows?"

    "If that''s the case, she is definitely a two-faced woman. The Big Boss doesn''tck money. If she wanted it so bad, she could''ve just asked him to step back from thepetition."

    "Yeah. He loves her too much to not fulfill her wishes. And if she wanted to do favors to the Jeongs, why didn''t she drain her own brothers'' money? They are incredibly wealthy too, right?"

    "She must be using Big Boss."

    "How nefarious that bi*ch is! And she has the nerve to speak for the other ''weaker'' girls after this?! It''s because of golddiggers like her that women around the world are med and wronged."

    "Rong Xinghe is so hateful."

    "Leave our Big Boss, you sl*t!"

    "How could she do this to him?"

    "Justice for the Xi Family!"

    Never in her entire life had Rong Xinghe ever been subjected to such rash and rude remarks. But then again, the person on the other end was Xi Yuan. People around the world admired him, and loved him, and feared him. But above everything else, they were curious about him. As he preferred to maintain a low profile, everyone wanted to have a say in his life.

    And although most of thements were from Xi Corporations'' employees, the foreigners and Country X''s citizens were getting involved now, as well. This... just who did it?!

 Chapter 491: Romantic, wasnt it?

    Chapter 491: Romantic, wasn''t it?

    It was now that she noticed the post that Li Jungah was talking about. Clearly, the username ''ckHorse'' couldn''t belong to someone authentic or reliable, and yet, people were believing the person blindly. Well, that''s how the mass mentality worked, when apanied by social media. Rong Xinghe was well aware of that. To mock or judge someone, and to make inhumane and insensitivements against someone, just for the sake of personal entertainment was something people in this era enjoyed. Who cared about the facts and the truth, while they could engross themselves in the juicy gossips, right? Although it was unfortunate, it was a harsh reality still.

    But she didn''t care about the outsiders. Of course, it was hurtful to watch Country X''s public react so thoughtlessly against her. She had endangered her life, and her time, and peace, for these very people on countless asions, and this was their response to her efforts. How cold-blooded...

    Even so, they were just a bunch of worthless punks, sitting in front of theirputers, extracting pleasure from another''s humiliation. What mattered the most to her was him. Her Yuan. Would he believe those baseless usations too?

    "I will talk to youter, Mother.", Xi Yuan furrowed his brows as the girl dashed out of the kitchen, and towards thewn. Tossing the phone to Butler Tang then, he demanded the old man to get him the two overcoats from the living room, before striding out of the house as well. Damn it! It was freezing out there.

    "Xinghe!", he called the woman from behind, after they were two blocks from the Farmhouse, "Stop right there." The girl halted, heeding to the man''s words at once. He sounded enraged. Besides, where would she even go in this foreign country?

    As he reached her, he didn''t say anything else. He just covered her arms with the Maroon longline coat he''d brought along, stretching his hands further to pull her against him, her back facing his front. She was trembling already, he noticed, but he didn''t have the heart to reprimand her for it today. Suddenly and unexpectedly, a warm drop fell on the back of his thumb and a bitterness rushed through his heart.

    "I trust you, Xinghe.", he said to her, as tenderly as he could.

    "I really... didn''t do it.", the girl cried, "I would never--"

    "I said I believe in you, Love.", the man cut in, nting a soft kiss upon her head, "I don''t need to listen to you exin yourself in order to know that."

    The girl looked at the snow-covered houses in her view before turning around to face her darling, "I am sorry... I worried you.", she said as he wiped her tears away, "It''s just that I..."

    "It''s okay.", Xi Yuan smiled, "I get it. I would be scared to see you misunderstand me too, you know?

    "However, you could''ve kicked me and Mr. Tang out of the house, if you really wanted to be alone. Pulling such a stunt in Scottish winters, Honey? Your brothers would''ve skinned me alive for letting that happen! Your well-being is extremely important for your to-be husband''s survival, do you understand?"

    The girlughed a short but sweetugh as she listened to the man''s words, "Understood.", she answered, burying her head into his shoulders as she breathed in hisforting scent. "It''s weird how I reacted, no? I am not so emotional, usually.", she said then, her voice low. Now that she''d calmed down, she herself found her behavior a tad out-of-ce. Even when she''d opened her eyes for the first time after the Train incident, she hadn''t responded so impulsively. Then why now, over such a trivial matter?

    But Xi Yuan knew her better than she realized. The man caressed her head lightly as he looked at the soft and cold snow dust make it to them from the sky above. Their first snowfall together. In thend of the Castles. Romantic, wasn''t it?

    He then looked down at the girl. She''d stopped shivering, thankfully. Of course, he knew how rational and level-headed she stayed under pressure. She wouldn''t have been entrusted with the position of an entire nation''s highest Military Authority, had it not been the case. He had, in person, seen her deal with the trickiest of the situations with a calmness beyond belief.

    Be that as it may, she wasn''t the same person around the people she loved. To her family, and to him, she was this passionate and zealous woman, with innumerable dreams in her eyes. They had seen her most vulnerable side, and they''d been there through the nights she would weep. Wasn''t it natural for her to fear losing them then? Just because she held a sword in her hands didn''t mean she was not a human with a heart.

    Besides, he could tell that a part of her reaction today was but a result of her past. Zhou Che. That man had imnted this fear in her heart; that her happiness was just a facade. A myth. That the people she loved could always leave her. Anytime. Anywhere. Zhou Che had done the same to her back then, shattering her heart to thousands of pieces, leaving her in tears as she wondered what had she done wrong.

    Her fears, even if she didn''t sense them, were buried deep down, troubling her to date. Xi Yuan hated to watch her being tormented by them, certainly. But he knew it''d take her some time, years even, to walk past them. And he was fine with it, for whilst she tried to move on from those dreadful memories, he would hold her hands and love her like no other man ever could.

    "We''re okay, Ma Jolie.", he whispered back to her.

    "Now that we are out anyway, let''s make a snowman!", the girl sped her hands, exhrated, blinking at the nket of snow around her.

    "You will be cold.", the man was opposed to the idea.

    "It barely snows in City A.", Rong Xinghe frowned, disappointed.

    ncing at her puppy-like eyes, the man sighed, "Fine. But not here. In front of the Farmhouse.", he said, buttoning up the woman''s coat, "I''ll make you some Latt first. You need to have something warm now that you''ve cried so much. Otherwise, your head will just start aching again."

    "Okie dokie!", the girl smiled, pulling the man in for a deep kiss. And as the two melted into each other, their neighbors and the other onlookers clutched onto their chests in aww, sinking into their mesmerizingly epic love.

 Chapter 492: The sore loser

    Chapter 492: The sore loser

    Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan had just reached the Farmhouse when the man''s phone started ringing in his pocket. Still holding onto Rong Xinghe''s one hand, the man picked it up absent-mindedly, bringing it to his ear.

    "Is she okay?", Zhi Xi''s voice came through the other end, "We just saw the headlines."

    "Ask her for yourself.", Xi Yuan smiled, passing the device to the girl beside him.

    "Hello, Brother?", the girl greeted, "I am fine."

    "That''s a relief, then.", the man replied, nodding at Lu Wei and Mo Zixuan sitting across from him assuringly, "Don''t let such trifling issues bother you, okay? Simply focus on your health. We''ll handle everything else here."

    "Okay.", the girl grinned, "Um... can''t Bro Al help Yuan with this problem, though? He is insanely nifty withputers and stuff. Can he, by any chance, figure out who might''ve hacked into Yuan''s system?"

    Zhi Xi listened to the girl calmly as he tilted his head to one side, his gaze traveling beyond the two men, halting at Zhi Al who was sleeping soundly, over his office couch. Did he have to sleep with his shoes on?! What a rascal. "Well... he is too tired right now, Kiddo. Sleeping like a cat. As soon as he wakes up, I''ll ask him to call you."

    "Isn''t it four in the evening right now in City A?"

    "Yeah, he was developing some sort of software or something for the International Code-a-thon the whole night. At least, that''s what he told me before going to bed in the morning today.", the manughed.

    The girl giggled too, "He won''t ever change, will he?"

    "I am not counting on the possibility anymore, to be honest.", Zhi Xi shrugged.

    "Alright, then. Love you, Bro Xi. Talk to youter.", the girl smiled.

    "I love you too, Kid."

    As the girl hung up on him, Zhi Xi nced at Lu Wei, "She will be okay."

    Mo Zixuan loosened his tie a tad, unbuttoning his Navy Blue suit, "So what do we do next? Should I suppress the news?"

    "No need.", Lu Wei shook his head, grabbing an apple from the table for himself, "We will wait for them to react first. Since we''ve allowed all of this to happen in the first ce, there is no point in looking back now."

    "I agree.", Zhi Xi added, "Al has already yed his part. All we need to do now is observe things from afar. In case the Xis are unable to take care of this, we''ll have to eventually step in, anyway."

    ___________

    Earlston, Scond, 12:35;

    Huang Biu stared at her phone''s screen, shocked. As she read the hatefulments directed at Rong Xinghe, she realized just how vicious Rong Yufan was. His methods were twisted, but efficient and clean, leaving behind no trace. Initially, when he''d asked her to retrieve information concerning Xi Yuan''s uing projects, she had believed that he was backing down from their deal. That he had no intention of hurting Rong Xinghe and was simply using her to aim at Xi Yuan. But the way he had turned the tables around against the woman in a matter of hours was astoundingly mind-blowing.

    Come to think of it, everything he did was well-calcted from the very beginning. Xi Yuan was a mystery to literally anyone even remotely interested in the field of business, finances, and technology; which ounted for about 72% of the global poption. The man''s impable sess and growth, along with his low-key conduct and ideal looks, made him the absolute grist for the gossip mill, as far as the tabloids were concerned. Who wouldn''t want to know about such a man''s private life, right?

    After taking a shower, she pranced around the living room jauntily, her eyes searching for Xi Yuan. outred in an Olive Green woolen dress, she wondered how he must be feeling right now. Betrayed. Hurt. Or furious, maybe. Maybe the two of them were in an argument. It''d be too satisfying to witness that, she thought. That woman had ruined her rtionship with her brother Huang Ling, after all. She wouldn''t mind watching her lose someone she loves too. An eye for an eye, indeed!

    Just when the woman was daydreaming of her perfect revenge, the sounds of a man and a womanughing reached her ears. And as if struck by the reality, she stopped in her tracks, stunned. Then, she followed the source of theughter to the Farmhouse''s garden, only to see the couple throwing snowballs at each other yfully.

    "You''re sooo dead!", Rong Xinghe squinted her eyes, bending over to gather as much snow as she could in her gloved hands, the manughing at her as he juggled with three snowballs effortlessly.

    "Just be careful.", he said, "And adjust your beanie. It''s slipping down again."

    The girl stood up, her one hand full of a not-so-perfect snowball, staring at the man, "This damned beanie is why I am losing!", sheined, annoyance evident in her tone, "Unlucky wench."

    "I never knew that Military Chief Rong would turn out to be a sore loser.", Xi Yuan chuckled.

    "You loser!"

    "Childish!", the man clicked his tongue helplessly, directing yet another ''snowy'' attack against the woman.

    Huang Biu: "..."

    This certainly was not the kind of argument she''d expected between them. Was he even aware of what was happening in Country X?! Or on social media, for that matter. How could the two of them be so carefree at such a time?

    "Urgh!", suddenly, Rong Xinghe stumbled upon something and lost her bnce, falling over the thickyer of snow. Worriedly, the man rushed over to her, her security staff following behind him. "Xinghe! What happened?", he asked, pulling the woman in his arms as he took a peek at her legs. She seemed to have sprained her left ankle, given the visible swelling andck of motion. "I told you to be careful, didn''t I?", the man looked at the woman then, anxiously, "Come on, now. Let''s head inside."

    "W-wait!", the woman clutched onto the man''s shirt cor, her tone desperate.

    "What is it?", the man furrowed his brows. But before he could respond to the woman''s foxy smirk, Rong Xinghe pulled his shirt back a little, forcing a handful of the cold snow down his back.

    "I told you. I never lose.", she chuckled. As the soldiers behind him suppressed theirughter, Xi Yuan just red at the girl speechlessly. Did she even realize she was in pain so as to pull off such a stunt?! No wonder her brothers called her the ''She-Devil''. Quite the troublemaker she was...

    "Fine.", he mumbled to himself as he lifted her up from the ground, "You win!"

    "Yes!", Rong Xinghe smiled triumphantly, nting a soft peck upon her darling''s cheek.

 Chapter 493: He had a hint of Xi Yuan in him

    Chapter 493: He had a hint of Xi Yuan in him

    Earlston, Scond, 12:45;

    "Get me an ice pack and some stic bandage right now, Mr. Tang.", Xi Yuanmanded as he lowered the girl over one of the couch in the living room carefully. Huang Biu joined the two shortly after, as the house staff rushed past her in panic.

    "Is it paining too much, Madam?", one of the young maids enquired, her voice filled with genuine concern, "Should I go to call the doctor?"

    "I am alright, Elsie.", the womanughed sweetly at the young girl, "Trust me."

    "Here, Young Master.", the old butler strode in, handing over the man a fresh ice pack. Xi Yuan inhaled a sharp breath as he pressed the cold pack against her left ankle. The girl shut her eyes close, holding onto her darling''s shirt sleeve tightly, letting out a pain-filled cry.

    "Sorry.", the man looked up into the woman''s eyes, his jaws clenched. "I didn''t mean to--"

    "Hush.", Rong Xinghe shook her head, cing her index finger on his lips, "No need to apologize, Mr. Xi. I can handle this. I was just a little startled."

    "Liar.", the man rolled his eyes, pulling her hand away from his mouth, turning to the old man next to him, "Mr. Tang, could you make her some hot chocte?"

    "Definitely, Sir.", the Butler smiled as he exited the room again.

    "Yuan...", the injured kitten then poked at her darling''s shoulder like a five-year-old repeatedly, her voice low yet adorable.

    "Hmm?", the man said, aiding to the swollen area on the woman''s feet with undivided concentration.

    "Don''t tell the brothers. Pretty please?"

    "I am not at the liberty to keep them from anything that concerns you, Miss Rong.", Xi Yuan chuckled, "So do not put me in a difficult position. As soon as I am donepressing your leg with this bandage, I am making a call to them."

    "Such a scaredy-cat!", the girl scoffed.

    "Say that again.", the man raised his brows as he red at her challengingly.

    "Nothing."

    "Better."

    ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

    City A, Country X, 18:30;

    Xi Corporations Headquarters,

    Xi Fang stared outside the floor-to-ceiling window, as he listened to thepany''s shareholders discuss the situation at hand among themselves, their tones hushed. However, he had to admit that it sounded more of like an argument than a civilized conversation. As if the entire ''Sogement Pharmas'' case had cleaved the board into two fragments. The ones who believed in the rumors and then those who were intelligent enough to see through the evident loopholes.

    The former section of the crowd had always been his father''s right-hand-men, who wished for him to take the empire over from Xi Yuan someday; while thetter kind was a lot of smart and realistic business intellectuals fairly inclined towards his brother in this ridiculously unwanted battle amid the two siblings.

    "I believe that Miss Rong should step down from the position of Xi Corporations'' Primary Advisor.", one of Xi Chonglin''s menmented.

    "I agree with Mr. Wang.", another one nodded approvingly, "In fact, merely resignation won''t be sufficient. We need to investigate the matter clearly. Otherwise, it would end up affecting thepany''s domineering reputation for the worse. We can''t allow people to believe that we are a pushover, can we?"

    "Are you implying that Miss Rong really did it?", someone at the far end of the tableughed, "If that''s the case, wouldn''t that be too humiliating for the President?"

    "Show some respect, Mr. Chen!", one of Xi Yuan''s supporters spoke up this time, mming his hands against the hard wooden edge, "He isn''t your childhood friend. He is the CEO of thispany. Bear that in mind before you go on bbering nonsense."

    "Yeah.", Xi Chonglin interrupted this time, looking at everyone in the room, "There are etiquettes to how you behave and speak in Xi Corporations. We''re here to discuss our decisions up next, not to y the me game with each other."

    Xi Chongkun nced at his brother calmly, as he sat opposite him. It was probably the first time Xi Chonglin had covered for Xi Yuan in a board meeting, and oddly, the gesture wasforting in itself. Even though he knew that Xi Chonglin wasn''t really concerned for Xi Yuan and that everything he did these days was to win over Xi Fang''s acknowledgment, it was still warm to watch it happen.

    "What should we do now, Chairman Xi?", one of the shareholders sitting beside Xi Chongkun turned to him, anticipating the man''s orders. Now that the CEO wasn''t there to lead them, it would only be natural for his father to call the shots, given he was just as far-sighted as his son.

    But Xi Chongkun had some other intents. As silence spread across the entire conference hall and every shareowner glued his eyes upon him, the man in his fifties smiled kindly, "I believe in Xiao Xinghe, of course.", he said, "But I can''t tell you what to do next."

    The group of people exchanged nces among themselves, confused. What did he mean? Who was to direct them then?

    "Since President Xi isn''t here...", the man resumed, "Vice-President Fang shall guide us. He has been in constant contact with the President for the past few days, after all." With that being said, the crowd turned to look at the quiet Xi Fang by the window, taken aback. With the kind of consuming battle they''d witnessed for years among Xi Chongkun and Xi Chonglin, the shareholders had never expected such a day to ever arrive. Strangely so, the situation was satisfying to them. Xi Fang deserved this, none of them there could deny that.

    About a minuteter, the young man turned around, his expression solemn, a cup of espresso in his hands. "Mr. Wang and Mr. Chen.", he addressed the two shareholders, a coldness in his tone. "Y-yes, Vice-President.", the two men stood up at once, chills running down their spines.

    "She is the highest Military Authority of this country. A businesswoman, a social worker, and an unparalleled diplomat; aside from that.", he stated casually, cing the cup on the table, "It''s highly insulting for people like you to even think about her, let alone point fingers at her. So the next time you repeat this mistake, I won''t be merciful.

    "This goes for everyone sitting over here as well. Are we clear?"

    "Und-- understood, Sir", the men bowed down, terrified. This man. He had a hint of Xi Yuan in him, they realized. The ferocious gaze, the imposing presence. No wonder he was so dear to his brother. After all, their conduct and mannerisms were just straight-up indistinguishable!

 Chapter 494: "Why did she have to grow up so soon?"

    Chapter 494: "Why did she have to grow up so soon?"

    Earlston, Scond, 14:30;

    The girl fell asleep in Xi Yuan''s arms, soon after she''d downed the ss of sweet and warm hot chocte. Although Xi Yuan wasn''t a professional doctor, judging by the sprain in her ankle, he could tell that she would not be able to walk or exert pressure upon her legs for the next few days. At least, not without support. But that was alright. He would simply tie her to the bed if she''d rebel too much.

    Until then though, she could sleep here on the couch, enveloped in his embrace, while the fire from the hearth heated up the room. "Is there any part of her body she wishes to keep intact?!", Su Rogguang pinched the space between his brows, enraged.

    "It''s okay, Bro Su.", Xi Yuan chuckled, "I''ve alreadypressed it with an ice pack, and bandaged the affected area too. She is sleeping now. So you guys have nothing to worry about. I just wanted to update you on it."

    The girl''s brother let out a shaky sigh, clearing his throat, he said, "You did well. Just make her have as many liquids as possible. And in case the ankle pain doesn''t subside in the next 6 to 7 days, take her to this highly skilled Orthopedic surgeon in Edinburgh- Dr.Noah ir. Through our years of residency, he was my roommate, and a close friend, at that."

    "Got it.", the man agreed, pulling the woman a little closer to him.

    As the men got off the phone call, Su Rogguang turned to look at his wife, "What is it now, Tong?", he mithered. This was the fifth time she''d walked in into his cabin with those huge albums now. "I am still not sure about the Mexican Cuisine.", she said, "It''s great, of course. But you see, Xinghe has always liked Italian better."

    "Whatever you decide, I am down with it, Dr. Ching.", Su Rogguang shrugged, "It''s not like the food even matters."

    "This is your sister''s wedding we are talking about, you robot!", the woman almost yelled out, "Could you show some excitement, for the love of the Almighty?"

    "Woah...", the man stepped back a few inches, a tad stunned. But he wasn''t alone in this. All the Six men were the victims of their wives'' full-fledged preparations for the uing ''Xinguan'' wedding. Ever since the couple had flown to Scond, this had been their daily schedule. Discussing everything from the wedding venues to the variety of cuisines, and even the photographers. It didn''t even seem like the girl was their sister anymore. Her Sisters-inw appeared more enraptured for her wedding ceremony than the Six of them ever were.

    "Why would I be excited?", he mumbled uninterestedly, "That brat will be taking her away from us, in the end, anyway..."

    Ching Tong didn''t say anything for a while as he stared at the man in a daze. Amid all these D-day arrangements, the Six tigers had never really voiced their honest feelings, or opinions, for that matter. But now that she looked at him, she realized the pain he''d been keeping to himself all this time. And something told her that the other Five men were no different. For a group of siblings as close and connected as these Six men and the Rong twins, it must be killing them to even imagine her leaving them someday.

    "You took me away from my Mom and Dad, Rogguang.", she said then, softly, "But I still visit them, don''t I? Yuan cannot take her away from you. No one ever can."

    "Marriage changes a lot of things, Tong.", the man settled down in his chair, smiling wryly, "She''ll have a new family, a new home. And don''t get me wrong, I am genuinely thrilled for her. But, sometimes, it really scares me. Why did she have to grow up so soon?"

    The woman''s lips tipped up to one side as she grabbed a chair opposite the man, putting away the albums in her hands, "Hey, it''s okay to be scared. But Xinghe is not leaving you guys. I might not have known her for years as you guys do, but she is not the one to turn her back on the people she loves.

    "Trust me, she''lle knocking at our door the day after her wedding, hauling you out for an Ice-Creampetition. And go to the Zhis for an awfully crazy night-out, followed by a movie marathon with her Bro Mo. And let''s not rule out her ''sensual'' dance with Sister Ningtao, to annoy her Bro Lu, too.", the woman giggled.

    "You really think so?", Su Rogguangughed, his heart at ease now.

    "Yep.", Ching Tong nodded eagerly, "You guys are her Six pirs of unconditional love. In storms, and through wars, her eyes will always search for her brothers forfort, and safety. Yuan can''t be reced in her life, it''s the truth. But so can''t be you Six."

    ______________

    15:05;

    Xi Yuan climbed down the stairs that lead to their bedroom, after tucking the girl in beneath the nket, only to run into Huang Biu. "Did Miss Rong really do it?", she questioned him, putting on a pretense of someone deeply concerned as she showed him her tablet screen. Across the t device was the familiar ''ckHorse'' post.

    "I have other pressing matters to tend to right now, Miss Huang, rather than to respond to your absurd questions.", the man stated, retrieving his own phone from his pocket.

    She hadn''t expected him to reply straightforwardly either. They had never had a casual conversation in the past, to begin with. But, deep down, she hoped that the Sogement Pharmas case could bring them somewhat closer. So bearing with the man''s stern words, she offered, "Fair enough. But can I help you in any way? I have a lot of influence in the International market, as you know. Would it be helpful if I could speak to the Jeongs?"

    Xi Yuan stopped scrolling through his e-mails, as he looked at the woman in front of him, displeased. As his grip around the phone tightened, he approached her domineeringly, his footsteps like that of a vicious predator, "Let''s not pretend as if you had nothing to do with what happenedst night, Miss Biu.", he said, his toneposed yet striking terror through her veins.

    "Wh-what?", the woman stammered, her eyes wide open as she stumbled back in fear.

    "Attacking Xi Corporations was fine. But involving and hurting Xinghe wasn''t.", he said then, "I cannot forgive you for that. But since my to-be wife is associated with your brother, I''ll go easy this time."

    "What d-- do you..."

    "From what I know, you are a passionate Car enthusiast, aren''t you? With two of the world''s most expensive sports cars parked right in your garage, that is. The 8 Million USD worth Mercedes-Maybach Exelero, and the 12.5 M Dor tagged Bugatti La Voiture Noire. Those are the models if memory serves me right.

    "Ironic, isn''t it?", the man''s lips curled up in amusement, "Xi Corps had a loss of 20 Million USDst night. The sum total of these cars'' values.

    "So instead of worrying about Xi Corporations, why don''t you make a call back home and check on those two babies? See if they aren''t annihted in a massive chemical VBIED explosion."

 Chapter 495: The in-laws to the rescue

    Chapter 495: The inws to the rescue

    Earlston, Scond, 15:15;

    As Xi Yuan walked away from the woman, Huang Biu had a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was fear. The coldness in his eyes, and the contempt in his voice; she''d never been a prey to it before. And the more she thought about it, the more the dread twisted in her gut.

    At this time, the phone in her pocket rang up, and absent-mindedly her hand reached for it. The caller was Huang Ling, confirming Xi Yuan''s threat.

    "We''re investigating how the explosion happened currently.", the man said, "Although... it''s weird how all the cameras around your Residency area went off exactly before the incident.

    "I simply called to ask if you could think of someone who might''ve done this?"

    The woman shook her head, "No. I don''t know, brother."

    "Alright, then.", Huang Ling said after a while, "Stay safe."

    After the man had hung up on the woman, he turned to look at the two effortlessly destructed automobiles as he let out a sharp breath. "No need to work on this case anymore.", he eyed one of the investigating officers next to him, "As it turns out, it was some sort of practical prank her friends yed on her."

    "Are you sure, President Huang?", the man in his forties gasped, stunned. What kind of prank was worth 20 Million USD? It was too absurd to even imagine it, really. But as he elicited a stern nod from the man, the officer knew better than to stretch the issue for long. "I''ll be needing Miss Huang''s statement to shut the case, Sir."

    Huang Ling waved his hands in the mid-air, dismissing the entire team of cops at once. Only when they''d vanished from his line of sight did he speak again, "You think it''s Yuan too, right?", he said to the man beside him.

    "For the cars'' explosion? Sure.", Elijah Williams chuckled, "But for the situation, I am inclined to hold your sister ountable here, Ling."

    Shawn Florence nodded, as he sat over Huang Ling''s SUV roof, "20 Million Dor''s loss to the Xi Empire followed by this attack; she had to be ridiculously stupid to assume that we wouldn''t figure it out."

    "I seriously don''t understand Biu anymore.", Huang Ling crossed his arms, his gaze fixed to the garage ruined beyond repair, "Does she even realize the consequences of what she is doing? She is literally pushing herself towards death, or a life far worse than that."

    "What do you mean?", David Florence questioned, passing a bottle of beer to his brother, "I am sure Xinghe will be merciful since it''s nothing huge. Rumors like these spread all the time, man."

    "She might let it go this time.", the man remarked wryly, "But she isn''t just Xinghe. She is a Ripper. What if, Biu ends up hurting her on a personal level? Or her family, for that matter. Do you really think she''ll be able to walk out of the Alqatil''s ws unscathed?"

    _________

    Xi Family Mansion;

    City A, Country X, 21:30;

    While Xi Yuan focussed on the ''Sogement Pharmas'' case in Scond, and the Xi twins worked on thewsuit against the Jeongs, the family''s elders had concerns of their own to deal with.

    "Thements are extremely harsh, aren''t they?", Luo Youyou said, as she stared at her phone.

    Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah were no longer worried about Xi Chonglin and Luo Youyou''s underhanded schemes, for the matter concerned the Xi family''s reputation just as much as the Superfamily''s. Not to mention, this was a business deal Xi Fang was responsible for. If things were to go downhill, their son would be affected no less. Therefore, this time, they were bound to take the high road and cooperate with them.

    "Is there no way to prove Xinghe''s innocence?", Li Jungah looked at her husband, "I know she would never do something like that, Chongkun."

    "There is one way, actually.", the old man leaned back, his expression earnest.

    "What is it?", Xi Chonglin questioned, curious.

    "But for that to happen, her medical reports will have to be revealed to the media.", the man exined, "I spoke to Yuan a few hours ago. Apparently, Xinghe''s medications are too strong. The ones she takes before going to bed. Benzodiazepines, he said. These medicines are used for sedation mostly; even for the treatment of Insomnia. There is no way that the girl would''ve been able to get up in the middle of the night in such a state, let alone hack into hisptop.

    "Yuan was going to leak the reports by himself tonight, but I stopped him. I thought that it would be better for me and Jungah, to appear in front of the cameras in person. To make a stronger statement, you see. To announce to the world that Xinghe is family now and that the Xis would always back her up, no matter what."

    "Goodness...", Li Jungah covered her wide open mouth, surprised, "Among all his other problems, the first thing he did was to find a way to protect her. Such a sweet boy."

    "He must love her sincerely.", Xi Chongkun agreed with a proud yet light smile.

    "Fine. Let''s do it then.", the woman pped her hands, her tone transforming from emotional to sprightly with each word, "I will schedule a Press Conference first thing in the morning tomorrow."

    "Should we be there as well?", Luo Youyou asked, her voice low. She had, more often than not, been at crossroads with Rong Xinghe ever since the couple had gotten together. So she wasn''t really expecting to be weed in this affair. But even so, all the four of them standing together on the stage would be more beneficial to the Xi family, she thought.

    "Definitely, Youyou.", Li Jungah''s lips curled up, as her words sent the woman in a state of incredulity, "Even though it''d be me and Chongkun addressing the journalists tomorrow, you two will also be required over there. Both Yuan and Fang need us now.

    "Despite the differences between us, we are their parents, Youyou. We''re supposed to be there for them at times like these. Otherwise, what good are we, really?

    "And to be honest, apart from that, Xinghe is so much more than a daughter to me now. I am not even doing this for Yuan, you know. It''s her. Xiao Xinghe. She doesn''t deserve to be treated so unfairly just because she chose to be a part of Yuan''s life. Once, my son asked me to love and support Xinghe the way her own mother would''ve done, had she been alive. So that''s what I am going to be, here onwards. Her Mother. A safe space for her to go to, whenever she''d be in search forfort and sce."

 Chapter 496: "She is not your puppet!"

    Chapter 496: "She is not your puppet!"

    Earlston, Scond, 08:00;

    The next morning, Xinguan sat in front of the LED TV in their living room, the girl''s eyes glued to the t screen, as the man focussed on coring the already peeled apples in his te. Although he knew she was anxious about this interview, he couldn''t think of anything to worry about, whatsoever. The Xi family elders had always been excellent with the ck sea of cameras. Dodging direct usations, and replying to all sorts of twisted questions with absolute subtlety; was but a walk in the park for them.

    However, he understood her worries. Rong Xinghe''s denigrators had always been vicious when it came to insulting or using her. Now, Country X''s citizens needed to be immensely careful of their words before speaking of her, since thews against promatory defamation of the nation''s Military Chief were much too severe. But the international media were off-limits, in that aspect. They were at liberty to question anything they wished to. And given the foreign interest in the matter, this press conference had opened gates for a lot of outsiders as well.

    "Everything will be alright, Xinghe.", Xi Yuan smiled, "They won''t screw up."

    "Hopefully.", the girl sighed, crossing both her hands'' index and middle fingers tightly.

    As the man observed the girl''s innocent nervousness, heughed out. How could someone be so serious and adorable at the same time, he wondered. Meanwhile, it was now that Xi Chongkun faced the cameras andmenced the conference with a humble smile, Li Jungah sitting next to him.

    "Ladies and gentlemen of the media, thank you for arriving at such a short note.", the old man began, silencing the curious voices in the hall calmly, "Before you all proceed with your doubts and inquiries, I''d like to issue a statement on behalf of the Xi family, and the Xi Corporations. And by the end of what I am about to say, more than half of your questions will be answered, I assure you."

    As a few of the reporters responded with approving nods and words, the man resumed, "Firstly, I intend to make one thing very clear. Military Chief Rong had nothing to do with the unexpected turn of events in Xi Corporations'' recent ''Sogement Pharmas'' case.", he dered.

    Surprised, the group of paparazzi exchanged nces among themselves. More than Xi Chongkun''s words, the way he addressed the woman was shocking to them. "Does the Xi Corporations have valid evidence to support your statement, Chairman?", one of the reporters from America asked.

    "As a matter of fact, yes.", Xi Chongkun smiled, "Please check your phones, everyone. Military Chief Rong''s medical reports have been released by the Xi Empire''s PR team not too long ago." The journalists quickly did what they were asked of and pulled their silent phones out; there were two documents mailed to them but a minute ago. While the first file seemed to be an authentic medical analysis, the other one was more of a screenshot.

    "No one is unknown to the fact that the Military Chief had been attacked a few weeks ago. But only a limited number of people are aware of the details.", Xi Chongkun continued, "As a consequence of the toxicant inocted into her body, one of the most crucial surgeries had been performed upon her, then. Burr hole surgery, that is.

    "Underlined in red below the surgery details are some of the medications she has been prescribed to. If you notice the second from the bottom in the list, you''de across the term Lorazepam, marked under bedtime. For those who don''t know about it, Lorazepam is a Benzodiazepine medication, used to treat anxiety disorders, Insomnia, severe agitation, and active seizures.

    "This particr medicine is used for heavy sedation, so as to ease a patient''s pain. The second picture is a screenshot of President Xi''sptop, showing the exact time the system had been broken into. Provided that the Military Chief has a strict sleep cycle, there is no way that she would''ve been able to open her eyes, let alone orchestrate such an intricate task, at three in the night.

    "With that being said, I rest my defense. These documents are enough shreds of evidence to prove her innocence. But to ept it or not, is totally up to the public."

    That was it, the reporters thought. How else could they possibly turn the tables around on the girl? It''d be ridiculously witless of them to me the woman after such sharp yet credible proof. What more, the rumors against Rong Xinghe were already a result of some sloppy Weibo post with no actual logic behind it. On the other hand, the Xi family''s reply to it was one fatal blow, leaving them with no opening to strike through.

    "Feel free to ask us any question.", Luo Youyou smiled at the silent crowd facing them.

    About a minute or twoter, a young woman mustered the courage to raise her hand, "Why is Military Chief not exining the situation herself?"

    "Because she is not your puppet!", Li Jungah red at the woman coldly, an innate resemnce in her and the man''s expression sitting beside Rong Xinghe, "She is not supposed toe begging to the media or the public for forgiveness every time you choose to believe some baseless usation pointing at her.

    "Believe it or not, she is the reason that you have the audacity to voice your morbid and insensitive opinions out here independently, knowing positively well that you are safe and sound. She is a warrior who has chosen to protect a bunch of ungrateful lunatics like you, from external and lethal security threats.

    "It''s sick, really, to see those she once swore to guard with her blood and breath, turn against her for the sake of their own entertainment. With Six of the most influential men across the globe backing her up, she still chose to step out of herforts and walk down this path filled with thorns. But at what cost?

    "You just read her medical file and yet, you have the nerves to expect her presence. There wasn''t even a question about her recovery status. All you care about are your juicy article bites and your bloody TRPs. How disturbing and disappointing! This just shows how inhuman modern journalism hase to be.

    "You know what? Give me your channel''s name right now."

    Petrified by the woman''s tone, the girl stepped back two paces, "I-- I am sorr--", her voice trembled.

    "PSL Networks, Ma''am.", one of Xi Chongkun''s bodyguards answered, as he flipped through the file in his hands.

    "Ah.", Li Jungah smirked, raising her brows, "PSL Networks is cklisted from the Xi Corps, starting now. We''ll see for ourselves as to who dares to work with these clowns after this.

    "Also, I hope that this incident will serve as a lesson for the other channels, and for Country X''s public too.

    "The conference is dismissed. Thank you very much."

 Chapter 497: One of the two hackers

    Chapter 497: One of the two hackers

    Earlston, Scond, 08:30;

    Xi Yuan lifted his head up to look at the huge screen, amused. He hadn''t expected his mother to shield Rong Xinghe so firmly, to be honest. And as Li Jungah stormed out of the Conference Hall, the man finally noticed the girl sitting beside him. Her face was but void of any emotion. Though, he could see her hands trembling.

    "Xinghe...", the man put away the te before he grabbed both her freezing hands into his, making her turn to look at him, "What is it, Love?", he asked, softly.

    The girl refused to speak, still. Truth be told, she found it difficult to express the overwhelming feelings rushing through her heart at the moment. Ever since she was a kid, she''d been a survivor. She was the kind of person who would always find a way to crawl back out from the deepest, the darkest of the pits. Be it the Rongs, or the Zhous, or the Human Experimentations in Country N; she walked out stronger than before from all those incidents. But to not fight for once... It was a strange experience for her.

    Although the Six tigers had always been her silent protectors, their methods had always been dangerously mysterious. They preferred responding with destruction or something of the sorts when it came to dealing with her enemies.

    But apart from that, they''d always taught her to throw a punch than toy back and watch others speak in her stead. And they were right to do so. Else, how would she have grown into someone so strong and confident?

    However, in this situation, she did not know what to say, really.

    "You okay?", Xi Yuan hauled the woman back to reality.

    "Y... yeah.", the girl nodded, "I, um-- it was nice.", she managed to say.

    "Nice?", the man raised his brows, letting out a shortugh.

    "I mean, it was great! Excellent PR management, brilliant detailing. I am impressed, Mr. Xi.", Rong Xinghe muttered under her breath in one go.

    "You want to talk to Mom, don''t you?", Xi Yuan smiled, seeing through the girl''s awkward mumblings. The woman nodded, "I should thank her."

    "Call her after some time.", the man shrugged his shoulders in an obvious manner, nting a soft kiss against the tip of her fingers, "But you don''t have to thank her. She just did what she was supposed to do. There really is no need for such formalities between you two, Xinghe."

    "Oh."

    "Hmm.", Xi Yuan chuckled as he picked up the remote to switch the TV off, "Now,ing to the important subjects, how do you feel? How''s the ankle pain now?"

    "The pain is rtively mild today.", Rong Xinghe smiled gently, pinching the man''s nose. He sure had his priorities, didn''t he?

    "And the headaches? Any diforts or dizziness?"

    "Nothing.", the girl replied, "In fact, I had the most rxing sleepst night, must you know. Now stop the damn interrogation, will you? You''ve asked these questions for the sixth time today. I am okay!"

    "Fine, Good God, how feisty!", the man blinked at the woman, speaking to himself.

    "So what are you going to do about the ''Sogement Pharmas'' case?", Rong Xinghe rolled her eyes.

    "I''ll take it from here, Ma Jolie.", Xi Yuan smiled, "This matter no longer concerns you. Now that your innocence has been proven, I don''t want you involved in any of this anymore."

    "But why?"

    "Why? Because your brothers have strictly instructed me to keep you away from such stressful matters. And things are going to get nasty between the Jeongs and the Sogement Pharma.", the man replied, "You just focus on your recovery, and in the meantime, I will handle the business.

    "Xi Corporations will make these idiots rue the day they thought of walking over us. Believe me."

    Rong Xinghe frowned, "But--"

    It was now that the phone ced over the table rang up, cutting the girl mid-sentence. Subconsciously, the man brought it to his ear, smiling at her apologetically, "What is it, Fang?"

    About a minute and a halfter, Xi Yuan stood up and walked out of the room, "Are you sure?", he questioned, a pinch of disbelief in his tone.

    "Why are you so stunned, brother?", the young man on the other end asked.

    "Because I know who was one of the two hackers that night now.", the man stated, disconnecting the phone. Walking at a considerably sufficient distance from Rong Xinghe then, he dialed another number.

    ____________

    Lu Corporations Headquarters;

    City A, Country X, 14:35;

    As the Six men sat over the couch in Lu Wei''s office corner, they watched the ''breaking news'' headlines, a satisfied smirk spreading across their mouths. "Almost every news channel in Country X has issued a public apology to Xinghe.", Zhi Alughed as he scrolled through his Weibo, "And it hasn''t even been half an hour."

    "The Xis really outdid themselves this time, didn''t they?", Mo Zixuan poured himself another ss of Whiskey.

    "Yeah. At least, Yuan''s parents seemed genuinely bothered.", Zhi Bo nodded in agreement, "Xi Chonglin and Luo Youyou, on the other hand, were obviously there for the ''Throne Politics''."

    "It doesn''t matter.", Su Rogguang shook his head, "Xinghe doesn''t care about them anyway."

    "What are you thinking about President Zhi?", Lu Wei turned to look at the man lost in his own thoughts.

    Zhi Xi shrugged, "Nothing much. Just waiting for Yuan''s call." Right when the man was done speaking, his phone''s ringtone resounded throughout the room. As Xi Yuan''s name popped up on the screen, the Six men grinned internally. Lu Wei picked the call up then, leaving the speaker on for everyone to listen, as he gestured Zhi Xi to chat with the man.

    "Yes, Yuan?", Zhi Xi greeted casually.

    "Bro Al hacked into my system, right?!", Xi Yuan came straight to the point.

    "What are you talking about?"

    "Oh,e on, Bro Xi.", the man exhaled a long breath, "You and Bro Wei were the ones who taught me business. A businessman never offers anything for free. The fact that you suggested Fang a deal with Sogement Pharma''s parentpany out of the blue, benefitting Xi Corps five times the original deal; can''t be a mere coincidence.

    "Given Bro Al''s skills, this can be the only possibility. Now I understand why I couldn''t track the two hackers. The only question is, why would you guys do it? What the hell''s going on?"

    "We did teach you a lot, didn''t we?", Zhi Xiughed, "Alright, we did it. We had our reasons for it, of course. But we were not acquainted with the other hacker. I''d like to make that very clear. We simply took advantage of the situation at hand then."

    "Why?", Xi Yuan pinched the space between his brows, confused.

    "To test the Xi family''s elders.", Lu Wei was the one to answer this time, "To see if the Xis have what it takes to be associated with Xinghe."

    "..."

 Chapter 498: "Without a backup plan, wed never let you fall"

    Chapter 498: "Without a backup n, we''d never let you fall"

    "So what was this? A social experiment?!", Xi Yuan questioned the men, his tone filled with disbelief, "Xinghe was so worried about all of it, you know?"

    "Oh,e on, Yuan!", Mo Zixuan joined in, "We went on with it just because we were aware of the fact that you were with her. Don''t we know our Kiddo, but at all?"

    "Care to exin what exactly happened, by the way.", the man inhaled a sharp breath. Of course, they had thought it through. They were the Superfamily, for hell''s sake. One of the world''s most calctive and sharp-minded lot. Even under impulse, their ns had never failed. Xi Chongkun and Li Jungah''s announcements at the Press Conference a few minutes ago simply proved the damn point, didn''t it?

    "Al, you go first.", Mo Zixuan smiled at the man beside him.

    "Alright.", Zhi Al chuckled, as he leaned forward a tad so that the man could hear him, "Well, I have ess to all your systems'' software. And I must tell you, you gave me a challenge hacking into it. The lines of code were pretty strong and intricate."

    "I programmed the software... myself.", Xi Yuan furrowed his brows, a bit taken aback, "And what''s with the privacy intrusion?"

    "Please.", Zhi Al tilted his head to one side, "Privacy is a myth. Just like the concept of absolute democracy. You just have to be gutsy enough to do it."

    "Go on.", the man sighed.

    "So that night... when the other hacker tried to pass through your system, the rm on my desktop went off. It was about 02:32, to be exact, by then. I was engineering one of the security software projects for the National Sports Committee and Zixuan had this huge meeting to prepare for, so we both were awake.

    "When I went through the issue, I realized that someone was attempting to hack into yourptop. But even though the guy seemed finely trained withputers, there was no way he could''ve gotten into a system as sensitive as yours without making any mistake. I was all prepared to let your device self-destruct itself, but then... an idea popped up in Zixuan''s mind.

    "Now, most of your business ns, Bro Wei and Bro Xi are known to, so we had to let them in on it as well. And as it turned out, of all your projects, this Sogement Pharma was the most insignificant one.

    "So as to distract this hacker buddy of mine, I wrapped a few moreyers of codes in your stead, and by the time he got through those childish barriers, I got into your system and transferred all your important documents into my hard drive and erased them from yourptop entirely. Everything, but the Sogement Pharmas'' file. And then, I disabled your rm and self-annihtion mode.

    "Hence, when mah coder homie finally made it to your system, he had just one document avable to steal from there. Only after he had exited your device did I readjust your system along with your old software. So if you look at it positively, I kind of saved you from losing billions of dors. You should thank me, you know?"

    "Thank you very much.", Xi Yuan remarked sarcastically.

    As the man burst outughing, Mo Zixuan added, "And as far as rumors concerning Xinghe are concerned, we didn''t fabricate those too. We were going to, yes. But on a much mild scale. Whoever this rival of yours was, must have been holding a grudge against Xinghe as well. He or she was too quick to react, you see. The person aimed at both of you within a matter of 24 hours, and the intensity at which the word spread was unbelievably smooth.

    "We just didn''t act on it, since your dear enemy was executing our n anyway. I must say though, this hater of yours felt awfully familiar. I mean... it was as if--"

    "We''d known this guy all our life.", Zhi Bo cut in, nodding at the man in agreement, "I sensed so too." Strangely, almost all the Six tigers concorded on that note as they exchanged doubtful gazes among themselves.

    Xi Yuan listened to the men in silence for a few seconds before he finally spoke up, "So we still don''t know the real perp...", he concluded.

    "I wouldn''t say that.", Zhi Xi shook his head, "We have the second hacker."

    "Come again?"

    "Yeah.", Zhi Al smirked, "While I waited for the guy to transfer the Sogement file into his drive, I did a little research on him. His location showed to be in Earlston itself that night, and that too, in some goofy cafe. So Bo pulled some strings and got some men to capture him. He is on his way to City A right now."

    "Why Country X?", Xi Yuan questioned.

    "Because... that''s not the kind of stress-free situation Kiddo needs right now.", Lu Wei replied as a matter-of-factly, "And as for the guy''s treatment, believe me, Yuan, I can torture my prey just fine. All you need to do right now is take care of our sister and prove your worth in Xi Corporations by doubling the original deal''s price."

    "We''re family, Yuan. You are the man our Xinghe has chosen. Without a backup n, we''d never let you fall. It was just necessary this time. So, we good?", Zhi Xiughed.

    The man thought for some time before his lips curled up in a helpless smile, "We are great.", he answered, "But I don''t understand. Whether my family stands up for her or not... how is it even important? She will always have me and you guys backing her up eventually, won''t she?"

    "Obviously.", Lu Wei said, "But that''s not why we did it."

    "So?"

    It was Zhi Bo to speak this time, "Xinghe hasn''t had a normal life, Yuan. She didn''t have parents. And for most of her childhood, she didn''t have us. We cannot even begin to describe the endless and inhuman atrocities the Rongs unleashed on the twins while they were little. And then, the train incident, and thea. And if that wasn''t enough, Zhou Che happened. Life has never been fair to her. She deserved to smile, andugh, and dance, at such a tender age. But we were there, watching her weep quietly every night.

    "So call us irrational for doing this, but we really believe that she should have a ''normal'' now. And that''s you, Yuan. With the life she has had, we never thought she''d muster up the courage to love someone or dream of a future, ever again. And yet, she let her guard down for you. She let you in, young man.

    "You became her friend, her boyfriend, and then her fiance. And it''s beautifully normal. We just needed to know that she''d have someone looking out for her amongst the Xis as well, once she marries you. That she would have a family to go to over there too. And thanks to this incident, now we know."

 Chapter 499: Stamping their Relationship

    Chapter 499: Stamping their Rtionship

    Earlston, Scond, 09:30;

    "They did what?!", Rong Xinghe stared at the man in front of her, shocked.

    "Well, they were just looking out for you.", Xi Yuan smiled as he sat down next to the girl on the couch, "Besides, everything will be under control, including those rumors about you and the pharmaceutical sector of the Xi Corps, by the end of the day. So we can rx."

    The girl simply blinked at the man as if she''d seen something indescribable. What the hell was wrong with him?! Wasn''t he supposed to be offended or furious by what the Six men did, she wondered. Irrespective of how trivial the blow was, it was a shot fired at the Business Empire he''d worked all his life to build.

    "Yuan."

    "Yeah?"

    "Aren''t you upset with them? I mean... how are you not taking this personally?", the woman pointed out.

    "Xi Corporations is work, Love. There was nothing personal for me to take personally, you see.", the man shook his head, "It wasn''t like they caused any of thepany subsidiary''s employees to lose their jobs. It was just a deal swap. That''s nothing huge."

    "So what is personal to you?", Rong Xinghe turned to the man, curiosity evident in her eyes. She really wanted an answer to that. What in world could ever make him waver; was still a mystery to her. To be truthful, she''d never seen a man asposed and sangfroid as him before. And as much as she admired this quality of his, she knew that no person was unbreakable. Everyone had one weakness, to the least. What was his?

    The man didn''t even think for a moment as he replied to her earnestly, "You."

    Rendered speechless, the girl felt a sudden rush of heat make its way to her cheeks and ears. Damn it, this man!

    "If someone were to hurt you, I would probably be that person''s worst nightmare for months before he''s breathe hisst.", the man continued, "Because to me, watching you suffer all by yourself; it''s the worst form of torture. I might not hurt someone for sheer pleasure, but I am also not a gentleman when ites to those who attack the people I love."

    "But--"

    "Xinghe, I don''t live for money, or fame, or business. It''s a part of me, sure. But it''s not my everything. My everything is my family. It''s Fang and Wei, Ying and you.", he smiled, "And the Superfamily, of course.

    "Honestly, I admire your brothers. Whatever they do, they do it for you and Xiao, and I think it''s just so endearing. I don''t have the right to question their decisions, and neither do you. This is between our families, Xinghe. Let''s just let it be that way."

    "Alright.", the girl sighed, "If that''s what you want."

    "Thank you."

    ________________

    14:15;

    Ever since the woman''s medical reports had been revealed to the the media, a lot of Neurological experts had appeared in front of the public to exin theplexity of the surgery that''d been performed upon her. Lack of oxygen in brain cells had the ability to lead to even death, at times. And for a Migraine patient as sensitive as Rong Xinghe, it was practically a miracle that she was even alive.

    As a result, thementers, mostly the ones who''d been swayed alongside the the girl''s denigrators, were filled with guilt for how unfair and rash they''d been to Rong Xinghe. The woman had been an ideal and a modest inspiration to them, all her life. And not just to the citizens of Country X, but to each one of her international admirers, as well. Through her journey from the ''Voice of the World'' to the nation''s Military Chief, everything had changed. Everything, but her adorable personality. She was a lot of things. She was sweet, kind, warm. Even sassy, savage, and quite the boss bi*ch. But of all those things, they''d used her to be something she could never be. A traitor.

    So as Weibo, and even Twitter, flooded with all kinds of apologetic posts andments in a matter of hours, Rong Xinghe scrolled through Xi Yuan''s ount indifferently. Ah... the sympathy love, she thought. It wasn''t as if she cared about the public opinion anyhow. She was no more a singer, or even remotely rted to the mor industry, for that matter. She couldn''t care less about the Social Media''s double-standard approach to every issue these days. Although, she did care about a few of her genuine supporters. The ones who''d refused to believe against her since the very beginning. She genuinely appreciated their sincerity.

    "Mr. Xi.", she stretched her neck a little back so she could peek at her darling in the Kitchen.

    "Yes, Ma''am?", the man lifted his gaze up from the Chquiles he was about to garnish with scrambled eggs and sliced avocado.

    "Can I use your ount to post a pic?", the girl asked him.

    The man thought for a few seconds before he nodded at her approvingly, and returned back to his cooking. Safety was no more a concern for them now that both their security teams had been summoned to Earlston. Moreover, he had never used any of his social media ounts before.

    Prior to her entrance in his world, his life had always revolved around work, and Xi Corporations had an official page of its own, so there naturally was no point promoting anything twice. Xi Yuan was not even sure how many people followed him, but since the girl seemed so exhrated about it, she could go ahead and give it a try.

    Rong Xinghe browsed through the ''Edinburgh Pce'' folder in the man''s phone gallery for a minute before she finally selected one of her favorites. Her gaze fixed at the regal and mightily entrancing Castle, him holding her hand, the ring on her finger sparkling proudly. It was a ssic. But that wasn''t it. She''d scribbled down the word ''Xinguan'' oh-so-fancily over his wrist in a traffic a few minutes before they''d gotten off that the alphabets stood out no less than her engagement ring. And coincidentally so, he''d actually outstretched the same hand before clicking the picture. As if stamping their rtionship. So cute!

    About three minutester, the photo along with the caption, "My bartender, Ad Infinitum. P.S.: Had to steal his Password for the little PDA.",nded over the Weibo grounds, unveiling a round of unyielding chaos into the hearts of millions, seconds after.

 Chapter 500: "Classic Xinghe"

    Chapter 500: "ssic Xinghe"

    Country X, 15:30;

    "Oh my God! It''s President Xi''s first post ever."

    "It''s their photo together. Lord, she looks so beautiful in the Mustard Yellow gown!"

    "Marry me, Queen..."

    "Look at her engagement ring, you guys. Isn''t it, like the fifth most expensive diamond in the world?"

    "Yeah. There was an article about it back when President Xi had proposed to her. It''s the highly-famed de-Beers Centenary Diamond. Its original owner is unknown, apparently. But to embed its specks into such an intricate crown-shaped ring must''ve required a lot of contacts."

    "Big Boss never ceases to amaze me!"

    "Isn''t that Edinburgh Castle she is looking at?", another onemented, "Jeez! They are in Scond right now. How romantic!"

    "I agree. And oh, she looks like a Princess in this picture, doesn''t she?"

    "My heart feels full and empty at the same time! It''s too much love."

    "Let''s not forget the highlight of the photo, shall we? The cute ''Xinguan'' calligraphed onto his wrist! Did she do it?"

    "OMG! It''s calling me single in a thousandnguages. Why are they so perfect together?"

    "Tell me about it. This one photo is sweetness overloaded at its best!"

    "And she used his ount to post! That, in itself, is like staking a im over him. ssic Xinghe."

    "She has always known how to make her point. Old habits die hard, indeed."

    "Go #Xinguan!"

    "Make a movie on them, someone, please."

    Those were but just a part of the tens of thousands ofments swarming up almost all of the Weibo, and Instagram. People were going crazy over the picture round the globe, so much so that almost every news channel had to add it to their regr bulletin. Cartoon artists and painters were recreating the photo in their own unique versions, while young storytellers and writers were penning down fanfictions around it. Regardless of how low-profile a life Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe maintained, they were the kind of people the world wished to know about. Understandably so, though.

    But as the Superfamily and the Xis looked at theizens go nuts over an unpretentious and unfiltered post, they were at a loss of words. Why the hell did they even work on the couple''s image protection, if the easiest way out was a social media post, they pondered. As long as it had the two of them involved, their admirers would be satisfied with anything. A gossip. A photo. A sentence, even. No wonder the rumors spread at such a ferocious pace...

    "Brother could''ve done this two days ago and the whole incident would''ve gone down the drain at once.", Xi Wei tapped his chin, exhausted. Xi Fang and Jiang Yue sat opposite the man, smiling gently at him.

    "What are you doing in my office again, Wei?", the man questioned his younger brother a momentter.

    "I am going to Scond. I miss them.", the man announced out of nowhere, "Please arrange the private jet for me. Also, you guys are invited."

    "We are?", Jiang Yue looked at the two men, thrilled.

    But instead of saying anything, Xi Fang simply stood up and grabbed Xi Wei''s left ear, twisting it hard, "Firstly, you do not miss them. You miss the food she would cook for you. Secondly, there''s a snowstorm approaching Earlston right now. It''s too dangerous to go there. Andstly, you''ve just returned from your vacation to Hawaii. What are you, Columbus?! Stay here, and help me with Xi Corps. Or I swear to God, Wei, I will kill you."

    "Oww! Urgh--", Xi Wei cried out in pain, "Second Sister-inw! Help me, please. This man has lost it. Darn it! It hurts..."

    "Fang!", Jiang Yue red at the man, infuriated, "Let him go. Now." And as the manplied with thedy''smands, she walked over to her to-be Brother-inw and massaged his ''afflicted'' ear carefully, "Never do that to him again, you. I mean it.", she said through gritted teeth, "It''s all red now."

    "Only my Sisters-inw love me.", Xi Wei smiled a wry smile, hugging the woman lightly, "Thank you so much, Xiao Yue."

    "If you wanted homemade food so much, Wei, you could''ve just asked me.", Jiang Yueughed, "I could cook for you?"

    "Oh, you would? I didn''t want to trouble you.", the man raised his brows.

    "Don''t be so formal.", the girl shook her head, "You know what? Let''s go to the Xi Corporations'' canteen. We''ll slip in the back and I''ll make something for you there!"

    "I am in!", the man sped his hands and made his way to Xi Fang''s office exit, "I''ll call Rong Xiao too. She must be done with her surgeries by now."

    As the man disappeared from Jiang Yue''s line of sight, she turned to Xi Fang, confused. What just happened? Rong Xiao? But it was now that she realized that the man was already staring at her with sympathy in his eyes.

    "What?"

    "Wee to the family, Honey.", heughed, "By the way, I must tell you. That brother of mine has an appetite of five cows, and he just tricked you into cooking for him. He wasn''t going to go to Scond anyway.

    "That dork is too afraid of President Xi''s death res every time he asks Xiao Xinghe to prepare him a meal, so he prefers witnesses. That''s me and Ying, mostly. Why do you think he invited us over there? It wasn''t courtesy. It was all for the safety concerns.

    "One more thing, Xiao Xiao is apetent Cardiac Surgeon and his girlfriend. She''s probably the smartest woman he has ever dated. But he seems serious about her, so don''t passments on their age difference, alright? You will love her. I assure you of that. Both the Rong sisters are amazing at making conversations. All the very best! May you survive this battle of life."

    "..."

    "I have apany to run, Ma''am.", the man smiled, "You were the one to fall into the trap willingly, so I can''t help you now. And don''t even bother asking me to join you in the canteen. I wasn''t joking when I said that I would kill him. Unless you want to take our wedding vows while I am in prison, keep me out of this."

 Chapter 501: "Please still marry me"

    Chapter 501: "Please still marry me"

    Earlston, Scond;

    Huang Biu didn''t step out of the guestroom the entire day. She was too terrified to, actually. Ever since Xi Yuan had demonstrated to her a glimpse of his rage, she hadn''t been able to even sleep, let alone face the man. God! He is a Devil, she thought.

    ''Lie low for some time.'', Rong Yufan had called to tell her, ''Do not act rash. Try to know how close they really are.''

    ''What are you going to do if the hacker reveals your name to them?'', she had questioned him.

    ''He won''t.'', the man had replied then indifferently, ''I''ve my ways.''

    ''Will it be worth it? Hurting Rong Xinghe?'', she''d asked next.

    ''It will be.'', he had chuckled, his voice calm, ''You need to know that there will be multiple failures along our paths before we eventually scar her for life. Did you really think that I hadn''t anticipated for the Xis and the Superfamily to defend her? It''s no longer easy to show her where she really belongs anymore, now that she has strong backups. But that just makes the game more fun, doesn''t it?''

    At this point, Huang Biu was no more sure as to who was more a beast, him, or Xi Yuan. Whilst one wished to destroy a woman he''d barely spoken to for years so desperately, thetter one desired to protect her with everything he had.

    Ever since she was a child, she''d fancied Xi Yuan. She couldn''t deny that. He was worth it all. The longing, the patience. He was the quiet,posed one. Aloof, and handsome. He barely talked to anyone, back then. Not even to the teaching staff. He would just silently submit his Homeworks and walk away. He was a straight-A student, still. Every teacher was fond of him. His problem-solving techniques would be exceptionally advanced and peculiar aspared to the other kids, regardless of the subject. Be it Literature or Mathematics or Science, Xi Yuan stood out in whatever he did. Even she was no match to his intellect. And as a result, no matter what she did, she never felt good enough to stand beside him.

    He had motivated her to keep working on herself. But as she grew up, in her heart, he became even more irreceable. It was more than equality for her. As years passed by, she''d started to believe that she deserved him. That being with him was an overdue right of hers.

    The only thing that''d slipped down her mind was that she had fallen for that kid in her High School. That many things had changed in between, and that he was no more the same Xi Yuan. That over those years, his definition of ''equals'' had changed, for the better. He needed a Queen by his side, one with a ze in her gaze and sharpness in her sword. Someone who was born to rule. An exact replica of his personality. She could never be that, for shecked the self-worth and the confidence it demanded. That was something Rong Xinghe was just naturally born with. She was a Queen, with or without a King. End of the story.

    ______________

    Earlston, Scond, 17:40;

    "Cats or Dogs?", the girl looked at the man preparing coffee for her as she sat over the kitchen counter.

    "Dogs."

    "Summers or Winters?"

    "Spring."

    "ck or White?"

    "Grey."

    "Bus or Train?"

    "ne?"

    "What?!", Rong Xinghe stared at the man, putting her phone away, "You''ve never used public transport before?"

    "Have you?", the man raised his brows, as he poured about four ounces of water into the espresso machine''s boiler.

    The girl almost jumped down with excitement, "Lots of times!", she eximed cheerfully, "It''s so much fun. There was this time when I was helping ady sell a bunch of erotic magazines in an all boys'' dormitory--"

    As the woman realized what she''d just bbered on about, she covered her wide-open mouth with her left hand, waiting for the man''s reaction. Xi Yuan simply blinked at the woman for a few seconds before he let out a helpless sigh, "You really have a world of your own, don''t you?", heughed, "Go on, Love. I want to know how this story ends."

    "Please still marry me.", the girl shook her head, pulling the man closer to her as she clutched onto his shirt''s cor. nting a quick peck upon her lips, Xi Yuan tilted his head to one side, "Of course, Bub.", he said, "You could start a Pornographic Publication House, and I''d still marry you. Besides, wouldn''t it be beneficial for me if you have a dirty mind in that area? I mean... the things you''d experiment on me--"

    "Hush!", Rong Xinghe said as she ced her hand over his lips, "How shameless you are. Mr. Tang is in the next room..."

    "He has a wife too.", Xi Yuan grinned, "He''ll understand."

    "..."

    He did not even bother with the sweet talk at this point. Just outright unabashed. How was she going to handle it once they''d return to Country X? And God forbid, what if one of the Six men were to walk in on them? Not even the five years of Military Chief training seemed as challenging as that to her now.

    Before the girl could see iting, the man held both her hands behind her back with one hand, the other one resting over her right thigh, his teeth digging into the skin of her neck. As a moan escaped her mouth, Rong Xinghe leaned back a little, shutting her eyes close. Biting her lower lip then, she tried to suppress her voice, so as to not be heard by the house helps.

    Only when his tongue had traveled from her corbone to the mole behind her right ear, did he whisper to her softly, "I know your ankle is hurt but would it be too insensitive of me to do some unutterable stuff to you, like, now? I''ll be careful, I promise."

    "Well, if you''re going to be careful...", the girlughed, crashing her lips onto his, "But in the Bedroom."

    "Or I could fire the staff and kill Miss Huang! Then... I''ll never have to hold back my desires anywhere anymore, in this house.", the man suggested cunningly, earning another peel of genuineughter from Rong Xinghe. A minuteter then, the man turned off the coffee machine and carried the girl to the Master bedroom, banging the door close behind them.

 Chapter 502: Fifty-fifty

    Chapter 502: Fifty-fifty

    Earlston, Scond, 09:00 a.m.;

    The next morning, Rong Xinghe woke up to her darling''s tender kisses, cold water drops from his damp hair after the shower touching her face in the process. As the scent of the warm cappino reached her nostrils, the girl opened her eyes, a contented smile across her lips.

    "Good morning, Lover.", she said to him.

    "Guten morgen to you too, Liebe.", the manughed, helping the woman sit up. "Here.", he then passed her the cup of coffee from the side-table, grabbing another one for himself, "I have news for you."

    "What?", the girl asked, sipping from the mug.

    "We''re going back home soon.", he announced. Surprised, Rong Xinghe almost choked on the hot beverage as she looked at the man with mixed expressions across her face.

    "Yeah. I talked to Bro Su.", Xi Yuan smiled, "He believes that you''ve recuperated impressively well over the past few weeks and that it''s unlikely for you to suffer through any of the post-surgery infections or reactions, henceforth. As for your ankle swelling, he said that it can be treated in Country X as well. So to sum it all up, five days from now, we''ll be leaving for City A."

    "Does that mean--"

    "Yes.", the man cut in with a chuckle, "We''re getting married, Military Chief."

    The girl didn''t say anything, as her heart drowned in an undeniable bliss at the realization. It was too surreal. Just the thought of walking down the aisle to him. In the moment, innumerable emotions swarmed through her every vein as the girl''s hands subconsciously reached for his nape, pulling him in for a deep passionate kiss. They were getting married, she screamed internally, tears of tion slipping down her eyes.

    "Alrighty, Madam! Is it so scary to wed me, that you''re crying now?", the man pulled away first, trying to cheer the girl up. cing his coffee mug over the tray again then, he wiped the woman''s tears away. Unable to contain her giggle, Rong Xinghe smacked his arm lightly.

    "What are you thinking?", Xi Yuan asked the girl a few seconds after, caging her in his embrace affectionately.

    "Nothing much.", the girl shook her head, "Just, you know, about our clothes'' collection for all the different wedding rituals. We''ll have to go shopping as soon as we get to Country X, Mr. Xi.", she said.

    "So does that mean that we''ll get to spend a lot of time together, even in Country X?", the man questioned, thrilled by the bare idea.

    "Yeah. But the conversations will be mostly limited to the Wedding stuff only."

    "As long as I get to roam around with you, I don''t care."

    "..."

    _______________

    Xi Family Mansion;

    City A, Country X, 15:20;

    "I can''t believe you all have been nning this for three months now.", Li Jungah stared at the huge Wedding Catalogs the girl''s Sisters-inw had brought along with them, "I feel embarrassed to have not been preparing at all, honestly."

    "Oh, please don''t.", Ruo Cy shook her head assuringly, "Yours and Mr. Xi''s blessings matter the most to Xinghe. You don''t have to worry about these silly things, trust me."

    "Yeah.", Songyan smiled, "We just wanted to know if you have any additional ideas or suggestions for us. You''re his mother. I am sure you must have looked forward to this day a lot. So, we insist, really."

    "Sorry, but we''ll be discussing the finances first.", it was now that Luo Youyou''s voice pierced through the air, Jiang Yue following behind her anxiously. She had never seen her to-be Mother-inw so furious before. Why, though, she couldn''t understand yet.

    The Six Tigresses turned to fix their gazes at the woman making her way to the sofa adjacent to Li Jungah''s, and then to the girl behind her. Jiang Yue was clearly, an absolute sweetheart, they thought, as she greeted them with respect and modesty at once. Although, they couldn''t say the same for the woman next to her.

    After half a minute passed by in the awkward quiet, Ningtao leaned back in her chair, smiling softly to the two elderly women, "This is going to be an expensive wedding. Irrespective of Yuan and Xinghe''s preferences, the Six men won''t be settling for anything beneath their quality standards. Even if it''s just family and friends, this ceremony will be broadcasted live on various tforms, and so, everything must be up-to-the-mark.

    "Such being the case, we could keep it fifty-fifty for both the families. Well, I haven''t discussed this with Wei yet, but I am sure he''ll be down with it."

    "You''d had a court marriage with Mr. Lu, right?", Luo Youyou scoffed, "No wonder you''re not aware of how our traditions and rituals work. Let me teach you, if so. Whilst the Bride''s family is responsible for all the ceremonial expenses from the beginning to the end, the Groom''s side pays for just the final reception. Ideally. Don''t you think your offer here is a bit unjust, Mrs. Lu?"

    "Take that back, woman!", Feng Mian red at Luo Youyou challengingly.

    "It''s okay, Xiao Mian.", Ningtao said in dismissal, her voice cold, "You see, Second Madam...", she added then, smirking at the other woman devilishly, "I did have a wedding with Wei shortly after that. You might not remember so because we never invited you to it."

    As the five women, in addition to Jiang Yue, burst outughing at the woman''s witty remark, she kept going, "So yes, I am aware of our biased traditions. And as ridiculous as those are, do you really think that the Six men would hold back from covering for their precious Kiddo''s wedding expenditures?

    "It''s just that Xi Yuan is a man of pride. He would never allow for such a narrow-minded belief to stain his life with Xinghe. He doesn''t want a wedding with her; he wants a marriage. Understand the difference, for thetter demandsplete equality."

    "But--"

    "Silence.", Li Jungah looked at Luo Youyou, enraged, "She is right. They are equals. Xiao Tao...", she turned to Ningtao then, "As his mother, I give you my word that the Xis will share half the expenses with the Superfamily in this wedding."

    "Understood."

    "Youyou, a word?", the woman then stood up, storming out of the living room as Luo Youyou followed behind her.

    Just when the two women had disappeared from their lines of sight, Ningtao''s phone rang up. "Yes, Mr. Lu?", she smiled as the man''s name popped up on the screen.

    "Alix said her first word just now!"

 Chapter 503: Lu Alixs Zia

    Chapter 503: Lu Alix''s Zia

    "What?!", Ningtao stood up, stunned, "What did she say?"

    "Zia."

    "Huh? What does that even mean?", the woman frowned. She''d never heard such a term before, so where did baby Alix pick it up from, she wondered.

    "It means Aunt in Italian.", Lu Wei answered proudly, "I was ying with Alix when Xinghe phoned me. So as Kiddo''s face appeared across the screen, our daughter pointed at it excitedly and shouted ''Zia!''. Clearly, it wasn''t merely a coincidence. I''ve shown her about ten to fifteen pictures of Xinghe from our album, and the girl is calling out to her Aunt with the same word."

    "Oh... so that''s why Xinghe would insist on speaking to Alix every day.", Ningtaoughed, "Zia is the easiest pronunciation for Aunt. Kids can learn it quite briskly. Ironic, isn''t it? The girl hasn''t even called us Mama or Dada yet, and that''s her first word."

    "Yeah. When are youing home, Mrs. Lu?", the man asked then, "I miss you."

    Listening to his innocently sincere words, Ningtao couldn''t help but feel her heart flutter a bit. "Give me an hour, okay?"

    "Drive safe.", he said before disconnecting the call.

    _____________

    Xi Family Mansion;

    City A, Country X, 15:30;

    As Ningtao shared the anecdote about Lu Alix''s first word with thedies, Li Jungah and Luo Youyou walked out of the house and into the backyard.

    "What the hell was that?", Li Jungah turned to re at the woman, her tone unexpectedly calm.

    "I-- I was just trying to..."

    "Humiliate the Xis by implying how shallow-minded and pinchpenny we truly are?", the woman interrupted, "Seriously? That''s the best you coulde up with?"

    "What do you mean? Yuan is like a son to me too, you know, Sister?", Luo Youyou said, pretending to have been wronged.

    "But he has never considered you so much as even family, let alone a rtionship as deep and meaningful as that.", Li Jungah remarked solemnly, "Why would he, anyway? You allowed the Luos to bi*ch about Xinghe in almost every business gathering. You called for a private meeting with the Xi Empire''s shareholders right after the Sogement Pharma''s issue caught fire, trying to sway them in favor of Fang. And that''s just off the top of my head.

    "So let''s not fake it, okay? You want to win over Fang, right? You have my blessings. But if you use Yuan or Xinghe ever again in order to reach your goals, I''ll make you pay for it ten folds. You have my word on that."

    Shocked by the woman''s cognizance of her each move, Luo Youyou was at a loss of words. Clenching her fists, her nails digging into the skin of her palms, she looked away; exhaling a short breath.

    "One more thing.", Li Jungah added, "Keep your distance from Yuan''s wedding preparations. No tricks, no ranting, no ridiculous demands. Nothing. Because if you do anything stupid the way you just did, I won''t abstain from tipping Yuan off about the 100 Million USD loss your husband caused to the Xi Corporations three days ago.

    "Such a huge blunder might actually cost him his position as one of the shareholders, don''t you think?"

    Stepping back a few inches, the other woman stared at Li Jungah in horror. How did she...

    "Y... yo--"

    "Auntie.", Jiang Yue''s voice resounded across the empty space as the girl approached them gracefully.

    "Yes, Yue?", Li Jungah smiled at her, averting her gaze from the awfully still Luo Youyou.

    "I''ll have to take my leave now.", the girl replied, smiling back at the woman, "I have to meet a friend.", she said, her voice barely audible.

    "At Caf Chronicles?", the woman chuckled, pinching the girl''s nose yfully, "Sure. Just remind Fang toe home for dinner tonight. The child has gotten so thin over the past few weeks."

    "Huh!?"

    "Sorry, Sweetie. I really didn''t intend to eavesdrop on your call earlier, but you were a tad loud. I just couldn''t help it.", Jungahughed.

    Jiang Yue let out a peal of nervousughter as well, as she listened to the woman''s carefree tone. She had to admit it. The Xi familydies had extremely contrasting personalities. It didn''t matter how sweetly Luo Youyou spoke to her, it always seemed as if she was putting on pretense. While on the other hand, Li Jungah felt like... a shed in the scorching July sun. It wasforting to talk to her.

    "I''ll tell him that.", the girl said, waving goodbye to thedies.

    ______________

    Earlston, Scond, 11:00;

    Huang Ling had made a call to Rong Xinghe with an intention of apologizing to her on his sister''s behalf. The girl found it unnecessary, though. Xi Yuan had already exacted his revenge in his own way, nheless. Besides, it wasn''t like Huang Ling was ountable for Huang Biu''s actions. Sitting over the porch swing, the girl sipped the sweet tea her darling had made her, as she chatted with the Hybrid, in blithe.

    "It''s alright, Ling.", she giggled, "You don''t have to feel sorry about any of this."

    "Fine.", the man smiled, "By the way, where is Mr. Xi? I owe an apology to him as well, I believe."

    "He is discussing business stuff with Ying in the study.", the girl said.

    "Oh."

    "So what''s new? Any update on Ahmed Ali Fadhil?", Rong Xinghe asked in a whisper, looking around so as to ensure that no one else was hearing.

    "You''re not supposed to discuss work right now, Alpha.", the man pointed out.

    "I won''t repeat myself.", the woman shot back assertively.

    "Well... not yet.", the Hybrid gave in, "Abram and Jackson are still waiting to hear from him. There has been a speck of progress on Maksoor khan''s end, but. We''ve caught his right-hand man, Neil. However, he seems tough. It doesn''t look like the Military torture will work on him anymore. I was thinking of interrogating him myself next week.

    "Other than that, everything else is regr. The Military drills, the border patrolling, and the ammunition testing. It''s all going as usual."

    "So are you guys loving the Military Chief duties?", Rong Xinghe questioned next.

    "Nope.", the man shook his head, exhausted, "It''s all so diplomatic and political over here, Xinghe. Don''t take this the wrong way... but I prefer the fieldwork more."

    "I do, too, honestly.", the girl nodded, "Gosh! I miss the office."

    "Well, don''t keep Yuan hanging any longer, woman.", Lingughed, "Have a peaceful wedding ceremony while you can with him. Work can wait for some time. The Hybrids will take care of it until then, okay?"

    "Okay."

 Chapter 504: "She is not married yet, is she?"

    Chapter 504: "She is not married yet, is she?"

    Earlston, Scond, 12:30;

    "What are you doing?", Rong Xinghe asked, stepping into the study, her voice but a whisper.

    "Thest episode of FRIENDS.", the man replied, pressing the spacebar of hisptop as he paused the video.

    "Already?", the girl was amused.

    "I liked it.", Xi Yuan smiled cheekily, "Who were your favorites among the Six?"

    "Um... Chandler and Phoebe.", the woman said after some thought. "The King of Sarcasm, and the Empress of Badassery. What about you?"

    "Well, we agree on Chandler here.", the man clicked his tongue, "Though, I liked Rachel more. I mean, her character''s development by the end was just remarkable!"

    "True that.", Rong Xingheughed, "So you finish the series and I will cook today."

    "Oh, I can watch itter. Let me--"

    "No arguments.", the girl red at the man, silencing him at once, "Just change clothes when you''re done with this episode, alright?"

    "Where are we going?"

    "Edinburgh.", she answered.

    "Why?"

    "We''re getting some Scottish souvenirs for our families, Mr. Xi.", Rong Xinghe smiled at the man meaningfully, "They will love the gesture, I am sure."

    "And?"

    "...And there''s this amazing Art Gallery, situated right in the heart of the capital. Apparently, it even has original pieces from artists like Botticelli, Raphael, Titian, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Constable, Turner, and M. Bro Bo once mentioned this Museum to me; so I have to go there before we leave for Country X.", the girl mumbled in one breath.

    "There we go."

    "Also, it''s this club--"

    "You have nned the schedules for all our remaining days in Scond already, haven''t you?", the man cut in, blinking at the woman in disbelief.

    "I am in love with this ce!", the girl eximed.

    Now, that was a relief to him, really. The thought that Scond had been able to distract her from Country X; was an assurance that she''d given herself the break she rightfully deserved.

    He was in awe, though, by her insightful understanding of a foreignnd''s culture, and history, and food. Rong Xinghe had studied the countries beyond her own, just out of curiosity; but her knowledge amazed him still. She had a natural interest in how people across the globe were so different and yet, so simr to one another.

    Often, he thought of how much the girl must''ve savored the tours back when she was in the ''Voice of the World''. It was a shame that she chose to give up on singing then. To date, people danced to the songs the woman had once sung; such was her fame at that time.

    But being a Military Chief was no trivial achievement as well. Her evolution was just phenomenal. And the reasons, just as heart-wrenchingly painful. Sigh...

    _____________

    City A, Country X, 18:30;

    Whilst Rong Xinghe''s family nned the huge uing event along with the Xi trio, on the outskirts of the city, a certain someone had returned from Italy. It had been quite a troubling month for Diablos, for there had been a bunch of age-old Mafia families wrangling with him over authority and business. It was tiring, frankly, and time-consuming; dealing with those cunning folks.

    But that wasn''t his worry, at the moment. It was the news he had just received.

    "Wedding?", he chuckled coolly, looking at his right-hand man. Nifhel nodded, his gaze fixed to the ground. "One of the boys just filled me in on it."

    As the man kept talking, Diablos smiled to himself. That Xi Yuan was one weird moron, he thought. It hadn''t been too long since he''d sent the man, the pictures of Rong Xinghe sharing a night with him. How could he not want to confirm their authenticity first? Not only had Xi Yuan never tried to contact him after it, but he''d actually helped Rong Xinghe cover up a fairly tricky scandal recently. And now, a Wedding? Just what was he thinking, Diablos pondered.

    "... It''s time you let go of the idea of you and that woman now.", Nifhel said cautiously, "You can''ty a hand on that woman after she gets married. You realize that, right? That''s the ''Werewolf Crew''s third principle. We do not ruin families."

    "I know.", the man rolled his eyes, his voice bone-weary, "I was the one to make those rules in the first ce, Nifhel. It''d be too ridiculous if the leader of the gang was to exploit them himself. But..."

    "But?", the other man frowned.

    "She is not married yet, is she?", Diablos raised his brows, tilting his head to one side, "Anything can happen before that. After all, the future is, in fact, an unending mystery."

    "Don''t do anything impulsive, Boss."

    "I can''t promise.", the manughed, "It''s Xinghe on the other end, Nifhel."

    "..."

    ________________

    Earlston, Scond, 14:00;

    Huang Biu was scrolling through her Weibo, reading thements underneath Xi Yuan''s recent post when Rong Yufan''s name appeared at the top of the device''s screen. Sitting up straight on the bed, the woman pressed the phone to her left ear.

    "Fly back to Country X.", the man instructed her as Gu Hong served him a spoonful of rice in a bowl, Rong Chang at his left.

    "What?", Huang Biu asked, taking a moment to register the man''s words.

    "You can''t stay there for longer.", Rong Yufan nodded, "They''re suspicious of you. And in order to strike back, you''ll have to stay alive. Now that the Snowstorm approaching the Scottish borders has changed its direction due to some jet stream, catching a flight won''t be a problem."

    "Uh... okay.", the woman ran her fingers through her hair, befuddled. As the man cut the call, his mother grabbed a chair facing him, "Scond? Isn''t that hussy over there as well?!", she asked.

    "Who was it on the call, Son?", Rong Chang questioned suspiciously.

    "It''s work, Dad.", Rong Yufan chuckled, "Trust me. I cannot begin to exin how humiliating it was for me to be dragged down the MCO hallways for interrogation that day. I will never forget those few hours of my life.

    "And I''ll get my revenge on her someday for that, definitely. But this is not the right time. So don''t worry."

    "We''re not worried, Yufan.", Rong Quiang, the man''s grandfather spoke up this time, "We just want you to remember to act from the dark. No matter what you do to her, never let them reach you."

 Chapter 505: Her first stage

    Chapter 505: Her first stage

    Earlston, Scond, 15:00;

    Rong Xinghe got behind the wheels as Xi Yuan grabbed the passenger seat for himself; and about half a minuteter, they were on their way to Edinburgh, the ancient yet lively capital of Scond. It was an hour-long drive to the city, but the girl had convalesced enough to handle it. Besides, she seemed surprisingly upbeat about this visit to the Scottish National Gallery today. He just didn''t have the heart to turn any of her requests down.

    "She is leaving tonight.", the girl apprised her darling, pressing down on the elerator, "Huang Biu."

    "Wow.", the man raised his brows, "No wonder Butler Tang couldn''t stop grinning all day."

    "Can I ask you something?", Rong Xinghe side-nced at the man.

    "Sure."

    "Why did you never went out with her? Or anyone, for that matter. I mean, there must''ve been someone you''d liked, as a teenager."

    Xi Yuan contemted the right way to answer the girl''s question for a few seconds before he smiled gently, "No one was their authentic selves in front of me, growing up, Xinghe. They wanted to befriend me for my status, and the women desired to date me for my background. To them, I was not a person, but an achievement. A trophy they could show off to the world; iming that we were close and connected.

    "You were different, though. You never bent your principles or believes for me. You listened to me for who I really was. You looked beyond what the world believed me to be. And most importantly, the second Iid my eyes on you, I felt...plete. As if that was it. Helping you with the NGO and the Youth Team; felt right. Unknowingly, you helped me grow, Xinghe, as a person. No one ever did that for me.

    "I don''t let people in, Love. Not easily. I restrain myself from giving others the authority to hurt me, or abandon me, as they find suitable. Maybe that''s why I never entertained women like Huang Biu in the past."

    The girl nodded understandingly, her gaze glued to the road ahead. It was unbelievable how mature he had been as a kid, she admired. But then again, for a child who''d grown up witnessing his elders fight over authority, it was bound to change him psychologically. It was a totally different story for her, however. Dealing with psychotic guardians like the Rongs was a whole other level of battle in itself.

    "I am ttered, Mr. Xi.", the girlughed, "You chose meeee!"

    "You are wee.", the man said modestly, earning another round of giggle from her.

    The woman then switched to her favorite FM channel, turning the volume up to its maximum. Xi Yuan''s lips curled up in a charming smile as the girl swayed to Shawn Mendes''s ''Something Big'', singing wlessly along with the Pop Prince. Pulling his phone out then, the man videoed the girl, like the faithful fan he truly was.

    ___________

    Scottish National Gallery,16:40;

    "And this is ''Madonna and Child with Saints'' painted by Lorenzo Lotto himself in the 1500s. Bro Bo told me that it is a Holy Conversation style form. It was definitively acknowledged in 1727 in France''s Orleans Collection.", the girl toured her darling around the gallery, pointing to each picture, briefing him on them once in a while, "Isn''t it just mesmerizing? I, for one, loved his choice of colors, back when brother gifted its replica to me."

    "Fascinating.", Xi Yuan smiled, "Who''s your favorite painter?"

    "Bro Bo.", the girl stated as a matter-of-factly, "Not just because he is family, but. I''ve genuinely liked his art ever since I was a kid. His attention to detail, his craving for perfection, the intricacy in his work. Everything.

    "But otherwise, definitely Leonardo Da Vinci. Now, I know he''s been, one controversial artist. Always surrounded by rumors. He has a... reputation, one might say. But the fact that each one of his works had an interesting tale to tell is something I find naturally intriguing. Never in his life, he did anything normal, you see."

    "Ah."

    "Yours?", the girl asked then.

    "You.", the man shrugged, "I really liked the Portrait you gifted Dad on his birthday. Although I am not as well-informed on Art as you are; I still believe that I would''ve liked you better than any other painter out there."

    "Keep going.", the woman beamed, "Compliment me more, you. I am all ears!"

    "How indecorous!", Xi Yuan shook his head helplessly, walking away from the girl, "And shameless." Rong Xinghe followed behind him, suppressing herughter, "Where are you going? The other paintings are to the right!", she said.

    _____________

    Carbaret Voltaire Club, 21:00;

    Xi Yuan grabbed a Unicorn Cocktail for the girl at the bar, as she sank into one of the Club Booths, observing the group of performers preparing for their next piece.

    For more than a decade now, this venue had been a foreground of Scond''s club culture. This ce had a heart for Music, they said. It was a two-floored club, with local and international DJs ying round the clock. The club had a goofiness to it, a cave-like interior. The girl loved it, still.

    "Here you go.", the man returned after a few minutes, cing the two sswares in front of her on the table.

    "So... did you like the ce?", Rong Xinghe peered at the man expectantly, "Bro Al suggested it to me."

    "I''ve got to say this.", Xi Yuan said to the woman, leaning closer to her across the table, "I am not traveling without you anymore. You are like my private tour guide. And an excellent one at that." Rong Xingheughed out breezily. How she would like that, she thought. Unfortunately, her position in the Military made it impossible for her to do that. And deep down, they both were aware of it.

    As the bunch of youngsters began singing, the couple turned to look at them. It was a town song, thenguage English. But the singers were all in sync, their voices fairly pleasant. The song was about a Christmas love story. Heart-warming, and magical.

    Couples reaching for the dance floor, spinning around at each beat,ughing; the atmosphere was absolutely serene that evening. About a minute or twoter, Xi Yuan turned to ask the girl for a dance as well, only to find her lost in her own world.

    Rong Xinghe''s eyes were still fixed upon the performers, a distant memory floating in her mind. Voice of the World. Her first stage. One of the most drainingpetitions there ever was, and yet, so filled with zest. She''d never realized it until today, until this very moment, that she missed it. The innocent and driven part of her past self. She missed the twelve-year-old, spontaneous, and unstoppable, Xinghe. She missed the girl those monsters had so ruthlessly killed.

 Chapter 506: "I make them pay"

    Chapter 506: "I make them pay"

    City A, Country X, 19:30;

    Five dayster, Xinguan returned to their home, the Xi trio waiting for them at the airport already.

    "You have no idea how much I''ve missed you, Sister-inw!", Xi Wei hugged Rong Xinghe tightly, Xi Ying joining him shortlyter. "Oh, my sweet little Panda!", the girl giggled, patting his back lightly.

    "How have you been, Brother?", Xi Fang approached Xi Yuan instead.

    "Great.", the man smiled, enveloping his arms around his younger brother briefly, yet fondly.

    Pulling apart from the man then, Xi Fang smiled back at him, "We''ll have to take a private exit. Sister-inw''s fans and the media have enwreathed almost the entire airport, as they wish to get a shot of you two together."

    "Who revealed our flight schedule to the paparazzi?", Xi Yuan frowned.

    "I believe someone recognized you guys in Scond while you were leaving.", the man replied, "The person posted an Instagram story of you both boarding the jet."

    "Alright. You''ve informed the MCST about her arrival, though?"

    "I have."

    ________________

    Elite Diamond Penthouse, 20:30;

    "Kiddo!", Zhi Al strode through the door just as the couple, along with the trio, had walked in, the other Five Tigers following behind him leisurely, "Come here.", the man said, pulling his precious sister in his arms.

    "I missed you.", Rong Xingheughed softly, waving at the other men, "And I brought you guys presents!"

    "So why do you think we are ''actually'' here, Kid?", Su Rogguang scoffed, crossing his arms, "Give us the gifts and we''ll be on our ways."

    "..."

    As the Superfamily siblings began chatting among themselves, Xi Yuan gestured to the Xi twins and Xi Wei to leave them be. It had been about a month since they''d met. They deserved a few minutes of privacy, to the least, he thought. Moreover, now that he was back, he had some excruciatingly pressing matters to take care of on his front, as well.

    "Any activity on Diablos''s part?", he questioned Xi Fang as they strolled at a distance from the penthouse.

    "None.", the man shook his head.

    "Yeah.", Xi Wei added, "I looked into it personally. From what I''ve collected up till now, he''s been swamped with the business in Italy, recently. Something about the traditionally instituted Mafia families and their feud over political authority."

    "What about the Jiang Pharmaceuticals?", Xi Yuan directed his next question towards his sister.

    "Just as you''d spected, they did try to use us of giarism.", Xi Ying answered truthfully, "But we were a step ahead of them from the very beginning. So far, thewsuit is pretty much in our favor. We have the usible evidence at our disposal, after all."

    "I''ll take over the Xi Corporations first thing tomorrow morning.", the man sighed, looking up at the dark sky, "You three did well. Get some rest for the next few days."

    "We are fine, Brother.", Xi Yingughed, "We don''t need a break."

    "Do as you see fit.", Xi Yuan smiled, pinching the girl''s cheek.

    "What are you going to do next?", Xi Fang scratched the back of his neck, tired.

    "We''ll begin by buying out the Sogement Pharmas first.", the man answered as Xi Wei walked over to one of the soda vans roughly ten meters from them.

    "Why the Sogement Pharmas? They didn''t wrong us, did they?", Xi Ying asked curiously.

    "They gave us their word, Ying.", Xi Yuan stated, stopping in his tracks, waiting for the youngest among them toe back, "And then they turned their back on us. In business, profit and loss are of utmost importance, sure. But the very foundation of any business is the reputation thepany promises. Sogement Pharmas proved themselves hical the moment they chose the Jiang Pharmaceuticals over us. Unfortunately, for them, I do not show mercy to backstabbers. I make them pay."

    The Xi twins exchanged apprehensive nces among themselves, uncertain. This was the primary difference between Xi Yuan and a majority of the businessmen out there. This man knew how to use his powers and position, so as to establish his eminence amid themoners and draw certain boundaries, which were to never be crossed. By anyone.

    "Let''s focus on the Wedding first.", Xi Wei returned with four beer cans, passing each to the three.

    "Sure, Wei.", Xi Fang chuckled, "What''s on your mind?"

    "Well, I am taking responsibility for the Bachelor Party.", the man grinned, winking at Xi Yuan yfully, "I specialize in that area the most, anyway. Believe me."

    "I really do.", Xi Yuan smiled sarcastically, turning to face the twins, "What about you two?"

    "I''ll take care of the Wedding Cake.", Xi Ying sped her hands, excitement evident in her eyes.

    "And I will just stay by your side.", Xi Fang shrugged helplessly, "Ensure your Wedding vows and the suits, are all up to the mark, you know?"

    "Perfect.", the man said, sipping from his beer can.

    :::::::::::::::::::::::::

    22:35;

    The Xi siblings stepped inside the house to find Rong Xinghe asleep on the couch, Lu Wei''s ck suit jacket protecting her from the cold breeze. The Six men were still upied in their conversation, their voices cautiously low but.

    A minuteter, Zhi Bo noticed Xi Yuan standing at a distance and smiled at him with acknowledgment, "She must be tired from the long flight.", he said, "Come in."

    "You should get some sleep too, Yuan.", Zhi Xi said, "We''ll talk business tomorrow, alright?"

    "I am not tired.", Xi Yuan shook his head, smiling at the men as he approached the sleeping girl lying next to Mo Zixuan, "In fact, would you guys like to join me for a drink at Blush?"

    "I am in.", Zhi Al shrugged nonchntly, and the other men approved of the idea seconds after.

    "Let me just tuck her in.", the man said, leaning down a bit as he lifted Rong Xinghe in his arms gently, "It''s freezing out here in the living room. She might catch a cold by the morning this way."

    The Six Tigers silently watched as Xi Yuan carried their Kiddo to the dimly lit bedroom on the first floor of the house, not knowing how to react to the situation. This was probably the first time that the man hadn''t even attempted to conceal his affection for the girl in front of them. Sigh... had they made a mistake, they wondered, by letting those two travel to Scond alone?!

 Chapter 507: Rattraps

    Chapter 507: Rattraps

    Military Chief Office, 09:00;

    Even though her administrative leave was yet to be over, the first thing Rong Xinghe did the next morning was to visit her workspace. She needed to catch up with the Hybrids before proceeding with the Wedding preparations anyhow, for she couldn''t take chances with an enemy as sly and duplicitous as Ahmed Ali Fadhil.

    "You are not supposed to be here, Xinghe.", Elijah Williams approached the girl from behind, joining her in the observation room.

    "I am not participating in the Military activities, am I?", the girl chuckled, her gaze fixed upon the two men visible through the one-way mirror. Huang Ling was upied with Neil inside the interrogation cell, right next to the dark expanse, wherein, Rong Xinghe stood, watching them quietly.

    "Here you go.", Williams sighed, handing the girl one of the two takeaway cups he''d brought along, "Your caf auit."

    "Why thank you, Mister!", Rong Xinghe beamed with bliss, "Where are the Florence brothers, by the way?"

    "Shawn is engrossed in all the paperwork.", the man answered casually, "And as for David, I haven''t heard from him since thest night. He went home with two women. Let''s just leave it at that."

    "Ah.", the girl pursed her lips inartictely. She had seen iting, to be truthful. Of all the Ten Hybrids, David Florence had always been one spoiled brat. The quintessential womanizer. Well, after her male alias, Lu Xi, of course.

    "How''s the situation in Afghanistan, though? Is there something Abram and Jackson needs?", Rong Xinghe asked a few minutester as Huang Ling stood up and lugged his chair across the confined room, nearing the injured jailbird.

    "Not that I am aware of.", Elijah shook his head, sipping from his own cup, "Aftaab Ali hasn''t been able to contact Ahmed Fadhil through his coordinates. But that''s alright. Considering that he is one of the most fortified fugitives in the world, he''s bound to be on the qui vive."

    "Their cover is intact though, right?", the girl voiced her primary concern.

    "Yeah. Everyone over there believes that Abram is a businessman curiously fond about Fadhil. He has gained a lot of trust and allies over there as well, in fact.", the man smiled.

    Rong Xinghe nodded, a lot more rxed now. It was immensely crucial for them to get hold of that terrorist this time, as they''d never been able to get this closer to him over the past two decades of manhunt. And not just Country X. Even countries like America, India, and Germany hadn''t been able to capture that hateful abomination to date, despite their endlessly well-orchestrated undercover operations.

    Kiling Ahmed Ali Fadhil was the need of the hour for the world, at this point. That man, on the loose, was but a ticking time bomb. With more than fifty catastrophic explosions ascribed under his name, the man was responsible for about onekh-plus deaths, overall. He was a global threat; the most powerful countries, including Country X, hunting for him coitantly.

    "Try to break him before I rejoin as the Military Chief.", Rong Xinghe said, pointing her chin at the man Huang Ling was talking to, "We have to make sure Country X is thoroughly safe from any sort of internal terrorist attack, or a preposterous extortion, at that, before we leave for Afghanistan."

    "We''re leaving for Afghanistan?", Williams asked, taken aback. The woman simply nodded, in response. Ahmed Ali Fadhil was like a rat.

    One can not capture a rat with just one rattrap, for the little animal tends to have an advantage in size, speed, and sense. Now, she was confident of Abram Orlov''s skills, unmistakably. But she needed to be there in person, so as to set sufficient traps for the man to stumble into at least one, eventually. That was the only way to put an end to this persecuting chapter. Once and for all.

    _____________

    Xi Corporations Headquarters, 14:00;

    Xi Yuan leaned back in his chair, his one legfortably crossed over the other, his gaze drifting from the start to the end of the long conference table. Too embarrassed of how they''d reacted at theirst meeting, the shareholders didn''t have the nerves to even look at the man, let alone initiate the symposium.

    "Mr. Wei, and Mr. Chen.", the man said in an undertone, picking up the file ced in front of him.

    "Y... yes, Sir.", the two men stood up, their voices barely audible.

    "I wonder if you still wish for the Military Chief to resign from her position as Xi Corporations'' Advisor.", Xi Yuan demanded, "You two had caused quite the ruckus about herpetence ofte, hadn''t you?"

    "We''re s--sorry, President.", one of the two men stammered in panic, his legs trembling in an undeniable terror.

    Only after the two men had pleaded to him for forgiveness, along with the other shareowners in the wrong, was the man a tad satisfied. He didn''t care of the irrelevant bickering concerning him and Xi Fang among those in the Xi Corps. But to aim at Rong Xinghe or Jiang Yue, was just straight-up uneptable. Brotherly politics aside, thedies were to be one of the Xis some day. And no way in hell was he going to give such strangers the satisfaction of hurting or denigrating his family.

    "Know your limits.", the man remarked in the end, shutting the file in his hands close, as he stood up steadily, scrutinizing almost every soul at the table, "For your own good."

    Just as the man was about to wind up the meeting, a certain someone sauntered across from him, outside the conference hall, a group of young employees surrounding the person excitedly. Following Xi Yuan''s line of sight, the shareholders, along with Xi Chongkun and Xi Chonglin attempted to sneek a peek at the source of disturbance. To their shock, it was none other than her. Xi Corporations'' soon-to-be Queen.

    "Fine.", the girlughed tenderly, stopping in her tracks, "One selfie at a time, alright?"

    "OMG! Thank you so much, Ma''am.", a female employee shrieked with exhileration.

    Patiently, Rong Xinghe allowed everyone to click a picture with her, and even signed some of the handkerchiefs, out of general courtesy. It took roughly fifteen minutes for the crowd to finally calm down. But she didn''t mind the uproar. It wasn''t like she was on a packed schedule in the moment, anyway.

    "Are you here to meet Big Boss?!", an employee questioned, thrilled by just the thought of it.

    "Yes.", the girl replied, "He wasn''t in his office. We''re supposed to have lunch together."

 Chapter 508: Afghanistan: Land of Valor, Land of Sorrows

    Chapter 508: Afghanistan: Land of Valor, Land of Sorrows

    Loosening his tie, Xi Yuan stepped out of the conference hall, his gaze glued to the woman encircled by the ted crowd. God, she looked mesmerizing, he muttered under his breath. Attired in a Teal A-line dress, she had put on a pair of ck tform wedges underneath; her Jet ck hair freely swaying as she nodded and moved. It was strange, really. Irrespective of how many times he had seen her unclothed, she still had the same staggering effect on his heart. Stronger, even, if that was possible.

    "When are you going to post next, Ma''am?", one of the employees asked gleefully.

    "Is it true that Big Boss confessed to you in front of the Statue of Liberty?", another one queried.

    "When is the Wedding, Military Chief?!"

    Inundated by the interminable questions, Rong Xinghe furrowed her brows, massaging the temple of her head. "Stap back, everyone.", at this time, Xi Yuan''s rtively cold voice resounded throughout the open space, sending a shiver down the staff''s spines.

    Erasing the distance separating them, Xi Yuan approached the woman then, holding onto both her hands into his, "Are you alright?", he asked her next, his voice much transfixed and mellow now.

    "Uh-huh.", the girl nodded faintly, letting out augh as the man attempted to rub her head wobbly, "I am okay.", she said then, shoving his hand away, "It''s just that I haven''t had food. And I can''t have medicine without it."

    "You could''ve had lunch without me, Xinghe.", the man sighed, his voiceced with worry.

    "I''ll live, President Xi.", Rong Xinghe chuckled, nting a quick peck against his lips, "Don''t worry."

    Involuntarily, as the man''s lips curled up in an appealing yet noble smile, the employees around him, along with the shareholders observing them from a distance, couldn''t help but feel confounded. Although they were aware of how charming their Boss truly was, they''d never watched him smile genuinely at someone. And to think that he shared such a symphonious and beautiful bond with his to-be wife; was just unbelievably heartwarming for them.

    "Fine. Let''s leave now.", Xi Yuan said after a while, "There is this amazing Italian restaurant I know of. We should go there."

    "Sure."

    _________

    Fenice Ristorante, 13:15;

    "So you are going to Afghanistan after the wedding?", the man stared at the woman sitting across from him as she poured him a ss of water.

    "Probably.", Rong Xinghe answered, "Itpletely depends upon how reliable Aftaab Ali is, though."

    "Xinghe, how dangerous is this mission exactly?", Xi Yuan asked, his expression earnest.

    "Truth be told, very. It''s Country X''s longest manhunt for a reason, Yuan.", the girl said, "It won''t be easy apprehending this guy, you know, even for the Hybrids."

    "And there''s no way I can stop you?", the man raised his brows.

    "Nope.", the woman shook her head, "I cannot let go of this opportunity, Lover. Besides, I promise I''ll be cautious. Okay?"

    "Okay.", the man inhaled a sharp breath, as the girl dug in into her te of Mushroom Risotto.

    Even though this wasn''t the first time she was going on a mission, he had never felt this uneasy about any of her Military operations, in the past. It''s just because of He Chen''s poison attack, heforted himself.

    Moreover, it wasn''t like he could control her life or decisions anyway. Even marriage didn''t give him the authority to do so. Not to mention, she was the nation''s highest Military Authority. One wrong move on her end and thousands of people could lose their lives. And as much as he hated to admit it, she was the only person capable enough to exterminate terrorists like Ahmed Ali Fadhil from the face of the Earth.

    "I will have to get back to my physical training. Maybe, I''ll begin from tom--", Rong Xinghe was still speaking when she noticed her darling zoned out. "Yuan, what is it?", she snapped her fingers thrice, so as to grab his attention.

    "Nothing.", the man smiled, shaking his thoughts away, "Just work."

    "Oh."

    ____________

    Rong Family Mansion, 14:30;

    The man lied on his bed, his phone pressed against his ear, an amused smile stered across his mouth. "Is it really who I believe it is?", he asked.

    "It is.", the man on the other end confirmed with augh, "I would never forget someone like you, my friend. I just didn''t get the time to make a call."

    "I understand.", Rong Yufan chuckled coolly, "How is everything over there in UAE, Mr. Novikov?"

    "Work is great.", the man smiled, "Though, I am heading to Afghanistan tomorrow. My Boss asked for my presence about three days ago. Something important seems to havee up over there, I guess."

    "So how did you remember me?"

    "Well... I need information.", Novikov exined, "Mostly about Country X''s current financial changes and international currency eptance rate. Mypany seems to be interested, in investing in Country X this time. So it would really be helpful if you could get me some insider information."

    "Ah. Sure.", Rong Yufan shrugged nonchntly, "I''ll text you everything within Six hours, Adrian."

    "Thank you so much, Mr. Rong.", the manughed with clear relief in his tone, "I guess I owe you this one too, huh? Eight years back, you helped me pay such a huge amount of debt, and now this. You really are a brother from another mother to me."

    "You tter me.", the man clicked his tongue, his gaze fixed at the chandelier over his head, "Let''s meet over drinks sometime, shall we?"

    "Of course! Come over to Kabul anytime you''re in need of a break, in fact.", Adrian Novikov suggested, "I am in charge of a lot of clubs over here as well. And since I''ll be here for the next few weeks, you are wee to join me."

    Rong Yufan talked to the man for half a minute more before he disconnected the call. He had no intention of visiting the Land of Valor and the Land of Sorrows anytime soon, for he had a much fascinating prey to pry at. His favorite toy, and his ''hateful'' little sister- Rong Xinghe.

 Chapter 509: "What you been doing?"

    Chapter 509: "What you been doing?"

    Elite Saphhire Penthouse, 09:30;

    The next morning, Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe woke up in each other''s arms, someone knocking violently on their bedroom door. Knitting his brows, Xi Yuan climbed down the bed as the woman pulled the nket up to her shoulders, turning around to peek at the unexpected visitor so early in the day.

    "What you been doing?", Ningtao squinted her eyes at the woman, her lips stretching to form a delighted smile, the other Five Tigresses standing behind her. As their gazes traveled down to the ripped packet of condoms, thedies turned to Xi Yuan, giving him an indescribably meaningful, proud look.

    "I am so thankful we showed up unannounced!", Ching Tong grinned, patting the man''s shoulders lightly, "Good going, Sailor."

    As Xi Yuan thought of hisst conversation with the girl''s Sisters-inw before he''d left for Scond, he couldn''t help but feel a bit cornered by them, now. They were going to ask a lot of questions, weren''t they?

    "What are you all doing here?", Rong Xingheughed, heat rising up to her cheeks and ears.

    "We''re here to discuss the Wedding, Honey.", Songyan smiled, tilting her head to one side.

    "Right.", the girl said, "Just give me fifteen minutes. I''ll be down after a shower."

    "Oh, sure.", Cheng Tai nodded understandingly, "We needed to speak to Yuan in private anyway. So, if you''ll excuse us...", the woman grabbed the man''s wrist next, shutting the door behind him.

    "We want every little detail!", Feng Mian pped her hands, dragging the man to the living room, "And by it, we mean everything. How did it happen? When, exactly? Was it romantic? Or was it awkward?"

    As the other women followed the two, Xi Yuan just stared at them with disbelief smothered across his face. He was rendered speechless by how interested the Six Tigresses were in their Sister-inw''s sex life, at the moment, to be precise. Rong Xinghe had surely picked her flirting skills from this lot, the man realized then.

    "I refuse to entertain you all with something so personal. I am sorry, you guys.", the man managed to speak after a while, sitting over the couch, "And what are you, sick?! That''s your husbands'' Sister, for the love of God."

    "Absolutely correct.", Ningtao pointed out, a smirk across her mouth, "She is their Sister. Not ours. We are fellow Xinguan fans. We ship you guys!

    "Not to mention, you owe us. You owe us, big time."

    "I owe you?", Xi Yuan questioned confusedly.

    "Who do you think talked you up in front of the Six men every time they had doubts against you, huh?", Feng Mian shrugged, "Who do you think convinced them to give you a chance, even though they were so unsure after what happened with Zhou Che?

    "So don''t be a baby now, and tell us everything that happened in Scond, alright?"

    "Yeah.", Ruo Cy smiled, "And we''re talking dirty stuff here, Yuan."

    "..."

    Well, if he owed them...

    _______________

    10:00;

    Astonished by how considerate and careful Xi Yuan had been during their first time, the Six Tigresses could feel their hearts melt gradually underneath their chests. While, for a majority of women, losing their virginity seemed to be more of a painful experience; it was theplete opposite for Rong Xinghe. Just how much he must''ve restrained himself, they wondered. And to think that the couple did it as it snowed outside, the zing fire from the hearth of their bedroom warming up the entire ce; the very setting was so intimate and amorous.

    Even though Xi Yuan had been hesitant while borating the situation back then, the women could still picture how everything must have eventuated for the two of them. One of the most romantic countries in the world, and two inseparably concupiscent bodies in one room; of course it was bound to be perfect.

    "We''re so d this happened for you both, Yuan.", Ruo Cy said a few seconds after, her voice filled with sincerity, "We really are."

    "Thank you.", the man smiled. He knew the Superfamilydies liked to give him a hard time. But be that as it may, they''d always had his and Rong Xinghe''s best interests at heart. And that''s what mattered the most at the end of the day, right?

    It was now that the sound of footsteps approaching reached the living room and the man stood up, heading for the door. "I''ll freshen up too, Baby.", he said to Rong Xinghe as the girl stepped inside the room, "Why don''t you chat with them while the house-help brews you your morning coffee?"

    "Okie-Dokie!", the girl smiled. Just when the man had faded from her line of sight, the girl turned to the Six Tigresses then, folding her hands pleadingly, "Please don''t tell Brothers!", she requested them.

    "We won''t.", Cheng Tai replied assuringly, "You have nothing to worry about, Xinghe."

    "Rogguang already knows, though.", Ching Tong remarked, picking up a pear from the fruit basket on the table, "And he took it surprisingly well."

    "He did?", Songyan asked, taken aback.

    "Yeah.", the woman said, "He came to me one evening, and out of nowhere, asked me ''You won''t divorce me if I kill Yuan, in case he ends up impregnating my sister, will you?'' I believe that was--"

    "eptance? Yeah.", Ningtaoughed, "I think so too."

    ::::::::::::::::::::::

    10:30;

    "Alright. So let''s begin with the venues.", Ruo Cy said, ncing down at her tablet screen.

    "Sure.", Xi Yuan smiled, stuffing a piece of brownie he''d brought along from the kitchen into Rong Xinghe''s mouth.

    "Country X, or abroad?"

    "Country X.", Rong Xinghe muffled, ring at the man beside her.

    "Beach, Mountain, Desert, Ocean, or ins; geographically?", Songyan asked next.

    "ins.", the girl mumbled, swallowing the huge piece of bread at once.

    "Then... in the ins category, we have...", Ningtao smiled, averting her gaze from the adorable couple to the screen on herp, "Vineyards, Pces, Hotels, Halls, and Ranches."

    "Pces.", the man said, not contemting his answer for even a second. Turning to the woman beside him then, he added with a resolute smile, "A Queen deserves to be wedded off in nothing lesser than a Pce."

 Chapter 510: The guest list

    Chapter 510: The guest list

    "So up till now, we have a Pce Wedding. Decoration and lightings would be under Songyan''s jurisdiction. Let''s talk guests now.", Ningtao said, scribbling down her notepad, "Xinghe, you go first."

    "Well...", Rong Xinghe sighed, "I wanted a simple ceremony, you know, with the NGO kids."

    "Sorry, Honey.", Ruo Cy said, "That won''t be possible."

    "Why?", Xi Yuan frowned.

    "Because the kids have prepared a performance bit for you and Xinghe, for the big day.", Feng Mian exined, "We visited the NGO just recently, and the children told us about how they''ve been practicing a musical kind-of thing for their ''Power Couple''. We, too, figured that their idea was much better than yours. This way, instead of just being witnesses, they''ll be a part of the wedding, you know."

    Ching Tong smiled, "Yeah, Xinghe. Let them express themselves in their own special style, alright?"

    Surprised by the unexpected piece of news, Xinguan looked at each other, iprehensible emotions swirling in their minds. They''d been preparing for them? Those little ones? How soul-stirring and thoughtful. "Of course, they can perform.", the woman said softly, her voice mellow. Xi Yuan simply nodded, cing his hand over the girl''s shoulderfortingly.

    "We still don''t have a guest list, Babies.", Cheng Tai pped her hands twice, hauling the couple''s attention back to the matter at hand.

    "Right. The list.", Xi Yuan mumbled.

    "So... Country X''s Prime Minister, President, and the Vice-President; they''re a given.", Ruo Cy read from her iPad, "Anything else, Xinghe?"

    "All the three Chiefs of Air Force, Naval Force, and the Army.", the girl pointed out, "Youth Team members too."

    "Got it.", Songyan jotted the names down into her notes, "What about you, Mr. Groom?", she asked then, lifting her head up to look at Xi Yuan.

    "Fang has the list.", the man smiled, "None from the Xi Corporations. It will just be a few of my college friends, and business acquaintances."

    "For example?", Ningtao raised her brows curiously.

    "Top ten wealthiest tycoons in this year''s Forbes index.", the man answered, "Founder of Digicoin, Samantha Hills. America''s mightiest Corporate Law Firm, Array; it''s Senior Partner Mike Muller. Also, there''s the--"

    "You are associated with all of them?!", Songyan was shocked. So were the otherdies, including Rong Xinghe.

    "Yes.", the man chuckled, "In fact, Bro Lu and Bro Zhi Xi were the ones to introduce me to about a half of them, while they were training me in business management."

    "They know these people?!!", Ningtao was dumbstruck now.

    "And I thought he did something boring.", Songyan muttered under her breath.

    "..."

    ___________

    City A, 17:30;

    While the couple was all set for their Wedding prep, the man stared at the picture the girl had posted from Xi Yuan''s ount a week ago. Roaming around inside the old dusty mansion located at the edge of the nation''s capital, the man couldn''t help but admire how beautiful she looked in the photo. Mustard Yellow really suited her, didn''t it? She''d been wearing the same color the first time they''d met. It was a shame she didn''t remember him. He did, though. He remembered every second of their first meet. She was too beautiful to be forgotten, after all.

    It was a fine, breezy evening in Iraq. He was standing on his hotel balcony, speaking on the phone, gazing at the gradually setting sun as he did so. That was when he''d seen her for the first time. Her hair tied up in a ponytail, her eyes zing like that of a ferocious beast, her slim body enveloped in a maxi re dress. There was a man pointing his gun at her, his figure strapping and sturdy. She looked so weak, so delicate up against him. There''s no way she can survive this, he''d thought then.

    Picking his revolver up from the coffee table subconsciously, he''d then aimed it at the attacker''s head. But before he could''ve pulled the trigger, the woman had spun around and kicked the huge guy over his torso, catapulting him at a distance of about fifteen meters from herself. Next, she''d seized her enemy''s gun from the ground, pointing its mouth at the man after checking for the bullets. And for the first time in his life, Diablos had felt thrilled by someone.

    The way she held the gun; was just so natural, and smooth. As if the firearm was the one thing missing from her body.

    BANG! BANG! BANG!

    Three professional shots at the man''s heart, and the woman had then tossed the gun away. Turning around next, she''d smiled for the first time that evening, the expression in her gaze switching from that of rage to contentment. It was pure satisfaction across her lips. Goodness! She was as pretty as a painting, Diablos had realized then. And strangely familiar too. But he had seen that face for the first time. Of that, he was sure. And yet, her facial features seemed the exact replica of someone he''d known years ago. Who, he could not ce in his mind.

    The man was still immersed in his thoughts when the girl''s eyes hadnded on him as she reached closer to the hotel building. Blinking at the revolver in his hands then, she''d smirked at him. And within seconds, she was gone, leaving behind a dead man in the pool of his own blood.

    That was their first interaction. No words. No touches. Just that.

    "Had I known you were Rong Anguo''s daughter that day, I would''ve never let you leave, Xiao Xinghe.", Diablosughed wryly.

    ____________

    Xi Corporations Headquarters, 19:30;

    Two dayster, and a week from the Wedding day, Zhi Al and Su Rogguang showed up at the man''s office along with Xi Wei and Xi Fang, snatching the file he''d been reading from his hands. "Party time, you brat!'', Zhi Al grinned, retrieving the car keys from his table drawer.

    "What''s going on?", the man smiled awkwardly, staring at the silent Xi Fang in the corner.

    "Bachelor Party, they like to call it, Brother!", Xi Wei replied instead, revealing a party popper from his behind.

    "We decided to not have a Bachelor Party.", Xi Yuan said after a while.

    "And we decided to ignore such a ridiculous idea.", Su Rogguang shrugged, smacking his lips, "Who does that!? Bachelor and Bachelorette Parties are, like the soul of Weddings. We weren''t going to let you and Kiddo miss out on that, obviously.

    "Nowe on. Let''s get you drunk, boy!"

 Chapter 511: Strippers

    Chapter 511: Strippers

    Meanwhile, as the Superfamily men excogitated Xi Yuan''s Bachelor Party, the Six Tigresses took charge of organizing the girl''s Bachelorette.

    "Oh my good God!", Rong Xinghe covered her wide-open mouth as her sister pulled the blindfold off of her eyes. Surprised to have been surrounded by all the Youth Team members, including William Young and the Wilson twins, the girl pinched herself in the arm, so as to confirm that that indeed wasn''t a dream.

    "Wait! Am I on a Ship right now?!", the girl gasped, looking around to take in the sight of the widespread ocean around her.

    "Yes.", Rong Xiao chuckled, jumping up excitedly, "It''s Bro Lu''s. Mystic Oar Cruise, remember? Sister-inw Tao confiscated it from him three days ago for this party. Isn''t it great?!"

    "And... expensive.", Rong Xinghe mumbled nervously.

    "You do realize that your to-be Husband is like, the wealthiest businessman in the continent, right?", William Young rolled his eyes, hugging the girl from behind, "Stop worrying about such trivial things for once, will you?"

    "Alright. Fine.", the girl giggled, turning around to give her best friend a proper wee, "I missed you guys so much! I really did.", she then said, smiling at all the other members over the man''s shoulder.

    "Congrattions on the Wedding, Xinghe.", William Youngughed, patting the girl''s back lightly.

    "We have a gift for you, by the way.", Daniel Wilson smirked, raising his bottle of beer up in the air.

    "You do?", Rong Xinghe raised her brows, pulling the Wilson siblings in for a short hug next. "It''s right behind you.", Isabe Wilson said, winking at the woman mischievously. And as the girl followed her friends'' line of sight, she could literally feel her heart skip a beat or two at once.

    Three men standing upon the bar counter, each staging different professions; a policeman, a doctor, and a firefighter. Smokin'' hot bodies, moving and dancing to tantalizing music pulsating through the huge speakers next to them. Male strippers, they were, without a doubt.

    "Oh, Yuan''s gonna kill me.", the girl whispered to herself, her breath quick and uneasy.

    _________

    Se Ruer Nightclub, 22:30;

    "Xinghe''s going to kill me.", Xi Yuan hissed as a group of young women encircled him and Xi Wei while Xi Fang and Sun Cheng grabbed two stools for themselves by the bar.

    Although the Superfamily had arranged for both the parties tonight, none of those lot had any idea about the male and female striptease artists. It was all Xi Wei and William Young, to be precise. But then again, the two men were acknowledged as Country X''s wildest party animals for a reason.

    "Get them away from me.", Xi Yuan said to the man beside him, his voice freezing cold, "Now."

    "Well, they are here to please you, Brother.", Xi Wei gulped, waving at thedies around him, "And don''t you worry. We will keep this a secret from Sister-inw."

    Xi Yuan didn''t even attempt to speak to his youngest brother, after that. Instead, he simply red at one of the women and walked away from them, joining Xi Fang at the bar. Not daring to get any closer to the frighteningly domineering man, the girls simply decided to keep their distance from him, limiting themselves to the center of the dance floor. He was clean and handsome, sure. But there was no way they could bear to face the consequences of his wrath, they realized. It was wise to not y with a blistering fire, after all.

    "So which woman did you like the best?", Sun Chengughed out, passing the man a ss of whiskey, "I might be able to help you score."

    "Shut up.", Xi Yuan groaned, "This is so childish and immature. And if Xinghe finds out, it''s straight-up suicidal too."

    "You''re supposed to have fun tonight, Yuan.", another one of Xi Yuan''s friends, David Simons, remarked, "You want to get into the pool out there?"

    "Nah.", the man shook his head.

    "Let''s go bowling then.", Xi Fang suggested, pointing towards the Arcade Arena, "You''ve always liked that. Come on, let''s do it, Brother."

    "Sure.", the man gave in after a few seconds of thought, "We could do that."

    "That''s the spirit!", Sun Cheng stood up cheerfully, "Let''s cover the gaming section first. I''ll host the drinking challenges next."

    "I am in.", Xi Fang shrugged, getting off his barstool next. As long as Xi Yuan received a night of rxation, it didn''t matter how he celebrated it. Truth be spoken, spending timeughing and ying with his friends was probably the perfect way for him to reallymemorate this night anyway.

    ________________

    Elite Saphire Penthouse,10:15;

    Rong Xinghe walked in into her darling''s ce, her head still aching from the mindblowing night she''d had. At this point, all she wanted to do was get some sleep in his arms, assuming he was in there. As everything in her vision blurred and floated, the girlughed to herself. She must''ve slugged down the entire sea to have had such a painful hangover, she thought.

    As she leaned against the Master bedroom''s doorframe, Rong Xinghe realized that her darling was already lying over the bedzily.

    "Xinghe?", the man frowned, noticing the quiet girl at the room''s entrance, "Come here."

    "How was the party?", the girl chuckled, climbing up on the bed, burying her face into his chest.

    "Wonderfully entertaining.", the man smiled, "I don''t think I''veughed that much since I was a kid, you know. What about you? How was your Bachelorette?"

    "It was so amazing, I cannot even begin to-- wait...", Rong Xinghe stopped mid-sentence, smelling the man''s shirt, "That''s a feminine perfume, Mr. Xi."

    Listening to the woman''s words, Xi Yuan opened his eyes and looked up at her anxiously, "I can exin.", he said, sitting up.

    "Strippers, right?", the girl pressed her lips, cupping the man''s face affectionately.

    "Yeah.", the man nodded, staring at the girl with curiosity in his gaze, "You too?"

    "Yep.", Rong Xinghe burst outughing, "None, as hot as you, though."

    "Why, thank you, Love.", Xi Yuanughed back, his tone a little relieved, "Thosedies weren''t as alluring as you themselves too if you ask me."

    "Thank you, but I really want to sleep, Yuan.", the girl smiled tiredly, resting her head against his, "Let''s please talkter?"

    "Of course, Ma Jolie.", the man said gently, reaching for the nket next to him.

 Chapter 512: The story behind Xinguans Wedding Palace

    Chapter 512: The story behind Xinguan''s Wedding Pce

    The next morning, Xi Yuan took a day off from work, so as to apany Rong Xinghe for the most essential wedding shopping. The couple was yet to select their ceremonial outfits and considering the fact that this particr wedding was literally a globally awaited event, they couldn''t go for anything ordinary. That was just how the fame politics worked, unfortunately. Despite their efforts of keeping the wedding as simple as possible, Rong Xinghe and Xi Yuan couldn''t turn a blind eye to their and their families'' statuses, whatsoever.

    ''Do not let her look at the price tags, alright?'', Lu Wei had warned Xi Yuan the night before, ''And make an online payment via my ount.'', he''d added next.

    ''I can pay as well.", Xi Yuan had offered, confused.

    ''As much as I''d love to watch you loosen your purse strings, Yuan...'', the man smiled, ''The Bride''s side of the family is supposed to do this. Besides, it''s not every day that we get to spoil Kiddo like that.''

    ''Hey! Give me the phone.'', Ningtao had said to the man then, snatching the device from her husband, ''One very important thing, Yuan. No matter what, do not watch her in the wedding dress, okay? They say it''s bad luck.''

    ''That won''t be an issue.'', Xi Yuan said assuringly, ''Fang and Ying are joining us, for just that. Mom and Dad have been freaking out about that too, you see.''

    As the SUV wheeled over the highway, Xi Yuan nced at the girl beside him. Rong Xinghe had turned around in the passenger seat, and crossed her legs like a child, holding onto the headrest she''d gotten rid of about five minutes after they''d left the Elite residential expance so that she couldfortably chat with the Xi twins sitting behind them. Adorable.

    "I can''t believe you guys are actually getting married.", Xi Yingughed, "And that too, in Duke Raphael and Princess Pearl''s Pce! The only English monument standing upon Country X''s grounds today. I thought that their descendants were extremely private about the historic castle."

    "They are.", Rong Xinghe nodded, "But Bro Mo is great at doing people favors. They owed him one. You do the math now."

    "Wow.", Xi Fang nodded, impressed, "So what''s the story behind this venue anyway?"

    "You seriously don''t know!?", Xi Ying turned to stare at her twin with disbelief evident in her eyes, "It''s the most heartwarming love story that ever took birth on thisnd.

    "Duke Raphael was a valorous warrior during the dark ages, who was sent to rule over the now Country X, which had been upied by the foreign powers back then. Haunted by the demons of his own past, Raphael was said to be one of the most admired men back then. He was an intellectual, a noteworthy artist, and an excellent nobility, at that.

    "But he believed for himself to be utterly incapable of love. At least, until he saw Princess Pearl, right here on the soil of Country X. There were two worrisome hindrances in his path, but."

    "What were they?", Xi Fang questioned, genuinely intrigued now.

    Rong Xinghe giggled, taking over from Xi Ying, as she resumed the story, "Princess Pearl was the daughter to Duke and his King''s primary enemy. Hence, she was but a nemesis to him. And secondly, she was an excellent medical professional, who had sworn to serve her patients until her veryst breath. Forbidden to do so in her own country, Pearl had escaped from her own home and arrived here in Country X. She was one passionate woman.

    "But, Raphael, in spite of knowing that just how ridiculous an idea it was to love an enemy, chose to pursue her still. Not only that, he helped her advance Country X''s medical conditions back then. Many believe that Pearl was the reason Country X never underwent the destructive viral disease that''d spread throughout our neighboring countries a millennia ago.

    "Even so, it is said that Pearl had turned Raphael down multiple times before she''d finally acknowledged his feelings for her. There was an uproar when they''d gotten married, you know. The King wanted Raphael to kill Pearl, for he was worried about losing a loyal soldier to his enemies. But being the lover he was, Raphael not only protected her firmly, but he also ensured that she lived her dream as a doctor to the end. And she did.

    "Raphael and Pearl were inseparable. The public was crazy for them and their love. So when the King sent over an entire army to exterminate the couple, the whole of thisnd had put on a united front, swearing on their lives to shield the two. In the end, the King had to let go of his narrow mindset and leave the nation to its rightful rulers.

    "Four years down the line, they had two sons, both remarkably wise. It is even said that the Princess and the Duke breathed theirst together, right there in that Pce, where we''re supposed to marry now."

    "This story is somewhat like that of brother and you, don''t you think?", Xi Fang clicked his tongue,ing to a conclusion after a while. Xi Yuan glimpsed at the man from the car''s rear-view mirror before he reverted his gaze back to the road, his mouth stretching to form a rxed smile.

    "I do.", Rong Xinghe shrugged, "In fact, their love story was one of the reasons I selected that pce out of all the 348 regal locations in Country X, Sweetie. I didn''t want to get married in a ce with doomed marriages, and an unending trail of violence. This castle is immensely breathtaking, both in appearance and sanctity. Not a drop of blood was ever shed in that pce throughout the years of its establishment, you know? Not once."

    "But I am nothing like Raphael.", Xi Yuan said solemnly, "My Queen doesn''t need a King to hold onto her own crown. She''s capable of it herself."

    "Raphael quoted the same!", Xi Ying almost jumped up, sping her hands with excitement, "My God! You are Duke 2.0."

    "He really is.", Rong Xingheughed, nting a tender peck against the man''s cheek. Surprised by the girl''s sudden affection, the man let out a short but heartyugh. She really looked up to him, didn''t she? It was warmly ttering, really. The emotion overwhelming him, at the moment. But as long as it was her on the other end, he could be anything she needed him to be. Her Romeo, her Raphael, her Augustus Waters. Only if, it was her.

 Chapter 513: "Were family too, and yet..."

    Chapter 513: "We''re family too, and yet..."

    12:30, Vinston-The Wedding Collection;

    "How much is it?", Xi Yuan walked over to the cash counter, pulling the Debit card out of his pocket.

    "Sir, your suit would be worth 350k USD.", the store''s bookkeeper smiled with hospitality, his ent British.

    "Alright.", the man nodded, handing the card over to the foreigner, "And what about Military Chief''s gown?"

    "11 Million Dors, Mr. Xi.", the cashier replied modestly, looking through hisputer screen.

    "Fine. Her brother will be paying for it, so I''ll give you his ount details.", Xi Yuan shrugged, "I hope it won''t be too much trouble."

    "Of course not, Sir.", the man shook his head, "Please be seated over there while I take care of the finances. It''s an honor having esteemed guests such as yourselves in Vinston, you see."

    "Sure."

    The Xi twins joined their elder brother in the store''s seating arena shortly after they''d ordered coffees for themselves. "So... how did Xiao Xinghe look?", Xi Fang turned to his twin, "I heard she picked out from Jenifer Marshall''s collection. Thedy''s quite an eminent designer, isn''t she?"

    "She is!", Xi Ying sighed, rubbing her chest so as to calm herself down, "You have no idea how stunning and breathtaking Sister-inw looked in that gown.

    "She is an absolute beauty, you guys. You know, when she stepped out of the changing room, holding onto that gown like the Queen she is, my heart literally skipped a beat.

    "Let me forewarn you, brother.", the girlughed, holding onto Xi Yuan''s right hand, "You better brace yourself before you watch her walk down that aisle. I mean, I saw her without makeup today, and my heart is still fluttering at the sight of what I saw. God knows what will happen on the Wedding day."

    "Brother was no less charming, Ying.", Xi Fang remarked, "He appeared extraordinarily appealing today. The female staff here couldn''t stop drooling over him when he got into that suit, you know."

    Xi Yuan stared at both his siblings quietly. It was absurd; their observations. Rong Xinghe did not need to put on a wedding gown to impress him. The woman could throw a potato sack upon herself and she''d still amaze him in the end. That was the amount of control she held over him, his soul, his mind.

    At this time, Rong Xinghe approached her darling from behind and leaned forward a bit, resting her chin over his left shoulder, "Hey, you.", she whispered, her lips curling up in a contented smile.

    "Hi.", the man smiled back, "Do you want to order some coffee too?"

    "Caf Mocha.", the girl answered, sitting beside him, "Oh, and by the way, what was my dress''s price? It''s weird. They didn''t tell me anything, neither was there any tag clipped to the gowns."

    "You liked the gown, right?", Xi Yuan raised his brows, massaging the nape of her neck gently.

    "I did."

    "Then that''s all that matters, Love. Think of it as a present from your brothers, okay?"

    "But--"

    "Xinghe.", the man cut in, nting a soft kiss against the woman''s forehead, "Let it go. Just this once."

    "Fine.", Rong Xinghe gave up, resting her head against the man''s shoulder, "God, I am exhausted. Why is shopping so tiring?"

    "Close your eyes for some time. I''ll wake you up once we''re done here, hmm?"

    "OK."

    _________

    14:00;

    Nifhel red at the man eagerly scribbling over the chart, one of their men had brought to him about an hour ago. He had gone crazy, the man thought. It was the final draft for the Military Chief Security Team''s positioning n, that he was holding onto, at the moment. A chart that described where each one of Rong Xinghe''s security staff stood round the clock, in order to protect her.

    "Don''t tell me you''re seriously considering this, Diablos.", the man inhaled a long shaky breath, "Extricating the MCST''s ssified details? Really? Have you forgotten what''d happened thest time you''d lured the woman here, huh?"

    "I am not going to ckmail her this time, Nifhel.", Diablos chuckled, "Don''t worry."

    "Then what are you going to do? Candle-lit dinner? Fancy date? Gifts? Choctes?", Nifhelmented, a pinch of sarcasm in his tone.

    But upon listening to the man''s words, Diablos turned around, an ebullient smirk across his mouth. "Exactly!", he said, "Oh, and that reminds me, light this mansion up a bit, would you? And ask someone to clean it as well. She doesn''t like unhygienic men."

    "You are kidding, right?", the man raised his brows, "We''ve got calls flooding from Italy right now, and that''s what concerns you? Hygiene?!

    "I remember how she''d dealt with, about a hundred and fifty of our men, all by herself on herst visit. That woman is insanely good withbat, Diablos. Are you even sure you want to cause such a ruckus while we''re dealing with those slick and sly Italian Mafias?"

    "She''s worth it all.", the man smiled, reverting his gaze back to the white chart on the table.

    "When are you going to do it? At least, tell me that."

    "Tonight."

    _________

    Xi Family Mansion, 14:30;

    "What do you mean she knows about it!?", Xi Chonglin turned to his wife, shocked, "I haven''t told anyone about the 100 Million USD loss to anyone, but you. How could''ve Sister-inw Jungah known about it then?"

    "Me neither.", Luo Youyou said anxiously, "We can''t let Yuan know about this, Chonglin. And definitely not, Fang. Otherwise, everything we''ve done to win him over up until now would be just in vain.

    "We''ll just stay away from Yuan''s wedding preparations, as she wants. This is so frustrating, damn it. Li Jungah is treating us worse than animals, you know. We''re family too, and yet...

    "When will this problem of yours be solved, by the way?", the woman questioned her husband.

    "I''ve hired a few Private Investigators to locate the party I''d loaned the money to, and they have a lead from Japan. Hopefully, I''ll find that bastard before Yuan''s wedding.", Xi Chonglin exined, loosening his tie tiredly, "Please be patient, Youyou. I''ll put an end to this, as soon as possible. I promise."

    "I hate being bullied like this, Mr. Xi.", Luo Youyouined, her nails digging into the flesh of her palms, "Especially by Li Jungah. That woman acts all high and mighty now that her son rules over the Xi Empire. She belittles me and insults me as if I am her puppet. As if I owe her. Don''t get me wrong, but sometimes, I wish that she would just disappear from our lives. Forever."

 Chapter 514: "I am intuitive that way"

    Chapter 514: "I am intuitive that way"

    Elite Diamond Penthouse, 21:00;

    "When will you be home, President Xi?", Rong Xinghe grabbed the choco vani Ice-cream tub her bro Mo had brought her that evening from the fridge, her Bluetooth earpiece plugged in.

    "Not sure.", Xi Yuan sighed, looking through the files on his table, "It''s a lot of work in here. Don''t wait for me, alright? Go to bed before ten, if possible."

    "Okay.", the girl chuckled, sinking down into the living room couch, "I love you."

    "I love you too, Honey.", the man smiled, disconnecting the call next.

    About a minute or twoter, as the girl devoured the sweetness of the dessert patiently, sounds of leaves rustling reached her ears. Strange, she thought. As far as she remembered, the nearest tree to her ce was at a distance of five hundred meters from it. "Is it you, Officer Zang?", Rong Xinghe called out to one of her staff.

    "Y--Yes, Military Chief.", a deep voice made its way to the girl as moments passed by.

    "Oh. Alright.", the girl shrugged, standing up from the couch, retrieving the TV remote for herself. It was too soon to go to bed for her. But Xi Yuan was right. She was scheduled for the Military''s retraining earlier the next morning. It was better to be off to the bed by Eleven, at least. But until then, she could watch her Sister-inw Tao''s live interview, right?

    ''That''s absolutely wonderful news, Miss Ning!'', the showbiz journalist giggled excitedly, ''And how does President Lu feel about the Military Chief''s wedding?''

    ''Well... he''s, of course, d for her.'', Ningtao smiled, ''All the Six of them are. But deep down, they''re reluctant to let her go as well, which is understandable, you know? With the kind of past and the chemistry the Superfamily siblings share with one another, it''s difficult for the men. I mean, it''s their precious Kiddo we''re talking about here.

    ''Although, they realize Yuan''s sincerity for her too, so their hearts are at ease, on that note. It''s a new chapter for all of them, definitely. And a terrific one at that. So they''ll be fine, eventually.''

    Rong Xinghe put aside the Ice-cream tub in her hands, furrowing her brows anxiously. She really needed to set up a dinner date with the Six of them, didn''t she? How could they even worry about the Superfamily drifting apart after her and her darling''s wedding? If anything, there''d be an addition of one member into their weird-sh-abnormal lot.

    The girl was still browsing through the news channels when her rm beeped up, reminding her to get some sleep. Fairly so, it was half-past ten already. Besides, she had one more thing to do before snoozing off tonight.

    __________

    22:40;

    Noticing that the lights had been switched off inside the huge penthouse, the group of men standing outside the main entrance, watching over the unconscious men, exchanged dubious nces among themselves. Only when Nifhel had nodded to them faintly did they make a move, approaching the exquisitely designed building, as cautiously as they could. They''d heard stories about this woman. About how ferociously swift and mirthless she was. And hence, this specific part of their mission was what they''d been dreading all day long.

    It took them about half an hour to just get inside the house. Disabling the digitally installed passcodes along with theser security systems throughout the ce proved just how safety-conscious the Six Tigers really were. But then again, nothing in the world was imprable. Not even the most advanced safety setups across the globe.

    "Bedroom.", Nifhelmanded, his voice low, as he pointed his index finger towards the end of the corridor, adjacent to the eerily quiet living room. Following his orders, about five men stepped inside the dimly lit space, in a while. "You''ve got the injection?", one of the guys turned to the one leading them. "Yeah.", the man nodded, pulling the shot out from his jacket.

    "Just get the drug inside her system, bro.", the third man whispered, beads of sweat forming over his head, "She''s sleeping on the bed. Come on. Hurry.", he added, pointing his chin toward the huge furniture in the middle of the room.

    As the men closed in on the girl covered in nkets, with trembling hands, the rtively older guy of them all, inserted the injection into the neck vein. Or so, he thought. Three seconds in and the man could feel a burning sensation of fright flood through the very bottom of his heart. No, no, no! How could it be?!

    Subconsciously, the man''s hands reached for the end of the nket and he pulled it away at once, only to unveil a pile of cushions and pillows. Where was--

    BANG! BANG! BANG!

    Silencer over her gun, the girl appeared from behind the Acrylic wooden room divider, her bullets piercing through the intruders'' skulls, one at a time. Her face void of any expression, her grip over the firearm finely firm. Clothed into one of Xi Yuan''s hoodies and her Camouge cargo trousers, with no makeup on, she looked devastatingly stunning still.

    Blinking at the five dead bodies in front of her, the girl pursed her lips. Pouring herself a ss of wine then, she sat back to sip it, crossing one leg over the other. Lifting her phone up from the side table next, she dropped a message to her brothers first. ''Dinner, tomorrow?'', it read. Browsing through her other contacts shortly after, Rong Xinghe typed in another text for Elijah Williams, ''Code Grey.''

    "What''s taking so long?", Nifhel grumbled impatiently, pulling his own revolver out, "Go and check, the rest of you.", he said to the men behind him.

    Five minutes more, and no response. That was the moment when it finally struck the man that their n, more so than anything else, had backfired. For the worse. Clenching his teeth, the man walked over to the room, his footsteps nearly inaudible; until theynded into a thick red liquid, sshing it over the doorframe and the bodies lying next to it.

    "Bonjour, Nifhel.", Rong Xinghe smiled, tilting her head to one side, "So what is this really about, huh?", she asked.

    "You!", the man raised his weapon, aiming it at the girl''s head.

    "Don''t do this.", the girl chuckled, resting leisurely against the pillows she''did down minutes ago, "Diablos wants me, doesn''t he?"

    "How did yo--"

    "I am intuitive that way.", sheughed, "I''lle with you. After all, he did ask me for a date thest time we met. I remember so vividly. But kidnapping? That''s no way to treat ady now.

    "Escort me like a gentleman, if you will. I need to get some answers from that son of a bi*ch, nheless. So let''s do it the right way, shall we? Now stop being such a wuss and get the damned car fired up. Go!"

 Chapter 515: "But we met, Xinghe"

    Chapter 515: "But we met, Xinghe"

    00:30;

    Xi Yuan nced at his wristwatch, a bit exhausted, as he let out a deep breath. Getting rid of his zer then, the man looked outside the car window as the driver took a left turn, into one of City A''s rtively not-so-maintained neighborhoods.

    "Why so tired?", Lu Wei questioned, his eyes glued to the architectural draft report upon his iPad screen.

    "It''s nothing.", the man smiled, shaking his head, "There was an error in the software sample we''re supposed to introduce into the market next month. Just a lot of screentime."

    "You know you can borrow Zhi Al, right?", the girl''s brother chuckled, turning off the device in his hands. "I do.", Xi Yuan nodded. "Can I ask you something?", he said after a while.

    "Sure."

    "Umm... did you ever fear the possibility of failing your marriage?", the man asked, turning to face Lu Wei, his expression earnest, "Of letting down your wife?"

    "Are you trying to tell me that you''re having second thoughts about the wedding, young man?", the man raised his brows, muddled.

    "Oh, no, no.", Xi Yuan replied, "It''s not that. I love Xinghe. I would never do that to her, believe me. But I don''t know, recently, these questions keep hitting me, and I..."

    Lu Wei stared at the man quietly for some time before he decided to tend to his initial contemtions first, "Well, I fear letting down Tao even today."

    "Really?", the man asked, a little surprised.

    "Yeah.", Lu Wei shrugged, "I fear losing her, and disappointing her, to date. But fright isn''t as negative an emotion as you might think. It helps us realize our limits in a rtionship.

    "Xinghe is one of the strongest women I''vee across in my whole life. That girl doesn''t bend her rules orpromise her principles for anyone. She knows when to voice her opinions, and she knows when to not. She is smart and stern. She won''t make things easier for you, since she was born a troublemaker.

    "But believe me when I say it, you''re still lucky to have her. Women like Xinghe, Xiao, and the Six Tigresses; are destined to set examples for youngsters around the world. They''re fated to challenge all those men out there who''ve ever believed for themselves to be better than the other half of the globe. They''re Queens, Yuan. Women like them push us to be a better version of ourselves.

    "She''ll challenge you every day, and she might intimidate you too, every now and then. But she will never let you break. She will be there for you, through thick and thin. And I know it''s terrifying; the very thought of losing someone like that.

    "But as long as you trust her, and respect her, you guys will be fine. Eventually, years down the line, love fades. Passion fades. And all that matters then is the way you two treat each other. You''ll be an excellent husband, Yuan. Don''t worry."

    "Thank you.", the man said, appreciatively.

    "We''re here, Sir.", the driver turned to look at Lu Wei then.

    It was a dark locality with literally three flickering yellow streetlights as a medium for sight. "So this is where our second hacker is.", Xi Yuan clicked his tongue, "What was his name again?"

    "Chan Hyun.", Lu Wei said, "Korean. Ready to torture the prey?"

    "Always."

    ________________

    00:45;

    "I prefer Italian cuisine over Chinese.", Rong Xinghe rolled her eyes, picking up the fork next to her te, "Pasta, preferably."

    "I could arrange that.", Diablos smiled, snapping his fingers, "Nifhel, get us some traditional Vermicelli please."

    "And some Sangria De Te, too.", the girl added, "My throat is all dried up by the dust here. Jesus! This ce is hell."

    "I am not her servant.", Nifhel clenched his fists, blinking at his boss indifferently. "Get the drink.", Diablosmanded, his voice cold. He had told them to clean up the mansion, hadn''t he? Freaking idiots!

    Rong Xinghe waited for the man to walk away from the room before she leaned back in her chair, tucking a loosely falling hair strand behind her right ear. City A was freezing tonight, strong breezes of wind surging through the ce. Thankfully, she''d put on her darling''s ck hoodie earlier. It was warm, huge, and most importantly, reminded her of him.

    "You are beautiful tonight, Xinghe.", the man said after a while, "Thank you foring."

    "I killed fifteen of your men.", the girl smirked, "So let''s not start flirting so soon, mate."

    "People die in my line of work, anyway. Besides, it was straight-up foolish of them to attempt kidnapping you.", Diablosughed, "I just wanted to have a meal with you, is all."

    "Just a meal? Oh,e on! We''ve spent a night together, haven''t we?", Rong Xinghe said, an obvious hint of sarcasm in her voice, "Now, we owe it to sex, don''t we? One hot steamy round of sexual intercourse."

    As the man listened to the girl''s words, he choked on the Wonton Soup he was supping. Although he had anticipated for that issue to pop up, never had he expected for her to be so upfront about it. Frankly, he''d never thought he would have this conversation with Rong Xinghe in the first ce. "President Xi mentioned it, huh?", the man muttered awkwardly, wiping away the soup on his lips.

    "Yes, he did.", the girl nodded, "And I love him for that. It was the right decision, confronting me. Though, I have one question for you. Where the hell did you photoshop these pictures? They all look so authentic!"

    "They are authentic, Xinghe.", Diablos said, folding the napkin he''d been holding onto, "We did sleep together. But that was just it. We slept together. And those were some inexplicably soothing hours of my life. You just don''t remember them."

    "What do you mean?", the woman frowned, her gaze fixed at the man in front of her. He was handsome, she thought as she noticed him keenly now. His features smooth, his eyes almond brown, his lips, his hair wavy and dark. It was odd how someone as noteworthy as him was attracted to a world so messed up.

    "You don''t remember me. We met under horrifying circumstances. We always did.", the man smiled wryly, reaching for his soup spoon again, "But we met, Xinghe."

 Chapter 516: The message delivered

    Chapter 516: The message delivered

    01:00;

    "Ugh!", the skinny boy groaned in pain as one of Lu Wei''s bodyguards punched him in the face. "Who directed you to hack into President Xi''s system?!", the well-built man yelled out, bending his fingers in to form another punch. It was strange, he thought, how a neen-year-old kid was so tight-lipped about his employer.

    Just then, the sounds of shoes clicking against the concrete floor resounded across the dull yet huge hotel lobby. Cautiously, the bodyguard stood back straight and pulled his gun out. Only when his Boss''s face appeared in his line of sight did the man rxed, loosening his grip over the weapon. "Evening, Sir.", he greeted the man with a bow.

    "Evening.", Lu Wei responded, "Any progress so far?", he questioned, looking at the injured Chan Hyun calmly.

    "No, Boss.", another one of the security staff answered helplessly. It was now that a tall figure walked in into the ce, positioning himself a few steps behind Lu Wei. "May I?", he smiled, his voice spellbindingly deep.

    "He''s your mess anyway.", Lu Weiughed shortly, "Go ahead."

    "Alright, then.", Xi Yuan said, rolling his sleeves up unhurriedly. As he reached the young boy, the man pulled a chair for himself and ced it about one meter from the kid. "Get me one of the iron rods from outside, someone.", he ordered casually.

    "Dangsin-eun Xi Yuan majseubnikka?!", thed spoke up at this time, the expression in his eyes converting from that of pain to sheer horror.

    "What did he say?", Lu Wei furrowed his brows, walking over to the two men, "It''s Korean, I guess."

    "He is confirming my identity.", Xi Yuan smiled with amusement, turning to the bruised Chan Hyun next, "Ne, geuleohseubnida.", he answered with fluency.

    The boy nodded, his gaze clouding with tears slowly, "Naneun geuegeseo dangsin-eul-wihan mesijiga issseubnida. ''Magwijocha sangsanghal sueobsneun bangsig-eulo geunyeoleul pamyeol sikigessda'', geuneun malhaessda."

    The second Chan Hyun was done saying what he was supposed to say, he pierced his upper and lower incisors through the flesh of his tongue, hard. As quickly as they could, Xi Yuan and Lu Wei grabbed the guy''s head as the group of bodyguards encircled them, not sure of their role in the situation. Even so, thed did not let go until about one-third of his tongue had been cut apart. Blood flowing down the young man''s mouth, onto his clothes, down his trousers; it was all too disturbing. Sick, to be precise.

    Staring at the bitten-off organ lying on the floor, Xi Yuan stepped back a few paces, and so did Lu Wei. Both the men had their clothes stained in sttered, red blood, their minds searching for an exnation of what had just happened. Storming out of the dark old space, into the long high-ceilinged corridor, the two men stood there silently for a few minutes, wiping away the blood that''d touched their skins.

    "Trantion.", Lu Wei saidter, fixing his gaze at the man beside him.

    Xi Yuan inhaled a sharp breath, his eyes turning a few shades darker, "He delivered a message from the person who''d hired him. The phycho had said and I quote; ''I will ruin her in ways not even the devil can imagine.'' Let''s just face it. We both are aware of who they were referring to."

    "Kiddo.", the girl''s brother breathed out, his tone a mix of rage and shock.

    ____________

    01:25;

    No matter how she looked at him, Rong Xinghe couldn''t ce the man in front of her. When had they met? What circumstances was he speaking of? As far as she remembered, she''d never had a memory loss in her entire life. Then, howe...

    "Don''t stress to much.", Diablos chuckled, passing the girl a champagne-filled flute, "I''ll tell you about it some other day, alright? It''s a lot to take in, and I wouldn''t want to burden you with something like that. Not after the surgery you''ve recently had."

    "Your real name is Yang Bolin, right?", the girl said, sipping her drink, "Son of Yang Hai, the infamous business tycoon rooting from Country N."

    "Yes.", the man nodded, a tad displeased by the mention of the name, "But I prefer Diablos better."

    "Diablos. The Devil- in Spanish.", Rong Xinghe smiled, "It''s tenebrous. Bizarre, really. They say, your name is but a reflection of who you really are."

    "Oh? So what are your opinions about it? My name, I mean.", Diablos smiled back, intrigued.

    Rong Xinghe looked at the man for about half a minute, and then, cing the ssware upon the table parting them, she leaned forward, her voice mesmerically euphonious, "I like to think of the Devil as an angel. A pure yet wronged, angel. His resentments, his rebellions, were all an oue of how unfairly he was treated. And that, he deserved better."

    Diablos stared at the woman, transfixed. She knew about him. At least, a part of him, or his childhood. And while the world around, spited him for choosing the identity of the lord of hell, she understood the reasons behind. Then again, why wouldn''t she? She was the She-Devil herself. They could rte, the two of them. In fact, she''d faced pain more than anyone he''d ever known. And yet, she''d walked out of it with the delicacy of a Queen.

    "Why do you love Xi Yuan?", the man questioned, knowing very well that the answer would break him. He had to know. He needed to know.

    The girl''s lips curled up into a tender smile the second her darling''s name resounded through the ce. "All my life, I''ve searched for a family. I had this picture of me, and Mom and Dad, and Xiao; sitting in the dining room,ughing. I had hope, that someday, they wille. But they didn''t, for years. And it crushed me. I let go of the hope eventually.", she said.

    "The thought of a normal life, a family, was frightening to me. At least, until he came along. Whenever I was with him, I was living, breathing, smiling. He became family, and he became home. So to answer your question, I love him because he epted me for my scars. He chose to fight my battles with me, and he healed me in ways no one ever could."

 Chapter 517: A tale to tell from the Devil

    Chapter 517: A tale to tell from the Devil

    01:45;

    "I think I can give you everything Xi Yuan can.", Diablos chuckled, outstretching his hand toward the girl. Avoiding his touch but, Rong Xinghe stood up, walking out of the candle-lit room, him following behind her into the delightfully quiet backyard. "I am not here for preposterous confessions, Mr. Yang.", she said as a cold breeze hit her face.

    "What do you mean?", the man smiled. He knew he couldn''t push it too far. His affections for her. From how highly she thought of Xi Yuan, it was clear what her answer would eventually be, anyway.

    "How did you know my parents?", the girl turned to him, both her gaze and her tone earnest, "You knew about the Jet st, and that Bro Lu was aware of it. You know something I don''t. So spill."

    "I was 13 when my father decided to cut ties with me. Apparently, I was not aspetent as my elder brother was, and since he already had a sessor, I was just an extra mouth to feed for him.", Diablos began, "I was an orphan strolling down Country N''s streets, begging, crying, fighting; for months. Alone. Back then, most of Country N was a yground for emerging terrorist organizations. They used to train kids to engineer bombs, fight their wars. Come on, you know terrorism much better than anyone, Xinghe. You understand what happens to the innocent public amid it all.

    "It was not enough for my Dad to just abandon me, and to let me be in the safer side of the country. Hemanded his men to throw me into the most frightening pit of the nation, instead. God! He really must''ve hated me to do so.

    "But that was when I met your Father. Doctor Rong Anguo. He was there for some sort of research, and he had a VIP entry, even in such a dangerous area. No one would question him. But they didn''t like him either. He''d just visit the researchboratories once a month, question the workers about ammunitions sometimes, and return to wherever he came from. So once, I climbed into the trunk of his car. He saw me do it. But he didn''t pull me out. He just reopened the trunk and smiled at me, shutting it close tightly then.

    "He helped me escape the hellhole, Xinghe, knowing very well how perilous it would''ve been, had he been caught. He was a great man."

    Rong Xinghe could feel the corners of her eyes sting, her throat closing in, as each second passed by. The girl attempted to act firm, still. Looking away from the man, she kept walking, indicating for him to resume.

    "He took me to a ce. A chemicalb or something.", the man resumed, "He introduced me to your mother there. Feng Sying. She had your voice, you know? And smile, too. She was a scientist on the same project your father was working on. They both appeared to be in charge of something huge. But they didn''t want to keep me around, for they were afraid of the chemicals harming me. And so, after their working hours, they''d hunt for a reliable orphanage for me. It took them three weeks to settle on one, even so.

    "I lived in their apartment until then. Your Mom was terrible at cooking, unlike your father. He would always cook for her, and me for the limited days I apanied them. She would chat with him from the living room, a ss of red wine in her hands. They missed you and Xiao Xiao dearly. They really did. Your mother had a locket, with both her girls'' pictures in there. She never allowed the silver thing out of her sight for once, you know. But... they had sacrifices to make for something much greater.

    "Anyhow, I was given away to an orphanage shortly after. I tried to search for them for about a year before I received the news about the flight explosion. Sorry."

    The girl stayed quiet for several minutes. Diablos didn''t utter a word himself. He couldn''t even imagine whatever it was that she was going through. He had loathed his father, his family, for years. She, on the other hand, had longed for those very things. Ironical, wasn''t it? He desired to forget a parent who could only be considered a barbaric monster underneath the human flesh, while she was left with no memory of her perfectly angelic ones.

    "I need to go.", the girl mumbled under her breath, turning around to face the exit of the old mansion.

    "What if I tie you up and keep you to myself until your wedding day?", Diablos smiled softly, "All the past sagas aside, Xi Yuan is still my love rival, Xinghe."

    "You''ll kidnap me?", the girl raised her brows, her lips curling into an amused smile subconsciously.

    "Maybe.", the man shrugged.

    "More than half your men are lying around knocked out right now, Mr. Yang.", Rong Xinghe sighed, "So let''s not push our lucks, shall we?"

    "You brought back up, I see.", Diablosughed, "And I thought we had trust between us, Miss Rong."

    "Baby steps.", the girlughed back, walking away from him. As the woman stepped out of the huge but dusty ce, she could see a vintage car waiting for her, its headlights ring at her furiously. Shawn Florence sat over the hood, cross-legged, holding onto a takeaway coffee cup in his left hand.

    "Rough day?", the man grinned, handing the hot beverage to the girl, "Here. A tall skinnytte with a double shot. Just as you like it."

    "Thank you.", Rong Xinghe smiled, getting into the passenger seat of the ck Miura, "Where are Elijah and David?"

    "Still inside.", Shawn answered, opening the door to the driver''s seat, "What''s wrong? You look upset."

    "Drive me home, please?", the girl said, her tone worn out, the spark in her gaze fading gradually, "I need to see Yuan, as soon as possible. Like, right now." The girl could feel her heartbeat racing, her fingers and toes turning cold. She was yet to process the things Diablos had just told herpletely, but one thing was for sure, she missed them. Her parents. More so than she ever had before.

 Chapter 518: "Your parents were martyrs"

    Chapter 518: "Your parents were martyrs"

    02:30, Elite Saphhire Penthouse;

    Xi Yuan climbed down the stairs in a hurry. Striding towards the living room where he''d tossed his phone over the couch, he couldn''t help but worry. Where could she have gone at such an hour, he wondered. It couldn''t have been the Military, of that he was sure. She was yet to rejoin officially.

    From the way, in which, Chan Hyun had delivered his psychopathic employer''s message tonight, he needed to forewarn her of the battles toe himself.

    Who could have been the mastermind behind the whole Sogement case? Who could loathe Rong Xinghe to such an extent? ying from the dark, forcing a youngd to bite off his own tongue, using Xi Corporations to target and damage Rong Xinghe''s repute. Whoever it was, the person was much too calctive. And cautious. None of their investigations up till now had been able toe up with a name, or even a potential suspect. None. How were they even supposed to get to him then?

    What more, this enemy was far from those who desired to simply kill off the nation''s Military Chief. This one, on the contrary, seemed to relish every second of Rong Xinghe''s misery, her pain. He was taking things slow, enjoying every bit of victory, and each tad of failure in the path. As if he wanted to watch her kneel, and break, and weep, in front of the world. At least, that''s what Chan Hyun was able to write down to them about the perp.

    "Yuan.", just as the man was about to dial Shou Wu''s number, the girl''s voice reached his ears. Stunned, the man turned around to look at the girl approaching him slowly, tears in her eyes, Shawn Florence following behind her in worry. Before Xi Yuan could understand anything, the girl wrapped her arms around him, as tightly as she could.

    Responding to her touch then, the man rubbed her back, so tofort her, "What happened? Where were you?", he asked her softly.

    "With Diablos.", she answered, her voice weak. The Hybrid, standing at a distance from the couple, smiled to himself before he left the two alone. Xi Yuan was his Alpha''s safe space, after all, leaving him with no reason to stress anymore.

    Rong Xinghe took her time as she told the man everything about her dinner with Diablos. And as she did so, she couldn''t help but sob alongside. It was almost as if she was mourning them for the first time. As if she had just realized the void that they''d left behind.

    Xi Yuan listened patiently. He always listened. That''s just how they had been from the start.

    He was infuriated, initially, of how Diablos had attempted to reach her. It was one thing to try and intoxicate his mind against his Xinghe, but to break in into her house, andpromise her security, was just taking it too far. Even for someone like Diablos.

    However, as the girl clutched onto his right hand, and cried in silence, he couldn''t care less of his love rival. She looked helpless and exhausted. Alone, even. He hated to see her so shaken up.

    "A stranger knows more about my Mom and Dad than I ever did, Yuan.", the girl whispered, yet another teardrop rolling down her cheek, "When he was telling me about them, I felt as if I was listening to someone else''s story. They felt so... unknown. My own parents. It scared me, their absence.

    "They won''t be there, Yuan. When we get married. When we have our first child. They won''t be there."

    Xi Yuan wiped the girl''s tears away, pecking her on her forehead, "I know, I know.", he said, pulling her in his embrace. She deserved to let it all out, he thought. He couldn''t possibly burden her with that mysterious nemesis of hers while she came to him, searching for a home. He would tell her, certainly. But not tonight, for it''d be too cruel to her.

    It took several minutes for the girl to calm down. His natural scent helped speed up the process, still. But none of the two were in rush. It was necessary. To grieve. Just as it was to cherish joy.

    People often described anger to be human''s strongest emotion. But it was a lie. Rage was a secondary emotion, to be truthful, often channeled from something more intense, or overwhelming, to say. Anger was a response to bottled-up feelings like vengeance, loneliness,petitiveness, or in the worst-case scenario, loss. No emotion could unleash wrath, if not dealt with carefully, the way pain did.

    Xi Yuan was not going to let that happen to Rong Xinghe anymore. He had seen her in that state. Consumed into her own darkness. As if she would just shut her feelings off. Like a switch. She feared letting people in, she feared to show her scars. It was the reason she became the Ripper, Elijah Williams had recently told him. ''The human experimentation was conducted with the very purpose of testing human emotions'' limits. The more pain one had buried deep inside, the gravely the drugs affected the subject.'', he''d said, ''Ripper-ness was but a measure of words left unsaid. Xinghe''s pain was nothing like any of the other Hybrids''. It was powerful enough to make even Satan''s blood run cold.''

    If pain had done that to her, then he wasn''t going to let that repeat; he''d sworn to himself. Little did he know, their destiny had ns, which purred otherwise.

    "We will be alright, Love.", the man said as quietness spread through the room, "Believe me."

    "I do.", the girl smiled tiredly, closing her eyes shut.

    "Your parents were martyrs, Xinghe. They breathed theirst while serving their country. No one could understand the weight of that word better than a soldier like yourself. I know they weren''t there for you, and that they won''t be there in the future as well. Not physically, at least. But some people are just too worthy to live in normalcy.", Xi Yuan smiled, caressing the girl''s hair, "They had to be there for the nation. The way you are, every day. We should honor them for their choice and their courage, don''t you think?"

    "You are right.", Rong Xinghe mumbled sleepily.

    Xi Yuan looked down at the girl, a soft smile making its way to his mouth. One heck of a day for Xinguan, huh?

 Chapter 519: The bigger person

    Chapter 519: The bigger person

    03:05;

    Throwing pebbles into the river Grail a few meters from City A, Diablos sat over the old timber jetty, thinking of the minutes he''d spent with the girl. She was beautiful tonight. Like a painting filled with vibrance and vigor.

    Should he have kept her in the dark, he wondered. He''d noticed her shoulders trembling as she''d stormed out of the mansion earlier. But she deserved to know. Every bit of it. And he knew that.

    "I figured you''d be here.", Nifhel approached the man from behind shortly after, "What''s on your mind, Boss?", he asked.

    "Sit down.", Diablos said, patting the empty wooden surface next to him. Complying to his boss''smands, the man perched down beside him, waiting for the other one to break the silence. "I really love her, you know?", Diablos smiled sadly, ncing down at the stones in both his hands, "It''s so difficult to let go."

    "Then don''t."

    "What?", Diablos turned to his confidant in surprise. All these years, no one had been as much against the idea of him pursuing Rong Xinghe as this man. Understandably, so. They were literal opposites. He and her. Why the sudden change of opinion then?

    "I heard her talk about you. About the Devil.", Nifhel sighed, "You were right. Nothing is ordinary about her. She is capable of looking at things in ways not everyone can. She saw the light in your darkness. It''s a shame it took so long for me to acknowledge that. I am sorry."

    "It''s alright.", the man shook his head, "I don''t have a chance with her anyway."

    "You''re giving up on her?", the rtively older man was shocked.

    "She is in love.", Diablos said, "The bare thought of that man makes her smile. What Xi Yuan does to her is what she does to me, Nifhel. I can''t snatch that from her. She would just hate me forever if I stretch this any further. I know she doesn''t love me.

    "But I certainly can''t bear to see hatred in her eyes for me. That would kill me. So I think it''s time to be the bigger person, huh?", the manughed lightly, a pinch of trepidation in his tone.

    The older guy looked at the man next to him with mixed emotions. Diablos was still, deep down, a kid who''d lost a lot. A wary, terrified child his former boss had brought along from Country N, one evening. No matter how ruthlessly he handled things in the darker parts of the world, he protected the ones he loved with just as much passion. Fiercely, and strongly. But to express his love by releasing it free; demanded courage as nothing else ever did. It was just unfortunate and unfair, how he was losing the only person he''d ever loved.

    "I hope Xi Yuan fails as a husband.", Nifhel said, attempting to cheer up the man.

    "I don''t.", Diablos chuckled, "After the life, she has had, I really wish for Xinghe to never shed a drop of tear in pain again. I want to see her wrapped in nothing but bliss, andughter. She deserves it."

    __________

    10:00, Elite Saphhire Penthouse;

    The next morning, Rong Xinghe woke up to the sound of her phone rm going off. Rubbing her eyes tiredly, the girl sat up on the bed. To her left, Xi Yuan''sptop was ced with one of the FRIENDS'' episodes on. Above the screen was a sticky note, ''You look irresistibly ravishing when youugh, Ma Jolie. Enjoy the coffee while you watch this ep.'', it read.

    Unable to conceal her smile at the simple yet adorable gesture, the girl picked up the coffee cup from the side table and pressed the space bar lightly. It was indeed a hrious one, the episode. As the show came to an end, the girl climbed down the bed and walked out of the room, her eyes searching for her darling.

    Xi Yuan was on a phone call in the living room, his back facing her. The conversation seemed intense. cing the cup over the table, the girl hugged him from behind, pecking the man on his left cheek gently, "Good Morning.", she whispered to him.

    "Hello to you too.", Xi Yuan turned around, relief washing away the stress in his eyes, "How are you feeling today?", he asked her.

    "I will be okay.", the girl answered assuringly, peeking at his phone screen. It was her Bro Lu. Confused, the girl turned on the speaker, "What''s going on, brother?", she asked the man, "Anything serious?"

    "What the hell were you thinking going on a date with someone so dangerous?!", the man questioned, agitated, "Come to the Zhi family mansion. Right now. We need to talk about this."

    "Oh... okay.", the girl gave in eventually, "But I want Sisters-inw to be there too."

    "Why?"

    "I''ll need some witnesses in case you guys try murdering me, you know?", the girl pointed out with a giggle.

    "..."

    Xi Yuan soon disconnected the call and pulled the girl in for a long, intoxicating kiss. It wasn''t until the girl was out of breath did he let go. "What was that for?", the girlughed out.

    "I was worried about you all night.", the man smiled, "You were struggling and sobbing, even in sleep. You had nightmares.So I just can''t exin how d I am to see youughing like that."

    "I am so sorry, Yuan.", the girl apologized sincerely, "I didn''t mean to--"

    "No.", Xi Yuan cut in, tucking the girl''s hair strands behind her ears, "We''re partners, Love.", he said, "In everything. That''s the deal."

    "Hmm.", Rong Xinghe smiled, "I am famished, President Xi."

    "Breakfast is ready.", the manughed, holding onto the girl''s hands, "I have something very important to discuss with you anyway. Come." Just when the couple had stepped into the dining room, Rong Xinghe''s phone rang up. The girl pulled it out from her pocket as Xi Yuan picked out a te for her. As David Florence''s name appeared across the screen, the girl brought it to her ear, "What''s up?"

    "We''ve sessfully located Maksoor Khan.", the Hybrid jumped straight to the point, "It''s time for Andrea''s justice, I believe. I just need the Alpha''s orders to drag him down to the MCO."

    "Keep the bastard alive.", the girl instructed, a coldness audible in her tone.

 Chapter 520: "Andrea would be pleased..."

    Chapter 520: "Andrea would be pleased..."

    As the girl hung up on David Florence, Xi Yuan ced the scrambled eggs along with the chocte pudding in front of her, grabbing the jar of Litchi juice next. "What did you want to talk about?", the girl smiled cheekily, focussing on the manpletely now. Xi Yuan smiled, taking a seat for himself next to her. "I need you to be alert, Xinghe. For the next few days, at least...", he began.

    Xi Yuan briefed the girl about everything that had happenedst night. The girl listened to him, quietly noshing the breakfast he''d prepared. It was odd, she thought, how Chan Hyun had bitten his tongue off. The kid couldn''t have possibly done it willingly. From what Xi Yuan had told her, he seemed to be a simple foreigner. A civilian, one could say. Until and unless he was being forced to do such things, there was no way a teenager would do that to himself.

    "Run a background check on this little hacker, Yuan.", the girl said after a while, "See if his family is in danger or if he''d done anything illegal, anything huge enough that could be used as leverage to ckmail him."

    "Your brothers already did that.", Xi Yuan said, shaking his head, "Chan Hyun is clean. No criminal record. And his family is currently in South Korea, safe. The kid is an exchange student with majors in Computer Science. That''s why it''s so difficult to figure this out. I don''t get it.

    "It was as if the message was to be delivered to me. As if the mastermind knew I understood Korean, and that I''d show up to interrogate myself. Before I met him, the kid did not speak to anyone. How strange.", he added, a bit agitated as disturbing pictures of the night before shed in front of him.

    Rong Xinghe smiled, leaning back in her chair, "It seems President Xi doesn''t enjoy the shady parts of the business, huh?"

    The man stared at the girl, knowing very well what she meant. She was teasing him, implying he couldn''t handle the violence that required to be done. That he was much too ''noble'' to soil himself with unnecessary filth.Challengingly then, the man raised his brows, eliminating the distance parting them, he pressed his lips against hers furiously. It wasn''t until she clutched onto his cor in struggle did he let go, a victorious smirk across his mouth. "I don''t enjoy bloodbath, Love.", he said, "I don''t seekfort in others'' pain. But when ites to shielding those whom I love, Xinghe, there is no end to my darkness."

    The girl chuckled. She was no different than him, in that aspect. But it was satisfying still, to watch the ever-so poised CEO Xi respond to her provocations so yfully.

    "Do you want me to meet this Chan Hyun?", she asked.

    "He cannot speak.", the man sighed, "It''s your choice, but I don''t see the point."

    "Alright. I''ll let you deal with this then. Just make sure he gets proper medical and psychological treatment, okay? He''s still a kid.", Rong Xinghe nodded understandingly, "I''ll increase my security for the time being. Will that be fine?"

    "Yeah. Thank you.", Xi Yuan smiled, "By the way, do you have any idea who might''ve done this?"

    "Honestly? No.", the woman answered, "I have a lot of enemies. Most of them, terrorists and politicians. Had it been an assassination attack, I''d have pointed to Ahmed Ali Fadhil. He did try to kill Bro Mo recently, after all.

    "But Sogement Pharmas case was a personal attack. And a neat one, with no evidence. Fadhil doesn''t work that way. So it has to be someone else. Someone obsessed with my destruction."

    The man felt desperation hitting him, again. He was sure that the answer was too obvious. Right in front of his eyes, and yet, neither he nor her brothers could think of such a person. Of course, the thought of Rong Yufan being involved had urred to them initially. It was a dead-end, they''d realized a week ago. His alibi checked out. His schedules showed how busy he''d been during the time his system had been hacked. Not to mention, it didn''t make any sense. For someone who''d pushed her down a running train, Rong Yufan wouldn''t y such childish games. A scratch-like PR damage. It would be oddly merciful of him. And unlikely.

    Although they were going to keep a watch on Rong Yufan from here onwards, they couldn''t find any evidence to rule him in for the hacking incident weeks ago.

    _________

    City Shyng, Country X, 11:30;

    Elijah Williams walked down the long corridor with quiet footsteps, his pointed shoes clicking the floor now and then. Costumed in the clothes of a waiter, the man had his Desert Eagle 50 tucked at the small of his back.

    The location they''d been tipped off for was a painting auction in a five-star hotel. One of the slickest facades, if one were to ask the Hybrids. Art was the most convenient route, so to trade ssified information or weaponry, for that matter. They''d learned it the hard way in the past. ''He must be visiting someone here.'', he''d said into the Bluetooth earpiece earlier, the Florence brothers on the other end.

    ''Probably.'', Shawn had said, ''Let''s focus on catching him first, though.'' Maksoor Khan had changed his look. Shaved. Hair cut. It did little to conceal his huge physique, but.

    Elijah had noticed their prey the second he had walked in. Maksoor Khan had traversed his gaze through the crowd for a minute before he''d nodded faintly at a thin man by the bar. And then, he''d dashed into the hotel lobby from the open space, leaving the man alone to finish his beverage. Now was the time, Williams thought. ''Get the skinny one in the ck tee.'', he instructed the other two, following behind Maksoor.

    The Hybrid was at a distance of roughly eight meters from the man when he realized he was heading for the Men''s restroom. Easy. The man calmly waited for Maksoor Khan to disappear behind one of the doors inside the washroom as he stepped in himself. No one else was upying the ce, thankfully. He hated the thought of endangering the innocent public. Carefully, Williams pulled an ''Out of Service for Maintenance'' signboard in front of the room, closing the door behind him.

    Just when he''d leaned against thevish restroom counter, Maksoor Khan walked out, his eyes traveling to the closed entrance subconsciously, and then to the only person visible. Elijah Williams smiled cunningly, his gun in both his hands now. As the Hybrid looked at him, Maksoor Khan could swear he had never seen something like that before. The unnaturally ck demonic eyes, veins below them popping frighteningly. It was the Ripper! Khan could feel his legs freeze at the sight of the person opposite him. How was it possible, he questioned himself. Wasn''t it just a tale? A legend?

    "Andrea would be pleased...", Elijah muttered, his tone filled with hostility, "To kill the killer of her child. Could anything be as satisfying?"

 Chapter 521: "I will be there for you. Ad infinitum"

    Chapter 521: "I will be there for you. Ad infinitum"

    Military Chief Office, 14:30;

    Rong Xinghe walked into the interrogation room minutes after Andrea had pierced all the seven bullets from Williams'' Eagle 50 through Maksoor Khan''s heart. The woman''s hands were trembling now, tears streaming down her eyes endlessly. She''d never killed anyone before. Andrea was an innocent woman who''d been sold and bought like goods, a girl who''d witnessed her parents being murdered in front of her eyes. Ever since she''d been rescued by Rong Xinghe, she''d had no home to go to. She''d had nothing to lose. Until she realized she was to be a mother.

    And now that it was all over, now that she''d put an end to the monster, she couldn''t feel the satisfaction she thought she would. Instead, she felt empty and broken. Where would she go from here? How would she live knowing she caused someone''s death? Even if it was a terrorist, she''d never thought she wouldmit such a sin.

    "Come here.", Rong Xinghe sighed, pulling the woman in her arms, taking the gun away from her, "It''s okay.", she said then, pacifying her.

    Feeling the affectionate warmth around her, finally, Andrea closed her eyes and mustered up the courage to mourn. For her mother, and father, and unborn baby. She cried, hysterically, for everything she''d lost. The tears were due, of course, for it was time. Time to let go of the past.

    "I am scared, Xinghe.", Andrea said when she''d calmed down, sitting over the floor, blood still dripping down the dead body next to them.

    "You don''t have to be.", Rong Xinghe smiled assuringly, "You had every right to do what you did today. You can stay at one of the vis booked under my brothers'' names for the next few days. Take your time deciding what you want to do next. I''ll help you, I promise."

    "Thank you.", the woman managed to speak, "For everything so far."

    _________

    Blush Nightclub, 21:00;

    Zhi Xi walked over to Mo Zixuan with a ss of Rusty Nail, eyeing the two girls across the ce, chatting andughing with Zhi Al behind the bar. Lu Wei followed his line of sight shortly after, swirling the whiskey in his hands himself. It was rxing to watch them. The Rong twins genuinely smiling, not pondering over their work for once.

    "I still can''t believe Al has such a passion for Mixology!", Ningtaoughed, looking at the trio in the corner.

    "Al is a professional at everything that describes ''fun''.", Zhi Xi shrugged nonchntly, grabbing a stool for himself, "Mixology. Photography. Travel Writing. Guitar-ing. Mimicry. Dances. Vlogs. You name it."

    "Yep.", Zhi Bo nodded, downing thest of his drink, "That''s him."

    Feng Mian chuckled, her gaze fixed at how carefree the two girls were with the man. Zhi Al had always been more of the Rong twins'' friend, than their brother. But that was alright. He was the youngest of the Six tigers, after all, just a few years older than the girls. Besides, Zhi Al and Su Rogguang had shielded their innocence and their childhood, like no one, ever had.

    This night belonged to the Superfamily, and so, they''d booked the entire club for the next few hours. Three days from now, Xinguan were to get married. And though the girl''s brothers were delighted for her, they wished for time to just stop. For things to stay the way they were when they were kids.

    "Do you guys think Xinghe will be staying with the Xis after marriage?", Ruo Cy questioned.

    "I hope not.", Su Rogguaang groaned at the mere idea of it, "I mean, Yuan''s parents are fine. But Fang''s old ones are overly critical of every little thing. Xinghe would literally kill them."

    "She would?", Ningtao raised her brows, stunned.

    "She can.", Lu Weiughed out, "But that''s not an issue.", he added, "I had a word with Yuan about it months ago. He ns to keep his distance from the Xis, anyway. He wants to have a home of their own."

    "It is toote for me to break up with Al and chase after Yuan, isn''t it?", Feng Mian bewailed, earning a round ofughter from the family.

    "She will be fine, gentlemen.", Ching Tong smiled, tilting her head to look at the three exultant siblings, "It will be difficult to see her in a wedding gown, all grown up, but she deserves this. Both Yuan and her deserve a chance at happiness."

    The five men didn''t say anything. They just looked at each other in agreement. They had done their part. They had brought both their sisters up into strong, independent,passionate women. They''d educated them, taught them to put on a fight when necessary. Ever since the train incident, they''d not just protected them, but they''d encouraged the girls to protect themselves too, knowing very well that they couldn''t be by their side always. Deep down, the men had always been aware that the twins would, one day, leave. But no matter how positive, goodbyes still hurt, didn''t they?

    Soon, the girls asked the family to join them on the terrace of the club, where they''d lit a fire in the fancily designed firece. And as they did, Rong Xinghe sat down between her Bro Lu and Bro Zhi Xi, her usual spot. She''d always felt safe in their presence.

    "You don''t have to fear losing me.", the girl said softly, her eyes glued to the mes emerging from the fire, "Superfamily has never been that weak. What we have, it doesn''t just fade over months, or even years.", she smiled, turning to her Bro Lu, "I will be there for you, guys. Ad infinitum. Hold onto that, okay?"

    "Okay.", Lu Wei smiled, a knot forming in his throat as he leaned in to nt a kiss over the girl''s forehead. "Ad infinitum.", the other five whispered in unison, their lips curling up into contentment.

    It was just then, that from the corner of her eyes, Rong Xinghe saw something sharp cutting through the air from above, towards her. Not her, to be precise. It was her Bro Bo, sitting next to Rong Xiao, who seemed to be at risk. Yielding to her military instincts, the girl at once, stood up leaping toward her brother. The aimed arrow''s de was four centimeters from Zhi Bo''s torso when the girl clutched onto its carbon shaft, the sharp metal shing her palm in the process.

    As Ruo Cy screamed in shock, realizing her husband had been the target of the weapon, the Five Tigers stood up subconsciously, encircling the Rong twins and Zhi Bo next, searching for the attacker in the darkness beyond. "I am fine.", Zhi Bo stood up as well, eyeing his wife, "But Xinghe is bleeding."

    While the family thought of it as a mere scratch, Rong Xinghe anticipated otherwise. She could feel the heat rising to her head rapidly, as her gaze traveled to the de. It was enveloped into a colorless liquid, a venom she could recognize anywhere in the world. She used it herself. Funnel Web Spiders mere the makers of it, its fatality twice as deadly as cyanide. Capable of torturing humans with arrhythmia,a, painful deaths even; this attack was anything but a scratch.

 Chapter 522: Her venomous playthings

    Chapter 522: Her venomous ythings

    "The attacker meant to kill brother.", Rong Xinghe mumbled softly, feeling a tingling sensation around her lips. Stupefied, the family turned to the girl, eyeing the weapon in her hands. "What''s going on, Kid?", Su Rogguang was the first to question, an ominous intuit hitting him.

    "Do we have a pressure bandage here?", the girl looked at her Bro Lu. The man nodded, calling for the club''s manager immediately. "Bro Su, do you have ess to an antivenom called FWSAV?"

    "Yeah.", the man answered, "It''s in the Military Sanatorium."

    "Perfect.", the girl smiled, "Can someone please fire up a car while I go wash my hand? I know exactly how to deal with this.", she said, tossing the arrow away, "Don''t touch that thing, alright? I''ll have Elijah pick it up for forensicster."

    As the girl strode down the terrace, the Six men exchanged nces among themselves. Antivenom? Although they hated to think of how she was so experienced with it, they knew they had to trust her on this.

    "I''ll call the driver.", Zhi Xi said, walking away. "And I will apprise the hospital to keep the drugs ready.", Su Rogguang remarked. FWSAV was one of the world''s strongest antivenoms developed so to battle against the lethal poison of Atrax Robustus, the innately venomous mygalomorph Sydney funnel-web spiders. He had written a research paper concerning the cure in his college years ago. The spider bite had the ability to kill off a person within the disturbing range of 15 minutes to 3 days. No wonder she was in such a hurry, he surmised, as time would be thest thing at their disposal if such were to be the case.

    "I am calling Yuan.", Ningtao looked at Songyan, grabbing her phone.

    ______________

    Military Sanatorium, 23:30;

    Whilst the girl''s brothers ensured to keep the news as curbed as possible, a convoy of seven cars stopped in front of the army haven. A momentter, in a hurry, a tall figure appeared from the fourth vehicle, a team of guards shielding him immediately. With their Wedding day approaching, Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe had received many threats, from rivals, militants, toxic fans, even. And even though the constant security was a headache, the couple knew it was a must. If nothing else, tonight had proven them quite right to specte so.

    "Where is she?", Xi Yuan strode in, Xi Wei following behind him worriedly.

    "Envenomization had been done.", Su Rogguang answered as the two men approached the family, "She is sleeping right now. No serious symptoms. She will be under observation for the next twelve hours, still. But as for now, she seems fine, just a tad worn out."

    Inhaling a deep breath, the man processed the situation before he looked at Lu Wei and then back at Su Rogguang, "Should I postpone the wedding?", he asked after a minute, a pinch of anxiety clear in his tone, "It can wait."

    "It won''t be necessary.", at this time, Shawn Florence''s voice resounded from behind the man. Clothed into standardbat military uniform, the man had a casual smile across his lips. "We''ve fought through worse, Mr. Xi. And these spiders? Xinghe used to y with those things to exterminate her targets back in the day. Well, them, and other poisonous creatures. She''d always carry vials filled with their venoms in her sling bag during her missions. She knows antidotes to a colossal variety of animal toxicants.

    "I understand why you''re dreading this, I really do.", the man added, focusing on Xi Yuan as he said so, "But there is no reason to."

    "Wha--", Zhi Xi was about to question the Hybrid further just when a nurse walked out of the VIP hospital space, her gaze searching for Su Rogguang and Ching Tong, "Umm... the patient is awake.", she informed.

    :::::::::::::::::::::::::::

    23:40;

    As the Six tigers waited for Su Rogguang to check on the girl''s condition quietly, Xi Yuan grabbed a stool next to her, holding onto her cold hand in his, gazing at her engagement ring. The man did not say anything to her. He did not wish to, for he knew she''d do the same thing all over again if she were given a choice. Between herself and her brothers, she''d always chose them. Between herself and Country X, she''d rather have her nation live on. That was just what she was. A protector. To her, her own life had never been a priority. And as much as he hoped for things to be otherwise, he knew it was simply impossible.

    The girl, on the other hand, could not tell what the man was thinking. It''d bepletely fair for him tosh out or rebuke her, she believed. He had every right to. Her entire family had, actually. She did not mind their protectiveness. Not a speck.

    "Yuan.", Rong Xinghe spoke only after the two of them were alone, "It was reflex.", she began to exin.

    "I know.", the man smiled, bringing the back of her hand to his lips, nting a tender kiss against it, worried that even that much a movement might hurt her, "But I still hate this."

    "Sorry.", the girl replied softly.

    "Xinghe, the wedding..."

    "It''s happening.", the woman smiled resolutely, "I am fine, President Xi. Bro Su said so himself. Please, for the love of God, just marry me, will you?!"

    Xi Yuanughed as the girl pouted, folding her hands, pleading to him for something he''d dreamed of since the moment they''d met. Without uttering another word, the man lied down beside the woman, pulling her in his arms, "Alright. But only because you want to.", he said haughtily, earning a short scoff from her.

    From a distance, Shawn Florence stared at the couple, drifting to sleep together, peace spreading through his heart gradually. "You okay, baby brother?", David Florence walked up to the man, his eyes traveling to Xinguan as well, "Regretting your choices?", he asked then.

    "Nope.", the manughed.

    "You could''ve had this with her.", David said, his tone filled with concern, "Five years was a long time, Shawn. You should''ve let her in."

    "We were doomed. Xinghe and I.", Shawn shook his head, "We were both Rippers. Two ''sessful''b experiments with their humanities off. How do you think we would''ve ended?

    "At least, this way, she knows she''ll always have a friend in me. That I''ll be there protecting her, quietly. That''s the closest I can ever get to Xinghe, you know. I can live with that. And just look at them. Look at her. This is what ''meant to be'' looks like."

 Chapter 523: Post-assassination proclivity

    Chapter 523: Post-assassination proclivity

    Rong Family Mansion, 09:30;

    The next morning, Rong Yufan woke up, exhausted. Pinching the space between his brows, the man groaned as a sharp sensation shot through his head. Urgh! Hangover. He couldn''t deny he''d enjoyedst night, still. The sight of Rong Xinghe protecting her Bro Bo. He was there, standing next to the archer, holding onto the binocrs. It was thrilling. Everything that concerned the Superfamily was rip-roaring for him, to be precise.

    It was a shame he had to get rid of the bowman, though. But he couldn''t just hypnotize a person intomitting a crime and let them live, could he? As much as he relished ying the game of cat and mouse with Rong Xinghe, he was not going to step out from the dark. It was riveting, the feeling of acting almighty, looking at everyone around him as if they were his puppets.

    "Hey.", it was now that a feminine coquettish voice reached him. Furrowing his brows, the man turned to look at the woman beside him, lying naked, a flirtatious smile across her mouth. Right. The girl from the lounge.

    Climbing down the bed, Rong Yufan reached for his trouser, running his fingers through his hair. "Get out.", hemanded a minuteter, his tone cold. It wasn''t his first one-night stand, of course. No strings attached. How convenient. After all, that''s what women did best. Sex. Dance. Drink. That''s all he''d ever found them useful for, anyway. Pleasure.

    "No.", the womanughed, pulling the nket up to her shoulders, stretchingfortably by herself. Infuriated by her carefree tone, the man turned around, staring daggers at her. He did not have time for this. Grabbing his phone, he was about to call security when the woman smirked at him challengingly, "There''s something you should know, Mr. Rong.", she said, "About Rong Xinghe. Even though it''s not confirmed yet, you, of all people, wouldn''t want to miss it."

    "What do you mean?", Rong Yufan questioned, finally distracted by the mention of the name. The woman sat up straight, satisfied by the man''s intrigue.

    _________

    Afghanistan, 08:30;

    Sharia Enterprises;

    Leaning back in his chair, Aftaab Ali stared at the white ceiling in his office, dazed. A man sitting across from him, sipping tea, a grim silence between them.

    "What are you going to do about Country X?", the visitor, Hasan Mir questioned, his tone solemn.

    "Who am I to decide that?", Aftaab Ali chuckled, shaking his head, "I can only serve Commander Fadhil. He will have thest say, obviously."

    "Right.", Hasan scoffed, eyeing the two CCTV cameras inside the room. "So do we have any directions from the Commander? The boys are getting impatient."

    "Well... I did receive a call from him. He wants to meet that Albert Fedorov first.", Aftaab said, finally looking at the man in front of him, "Keep theds under control, Hasan. Country X is Commander''s only priority right now. Most necessarily, that woman. Rong Xinghe. It won''t be enough. To just kill the public. That woman will have to die too."

    "Understood.", the man nodded, "By the way, this guy, Albert, is he really trustworthy?"

    "He is.", Ali smiled, "I had suspicions about him as well, initially. But it has been months, and I''ve watched him. Observed him, from up close. Corruption, embezzlement, human trafficking. Nothing about that man is clean. He can be an asset for us, believe me."

    "So the Commander is really going to meet him?", Mir raised his brows.

    "It is time, yes.", the man shrugged, "Moreover, he has proven himself worthy over the past few months. He is a soldier, ready for the greater mission. For Jihad."

    Hasan Mir did not say anything further. Although he had his spections concerning this Albert Fedorov, he was not in the position to question Aftaab Ali''s judgment, for the person had an unparalleled intuit for such things. Besides, Aftaab Ali was more dedicated to their causes and wars than anyone ever had been. Him, their Commander too, of course.

    ________________

    Military Sanatorium, 10:30;

    Rong Xinghe was still under observation. She was to be discharged from the ce by noon, as instructed by Su Rogguang. Two days from now, they were to marry. She, and Xi Yuan. It was wonderfully scary, the reality of it all, for her.

    "Can I speak to Xinghe alone?", Elijah Williams knocked on the door to the girl''s room, as Xi Yuan fed her thest peel of the orange from his te. "Sure.", the man smiled, snatching hisptop from the quiet woman, "Sleep for an hour, alright? Work can wait.", he said to her sternly, "I''ll go and talk to your brothers."

    "Fine.", the girl sighed as she watched the man walk out of the ward. "What work?", Elijah stared at the girl, closing the door behind him.

    "I was going through my mails.", the woman shrugged, "Expecting some sort of lead from our informers. It''s weird how Ahmed Ali Fadhil hasn''t made a move yet."

    "Oh. Actually, that''s what I wanted to talk to you about.", Williams rushed over to the woman, readjusting the pillow behind her. "I had a question."

    "Shoot.", Rong Xinghe smiled thankfully.

    "You''ve seen Fadhil in action, Xinghe. He was your mission.", the man pointed out, "Now that he''s had Four stic surgeries to date, how would Abram or Jackson even recognize him down there? How will any of us recognize him, for that matter? We might be aiming in the dark, for all we know. Unless... you know something ''noteworthy'' about him."

    The girl pondered over the man''s words for some time as she attempted to remember her encounter with Fadhil years ago. She had it right on tip of her tongue. The one thing that she could feel was very crucial to this manhunt, that she was missing. Something of immense importance. It was then that her darling''s voice resounded in her ears. A suggestion he''d made back when this problem had initiallye up.

    ''A person can change their appearances, and methods, and tactics. But theirbat technique is a subconscious part of them. No matter how many people learn Taekwon-do, every individual has their own signature move. This person should be no different, Xinghe.'' That''s what he''d said.

    Suddenly, the girl looked up, "Did I not tell you about Ahmed''s psychotic post-assassination proclivityst time?"

    "No.", the man shook his head, "As far as I remember, you simply mentioned that you''d found a solution to the problem. But what exactly, that we''re yet to know."

    "He has the habit of marking a cross across his victims'' foreheads, so as to announce his im of valor.", Rong Xinghe remarked, "Inform each one of the Hybrids about it, as soon as possible. We''ll need to keep an eye out for such dead bodies around in Afghanistan once we reach there."

    "Got it, Alpha.", Elijah smiled, reaching for the door handle, "That helps a lot. Thanks."

 Chapter 524: "We are getting married tomorrow, Lover"

    Chapter 524: "We are getting married tomorrow, Lover"

    12:30;

    Xi Yuan drove in silence, as the girl made some phone calls. Most of them, to the Military Chief Office and the Hybrids. He did not mind her work, of course. She was going to rejoin the MCO shortly after their wedding, nheless. That was the n. What worried him still was the fatigue across her face. She seemed alright, she really did. Then why was he worrying so much? He didn''t know himself.

    It was certainly not due to the attackst night, of that he was sure. He had been feeling this darkness creep up to him for weeks now. Maybe because of the wedding preparations, he convinced himself.

    "Hey, you.", the girl turned to her darling, smiling at him softly, "What''s on your mind?"

    Xi Yuan shook his head, "Nothing much. Everything alright at work?"

    "Yeah. Abram needed another 100 Million USD extorted from Country X. I was making arrangements for that.", Rong Xinghe exined.

    "Oh.", the man said, his eyes on the road.

    "It looks like I will have to fly to Afghanistan sooner than expected.", the girl added next, letting out a heavy breath, "So to supervise the Hybrids."

    "Be safe.", Xi Yuan said, knowing very well to not voice his concerns at the moment. It wasn''t the right time. From what he''d gathered up until then, he could tell just how savage a beast Fadhil was, and that it was utterly indispensable for the woman to get to him before it was toote. It''d been months, years even since the mightiest of the armies across the globe began hunting for him; all their efforts in vain but. She could not be burdened with his worries in such a state. Be that as it may, they were to marry soon. He''d have plenty of opportunities to speak to her then, wouldn''t he?

    _______________

    Xi Family Mansion, 13:00;

    "It was Zhi Xi on the line.", Xi Chongkun returned to the living room, his phone in his hand, "Xiao Xinghe is alright.", he informed, smiling at his wife, relieved. Li Jungah''s reaction was no different. It was a nightmare, the thought of anything happening to their to-be daughter-inw. The old couple had been with their son when he''d received the unfortunate call from Ningtao. And even though they''d offered to apany Xi Yuan to the sanatorium, the man had turned them down, for he was in a rush then.

    "What did the doctors say?", Luo Youyou walked in, anxiousness in her tone. Xi Chonglin followed her a momentter.

    "Nothing worrisome.", Li Jungah answered, her tone distant. As an awkward silence spread through the room, Xi Chongkun cleared his throat, focussing on his wife again, "Her brother also told me that Lu Wei would give her away at the wedding ceremony."

    "Really?", the woman raised her brows, surprised.

    "Yes. Traditionally, fathers are supposed to do that. But since Rong Anguo is no longer among us, and the fact that Lu Wei has always been a father figure to her, the Superfamily found it the most appropriate to advance with that. What do you say?", the man stated with a satisfied smile across his mouth.

    "I have no objections, honestly.", Li Jungahughed, impressed, "In fact, it would be endearing to watch, don''t you think?"

    It was now that Luo Youyou''s phone rang up. As a name popped up onto its screen, the woman nced at her husband and then at the couple in front of her cautiously, before she strode out of the room, bringing the device to her ear. "Hello. So... did you meet him?", she questioned, her voice barely audible.

    "I am ''him'', Mrs. Xi.", the man on the other side of the line chuckled, amused too, "And I thought nothing could break the invincible Xi family."

    Taken aback by the young yet masculine voice, the woman sat down on a bench nearby, inhaling a shaky breath, "We have the same interests, I believe.", she said after calming down.

    "Not really.", the person replied with augh, "I don''t care who reces Xi Yuan on the throne. But yes, I think we can work together on this one, Madam."

    "I have one condition, still.", Luo Youyou remarked earnestly, "I don''t want my nameing up in any of this."

    "Of course. The information you''ve provided me with is already enough on your part. I will handle the rest.", the man smiled, disconnecting the phone.

    ________________

    The next morning, Xi Yuan woke up to find the girl ying with his fingers in a daze. Her wavy jet ck hair spreading like the branches of a tree, her cheeks and nose faintly Pink from the cold breeze approaching them through the window.

    "Good morning, Love.", he smiled, his voice generously impassioned, "Did you not sleep at all?"

    Stunned slightly, the girl turned to him. Goodness, quite the dreamy voice he had, didn''t he? And eyes, too. Everything, actually. "Morning.", she giggled, nting a kiss upon the back of his hand she was holding, leaning over him next, "I slept just fine.", she said assuringly, "Don''t worry."

    "Then why do you look... tired?", Xi Yuan asked, pulling the nket to her shoulders.

    "I felt uneasy, about an hour ago. I think it was the foodst night.", she mumbled, confused.

    "Let''s visit the doctors. Come on.", the man suggested, as he attempted to get up only to be pinned down to the bed again, "No need.", Rong Xinghe said, "Stop being so paranoid, will you? It must be just the food. I''ll be fine after a bowl of hot soup or something.

    "Besides, we have much more essential tasks on our list today, you."

    "Like what?", Xi Yuan leaned back a bit, resigning to the woman''s enthusiasm.

    Rong Xinghe smirked, pecking the man on his forehead forehead. His nose then, followed by his chin and cheeks, her lips halting inches from his mouth in the end. "We are getting married tomorrow, Lover.", she whispered, a wave of intimacy wrapping around them gradually.

    "Uh...huh.", he managed, as the girl finally closed in on him, not allowing him to escape her. It wasn''t as if he wished to, anyway.

 Chapter 525: To getting Xinguan-ed!

    Chapter 525: To getting Xinguan-ed!

    25th February, Country X;

    The winter zephyr next morning brought but a wave of excitement to the entirety of Country X. None, as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as the media, still. It was, after all, the day of the nation''s most awaited wedding. Encircling the pce, the journalists stood, hunting for so much as a shadow of the bride and the groom. Their families, too.

    While some reporters actively borated the romantic tale of Duke Raphael and Princess Pearl''s English Pce to the public, other channels focussed primarily on the oh-so-prominent guests that''d been invited. From the Prime Minister and the President of the nation to the top Five global industrialists, the range to them all was nothing ordinary, to put it in words. There were quite some old faces as well. Rong Xinghe''s co-performers from ''Voice of the World'', for instance. Majority of the Youth team, along with Four world-renowned Nobel Peace Laureates.

    "Business King and Military Queen: most adored couple across the world now!", one of the various headlines read that day.

    "A marvelously refreshing royal wedding."

    "Let''s get Xinguan-ed, dear ones!", another went.

    "Military Chief to walk down the aisle with her eldest brother, Lu Wei, today."

    "Xi Corps''s Vice-President Xi Fang: all you need to know of the handsome groom''s best man."

    Meanwhile, inside the regal castle, unbothered by themotion outside, Rong Xinghe walked out of the shower, a team of makeup artists, and hairstylists waiting for her. "What the mother of--", the girl gasped, clutching onto her Gray bathrobe subconsciously, "I can put on makeup myself, please.", she smiled nervously.

    "You are the Bride today.", Ningtao walked in, clothed in an elegantly appealing starry Blue gown, "Just sit down on that chair and rx, okay?"

    "But..."

    "Come,e.", Feng Mian grinned excitedly, "We''ll begin with the hair first, and then the makeup. Only then can you get into the wedding gown."

    "Wow.", Rong Xingheughed shortly, sitting over the chair in front of the fancy huge mirror, "It seems soplicated. How long will it take?"

    "Ideally, it takes only an hour and a half.", Ruo Cy said, "But in your case, it might stretch up to 3-4 hours. Your essories, and makeup, and even the gown; everything is too delicate to try on hastily."

    "Goodness.", the girl blinked, shocked. It was bizarre, she thought. She could cross-dress faster than that. "Uh... How''s Yuan doing?", she asked, clearing her throat, as the hairstylist walked up to her from behind.

    "He''s with your brothers. Chatting.", Songyan replied, cradling the sleeping Zhi Taio in her arms.

    "Chatting?", the woman raised her brows, indignant.

    "Well... Men have to do, what exactly, put on a suit? He will start half an hour before the wedding.", Ching Tong scoffed, "Lucky brats!"

    "And where is my twin?", the girlughed.

    "In the next room. With her own stylists.", Ningtao smiled, "Maid-of-honor rights, she said."

    ::::::::::::::::::::::

    The Royal Suite, 19:00;

    "Could you repeat the events'' order please?", Xi Fang said to the wedding organizer behind him, as he stared at the speech cards in his hands.

    "Wedding, first, Sir.", the middle-aged man, Luke Hamilton, nodded, "One hour from now. It shouldst until nine, I believe. With the couple''s vows and everything. And then, there will be the reception, at ten. It could stretch on until dawn, so I was instructed by the Third Young Master Wei."

    "What''s going on, Fang?", Xi Yuan nced at his brother, "Why so worked up?"

    "Security concerns.", the man smiled tiredly, "Nothing serious, though."

    At this time, Mo Zixuan walked into the huge room, toward Xi Yuan, leisurely, "Need help with the tie?", he asked, outstretching his right hand. With a faint nod, the man passed on the clothing article to the girl''s brother. "How is she?", he asked.

    "Sleeping.", Zhi Bo answered instead, stepping in into the ce a momentter, augh escaping his mouth, "They''re finishing her makeup, so not much movement is required. ssic Xinghe."

    "Charming.", Xi Yuanughed back.

    ______________

    Rong Family Mansion, 19:30;

    As soon as he reached home, Rong Yufan found everyone gathered inside the living room, in front of the OLED TV set. Grabbing a seat for himself, the man looked at the screen, finding across it what he''d already expected. The talk-of-the-town wedding.

    "Remarkable venue, don''t you think?", he winked at his mother, who he could tell had been gritting her teeth out of anger. The old couple was no different, neither was his father. Understandably, so. Detestation against Rong Xinghe was something they all shared.

    "How could the Xi family let in an abandoned baggage like her?!", Gu Hong hissed, eyeing her son helplessly, "This is ridiculous."

    "Who is to guarantee her well-being in the Xi family?", Rong Yufan smiled lightly, pulling his phone out from his suit pocket.

    "What do you mean? I thought this was a love marriage.", the man''s father, Rong Chang furrowed his brows, muddled.

    "You will know. Soon.", with that being said, the man strode out, pressing the phone to his ear.

    He was very little when he''d been told that Rong Xinghe was a threat to him. To his existence. But he''d never believed any of that. Because every time he would look at her, there''d be hope in her eyes. Andpassion, and vibrance. She''d always look up to him. An obedient child, who had never expressed her rage, no matter what the Rong family elders did to her. How could someone like that possibly harm him, he''d wonder.

    But as time passed by, and he saw her thrive at everything she did, he could feel something slip from him. Power. Control. Strength. In those high-ss parties, no matter how dully she''d be dressed, guests would listen to her, attentively, delightedly. She had opinions and thoughts about everything, even as a five-year-old. And people loved to watch her talk.

    He had never loathed her for what his parents feared. His hatred stemmed from a whole different trepidation, instead. No one in this world could understand the dread of living under the shadow of their younger sibling better than him. Rong Xinghe had always been like the Sun, whose brightness could be concealed, of course, but never forgotten. He could not make peace with a life like that. A life, filled with such humiliation, and worthlessness.

    Hence, it had to end. She had to end. He couldn''t kill her now, for that''d only make her a martyr. She was the Military Chief, after all. He didn''t intend to, anyway. Wouldn''t it be more hrious, he thought, for him to break her from within? Again, and again, and again. Until she''d give up on herself, eventually.

 Chapter 526: Arrival of the King and the Queen

    Chapter 526: Arrival of the King and the Queen

    Castle Tryst, 20:00;

    That was the name of the pce Xinguan were to be wedded in. Tryst. A private romantic rendezvous between lovers, it meant. It was ideal, for Duke Raphael and Princess Pearl had made a home of these very walls once. The couple had celebrated years of matrimony, therein, quite blissfully so.

    "Here, here, President Xi!", one of the many photographers yelled out, as the groom made his way to the end of the altar, hundreds of eyes glued to the stunning man. outred magnificently into a Wine Red slim-fit single-breasted suit, decorated with Country X''s lionized Military sash, so to honor his position in the Army; he looked like a Royalty himself. It was the protocol, but. The spouse to the ruling heads of Country X had to, through such significant events, appear as up-to-mark and patriotic as expected by the public.

    With Xi Fang and Xi Wei following behind him, the man radiated the impression of an ancient, scrumptious King, visiting the mere mortals. In a way, that was true. Even without the media, and the public, Xi Yuan was someone the world bowed down to, out of courtesy and respect. He did not have to be a monarch to be a King. He was it.

    As the journalists tried to get through the small balconies connected to the enormous wedding hall, Mo Zixuan turned around, limiting their enthusiasm with a tad of his re. Wasn''t it enough already to have allowed them in, he thought.

    Shortly after, Xi Yuan reached the old officiant, he nodded to the man respectfully, standing to his left. Xi Wei tapped the man''s shoulder, a grin across his mouth, "Finally!!", the younger one said.

    "Shut up, Wei.", Xi Fang pulled the man back, smiling modestly at the guests next, "No drama during the ceremony.", he said. Xi Wei nodded in agreement, suppressing hisughter in an instant. Right. No drama. This wedding had to be perfect. Both, their Brother and Sister-inw deserved that, to the least, after all the troubles and hindrances they''d had in their paths.

    "Our Yuan, Mr. Xi.", Li Jungah smiled, a lump forming in her throat, as she watched her son, "So handsome..."

    "He really has grown up, hasn''t he?", Xi Chongkunughed, nodding at his wife.

    As if sensing their eyes on him, Xi Yuan turned to look at his parents, a tender smileing to his lips involuntarily. Without saying much, the man raised his brows at them twice, as if asking how he looked, hence earning a wave of awed chuckles from the onlookers. Such an endearing situation it was, to watch the President of Xi Corporations seek praise from his parents.

    "Ladies and gentlemen, the Bride!", William Young announced about five minutester, "Please stand up." And as they did so, Xi Yuan set his eyes upon the entrance to the vintage space, his heart beating unevenly, rapidly. But she was not the first one to appear. It was Lu Alix, holding onto a small basket of rose petals, strewing them carefully as the woman stepped over them, steadily descending into everyone''s sight.

    And as she finally was en public, the viewers stood frozen, attempting to absorb the view in front of them. With satin ivory and appliqudce bodice, long-sleeves, a low neckline, and a full skirt, Rong Xinghe''s White gown was but a dress of intricate work. Although, instead of a traditional veil, the woman had put on a long tulle beaded-back cape. Yes, a cape! The three logos to the nation''s Naval Force, the Air Force, and the Armed Force embroidered over its back; rightfully serving as a tribute to her position as the country''s Military Chief.

    Her hair was done in breezy mermaid waves, a European crown over her head, the diamonds on it dazzling from distance. Her makeup precisely to the point. From top to bottom, everything about this bride was breathtaking. And just as unique as her. Yet, suiting her very well. She was the Queen after all, wasn''t she?

    As she walked down the aisle, her cape brushing the petal-covered floor, for a few seconds, across the room, their eyes met. He looked spectacr, she whispered to herself. Xi Yuan, on the other hand, found himself struggling for words to describe her. It was surreal, he felt, how she looked. How could a person appear so arrestingly entrancing, he marveled.

    "Brother...", Xi Fang stepped forth a few paces, smiling, "Here, handkerchief." It was now that Xi Yuan realized that a drop of tear had rolled down his right cheek unknowingly. "Lord.", the manughed, looking away as he grabbed the cloth from his brother. Rong Xinghe couldn''t help but giggle slightly, burying her face into her bro Lu''s arms after.

    "He is the right man for you, Kiddo.", Lu Weiughed shortly, nodding at the other Five tigers, gesturing them to join in.

    "Come here.", Mo Zixuan smiled, nting a soft kiss against the girl''s cheek, "We''re happy for you, Xinghe. We really are."

    "I know.", the girl smiled back, hugging the man.

    "You''ll always find a family in us, Sister.", Zhi Boughed, pecking her on the forehead, his voice breaking slightly.

    And as Zhi Al and Su Rogguang pulled the girl''s cheeks as they always did, Zhi Xi kissed the back of her hand in the end. "Go now. Marry him.", Lu Wei said to the girl approvingly.

    "Ad infinitum, brothers.", Rong Xinghe said, her voice more a pledge than a formality. The men simply nodded at her, their gazes filled with affection. Rong Xiao outstretched her hand then, helping the girl to the right of the priest as the Six Tigers joined their loverster.

    Rong Xinghe smiled to the two groomsmen behind her darling, mouthing the word ''hot'' to them. Xi Wei chuckled, adjusting his Navy Blue suit bashfully, eliciting a giggle from Rong Xiao. Xi Fangughed internally. She really could light up any room she walked into, couldn''t she? Just like how she''d painted their brother''s life into the most exotic, and brightest of the colors there were in the world.

    "We shall begin with the vows now.", the priest cleared his throat after a while "Groom is to proceed first.", he added, looking at Xi Yuan next.

 Chapter 527: I vow to thee

    Chapter 527: I vow to thee

    As cameras focussed upon the man, the citizens of the entire nation witnessing the ceremony live; Xi Yuan had eyes for none but the woman in front of him at the moment. He took his time, watching her smile, and blink, and move, before he finally inhaled a sharp breath, as he started with his piece.

    "Love, to me, had always been a myth. A facade, an alliance even. Something movies, and novels, and dramas glorified. I used to believe that I would never have someone love me with such selflessness. Until you pranced into my life, that is. Hoping for a ss of Virgin Mojito, at that.", he smiled as the crowd listening to him broke into a burst ofughter. Rong Xinghe simply smiled, thinking of their first meet. Their meet-cute. 25th of February. Tonight remarked three years of that serendipitous encounter of theirs.

    "You were my first love. And I intend to have you in my middle, and in my end,e what may.", the man said, his tone earnest now, "I love you. I love how you care about everyone around you, and how you never give up on yourself. I love the way you cry over sad endings in books and I love to watch you grow, like a nt. I love to see you make time for your brothers, and sisters-inw, and friends, no matter how much your work upies you.

    "You never cease to amaze me, Xinghe. You are the most intelligent, strong-willed, and resilient person I have ever met. Everything you do, you do so passionately, and fiercely, and devotedly; that it gives people who watch you, hope. Me, being one of them.", the man smiled, "You make me want to be a better version of myself. You make me want to live, Ma Jolie.

    "So today, as we be one another''s, I vow to be yours. For the forever, we shall have together. I vow to speak when words are needed and to share the silence when they are not. I vow to ardently love you in all of your forms, in your positives and in your negatives, until I breathe myst. I vow to never forget that this is an epic love that we have. Andstly, I vow to give you a best friend, a confidant, an advisor, a listener, a soulmate, and a husband, anytime you''d find yourself yearning for one."

    As apuse spread throughout the room, Rong Xinghe looked at the man, a sense of indescribable contentment surging through her heart. He had always been good with words, hadn''t he? Gentle, and affectionate.

    "Bride now.", the officiant turned to the girl, satisfied by the bond the couple shared.Rong Xingheughed softly, blinking back her tears before she looked at the man, deciding to begin with a poem.

    "For the way, you changed my ns

    For being the perfect distraction

    For the way, you took the idea that I had

    Of everything that I wanted to have

    "And made me see

    There was something missing

    For the ending of my first beginning

    And for the rare and unexpected friend

    For the way

    You''re something that I''d never choose

    But at the same time something I don''t wanna lose

    And never wanna be without

    "Ever again

    You''re the best thing I never knew I needed

    So when you appeared I had no idea

    You''re the best thing I never knew I needed

    Now it''s so clear I need you here always

    My idental happily

    Ever after

    The way you smile and how youfort me

    With yourughter

    "I must admit you were not a part of my book

    But now if you open it up and take a look

    You''re the beginning and the end

    Of every chapter

    You''re the best thing I never knew I needed

    So when you appeared I had no idea

    You''re the best thing I never knew I needed

    Now it''s so clear, I need you here, always."

    Rong Xinghe had always had a mesmerizing voice. So as it resounded through the regal space, her words in sync, every person in there could feel their hearts flutter with excitement. With a sensation, difficult to narrate themselves. Even the violently active journalists from earlier found themselves drowning in the presence of the woman''s poised tone, and in the love that she held for her darling.

    "I was broken when we met.", the girl continued, not paying heed to the onlookers but at all, "I was terrified of love, and of home. I used to think that I didn''t deserve to dream of a family. To me, even smiling was no less of a sin then, for I''d always worry of my destiny flipping about the next second. After all, that was the life I''d lived before. But then, well, you happened.

    "You were there, sitting next to me, listening to my cries, and screams. You were there, quietly wiping my tears, and healing my wounds.", Rong Xinghe stopped for seconds then, gathering herself, "And never once did you demand answers from me. You just waited. Patiently. Like the gentleman you are.

    "I never used to let people in. It scared me. To let go for once, and to ept that I was hurting. But you were this hopelessly stubborn stranger, apanying me through my worst. You were by my side, looking out for me secretly. You have no idea how much you mean to me, Yuan. But you need to know that you''ll always be my home and that, you''ll always find a home in me.

    "I vow to love you with every atom in my soul. I promise tofort you in times of pain and struggles. I vow to ept you for you, and I vow to have you in all my adventures and tantrums. And in the end, as a woman, I vow to be your equal in the family. I vow to bear the burdens of our home alongside you, and not from a distance. I vow to you that in me, you''ll always have a friend, a confidant, an advisor, a gossip-buddy, and a wife.", the girl chuckled as she stole his words, bringing a smile to the man''s perfectly carved lips.

    "Oh! And I vow to not let my brothers gang up on you.", the woman added, eliciting a wave of warmughter from the groups of guests assembled, including the Six Tigers, of course.

    As they came to their senses now, the photographers shot the couple''s pictures, while the journalists jotted down the pointers to their vows into their notepads hurriedly. This was going to be huge. Everything about this wedding was going to be huge, for the entirety of the world had its gazes set upon the grandness of it all.

    "Time to exchange the wedding rings.", the old priest announced a minute after, as Lu Alix jumped down from her Uncle Al''s arms, a different basket in hands now.

 Chapter 528: "I do"

    Chapter 528: "I do"

    As Xinguan offered each other the wedding rings, symbolic of their never-endingmitment, love, and devotion to one another, the crowd of guests gasped at the sheer finery of them. An elegant blend of Rose Gold and tinum elements, the sacred jewelry articles were quite evidently, one of a kind. Whilst Xi Yuan had a ssic band around his right ring finger, the girl''s ring was shaped into a five-spiked crown, three rtively minute but exquisite diamonds etched into their centers, modestly speaking of the three-year anniversary that they shared today.

    But that was not even the standout about them. As observed from a keen eye, next to the three diamond pieces, upon Xi Yuan''s band, were the English alphabets ''RX'' engraved in ck. Her initials. And upon hers, was ''XY''. His name.

    "Are those the rare ck diamonds carved out?!", one of the young women covered her wide open mouth, her other hand tugging onto Ningtao''s dress. Stunned, the woman turned around to look at the person, only to realize she was one of the Youth Team. A young actress.

    Letting out augh then, Ningtao nodded, "Yes.", she answered, "Designed by Chris Collins. One of the Bride and Groom''s friends."

    The second the name reached the journalists'' ears, they couldn''t help but confirm the information, at least thrice. Collins was not an ordinary man. With a passion for jewelry creation, this person was but Asia''s most prominent business tycoon today, his industry excelling in ornaments, of course. Not a fan of fame but, the man preferred to explore himself freely, away from the media''s scrutiny. Then again, most artists did, didn''t they? To seek inspiration from the simplest of things.

    But that wasn''t that to Chris Collins. Very few people in Country X were aware of it, but the man was none other than the only breathing descendant of Duke Raphael and Princess Pearl. Hence, a royalty himself. And for him to personally serve the Military Chief and the Business King of the nation; was not something to be described as an issue of little significance.

    "Now.", the priest smiled at the couple shortly, as he urged the man''s groomsmen to silence the wonderstruck crowd in front of them. And as they did so, the old man began, "You two have professed your love by exchanging your vows. You have symbolized yourmitment by exchanging rings. And so, there is just one more question I need each of you to answer.

    "Miss Rong Xinghe, do you take this man to be yourwfully wedded husband?"

    "I do.", Rong Xinghe smiled, staring at her darling sincerely.

    "And Mr. Xi Yuan, do you take this woman to be yourwfully wedded wife?"

    "I do.", Xi Yuan said, his gaze filled with affection.

    "Very well.", the officiant nodded, turning to the guests now, "By the power vested in me by the Almighty, I now pronounce these two, husband and wife. You may now kiss your partner."

    Letting out a shaky breath, Xi Yuan raised his brows, closing in the distance parting them. And as their lips met, melting into one another, gradually, elegantly, they could listen to the sounds of cameras shuttering and of people cheering them on with apuse and acims.

    __________

    Castle Tryst, 21:30;

    "Hello, Husband.", Rong Xinghe walked up to the man, stretching her right hand toward him. Xi Yuan was indulged in a conversation with one of the many guests they were supposed to greet in person tonight, at the time she approached him.

    "Hello, Wife.", the man smiled, cing his hand onto hers, ted by the way she''d addressed him just then.

    "First dance. As Bride and Groom.", the womanughed, "Our siblings insist, so for their ''partayyy'' to really begin."

    "Sure.", Xi Yuan shrugged, ncing at the middle-aged man he''d been speaking to, apologetically.

    "Forgive us, Prime Minister.", Rong Xinghe said. "Go, Ma''am, enjoy.", Li Boquin shook his head casually, returning to the fellow diplomats next to him then.

    A minuteter, Xi Wei climbed up on the dance stage, tapping the microphone in his hands twice, hauling the guests'' attention to him. "Mr. and Mrs. Xi, everyone!", he presented, a pinch of exuberance in his tone.

    Xi Yuan got onto the stage, followed by Rong Xinghe, as Ed Sheeran''s song <em>Perfect</em> came on, lights on them dimming mercifully. And underneath them, her Hazel Brown eyes glistened, a giggle escaping her mouth. It was her favorite song, and so his, as well.

    cing her hands over his shoulders, the woman closed her eyes as his fingers brushed against the small of her back before finally halting at her waist. The next thing she knew, he drew her closer to him, whispering to her in his soul-stirring deep voice, "You look irresistible tonight, Military Chief.", he said, "Like really, really, sexy."

    Letting out a genuineugh, the girl started moving to the music around them, him syncing to her every step naturally. "Why, you look dashing yourself, Mr. Xi!", sheplimented softly, looking straight into his eyes.

    The two did not say anything anymore. Simply, they swayed back and forth, their every movement like those of from ssic romances. It was quiet throughout the royal space, the hundreds of spectators watching them smile,ugh, and dance as if they were the only living, breathing things in the world. It was divine, their love. The harmony those two shared.

    In ways, Xinguan reminded people of their young selves. Passionate, and zealous. Hopelessly intimate in love.

    But to some, they were so much more than that. And for such, Xinguan radiated an impression of eternity. They promised assurance to those around them, and to the millions of those who watched them from afar. They provided them with hope; about love, and about the deepest of the wounds healing, with time and patience. Somewhat like how the story of Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan Markle did, and that of the Obamas too.

    Such love was, in its true sense, rare. Epic, and noble, even. Something that allowed others to survive into it, and to seek relief andfort from. Something... that was understandably uplifting for those who saw it.

 Chapter 529: An addition to the pack of Hybrids

    Chapter 529: An addition to the pack of Hybrids

    Castle Tryst, 23:30;

    "I cannot believe I get to call you my Sister-inw now!", Xi Yue walked up to the Bride, her eyes sparkling with excitement. It was at her wedding that Xi Yuan had introduced Rong Xinghe to the Xi family elders for the first time in New York. He had even confessed his feelings to her back then, in front of the Statue of Liberty, oh-so-romantically. Xi Yue, herself being a staunch Rong Xinghe fan, couldn''t begin to describe the joy this marriage brought to her. After all, how many people in the world were fortunate enough to be able to call their idols their family, huh?

    "Ah, thanks, Honey.", Rong Xingheughed with surprise as her eyes traveled to the woman''s protruding belly, "Congrattions to you too, I must say!", she added then, nodding faintly at her husband next.

    "It''s a girl.", Xi Yue grinned, cing Rong Xinghe''s hands upon the bump, "Six months. I really hope she grows up to be like you."

    "Come on. She''ll be perfect in her own unique ways.", the woman smiled.

    After chatting for a few more minutes, Xi Yue climbed down the stage with her husband by her side. Sighing at how adorable they looked, Rong Xinghe turned to her darling, "She is glowing!", the girl whispered to him.

    "You are, too.", Xi Yuan smiled, turning to the girl to adjust her hair, "I have never seen you so jovial before."

    Rong Xinghe stared at the man in a daze, her heart at ease tonight. He was right. Throughout the entire day, never once had this smile disappeared from her lips today. She was, for the first time in ages, genuinely at peace. She was really happy.

    It was a foreign experience to her, truth be told. To not worry about Country X''s or her family''s or her darling''s safety. To have had one pleasant day in her life with no tragedy whatsoever.

    "Oh my, Xiao Xinghe, you look breathtaking.", Li Jungah reached the couple, Xi Chongkun following behind her calmly.

    Now that the wedding was over, what remained was a whole night of the reception, nned by none but Xi Wei and Zhi Al, the two most prominent party hosts in Country X. With performances ranging from Asia''s famous boy band Zeal to the Youth Team NGO''s kids, it was also an event that was to be broadcasted live across the world, for each one of these acts were prepared so to honor Xinguan.Throughout the night, the couple was to meet each one of their guests in person, too, while their families danced and drank. But the two had no objections in regards to it. As long as everyone got to enjoy themselves, they could definitely bear with the formalities now, couldn''t they?

    _______________

    Khalij Wedding Hall, Afghanistan;

    01:30;

    "What''s the update?", Jackson Marshal said into his headphone''s mic, as he sat inside an old, and shabby surveince van, "Aftaab Ali is there or not?", he asked.

    "Yes, Sir.", the rtively younger man mumbled, walking with a tray of Gajr bowls in his hands, "He is here.", he reported, "Talking to his assistant."

    "Is there no other man he''s chatted with?", the Hybrid groaned, leaning back in his seat, his eyes fixed to the screens in front of him, "Anyone suspicious?" Ahmed Ali Fadhil was supposed to be in there. At this wedding. It was his nephew''s, after all. They''d been so sure that he''d show up here. Tomunicate with Aftaab Ali, to the least, about Country X. But no progress. None, so far. How exhausting!

    "No.", the young boy, about twenty years old, his name Asad Rehman, replied. It was a risky game he was ying. Supporting those who opposed Lashkar ul-Mujahidin, or the Great Commander, for that matter. He was aware of the risks, of course. But he didn''t care anymore. Not after what''d happened four years ago, to his family. It was a miracle already, that he''d walked out of it all, alive. Alone, still. With no one to go home to.

    "Sir...", the man whispered, ncing warily at everyone around him.

    "Yeah?", Jackson sat up, rubbing the back of his neck.

    "Will I get to meet her?", Rehman questioned, "The Military Chief."

    "Uh-huh.", the man smiled, noticing nervousness in the boy''s voice, "Soon. Why?"

    "She must be beautiful. I never saw her, but when she talked to me over the phone this time, her voice... it was angelic.", Asad said, "Just like my elder sister''s.", he added then.

    "Whether she''s beautiful or not, you can tell for yourselfter.", Marshal stated, "But for now, just focus on the mission. Don''t get distracted, alright?"

    "Yes."

    As the line went quiet, the Hybrid opened the van''s back door, letting Abram Orlov in. As the man passed him a cup of warm tea, Jackson shook his head, signaling their situation so far. Asad Rehman was one of the locals there. In Afghanistan. One of the victims, desperately waiting for his turn to fight back. To voice his rage, and to put an end to this madness around them. To terrorism. For a man to watch his Mother and Father get shot in the head, and to witness his sisters being sold to other lustful beasts as if they were some goods; how helpless he must''ve felt. And useless, to not have been able to protect them.

    Of course, Rehman would step up to act as an informer. To do anything that helped to defeat these monsters, and to avenge his family. To get a chance to see his sisters again, given they were still alive. People like Asad could never be bought off, for their fury was a result of pain buried deep within their souls. And that was the reason Rong Xinghe had chosen him for something so crucial.

    "Xinghe got married.", Orlov said after some time, "Just got a Morse Code from Elijah."

    "Wow. Unbelievable, don''t you think?", Jackson smiled, "And incredible. She said she would never marry."

    "I know.", the Hybridughed, "Our Alpha has brought in a King to our pack now."

 Chapter 530: Xinguans Q&A

    Chapter 530: Xinguan''s Q&A

    Castle Tryst, 03:30;

    "Quite an excellent performance from the rightfully remarkable music band Zeal, everyone.", Zhi Wei climbed up on the stage as the crowd below him broke into apuse, a wide smile across his mouth, "Now, after indulging our adorable Bride and Groom into games like Jenga, Ring Toss, the Wheel of Fun, and the Shoe Game; I''d like to trouble them but once more! What do you say, Sister-inw?"

    Rong Xingheughed, bringing the mic in her hands to her lips, "I would never say no to my Little Panda.", she said sweetly.

    The young man chuckled, eyeing Xi Yuan, expecting his approval next. "Go ahead.", the man responded momentster.

    "Alrighty then.", Xi Wei pped his hands thrice, exhrated, "Well... this is a simple game of Q&A. And for each question answered wrongly, the two of you would have to drink up. Understood?" Earning a nod from the couple then, the man looked at the question cards he''d been holding all night long, waiting for the wave of awws around him to fade down, "So... Who is your celebrity crush? Both of you."

    "Shawn Mendes.", Rong Xinghe answered, "The American Pop Prince."

    "Rong Xinghe.", Xi Yuan said for himself, leaning back in his chair leisurely. Astounded by the man''s answer, the crowd gazed at the huge screen zooming onto Rong Xinghe staring at her darling, in admiration. How lovey-dovey!

    "Why her?", the host in his Teal three-piece suit asked.

    "She is my favorite singer. Artist, too. And poetess and dancer.", the man replied with a smile, looking straight into the woman''s eyes, "Xinghe is so much more than the Military Chief to Country X. It''s a shame she doesn''t perform anymore, for others. But as selfish as it sounds, I''d prefer things this way myself. Because like that, I get to be the only fan who gets to watch her from up close."

    As the heat rose up to her cheeks, the girl looked away from the man, the couple''s familiesughing at their winsome interactions. How shameless, she thought, to torture people across the world with his PDA.

    "You''re killing us unmarried ones, Brother!", Xi Weiined, instantly moving onto the next question, "Okay. What is her favorite beverage?"

    "Indian tea.", Xi Yuan said within seconds.

    "Correct! Sister-inw, next one''s for you?", the young man smiled, "What do you find most attractive about him?"

    "His passion for whatever he does.", Rong Xinghe answered, "Also, the tremendous amount of patience he owns."

    "Right answer.", Xi Wei went on, "What is the one thing that you do that annoys her the most, Brother?"

    "When I apologize to her without giving her the opportunity to fight.", the man answered, eliciting a round ofughter from their guests, "She often gets irked due to that, as she alwayses with a whole speech prepared for me."

    Taking about half a minute to calm himself, Xi Wei then looked at the girl, "Growing up, what was your first dream?"

    "To open a bakery of my own."

    "And yours?", the man asked his brother.

    "To be a Military man."

    "Okay...", the man aimed at Xi Yuan again, "Onto the serious ones now. Would you be willing to stay at home with the kids while she works?"

    "Absolutely.", the man answered, not a pinch of contemtion in his tone.

    "Sister-inw, how do you think my brother would feel if you were to make more money than him?", Xi Wei asked the woman, his eyes focussed upon the cards in his hands.

    "He''d be proud of me.", the girl smiled at her darling, "He''d be mature enough to not let our egos taint the home, which we''d rather decorate with peace and love."

    "Lord, none of you had to drink once all this while!", the man gasped in surprise. They really knew each other too well, didn''t they?

    "Fine, then. Last, but not least, and I think I speak for both your families here when I ask this; when do you two n to have babies of your own?", Xi Wei smiled devilishly, "As in, how many monthster.

    "Rest assured, I don''t know the answer to this one myself.", he concluded.

    Xi Yuan looked at Rong Xinghe, only to realize she''d already turned to him, uncertain. None of them had a thought-through reply to this question, obviously. But since the media was covering the entire event, they couldn''t be blunt about their answer, for it''d only create unnecessary drama for themter. So, after a minute, as pressing silence spread through the regal space, hundreds of eyes fixed onto them, Xi Yuan cleared his throat.

    "Although we''d like to give it two years or so, roughly, any unsought surprises in our way, would be weed heartily too.", he said, smiling at the girl. Assuringly so.

    His response was as vague as it could get, suggesting that the couple, even though open to the idea of a baby in the family, did not intend to try for a few years. Country X was a traditional country,ced with thousands of years of cultures and beliefs. It was a sin, to even think of abortion, therein. The public, and even the Xi family elders, would never ept the idea of that.

    But it didn''t matter to Xinguan, for, in the end, they''d be the ones making the decisions, taking Rong Xinghe''s health and carrier into consideration, of course. Even so, they couldn''t let it get to the public, as they were well aware of how much damage that could do to their reputations. To her''s, more than his, speaking frankly. After all, the world had a tendency to me it all on the woman eventually, didn''t it?

    "Please let there be a surprise within this year, Brother.", Xi Wei mumbled, rubbing his chest, his voice more of a plea, "I want to be an Uncle." And as he said so, the stiffness throughout the rooms dispersed into chuckles and smiles, lightening everyone''s mood in an instant. No wonder the man was known to be Country X''s unparalleled Party Whizard.

    __________

    Khalij Wedding Hall, Afghanistan;

    04:30;

    "Aftaab Ali is going somewhere, Sir.", Asad Rehman reported to the two Hybrids sitting in the surveince van roughly 50 meters from where he was, "I will follow him."

    "Is he now?", Abram Orlov smiled, "Okay. Go ahead, boy. Be careful, alright?"

    "Yeah, and no matter what happens, do not show yourself.", Jackson Marshal instructed, his voice stern, "Even if youe across Ahmed Ali Fadhil, don''t. The bastard''s too dangerous to be dealt with, alone."

    "Understood.", the young boy nodded, following behind Ali, his footsteps soft, and unheard. Only after a minute had passed did the Hybrids realize that Aftaab Ali was walking towards the washrooms, the only ce in the building they hadn''t bothered to nt a bug into. Damn it!

 Chapter 531: A tragedy befallen

    Chapter 531: A tragedy befallen

    Castle Tryst, 05:20;

    "Sister-inw, we''re done with the performances.", Xi Wei made his way to the couple meters from him, "It''s just going to be dancing and drinking for the remaining event. So if you wish to get changed into something morefortable, you can take a break. You too, brother.", he said, smiling at Xi Yuan then. It''d been hours since the two had been stuck into their wedding clothes now. And even though they''d gotten rid of the Military Sash and Bridal cape, it still was tiresome for them. Specifically, Rong Xinghe, with her long white gown.

    "Thank you so much!", the woman stood up, hugging her now Brother-inw, relieved, "I''ll bake you some pancake for this one. I promise." Xi Yuan got up as well, buttoning his suit up. Shortly after, as the Bride and Groom walked away from everyone''s line of sights, into their own private suites, William Young climbed up on the stage, taking over from Xi Wei now. Officially.

    "Oh, right!", Li Jungah turned to her husband, "I need to have a word with Xinghe. Alone."

    "Why?", Xi Chongkun raised his brows, a reserved yet satisfied smile across his mouth.

    "Xi family''s heirlooms. I need to pass on the box to her.", the woman replied ebulliently, "Now that she''s the First Daughter-inw to the family, she gets to have everything that my Mother-inw once passed onto me, and hers, to her."

    "Ah... the box I never got to see.", the old manughed out, mocking his wife with an intention to annoy her.

    "Well, it''s for thedies to inherit.", Li Jungah scoffed, shrugging her shoulders haughtily, "Now, hush you. I need to speak to my daughter, Xiao Xinghe."

    "Alright. I love you.", Xi Chongkun smirked, waiting for the woman to respond to his statement. Instead, she just red at him with the ''Kids are here!'' look. Letting out a peal of helplessughter involuntarily, the man then turned around, joining Lu Wei and Zhi Xi''s parents behind him next.

    :::::::::::::::::::::

    05:30;

    Rong Xinghe walked out of the changing room, clothed in an ethnic yet ravishing Royal Blue full-sleeved gown, her hair now parted from the left, still undone. She was about to pick up the foundation brush for herself from the dressing table when Li Jungah stepped in into the suite, holding onto a fairly old but exquisitely vintage wooden trunk.

    "Oh, my...", the girl turned around, rushing towards the woman in a hurry, "Let me help you with it.", she insisted, taking the heavy thing from her, and carefully cing it upon her bed. "Such a sweet child.", Li Jungah smiled, looking at the girl with contentment before focusing back on the crest she''d brought along, "And this is for you, dear."

    "Huh?", Rong Xinghe blinked at the box, and then at her Mother-inw, perplexed.

    "It''s a tradition in the Xi family, you know.", Li Jungah sat down upon the bed, patting the space next to her, as she moved slightly to open the Rosewood trunk. And as the girl sat down next to her, Li Jungah pulled out a piece of jewelry article. A ne, its dazzling diamonds shaped into dewdrops and squares, held tightly by what seemed like thin Gold chains. Rong Xinghe had never been an admirer of jewels, but even she had to admit, she''d never seen something as magnificent as this.

    "This was Xi Yuan''s Third Great Grandmother''s. She created this custom, where every Mother-inw is to pass down a piece of her jewelry to the eldest Daughter-inw in the family, along with a letter, advising and blessing the younger woman for her future.", Li Jungah exined, "She gave this to her first Daughter-inw, and so... this crest became an heirloom, containing not just materialistic belongings, but wisdom and love too."

    "But why the First Daughters-inw only?", the girl questioned.

    "Because... you will always be responsible for peace in your family, Xiao Xinghe.", the woman answered, "As a first, you''ll be expected to lead and help the younger ones grow. Fang''s and Wei''s wives would look up to you, hoping to find an elder sister. And when that timees, you shall provide them with one.

    "Sadly, I failed miserably at it. With Luo Youyou. Despite my efforts, I failed in teaching her the importance of family and rtions. I failed to keep the Xis together, in our time. And as a result of it, the kids suffered. Yuan did, more than anyone else. Fang, Ying, and Wei were too little to understand, back then. But my Yuan... that boy had to witness it all by himself. The fights, and arguments. He didn''t deserve it.

    "He is too kind to have forgiven us, you know? And it''s all thanks to you. But Honey, I would never want that to happen to the generations toe. Yuan''s years of silence, his indifference to us, and the way he fought all his battles alone; was the darkest period this family has ever seen. That''s not something we can afford again.

    "The crown on your head will always be heavy, Sweetheart. Not everyone will be able to see it, but you''ll always have to carry it. As heads of the Xi family, you and Yuan will have to stand together, like an umbre, shielding your home, together. And I believe you''ll be better at it than any of thedies in the Xi family have ever been."

    Taken aback by the woman''s words, Rong Xinghe couldn''t help but feel a tad overwhelmed. She''d never looked at her position in the family in such a manner before. It was overbearing, really. The responsibilities she''d been given.

    But the Xis had never been just businessmen. It''d always been a household of honor and wealth, for centuries now. From aristocrats to politicians, to frontline military soldiers, and now to business; this family had always been something of an ideal itself. Something the entire nation had, at one point, put on a pedestal. Of course, the elders would want to preserve this legacy and that respect of theirs.

    "I will try to do my best.", Rong Xinghe promised, brushing her hands against the delicate woodwork, "So... did you write a letter for me too?", she asked, letting out a shakyugh, "And what jewelry did you pick for me?"

    Li Jungahughed out lightly too, as both the women stood up, facing each other. "Actually, I did. Mine is the Olive Green envelope...", the olderdy remarked as Rong Xinghe leaned over the box once more, her gaze browsing for the letter, "As for what ornament I put in--"

    Just as the woman was speaking, Rong Xinghe felt a deep sense of unease rush through her heart, as an eerie silence spread throughout the room. The girl, have had listened to the very familiar sound of a gunshot just now, turned to check on her Mother-inw, only to find her lying on the floor in pain, blood oozing down from below her left shoulder.

    And in that bone-chilling moment, out of shock, a scream escaped her mouth, resounding through not only the reception hall below, but over to the Groom''s suite as well.

 Chapter 532: "Nows not the time, Xinghe"

    Chapter 532: "Now''s not the time, Xinghe"

    Castle Tryst, 05:40;

    When the woman''s voice reached downstairs, the Six tigers were the first ones to rush up to her room, Xi trioter. Xi Yuan''s room was much closer to hers, so he followed shortly after the girl''s brothers arrived. But the second he saw his mother, lying on the ground, Rong Xinghe holding onto her wrist, checking her pulse, he felt his mind go nk. What...

    "Mom!", the man ran over to Li Jungah, an anxious expression across his face, "What happened here?", he questioned no one, really.But for a second, he looked at Rong Xinghe, tears streaming down her eyes.

    "I-- I don''t know.", the girl said, her hands and gown stained with the thick Red liquid, "We-- we were just talking.", she began to exin, only to be interrupted by the man.

    "Is that your gun?", Xi Yuan asked, his tone almost inaudible. Stunned, the girl looked at where her darling was looking, as the color from her face drainedpletely. It was hers, indeed. The Smith & Wesson Magnum, there on the bed, right next to the wooden trunk. But she didn''t bring it to their Wedding. Why would she? Though, what terrified her the most was him asking that question. Did he really think she would do something like that to his family?

    But Xi Yuan could tell what her silence meant. It did belong to her. Inhaling a long deep breath, the man focussed back on the unconscious Li Jungah. He then pulled his phone out, dialing a number silently.

    "I called the ambnce already.", Rong Xinghe shook her head, cing her hand over her darling''s, cautious. But he did not look at her as he knelt down a bit, lifting his mother in his arms, "Fang. We''re taking the back exit.", he said to his brother, his voice worn out.

    "I''lle with you.", the girl said softly, following behind the man, as he turned around, both his voice and gaze distant, "Now''s not the time, Xinghe.", he said, walking out of the suite alone. Moments after, Xi Chongkun climbed into the ambnce, along with his son. Xi Chonglin, and Luo Youyou''s car after them.

    ________________

    Khalij Wedding Hall, Afghanistan;

    04:35;

    Asad Rehman picked up a broom as he started to mop the floor in the hallway adjacent to the Men''s Washroom, expecting to listen to another male voice from inside. Hopefully, Ahmed Ali Fadhil''s. But there was no one in there, other than Aftaab Ali, the supposed right-hand man of Lashkar ul-Mujahidin''s Commander.

    About Two minutester, Ali walked out of one of the many stalls, and towards the rectangr ceramic sink, so to wash his hands. As he listened to the sound of water flowing, Rehman let out a heavy breath he didn''t know he''d been holding, disappointed. So Fadhil really hadn''t shown up tonight. It would surelyplicate things for the Hybrids, he thought. To hunt for a man who''d performed stic surgeries four times to date. It was like aiming in the dark.

    Just then, the young man felt something hit him. Hard, on the back of his head. An iron rod, probably. And as a blinding pain crawled through hir body, Asad fell down, turning to lie upon his back, attempting to have a peek at his attacker. Aftaab Ali!

    Wasn''t he just a businessman? Or had he been the one wrong about him all along? He must be one of the terrorists, the boy deduced as blood dripped down his head, endlessly and speedily. He groaned, fear taking control of his mind now.

    Aftaab Ali stepped forth a few paces as the young boy tried to move his body back in desperation. "You really thought I wouldn''t notice that spycam installed in your shirt button, huh?", he cackled like a maniac, pulling out a pair of gloves from his right pocket, "Don''t worry. I''ll make it painless. Your death.", he said.

    "Urgh!", Rehman groaned, tears slipping down his eyes as he watched the monster leap toward him, the white-gloved hands circling around his throat then. It was a matter of 4-5 minutes before the young boy''s breath finally stopped, hundreds of thoughts swirling in his mind before he went still. He wanted to meet her. Rong Xinghe. And beg her to rescue his sisters that''d been snatched away from him years ago. She would''ve definitely helped him. Of that, he was sure.

    Aftaab Ali sat on his knees for a few more minutes, observing his motionless prey, his two fingertips pressed lightly against Rehman''s neck side. Only after he was sure there was no pulse there, did the man rx a little, ripping apart the button that''d had the bug attached to it. He then looked into the man''s pockets, and shirt cor, so to find any other sound recorder connected.

    After flushing the portable button-sized camera down the toilet, Ali returned to the dead body in the hall. Quietly then, the man tucked his left hand into his inside suit pocket, retrieving a ck double-edged tactical dagger insouciantly. Leaning over Rehman next, he tilted his head slightly, effortlessly marking a bloody cross upon the boy''s forehead. And as he did so, his lips tipped up to one end, an appalling darkness evident in his gaze.

    "Commander!", Hasan Mir rushed towards the man, his eyes on the dead body, "Are you alright?", he asked.

    "Of course, I am. Deal with this bodyter.", Aftab Ali said, dabbing the skin behind his right jaw with his napkin, "Meanwhile, I''ll get back to my nephew''s wedding. Alright?"

    "Understood.", Mir nodded, his tone utterly obedient.

    :::::::::::::::::::::::::

    04:55;

    About half an hourter, Jackson Marshal walked into the enormouslyvish wedding hall, two of his team members following behind. Abram Orlov could not apany him, obviously, for Aftaab Ali had, after a lot of efforts, finally began to trust him. They couldn''t risk blowing off that cover, could they?

    "Here, Sir!", one of the soldiers, outred into civil clothing, yelled from a distance. Marshal nced at the man, striding toward him in urgency next. But as he reached the congested Storeroom, from the corner of his eyes, he saw the dead body. Asad''s body.

    And with it, he noticed the ''mark''. Ahmed Ali Fadhil''s mark.

    "I need to talk to the Military Chief. Now!", the manmanded, "And signal the centralMilitary to fuel up one of the helicopter gunships for her, as soon as possible."

 Chapter 533: A choice to make

    Chapter 533: A choice to make

    Castle Tryst, 06:00;

    The Six Tigers looked at their sister quietly, from a distance, waiting for her to say something. She must''ve been hurt, they thought, to listen to what Xi Yuan had said to her before leaving. Even they''d found it wounding, his behavior.

    As he watched the girl walk over to the center of the double staircase, gazing down at the confused and jittery lot of guests, Zhi Al clenched his teeth, rage taking over him at this point. "I am going to talk to Yuan.", he said, racing towards one of the two stairs, only to be stopped by Ningtao.

    "His mother was shot!", the woman red at her youngest Brother-inw, "He is allowed to be unreasonable right now. It''s his family, you guys."

    "And Xinghe is ours.", Zhi Bo remarked, his tone much calmer than that of Zhi Al''s still. Helplessly, Ningtao nced at her husband, hoping for him to guide them all. Even she did not know how toe to a middle ground in such a scenario. It was tooplicated, this situation.

    The Superfamily would, of course, never ept the preposterous possibility of Rong Xinghe assaulting an innocent. They knew her too well to fall for that. But they couldn''t stand against Xi Yuan here either, for the man had acted on nothing but his impulse earlier. He couldn''t y me games while his mother''s life hung by a slim thread, now could he?

    Comprehending the meaning behind his wife''s gaze, Lu Wei cleared his throat, turning to the Five men, "It''s a matter between husband and wife.", he said, his expression solemn, "We cannot interfere in that. Not unless she allows us to. Xinghe and Yuan are not kids anymore. We have to hold onto the belief that they can get through this.

    "I realize that you have her best interests at heart right now.", he continued, looking at Zhi Al, "But Yuan is family too. And he is hurting as well. Of course, I am not suggesting to sit idly by while the Xis use her wrongly. Though, at this point, we have far too pressing matters to handle."

    "What do you mean?", Zhi Xi furrowed his brows, confused.

    "The entire pce was upied by thousands of guests tonight. Including journalists and photographers.", Lu Wei borated his point, "Do you really think they would''ve cared for protocols after we rushed in here? We will have to control the media in case they get hold of something sensational before a thorough investigation for the matter is conducted.

    "You know just as much as I do that Xinghe''s reputation is at stake here. She was the only person with Mrs. Xi when it happened. Her firearm is right there on the bed. Even though there is no motive for her to harm her Mother-inw, this is the 21st century. People would draw out their own conclusions in minutes. No one cares about the truth in this day and age, as long as there are gossips.

    "But it''s not Entertainment Industry she works in. It is Country X''s Military. The consequences of such a scandal would be ten folds lethal for her career. We have to do whatever we can to shield her from the public eye. And so, we don''t have time for confrontations with Yuan.

    "If anything, we need to help the Xis. One of their own is in a life-threatening situation right now.", the man pointed out, eyeing Rong Xiao and Su Rogguang, his tone poised, "Not every surgeon in Country X is avable at such early hours. So let''s do what family does, first. We''ll think of prideter."

    As the men listened to their eldest brother''s reasoning, they realized how short-sighted they were to let their indignation get the better of them. He was right. Xi Yuan was one of them now. He was supposed to have their back, through thick, and through thin.

    Meanwhile, Rong Xinghe gestured William Young to join her, and as he did so, she whispered to him to wrap up the event smoothly. Sensing the exigency in her tone, the man nodded at her with a smile, pulling her in for a warm yet short hug. Although he did not know what was going on, he wished it would just end, the predicament in her eyes.

    "Thank you.", the girl sighed, as the man turned to approach the guests below.

    A minute after, she returned to her suite, her eyes on her phone. She browsed for his number and brought the device to her ear. It just rang. No answer. Inhaling a deep breath, she then walked over to the corner of the room, where all her luggage was put together. Picking out a Maroon backpack from them, she retrieved a pair of White Nitrile gloves next, putting them on.

    Walking over to her bed then, she picked up the Smith & Wesson Magnum, carefully slipping it into a stic zipper bag, snapping her fingers up in the air then. Seconds after, a team of armed soldiers stormed in, positioning behind the woman. Rong Xinghe then looked at them, passing them the bag.

    "Take it to the Military Forensics.", shemanded them, her face void of any expression, "And tell them to examine the fingerprints on it. Also, ask Lieutenant Zhao to report to me."

    "Yes, Ma''am.", the men bowed down, exiting the ce moments after another man walked inside, toward the woman.

    "Military Chief, it''s Lieutenant Jackson Marshall on the line from Afghanistan.", he said, unbuttoning his suit, a smartphone in his hand, "It''s a secure, untapped line, Ma''am."

    "Not now, Officer.", the girl shook her head, looking at the device in hand instead. She called him again, and yet, no answer.

    "You called for me, Military Chief?", a middle-aged man stepped in, smiling anxiously at the girl''s brothers at the entrance.

    "Yes, Lieutenant Zhao.", Rong Xinghe nodded, fixing her gaze at the man, "I need you to get all footages we have of this pce for the past one week. And I want you to look into one other matter too. My weapon, the Smith & Wesson Magnum. I need you to find out who ced it here. Inside my room, under the covers."

    "Consider it done, Madam.", the man nodded, walking out of the suite next.

    "Military Chief, Mr. Marshall insists you speak to him.", the young officer repeated himself, a bead of sweat trickling down his head.

    Agitated, the girl dashed over to the man, snatching the phone from him, "You just cannot wait, can you?!", she roared at the Hybrid.

    "Xinghe, Ahmed Ali Fadhil is in Kabul. Here.", the man on the other end spoke his piece, not caring for the girl''s tone, "And he''s nning something huge. Against Country X. Something of mass destruction. You need to fly out to Afghanistan. Like, right now."

    A tad startled by the man''s words, Rong Xinghe took a moment to weigh her priorities, at the moment. The Xis or the country. One life, or millions of them. Her marriage, or her oath. It was a choice she had to make, and she had to make it soon.

    "I am on my way.", the woman decided in the end, letting out a shaky breath, as the Six Tigers exchanged stunned nces among themselves.

 Chapter 534: "You shouldve picked her call"

    Chapter 534: "You should''ve picked her call"

    Imperial Multi-Speciality Hospital, 06:15;

    "sgow Coma Score of 15, a blood pressure of 90/60 mmHg, a body temperature of 37.7C, respiratory rate of 21/minute, oxygen saturation of 93% on room air, and a heart rate of 102 beats per minute.", an assistant doctor reported to her senior, her eyes on the notepad in her hands, "Which ounts for low blood pressure, high body temperature, and abnormal heart and breathing rate. Quite theplications, Sir."

    "As for the bullet injury...", another one spoke up, looking at the middle-aged man in front of him, "A Thoracoabdominal Computerized Tomography is suggested. We can''t yet tell the exact location of it."

    "Alright. Go for that then.", the Chief of Surgery walked ahead, his gaze fixed at the group of people approaching him, "How much time do we have before we absolutely set about with the surgery?"

    "Not more than half an hour, I am afraid, Sir.", one of the medical staff behind him reported, "The patient''s state is too fragile."

    "Anything from our panel of surgeons?", he asked the team then, "Anyone avable?"

    "Not yet, Sir."

    "What about me?", suddenly, a gentle yet firm voice resounded through the empty space, hauling everyone''s attention to them.

    "Dr. Rong?!", the Chief''s eyes flew wide open as Rong Xiao walked over to him from across the hall, Su Rogguang following behind her, a Bluetooth earpiece attached to his right ear. The Xi family''s reaction was no different, obviously.

    One of the highly skilled Cardiothoracic surgeons across Asia, Rong Xiao had a reputation for a 90% sess rate. Then again, what else could be expected from Miracle Man Su Rogguang''s sister? Though, it was immensely rare for the girl to visit private hospitals like these. Rong Xiao served only Military Hospitals, for it provided her with an atmosphere and time for her research on Country X''s current medical system. Then why would the nation''s most gifted surgeonse to their doorsteps, the Chief wondered.

    "May I?", the girl outstretched her hand toward the female assistant doctor from earlier.

    "S-- sure.", the woman nodded, passing the notepad in her hand to Rong Xiao, "Here."

    "Hmm. CT scan, of course.", Rong Xiao muttered under her breath, "Prepare sufficient Intravenous saline, antibiotics, and intramuscr tetanus vine. Also, arrange for 2-3 units ofpatible blood for the patient. We''ll be needing that during the Surgery."

    As two of the doctors yielded to the girl''smand, Xi Wei rushed over to her, anxious, "You think you can do this?", he asked her, uncertainty evident in his gaze.

    "I can try.", Rong Xiao smiled modestly, stepping back a bit from the man. None of the Six brothers of hers were yet aware of her and Xi Wei''s rtionship. And while she understood the man''s current state of mind, she knew better than to let Su Rogguang doubt them at such a time.

    "I refuse!", Luo Youyou red at the girl, sprinting towards her with heavy footsteps, "Isn''t it enough that her Sister shot Jungah Jie*? Who knows how this one will harm her in the Operation Theater, huh?"

    Su Rogguang quickly nted himself between the twodies, staring at the elder one then, "I realize that you''re appalled by what you''ve seen, Mrs. Xi, but eyes can deceive you too. Besides, there is no logic in what you''re implying. Let''s not forget that Xiao is trying to help here."

    "Bullsh*t!", Xi Chonglin roared, his eyes bloodshot red, "How dare youe here? Both of you, get out! We don''t need a bunch of murderers standing in front of us. Just the thought of how you Six have brought your sisters up terrifies me. Goodness, what monster have we wedded our Yuan to?!"

    "Uncle!", it was now that Xi Yuan glowered at Xi Chonglin, silencing the couple at once. Then, the man turned to look at Rong Xiao, "Are you sure?", he asked her, his gaze expectant.

    "I have performed a lot moreplex surgeries than this one before.", the girl nodded, "She''ll be alright, Brother-inw. I think I can do it."

    "Go ahead, then.", Xi Yuan nodded at her, "You''re the only Cardiac Surgeon at our disposal right now, anyway."

    "Thank you.", the woman smiled, walking away from everyone''s line of sight. Su Rogguang didn''t bother, though. He simply stood there, staring daggers at Xi Chonglin and Luo Youyou. How dare they question Superfamily''s morals? Such an ungrateful duo. Although, they weren''t doing this for them in the first ce. They were in it for Xi Yuan. That, and to honor the Hippocratic oath they''d taken years ago.

    Xi Yuan looked at the man, about to say something when Su Rogguang shook his head, "Don''t. I''ll be assisting Xiao throughout the surgery. Whatever you want to say, say it after the operation."

    In response, the man just nodded, looking down at the clean white-tiled floors. About half a minute after, Su Rogguang tucked his phone back in, ready to head to one of the hospital cabins to put on his surgical attire. But as he looked at the quiet Xi Yuan in front of him, he felt obliged to tell him but one thing.

    "She is leaving for Afghanistan.", the girl''s brother said, "Some advancement in her mission. I don''t know what''s going on in your mind but you should''ve picked her call. She won''t be able to talk to you until she returns to the country now.

    "Anyway, she''s sent you a voice message. Listen to it whenever you''re willing."

    And with that being said, Su Rogguang left too. Xi Yuan stood frozen for a while before his hands reached for his suit pockets. He did not have his phone on. "Fang, ring me.", he looked at his brother. Xi Fang pulled his own device out only to find Eight missed calls from Rong Xinghe. He had forgotten to turn off the silent mode after the wedding ceremony. Lord.

    Xi Fang dialed his brother''s number first. And as he did, a familiar ringtone resonated through the empty space. Following the source of the sound, the family turned to look at Luo Youyou, and then at her purse. Even Xi Chonglin was stunned at how guilty his wife looked.

    "I-- I was too wo... worried about Jungah Jie.", the woman mumbled as Xi Fang walked over to her, not believing a wording out of her mouth.

 Chapter 535: Without a goodbye

    Chapter 535: Without a goodbye

    Imperial Multi-Speciality Hospital, 06:30;

    "What were you even doing with his phone?!", Xi Fang questioned his mother as he passed the device to Xi Yuan.

    "In a hu...hurry, he forgot to bring it along with him.", the woman exined, "So I picked it up beforeing with your father."

    Xi Yuan, though discontented by the privacy intrusion, unlocked his phone, and as soon as he did, a series of notifications popped up on the screen. Among them were 43 messages, and 29 calls, from just one person. From her. His Xinghe. And exactly twelve minutes ago, was thest one. An audio message, it was, just as her brother had informed him.

    The man then directly opened the call logs and dialed her number, hoping that she''d pick it up. It was switched off, of course. She must''ve removed the sim card before leaving. She always did. She''d left. For a who-knew-how-dangerous Military mission. And that too, without a goodbye.

    As a few seconds passed by, the man opened his messaging app, the recent ones from her. Silently, he read what they said.

    "Is everything alright, Brother?", Xi Wei walked over to the man, worried.

    "It says she had to leave due to some sudden developments over there. That millions of lives are on the line, and that the Hybrids need to have her by their side right now. It couldn''t wait.", the man said, his voice weakening, "And that she wanted to meet me before leaving, but she wasn''t sure if I would want to even look at her right now."

    "Such a pretentious woman!", Xi Chonglin said through gritted teeth, striding toward his elder brother, "We should not have allowed her inside this family from the very beginning! Look at what she has done now."

    "Brother... I--", Xi Fang looked at the man, uncertain of how he would react. No one had ever spoken so ill of his Sister-inw in front of this man ever since he''did his eyes on her. No one ever had the guts to, for his protectiveness for her had never really been a matter of secrecy. But tonight, Xi Chonglin and Luo Youyou had crossed quite some boundaries, and yet, he hadn''t said anything.

    There could only be two possibilities to that. Either he was holding back, and that like ruinous volcanicva, his rage was waiting to be unleashed onto them; or he was actually doubting Rong Xinghe. The sheer possibility of thetter happening terrified Xi Fang. Xi Yuan had never, for once, held suspicions against the woman, no matter how worse the situation seemed to be. But this time, it was different.

    "I can''t listen to her voice. I won''t be able to.", Xi Yuan shook his head, tucking the phone back in his pocket, "At least not until I know Mom is out of danger."

    "We understand.", Xi Wei nodded, no one bringing up the topic anymore. It was immensely grave, the position Xi Yuan was in now. And as much as it hurt them to watch him like this, they knew they couldn''t do anything else but stay by his side. Everything else; was up to him.

    ____________

    Boeing CH-89, 06:35;

    "I hate this.", the girl pinched the space between her brows as the finely engineered copter hovered over the nation''s final border, lights from the towns afar blinking back at them, "I shouldn''t havee like this.", she said, "Without facing him, without making things right."

    Shawn Florence sat next to her, Elijah Williams and Huang Ling opposite to them, each one of the Hybrids, including the woman, garbed into their standard camouge uniforms. "I know it looks bad.", Williams sighed, "But what else could you have done? You certainly couldn''t abandon your country when it needed you the most, could you?"

    "I agree with him.", Shawn shrugged, "Xinghe, you called him. Several times, might I remind you. You left him messages. Text, and audio, both. You called his family. And yet, none of them responded. You tried, Xinghe, more than your dignity would''ve ever allowed.

    "You should not be exining yourself to anyone, to begin with.", the man said, his tone assertive, "You are the Military Chief to Country X, for hell''s sake. And it doesn''t matter if they are your mighty inws or a group of roadside druggies, you deserve to be treated with respect by everyone. Stop being so hard on yourself, alright? You did everything you could."

    Rong Xinghe smiled tiredly, a hint of sadness in her eyes. The Hybrids were simply looking out for her, the way they always did. Besides, they had a point. Her position did not give her the liberty to prioritize her private life. Much more than the Superfamily, or the Xis, she was ountable to the millions of those who slept under the impression that they were safe. Country X was her first love. It had always been.

    But this was probably the first time that choosing her throne over her family had troubled her to this extent. He''d be so alone, she thought. And helpless, to not be able to talk to her for the next few weeks. Months, probably.

    Then, another thought entered her mind. Was he really mistrusting her, she pondered. Did he really think she would do something so inhumane to his mother? To the woman who''d birthed him? And a day after their wedding, that too? He surely wouldn''t. But then why did he ask her about the gun so... inly? He even told her to not apany him to the Hospital. It was unsettling, the way he said it. Emotionlessly. Sternly.

    _________

    Imperial Multi-Speciality Hospital, 07:00;

    "The surgery went well.", Rong Xiao said minutes after stepping out of the O.T., the Xis surrounding her with anticipation, "But her condition is still quite delicate. She underwent intense Dyspnea, as a result of anxiety and pain shock. The bullet was lodged into the left shoulder at the proximal humerus. I''ve extracted it, of course.

    "And even though her condition seems stable now, we''ll have to keep her under observation for a few days. As to when she''ll get her consciousness back, I cannot say. Shocks affect the brain more than the heart, you see. So it might take some time. But she will survive. I can promise that."

    Relieved by the girl''s words, Xi Yuan closed his eyes, his hand clenching onto the phone he''d been holding. And as the Xi family lot questioned the two surgeons in from of them, drowning in the joy of it all, the man quietly walked out of there, into a dimly lit hallway, his two brothers following behind him shortly after.

    Only when he''d calmed down enough did he ce his thumb over the y button to the voice message she''d sent him minutes ago, the heart in his chest pounding rapidly, a feeling of uneasiness making its way to his mind and to every remaining atom in his body.

 Chapter 536: "I didnt do it"

    Chapter 536: "I didn''t do it"

    Imperial Multi-Speciality Hospital, 07:05;

    Xi Fang and Xi Wei stood behind their brother, listening to the familiarly euphonious voice of their dear Sister-inw. The man too, stood still, holding onto the phone in his hand tightly.

    "Oh, my sweet, sweet, Yuan.", the recording started, her voice trembling, "How terrorized you must be right now. To watch her like that, weak and unconscious. How helpless, and frightened you must''ve felt then. I can only imagine.

    "She is mother, Yuan. Not yours, but mine too. And I sincerely hope she survives through this. I really do.", sheughed a short but forlornugh, "That is if you believe me.", the woman added.

    "I didn''t do it.", she said tiredly, "I am scared, Yuan. More than I''ve ever been. About us. I wanted to know that we''ll be okay before I left. That no matter how it looked like, you would trust me. That you love me, and that you would miss me. But as I prepare to fly now, I feel terrible, and alone, and guilty. I should not have left you like this, and I should have been able to protect her.

    "I''ve never headed for a mission with so much fear, and uncertainty, and disquietude on my mind. But I didn''t have a choice. I had an oath, a position, a nation; to honor and to serve. I couldn''t let my emotions blur that. And for that, I am sorry.

    "It''s treacherous, where I am going. And though I don''t wish to worry you, even more, I need you to know that I might or might not return home. I hope it''s not ''the end'' for us, this mission. But if it is, I want to tell you, for thest time, that I love you, Xi Yuan. I always have, and I always will.

    "It''s time, now.", Rong Xinghe chuckled, tears flowing down her eyes, her voice breaking moments after, "As for the attack on our Mom, have a word with Lieutenant Zhao in MCO. He''s investigating the matter. I''ve submitted the gun to Military Forensics too so that no one should be able to tamper with the results.

    "But I am more than sure that the fingerprints over it would be mine, for that''s the whole intention behind it. To make me appear guilty.But to believe it or not; I leave that to you."

    As quietness spread throughout the clean, cold space around him, Xi Yuan clenched his fists, the corner of his eyes stinging involuntarily, a lump forming in his throat. Of everything she''d said, the words ''I might or might not return home'' seemed to have horrified him the most. What did she mean by that? He couldn''t lose her. Not like this. Not so soon.

    "Brother!", Xi Fang rushed toward the man, as he realized the man was struggling to breathe, "Wh--what''s... Are you okay?!"

    "I am alright.", Xi Yuan shook his head, patting the younger man''s shoulder, attempting to gain dominance over the intense sentiments overpowering him. For the first time in his life, he''d lost control of himself like that, the man''s brothers perceived. Even when he''d witnessed their Grandparents'' death, he''d carried himself with quite the ataraxia. And yet...

    "What''s going on over here?", at this time, Mo Zixuan''s voice resonated through the empty corridor. Turning around, the three men looked at the girl''s two brothers standing at the entrance, their expressions solemn. Mo Zixuan, and Lu Wei.

    "Rogguang told us that the surgery went well.", Lu Wei smiled, loosening his tie leisurely, "So we came to check on you. You okay?", the man questioned then, genuine concern evident in his tone.

    Xi Yuan simply nodded at the girl''s brothers appreciatively. Noticing the pain in his eyes, the two could as well tell that he had listened to their sister''s message. And so, they found it quite necessary to wait for him to speak first.

    "I...", Xi Yuan cleared his throat after roughly two minutes, looking at Lu Wei directly, "I trust her.", he said.

    "What?", Mo Zixuan furrowed his brows, expecting the man to borate his words. And so he did. Calmly, Xi Yuan walked over to the two Tigers and spoke his piece.

    "I didn''t doubt her, for a second.", he began, "When I walked into her room, I was stunned, yes. To watch Mom like that. I was in an urgency. I needed to take her to the hospital, and I was not at the liberty of time."

    "Then, when I saw Xinghe''s gun on that bed, I realized that she was being framed. So to confirm if it really belonged to her, I asked her that question. My tone must''ve had been a tad reticent, or in even because I was worried for mother at the time. But to doubt her? I would never do that. Not to her. I just..."

    "Didn''t recognize what your words came out to her like.", Lu Wei mumbled, suddenlyprehending theplexity of the situation.

    "Why did you stop her froming along with you then?", Mo Zixuan was equally shocked.

    "Because her gown was sttered with Mom''s blood.", Xi Yuan inhaled a long, deep breath, "And there were journalists outside. It was a matter ofmon knowledge that she was the only one with Mom inside the Bridal Suite when the attack happened. How do you think the media would''ve portrayed her then?

    "I wanted her toe with me to the hospital. Obviously, I did. But be that as it may, I couldn''t allow those monsters to rip her reputation apart like that, could I?", the man said, "I told her to stay back because I wanted to protect her. Not because I didn''t trust her. Goodness...

    "I-- I love Xinghe. I''ve known her for three years now. I have faith her in as priests have in God. She is the reason I even gathered the courage to let them in, my parents. Whatever love, or pain, I feel for my mother, whatever rtionship we share today; I owe it all to Xinghe. And what did I give to her in return? Self-doubt, and insecurities. Pain, and fear."

    "Yuan. Calm down.", Lu Wei said after a while, pulling the man in for a hug, "It''s okay, boy."

    As his shoulders trembled, Xi Yuan muttered under his breath, his tone almost inaudible, "She needed me today, Bro Lu. She needed her Yuan today. And in an attempt to shield her, to protect her, I ended up failing her. I ended up hurting her more than the Rongs, or the Zhous, ever could."

 Chapter 537: Sheer nothingness

    Chapter 537: Sheer nothingness

    Terrorism is not an old concept. The term itself was coined back in the 1790s, so to refer to the terror, the fright caused during the French Revolution by the revolutionaries against their opponents. Maximilien Robespierre''s Jacobin party carried out a Reign of Terror, involving mass assassinations, and executions by the guillotine. Though back then, terrorism meant an act of violence initiated by a state against its domestic enemies.

    Now, in the 20th century, the meaning of it had changed, for the worse but. For them, for these organizations, it was a way to be heard. Loud, and clear. The calcted use of violence to install fear, and thereby to achieve political goals, where direct military victory wasn''t possible. Presently, in order to maintain the publicity necessary to generate widespread fear, terrorists, more often than not, engage themselves in quite the ostentatious, brutal, and high-profile attacks. Which involve hijackings, hostage-takings, mass butchery, bombardments, and, continually, suicide bombings.

    Lashkar ul-Mujahidin was one such organization. Actively lead by Ahmed Ali Fadhil, the institution was a synonym to dread for many, mostly, to the countries which were weaker, whenpared in terms of Military strengths. Country X had been no less a victim to such endless attacks itself. For decades, the nation had witnessed numerous petrifying bloodbaths on itsnd, orchestrated by countless nemeses, Fadhil being one of them.

    It was, but a scenario, before Rong Xinghe was sworn in as the country''s First Woman Military Chief. As for the recent three years, the nation had not undergone anything as disastrous as what it had gone through in the past. There had been attacks, of course, but none unnoticed by the vignce of the Army. It was admirable, really, the efficiency with which the woman had upgraded the security status of thend. Remarkable, too.

    And she intended to have it that way, for years toe. So as Sun rose from the east, gradually, Rong Xinghe, along with her Hybrids, walked into an abandoned and evidently local hospital building in Panjshir Valley, 116 km from Kabul, the nation''s capital. The location was of course chosen, whilst keeping the sensitivity of the mission in mind. Roughly 2 hours drive from Kabul, this hospital building, which stood weakly at the borders of the valley, was unbothered about for years now, and so, the perfect ce for the Hybrids to assemble.

    "Are you okay, Xinghe?", Orlov walked over to the girl with a cup of tea, his voiceced with concern.

    "I will be. Eventually.", the woman smiled, taking the beverage from the man, "Until then, shall we begin with the matter at hand?", she said, eyeing the documents ced over one of the hospital beds inside the general ward.

    "Yeah.", Jackson Marshal nodded, retrieving a Brown envelope from the pile of charts and pages, "Here.", he said, passing the data to Elijah as the girl sipped her tea, "I sneaked into Sharia Enterprises'' Archive Center a week ago. Aftaab Ali''spany headquarters. I got in as one of the Security staff and the entire ce seemed usual, you know, initially. Even so, I couldn''t shake off the feeling that there was something suspicious about it. So I stuck around for a few more days.

    "I was right. To this Archive Center, was yet another room connected, smartly integrated with the innermost wall. It was a challenge, to hack past the whole security system shielding this secret chamber, but when I got in, this is what I found out. Xinghe, the whole ce was a disy of attacks engineered by Fadhil to date. In Country N, and in Afghanistan itself, against the Militaries of several nations, and even Country X. From the attack on Country X''s Parliament to how our former Vice President was annihted, the files were frighteningly detailed and organized.

    "But there was no point extracting those pieces of information, I thought. After all, the man''s a dered criminal anyway. Why would we need evidence to prove that? It was unnecessary. Though, among those documents, and folders, I found this one.", Marshal exined, pointing his chin at the file in Elijah''s hands.

    Rong Xinghe turned slightly, going through the pages one by one, as the Hybrid held onto them for her. Florence brothers too, walked up to them, standing behind the woman curiously.

    And the more she read, the more the coldness in her gaze deepened. Ahmed Ali Fadhil had, very methodically,id out a n to take over the entirety of Country X, swathing it into sheer nothingness. To turn it into but a sight of horror, for the world to watch. As she went through the file, the threat she''d received at her Engagement Party came rushing back to her.

    "Beware, Rong Xinghe, for War is on its way. Stop it if you can. Because when that time wille, thousands of bodies will be sacrificed. It will be, but mere coteral damage, for you are both, the reason and the ultimate target of this battle. Only when you''ll be standing over the bodies of innocent public, your family, and your love, will hee for you. Beware!"

    Fadhil had conveyed this message then, within the bounds of his association with Rong Yufan. It didn''t seem he was bluffing. Not anymore. Throughout the past year, her bro Mo had been attacked, and even though she''d increased security around her family, the others had been aimed at too. So far, no movement had been observed around Xi Yuan, thankfully, but one thing was for sure. Ahmed Ali Fadhil was approaching Country X, stealthily but swiftly. And he wasing prepared.

    "He is nning on targeting the public next, Xinghe.", Shawn Florence raised his brows, stepping back a tad, "As in like mass extermination!"

    "Would you look at the meticulous selection of explosives here?!", Ashfakh Ali gasped, "RDX. Nitroglycerine. Trinitrotoluene. Aziroazide azide. This is a nightmare! We''d lose half of Country X if he''s to seed in any of these ns, damn it."

    Rong Xinghe just remained silent, waiting for her pack to calm down. Throughout the five years of Military Chief Training, they''de across hundreds of assassination ns. And yet, none as devastating as this one. It was psychotic, Fadhil''s intentions for their homnd, and for the people who''d done absolutely nothing to deserve such misery.

    She could not let this happen. No matter the price she''d have to pay, so to put an end to it. And at this moment, there lied only one option for them to pursue. To get rid of the monster before that affrighting of a massacre was even tomence.

 Chapter 538: Kefayat Zahir

    Chapter 538: Kefayat Zahir

    City A, Country X, 09:00;

    Whilst Rong Xinghe examined their situation at hand in Panjshir, the girl''s brothers realized just how far-sighted Lu Wei had been to expect a daunting media attack. Apparently, one of the photographers had slipped inside the pce arena after Rong Xinghe''s scream had reached the reception hall. The paparazzo had then, quite luckily, captured Xi Yuan''s back, hurriedly rushing towards an ambnce, carrying ''someone'' in his arms. Xi Fang and Xi Wei were following behind him as well, the expressions on their faces giving away anxiousness. It was just one picture, of the men at the back exit of the castle, but it was enough to cause an uproar.

    "It was a local newspaper.", Mo Zixuan walked over to the Five Tigers waiting for him at the Hospital''s entrance. "Goes by the name ''The Tribute''.", he added, "They have published the photograph in its front page, obviously. However, to our relief, it hasn''t been able to catch much attention across the country.

    "The public is still awwing over the grandness and the mors of the wedding. Still romanticizing the idea of Xinguan."

    "It''s a print release?", Zhi Xi pinched the space between his brows, exhausted, "How on earth will we stop that?"

    "What''s the range of the newspaper?", Zhi Bo asked, giving the problem some thought.

    "The capital and the regions around it, I am afraid.", Mo Zixuan replied, walking over to one of the clean and lightly padded benches, "The First Edition of the rag is already out. We won''t be able to suppress this for too long, but. Someone is bound to hype it up via the digital or broadcast media."

    The man then let out a deep breath, ncing at the quiet Xi Yuan listening to their conversation, himself indulged in thoughts. "I have to admit, though.", the Media Ma managed, "Yuan handled the whole situation much too impressively."

    As the Five Tigers, Xi Fang, and Xi Wei looked at the man, muddled, he exined, "Xinghe won''t be dragged into it at this point, thanks to his presence of mind then. Be it his impulse, or his faith in her, Yuan did the right thing.

    "I mean, even if this picture goes viral, they''d have a theory, at most. And with no absolute evidence pointing against her, we''d be able to firmly deny all such hearsays. We''ll just ept that Mrs. Xi was attacked at the event and that she is recovering now. We''ll give them the truth that makes sense. Nothing dramatic. Nothing they don''t need to know."

    Xi Yuan nodded faintly at the men, his mind elsewhere still. He had managed to protect her, yes. But what about the scars he''d passed onto her unknowingly? How he wished to fly to Afghanistan right away and get to her and hold her hands, with the assurance she needed, more than anything else right now. How he desired to hold her into his arms and whisper into her ears that he loved her and that he trusted her. How he craved to listen to her with the sense of security she always did, when around him.

    "She''ll be alright, Yuan.", Su Rugguang said to the man, interrupting his train of thoughts, "You did what you had to. She''ll understand."

    "I hope so", Xi Yuan smiled wryly, "Only if there was a way for me to know how to talk to her now, or where exactly she is in that foreignnd..."

    "We''ll have to speak to the Three Militaries''manders if we''re to even enquire the possibility of that.", Zhi Al shook his head, "She and the Hybrids are undercover right now. One wrong move on our part and she might end up in a grave life-threatening danger over there.", the youngest of the Six exined.

    Zhi Al was the closest amongst the Superfamily men to Rong Xinghe''s professional life. This man was better aware of the procedures tomunicate with soldiers on such ssified missions than anyone. Given his several visits to the MCO for security software''s implementation issues, Zhi Al had, over the years, gotten to know about such things himself. And so, he could be considered as someone reliable on the matter, Xi Yuan concluded.

    "I understand.", the man responded, his voicecking any ounce of strength now. He felt trapped. Suffocated, by the mess they both were in. They were husband and wife now. The closest two people ever could be. Yet, they''d never found themselves this alone, and apart, and scared. What would he do if something were to happen to her, Xi Yuan wondered. What would he do if she chose to never forgive him for everything that happened? And what if... he''d never even get the opportunity to exin himself to her? What if he''d never get the chance to apologize to her for how he made her feel, even if it was unintentional?

    ______________

    Kabul, Afghanistan, 13:30;

    Abram Orlov rushed across from the Kabul Serena Hotel, toward a small roadside stall, pulling his wallet out from his pocket. "A pack of cigarettes.", he said to the young seller, turning to the man next to him, clearing his throat.

    "Lashkar ul-Mujahidin''s security team? Seriously?!", he whispered, barely concealing the disbelief in his tone.

    Rong Xinghe shrugged, picking up one of the newspapers from the heap next to the shop, its contents printed in the Pashtonguage. As she stared at the pictures in it, her hands reached for the turban on her head, adjusting it a tad. Cross-dressed in nothing but ck, the woman looked handsome, one could say. With a hint of Grey, her beard and mustache were ck, her eyes Forest Green. She''d even used a lens. How... cautious of her, the Hybrid thought.

    "I had to.", she said just as softly, "The wedding was broadcasted across the world. Believe me, they''d recognize me here. Especially, Fadhil. The man has met me before and given that we''re enemies now, he would definitely watch out for me.

    "My male get-up is not everyone is familiar of, anyway. And the security team... because Fadhil might show up there, in the organization''s base. If not, I''d still have ess to a lot of information, and ammunitions, and explosives. Now, do you get it?

    "Anyhow, you can address me as Kefayat here. Kefayat Zahir."

 Chapter 539: The promise he had made to her

    Chapter 539: The promise he had made to her

    Kabul, Afghanistan, 13:35;

    It made sense, Abram thought, as he retrieved a lighter from his pocket, pulling a cigarette from the packet. Of all the Eleven of them, Rong Xinghe was probably the most execrated one, therein. Not just due to how she had thwarted all of these terrorists'' attacks recently, but also due to how openly she challenged them.

    More than her words, her authority mattered, to such. The idea of a woman in power, suppressing them with her voice; was what disgusted them. It was inconvenient, really, to see their Great Commander being defeated by a woman, over and over again. It made them look weak, and it humiliated them, in front of the world, while they fought to inflict fear and pain around. Rong Xinghe made Lashkar ul-Mujahidin look like a joke. A sham, even.

    They wouldn''t refrain from skinning her alive if they were to ever recognize her in their territory, the Hybrid concluded. Besides, it wasn''t the first time the woman had cross-dressed for a mission. She''d done it multiple times in the past, and never once had she been caught. So there really was nothing for them to worry about.

    "Here.", the man offered the woman an unlit cigarette, passing the girl his Silver lighter next, "Have one. You look terribly worn out."

    "I don''t smoke. Not anymore.", Rong Xinghe rolled her eyes, exhaling a long deep breath.

    "Woah! Really?", Orlov chuckled, a bit stunned, "You''ve changed a lot, Alpha.", he added then.

    The girl remained silent, her eyes on the paper in her hands. Had she changed, she pondered. Thinking back on the Five years she''d had with the Ten men, the girl realized she had.

    "Which version would you prefer?", the woman asked her Hybrid, still not looking at him, her voice distant, but deep.

    Taken aback by the question, Abram gave it some thought before sighing, "The older one. The stubborn, and unstoppable, one.", he answered as a few seconds passed by. "You were free, back then, Xinghe. You used tough, and quite effortlessly, I must say. You used to sing songs with us all night long. You even taught us all how to cook food over forest bonfires.

    "We had a lot on our shoulders back then, too. But you''d enjoy every part of our missions. The pluses and the minuses. Even after the whole experimentation issue, even as the Ripper, you were marvelously zealous. You were broken, and wounded, and angry, but you were you. You were our Alpha, and we were your pack.

    "We were a team, Xinghe. The Eleven of us. And I miss that part of you.", he said.

    "And now?", the woman finally looked at him, yet, lost.

    "You do things because you have to. Not because you want to.", the Hybrid stated, the cigarette smoldering between his index and middle finger. "I know it''s not my ce to say this... but for once, on this mission, just act like a soldier. Don''t think about Xi Yuan, or his family, or Country X, even.

    "Because we''re on a battlefield right now. Here, emotions can get us killed. So just live in the thrill of it all. Cherish the adrenaline rush this job gives you, Alpha. Live through it, for that''s the only therapy you need at the moment."

    __________

    City A, Country X, 19:00;

    As media gathered around the Imperial Multi-Speciality, proving Mo Zixuan''s predictions right, Xi Yuan and Xi Fang strode toward their BMW Alpina XB7, a team of well-equipped bodyguards shielding them from the vicious journalists.

    Xi Yuan needed to investigate the attack. The Xis had to, for this was the second time in history that one of their own had been assailed so brutally. The man''s grandparents had been the first ones. No matter how much his guilt tortured him now, Xi Yuan was well aware of how to handle the situation with a practical and rational mindset.

    He had once made a promise to her. That she could protect the world while he protected her, with every breath he took. And he was going to keep his word. Hunting for the mastermind behind this pathetic exploit was the only way to keep her safe, and prove her innocence. Although there was no evidence against Rong Xinghe, Xi Yuan refused to believe that whoever had done this hadn''t taken care of that.

    Not to mention, Xi Yuan was still, but Xi Yuan. Just because he had chosen to change for his Xinghe didn''t mean he had changed entirely. There was no way in hell that he''d stay quiet after what''d happened to his mother. He wasn''t a saint. And he''d never admitted to being one.

    "President Xi! Is it true that your mother was shot?!"

    "Vice-President Fang, what do you have to say about this attack?"

    "Do you suspect anyone, Sirs?!", another reporter demanded, "A business rival, perhaps?"

    "Where is Military Chief when the family needs her the most?"

    "Is she safe, Mr. Xi?! Who performed the surgery?"

    "Why did Military Chief not join you here today, President Xi?"

    As the crowd encircled the vehicle, Xi Fang and Xi Yuan mmed the doors to it shut, their faces void of any expression. Not even enervation. This was bound to happen. The uproar. The same had happened years ago after their grandparents'' demise had been announced.

    "To the Military Chief Office.", Xi Yuanmanded the driver, unbuttoning his blood-stained suit.

    "Sir.", the man in his thirties nodded obediently, focussing his attention upon the steering wheel next.

    "We need to change, Brother.", Xi Fang said after some time, looking at the man next to him who''d closed his eyes now, his head resting against the ck leather headrest.

    "MCO wouldn''tck camouge cargos.", the man said under his breath, "We''ll just make a request to Xinghe''s assistant.", he said.

    Xi Fang stared at his elder brother, a bit shocked. Military uniform? Xi Fang had never seen the man in one of those, let alone considering wearing it himself. Though, that really wasn''t the matter to bother about here.

    "Alright.", the younger man said after a while, "From where shall we begin?"

    "The fingerprints on the S&W Magnum.", Xi Yuan replied, "Her gun."

 Chapter 540: Libertad de Significado

    Chapter 540: Libertad de Significado

    Lashkar ul-Mujahidin''s base was installed at the edge of Logar province, south of the capital of the country. Located in the eastern section of Afghanistan, Logar was but divided into 7 districts and several hundreds of viges. Roughly an hour-long drive from Kabul.

    Even though the organization did not have as much influence or power in Afghanistan, Lashkar ul-Mujahidin* had still managed to take control of a handful of towns therein, an atmosphere of dread and fright wherever they branched. Explosives'' manufacturing, recruiting and training youngds, selling and buying women like goods; every severe crime in the world was being carried around here, out in the open, that is. As if it was natural. Normal, even.

    As Rong Xinghe drove inside the rtively huge vige known as Rakhatal*, she felt a sweltering gust of sand hit her face, the windows to her ck humvee wound down. Pashto and Dari were two of Afghanistan''s officialnguages. Rong Xinghe was familiar with only Dari but, the Afghan dialect of Persian. Anyhow,munication wasn''t going to be an issue for her there.

    "It means ''grow'' in Pashto.", the man next to her said after some time, "Rakhatal." He was wearing clothes simr to the ones Rong Xinghe had put on. An all-ck Kurta, trousers, and Hamtar turban. The standard uniform for the senior ''fighters'' of the organization.

    It was opposite of growth, Rong Xinghe thought, as the vehicle reached a cautiously fortified, but poorly maintained check post. The ce seemed lifeless. Desperation and hope in the vigers'' gazes as they looked at her, followed by a sense of deep disappointment when they noticed her clothes.

    "He''s one of them.", she heard one of the boys say to his mother, in Persian, "Ask sisters to not go out for the next few days.", he mumbled, weakly.

    Right. She was the bad guy here. Kefayat Zahir. And a high-ranking one at that.

    "ID.", one of the men at the check post approached the humvee, peeking in. "Janaab!", he saluted to the man next to Rong Xinghe, theziness in his voice subsiding gradually.

    The woman remained quiet, as she picked up the card upon the dashboard and passed it to the security officer. "UFLT*...", the man appeared stunned, as he looked at the man in ck, shocked.

    United Front Liberation Troops, aka, UFLT, was their Commander''s teacher''s institution. And even though there''d been rumors that the man had been killed two years ago in an anonymous attack, Fadhil believed otherwise. So if this man in front of them was indeed appointed by UFLT, didn''t it mean that it was still but an active organization, managed and guided by a man they''d long considered dead?

    "Yes.", the man next to the woman looked at the soldier, "Zahir, here is the Deputy Leader in Iran for UFLT. Commander''s master has sent him for a regr inspection. He''ll be staying for a few weeks, so don''t bother with the identity check with him. Alright?"

    "Understood.", the man bowed down to Kefayat stiffly.

    "Whatever he needs, give it to him. We''ve informed the Commander too, of course. But until he visits Rakhatal next, treat the Deputy with your utmost hospitality. Disrespect to him would definitely, have consequences.", the man in his forties added next, his tone serious.

    "Yes, Sir.", the security officer nodded nervously. Just the mention of Fadhil''s name was enough a nightmare for them.

    _______________

    Military Chief Office;

    City A, Country X, 20:00;

    Xi Yuan emerged from Rong Xinghe''s office as Xi Fang and Shou Wu waited for him outside. Apparelled into a standard Country X Army uniform, one could hardly tell him from the professional ones there. His gaze authoritative, his presence justly domineering; as if it all came naturally to him. The Military environment.

    Xi Fang was stunned, of course, by how much the clothing suited his brother. Though, none as surprised as the soldiers around still, for they could feel a familiarity in how the man carried himself. Ah, Military Chief, Shou Wu mumbled to himself internally. His aura, and hisposure. Everything about this man was but a reminder to him of Rong Xinghe.

    "We''re immensely apologetic for theck of preparation, Sir.", the woman''s assistant cleared his throat, ncing at the tablet in his hands, "And if I may say, on behalf of everyone here, congrattions on the wedding."

    "Thank you.", the man managed, inhaling a deep breath.

    "Military Chief called me minutes before leaving for Afghanistan.", Shou Wu nodded, turning to exit the waiting room, the two men following behind him shortly after, "The fingerprints are still under examination in the forensicsb. Though, we''d have the results within 15 minutes. So let us head there first.

    "As for the status of the investigation up until now, we''re still on it. Lieutenant Zhao is having a look at the surveince history for Castle Tryst, stretching it to the 17th of February. A week before your wedding. He''ll ping us as soon as he finds anything suspicious in there.

    "Madam has issued an order of ''Libertad de Significado'' for you, Mr. Xi. So until she returns, you have the entire nation''s Military at your disposal for the matter, including the national intelligence agency."

    The moment Shou Wu''s words reached his ears, Xi Yuan''s hurried footsteps slowed down a tad.

    "Libertad de Significado?", Xi Fang looked at the old man, confused.

    "Liberty of Significance.", Xi Yuan answered instead, his voice low as if he was speaking to himself, "It''s an honor only the Military Chiefs of Country X can provide to its citizens, during their work tenure. The right to use the country''s military strength, so to investigate a case of critical importance."

    Shou Wu turned around, quite astonished by the man''s knowledge on the topic. But then again, Xi Yuan was no stranger to Military terminologies, for he''d once been one of them too. It was a shame, the old man sighed, that he''d had to blend amongst the civilians, while the fact that he belonged there, among the servicemen, remained.

    It was just then that the phone in Shou Wu''s pocket rang up. He picked it up at the fourth ring, his tone somber, "Do we have a name?", he asked. "Yeah, alright. Send the reports over to Chief''s cabin.", he demanded next, hanging up.

    "What is it?", Xi Yuan questioned, sensing the man''s plight.

    "She was right, Sir.", Shou Wu cleared his throat, turning to look at the man, "The fingerprints on the gun do belong to her."

 Chapter 541: "My wife"

    Chapter 541: "My wife"

    Rakhatal, Logar, Afghanistan;

    21:00;

    Rong Xinghe was escorted to an Olive Green Military Tent at the very corner of the vige, minutes after they''d reached there. It was simple, with no electricity, whatsoever. Even so, Rong Xinghe could tell it was the fanciest of them all. And at an advantageous location at that.

    "Will you be alright, Zahir?", the man who''d arrived there alongside her turned to the woman, his voice filled with nervousness, "I''ll be leaving soon. So if you need anything else--"

    "Don''t bother.", the woman shook her head, picking out a briefcase from her luggage, her tone masculine, as it was supposed to be, "Here. 2,00,000 USD converted to Afghan Afghani. I''ll take it from here."

    "Ok... okay.", the man, his name Aqib Mitri, said, a little stupefied, "Also, in case you get caught, could you..."

    "Not mention your name?", Rong Xinghe cocked her head to one side, raising her brows, "You got it."

    It was just then that a tall figure walked into the room, d in ck, just like the two inside. "Mirza.", he introduced himself, outstretching his right hand towards the neer, "Zayan Mirza. Rakhatal''s superintendent. Secondary."

    "Kefayat Zahir.", Rong Xinghe took the hand, shaking it firmly then, her voice giving away dominance. "d to have met you.", she added modestly.

    "Really?", Mirzaughed a shortugh, surprised. For those in Lashkar ul-Mujahidin, it was an honor to have been noticed by those in UFLT, for it had benefits of their own. In the longer run, anyway.

    "Yeah.", the ''man'' nodded, speaking Dari with absolute fluency, "From the sts in Country N to the sessful executions of Country X''s SF officers, your name has beening up a lot amongst the Troops. You''re a gem to our Greater Mission, Zayan. Keep up the good work."

    The Troops talked of him? It was ttering. Unbelievable, even. Now that he observed the man in front of him, Mirza couldn''t help but feel slightly oppressed by his presence. He was handsome, his eyes Green, hisplexion fair. Kefayat Zahir was a perfect man in every sense, who seemed more like a Prince than a fighter. He radiated leadership and fear, just by the way he looked at a person. Precisely like their Commander, Zayan figured.

    "Thank you.", the man smiled, eyeing the man one more time but, "Uh... three dayster, there''s going to be a wedding. One of our men, he has fancied one of the girls here. The fool wishes to marry her instead of just buying her. Anyway, it''d be a great opportunity for you to get to know the team here. What do you say?"

    "I''ll be there.", Zahir smiled approvingly, probably for the first time since he''d arrived in Rakhatal.

    ____________

    Military Chief Office;

    City A, Country X, 22:00;

    Xi Yuan stared at the file in his hands for few minutes before he closed it shut. She''d already predicted this. The Mastermind had nned it so to make her look like the perp, her fingerprints over the licenced handgun.

    "It''s a smart move.", Xi Fang said, as he ced a cup of coffee in front of his elder brother.

    "It''s a reckless move.", Xi Yuan shook his head, grabbing the cup as he brought it to his mouth.

    "What do you mean?", Shou Wu asked, confused. It looked like the perfect crime. Rong Xinghe''s prints upon the weapon found in the room, bullet diameter of which matching with the one extracted from Li Jungah''s left shoulder; how could anyone ever find loopholes in something so well thought out?

    "Multiple fingerprints.", the man answered, leaning back in Rong Xinghe''s chair, "That''s the oversight here. An obvious blunder.", he said.

    As he received nothing but silence from the two scrambled men, he rolled his eyes, taking a sip from the cup. About half a minuteter, he began borating his point.

    "As per this report, firmly pressured fingerprints were identified against the grip, barrel, slide stop, and even the front sight of the gun.", he said, "Xinghe is not a civilian, who''d ever have so much difficulty in dealing with a firearm.

    "She is a soldier, for whom, her equipment is no less than a part of her body when she holds onto it. I''ve watched her y with thousands of weapons to date, and believe me when I say it, her hands never go beyond the grip and the magazine of the gun. She is quick, efficient, andposed when she shoots a person.

    "There''s no way that she might''ve even touched the gun while she was in there with Mom. Someone else must''ve transferred her fingerprints via a tape or something.

    "Because if she would have shot my mother, there would''ve been three bullets to the least, and each would''ve impaled through her heart directly. My wife... is too phenomenal a markswoman to miss a shot as unchallenging as that.", Xi Yuan concluded, a smile of pride, but longing across his lips.

    Amazed by the man''s keen observations, neither Xi Fang nor Shou Wu was sure of how to respond to him. No wonder Rong Xinghe had trusted this person with such a sensitive investigation, they realized. She''d even gone to the lengths of equipping him with the national honor of ''Libertad de Significado''. She trusted him, even when she wasn''t sure of his belief in her. It was heart-wrenching, really, the paths they both were on today.

    Xi Yuan stood up after a few minutes, tossing the empty paper cup in the bin, "Now, what do we have from Lieutenant Zhao till now?"

    "I''ll call him.", the woman''s assistant said, reaching for his smartphone from the coffee table next to him.

    "Fang. A word.", Xi Yuan tapped the edge of the table, gesturing the man toe to him. "What is it, Brother?", Xi Fang yielded to the man''smand, quickly approaching him next.

    "Give a call to Chen Deming.", the man said, his voice low, "Ask him to hunt for the culprit behind the whole Sogement Pharmas'' controversy. This incident is awfully simr to that one; if we look at how Xinghe was framed in the end.

    "It''s just a hunch, but I think that the man who orchestrated that, did this too. So... while the Military investigates this case, our men can start with that one. Tell them to start with the Hacker, that boy, who bit his tongue off. Chan Hyun.

    "I need a name, Fang, as soon as possible. Xinghe''s reputation is on the line here. And I''d rather die than watch her lose everything she has worked so hard, over the years, to earn."

 Chapter 542: Provoking the Xis

    Chapter 542: Provoking the Xis

    Rong Family Mansion, 03:00;

    Rong Chang stormed into his son''s room, a piece of ''The Tribute'' in his left hand, "Did you do this?", he asked, pointing his index finger toward the article concerning the Xis, his tone filled with disbelief, "And I want a straight answer today. Yes, or no?"

    Gu Hong, and the man''s grandparents, rushed in too, as Rong Chang''s yellings reached them. It took them a moment toprehend the situationpletely, but as they did, they were equally shocked.

    Rong Yufan was bewildered, of course, by the tone, his father had just spoken to him in. No one had ever talked to him like that in the family. They would be dramatic, they''d try and pressurize him emotionally too, but they''d never raised their voices at him. Even so, he wasn''t offended. Or affronted. Not to the least. He''d expected this reaction from the family.

    "Yufan, did you or did you not do this?", Rong Chang demanded yet again, a coldness in his gaze.

    "I might have.", the young man shrugged, leaning back in his ck leatherette bean bag, focusing on the game console in his hands, "Let''s not act like any of you feel even a pinch of sympathy for the Xis. I know you all better than that. So no need to exaggera--"

    But before the man could finish his sentence, a sharp whopping pnded across Rong Yufan''s face, an eerie silence spreading throughout the house. Gu Hong gaped, covering her wide open mouth, stepping back from her husband. She''d never seen Rong Chang this infuriated before. The Rong family elders found themselves stuck in a simr situation. They did not dare defend their precious grandson today, for they knew how reasonable their son''s anger was at the moment.

    "Exaggerate?! What an idiot you are, boy.", Rong Chang vociferated, his eyes bloodshot with fury, "Do you even realize what you''ve done this time? Xi Yuan. That man will rip us all apart, believe me, for the little game you''ve yed this time.

    "How dare you aim at the Xis?! Did you, for a second, even think of the consequences of provoking them? Or were we too delusional to put the future of this family into your hands?"

    "I--", Rong Yufan stood up from his seat, unable to think clearly as he attempted to recover from the p.

    "Calm down, Chang.", the man''s grandfather spoke up, anxiously, "He is still your son."

    "An embarrassment is what he is!", Rong Chang argued back, turning to the elders, "We were fine with him going after Xinghe because she was nothing back then. A nobody. Her life did not matter.

    "But now that I look at him, I realize just how capable that girl had always been in front of him. Howpetent, and witty, and far-sighted, she''d been, even as a kid. Him, on the other end, what has he done all his life?

    "Plotting the perfect revenge against a woman he felt underpowered by? How humiliating, that is. ying with people''s minds, and killing them for pleasure. That''s all he has to himself. And to date, I didn''t care about his ''habits'' because those people were too insignificant to cause a ruckus.

    "But this time, it''s the Xi family. And the mother to the Business King, at that! God forbid, if Xi Yuan uncovers the fact that Yufan did this, do you think he''ll stop at just thisd? No. He will reach for each one of us, one by one, mercilessly, and calmly, making us plead for death before finally putting an end to it all, as he sees fit."

    "He surely wouldn''t do something like that, would he?", Gu Hong questioned, concerned, "He is just a businessman, after all."

    Rong Chang red at his wife, and then at his son before he stormed out of the room, and into the hallway. Xi Yuan had never been just a businessman. A man like that could never be satisfied with mere wealth, obviously. He was much more powerful than average minds like Rong Yufan or Gu Hong could even begin to imagine.

    He needed to protect them. He needed to protect his only son. No matter what sin he''dmitted, he couldn''t let Xi Yuan find out about Rong Yufan''s involvement in this attack. Else, it would be the end of everything for them. Their business, their status, their lives even, if things were to get out of control.

    But there was a famous saying. Pridees before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall.

    It applied very well to Rong Yufan, as the words ''Just how capable that girl had always been in front of him'' resonated through his mind, a damaging darkness enveloping each and every atom in his body. Even his own father believed so. That she was better than him. ''I won''t lose to that woman.'', he told himself, reaching for the phone in his pocket after a few minutes.

    "Yufan...", Gu Hong nced at her son, noticing his trembling hands, "Where are you going, son?", she asked, desperately following behind him as he dashed out of the mansion.

    But he didn''t stop. He didn''t want to. He needed her to suffer and cry, for the rest of her whole pathetic life. That''s what she truly deserved, he repeated to himself yet again, as he reached for the handle of the SUV parked at the entrance.

    "Hello?", a woman''s voice came through the other end as the man got into his car.

    "I need you to leave for Afghanistan.", hemanded, "Logar province. There''s a vige there.

    "Meet me at the International Airport right now. I''ll give you some supplies for the next n. And I will give you another call when the time''s right. Got it?"

    "Understood.", Huang Biu replied, her voice just as confident.

    The man then hung up on the woman, dialing another number now. The other person picked up at the third ring, "Adrian Novikov here.", the man mumbled absent-mindedly.

    "Is it true?", Rong Yufan questioned, his eyes on the road, "Is she really there?"

    "Oh... Yufan!", the man was taken aback, "Uh, yeah. She is here on a mission, disguised as a man. I have a lot of contacts in here, so I am sure. There''s an ongoing construction of my motel a few meters from Rakhatal, so I keep visiting the vige every now and then. As for how I figured it about her guise, in order to survive in a ce as dangerous as this, you have to have inside informers everywhere."

 Chapter 543: "Itll hurt even more if I stay"

    Chapter 543: "It''ll hurt even more if I stay"

    Rakhatal, Logar, Afghanistan;

    The next morning, Rong Xinghe woke up with a headache, the back of her neck aching. "Urgh!", she groaned, getting down from her bed. She was in her male alias. She was supposed to be... until the whole thing was over.

    She stood in front of a small mirror, tied to one of the poles holding the tent, gazing at her appearance. At her pale lifeless eyes. She looked miserable, so much so that she couldn''t even recognize herself for a moment there. ''Your emotions will affect the mission.'', she told herself, shaking her head violently, as she let out a deep breath.

    Quickly then, she rushed over to close all the curtains in the tent, retrieving a contour palette from one of her suitcases.

    She missed him. Her Yuan. It was weird, really. He had never been an obstruction in any of her missions before, and yet, this one was an exception. Probably because they''d parted at a misunderstanding, she sighed.

    "Zahir. It''s me, Aayan.", a voice, from outside the tent, interrupted the woman''s line of thoughts.

    "Come in.", Rong Xinghe said, staring at the powder brush in her hands. Shortly after, Shawn Florence appeared in her line of sight, a refreshing smile across his lips, two cups in his hands.

    "The vigers made some soup.", he said, handing over one of the cups to the woman as he sat down next to her, "Here."

    "Thanks."

    "Goodness, this is the first time I''ve seen you so shattered!", the man stated, turning to look at the girl, a tad surprised, "So what if he didn''t trust you? Is it really thatplicated? Just exin yourself to him when you see him next."

    Rong Xinghe smiled at her friend, resting her head against his shoulder next, "But that''s the thing. I''ve never had to exin myself to him. He knows me better than anyone, Shawn. Him not trusting me changes everything about us, you know. The sense of security I''ve always had around him; I feel like it''s not there anymore. The idea that no matter what happens, I''ll find that person standing by my side; it''s just... fading.

    "I know he is no Zhou Che, and that he''d definitely listen to me patiently as soon as I get back home. But would it hurt any less? I will always have to tiptoe around him, with a fear of what he might think, or would he believe me in any such, simr situation.

    "That''s pitiful, and in ways, toxic. I cannot lead a life like that, Shawn. My brothers have taught me better than that.", the girl said softly, "Loneliness is frightening. But not as much as abandonment is. Because thetter onees with an endless amount of darkness, unbearable pain. And you and I, we both know, what that does to us. What our rage, and cries, do to us. It makes us Rippers."

    Shawn Florence was stunned, as he ced his cup over the small table in front of them, "So you mean to say you''ll leave him if he has had indeed doubted you?", he questioned the girl quite earnestly.

    "I''ll have to.", the girl mumbled, staring into the distance, "It''ll sting if I quit, but it''ll hurt even more if I stay. Because the very foundation of a rtionship is trust and respect. We''ve always had that for one another. Both of us. How long do you think love, and passionsts? Ten years? Twenty? What about after that?

    "I know I might be expecting too much from him provided we''ve known each other for merely three years. But if I don''t shield my honor, I cannot expect anyone else to do that for me. I was born a fighter, and I will always be one. If I ept Yuan''sck of faith in me today, I''ll lose myself. I will lose the woman I''ve fought so hard to be.

    "Rong Xinghe does notpromise, and neither does she kneel to anyone for mercy. I deal with death, in person. And so, I will not make a home on the ashes of my dignity, and my sanity."

    The Hybrid sat still for a few minutes, quietly. He''d never admired this woman so much before. Maybe that''s why millions of young girls across the globe sought inspiration from her today, he thought. They saw her doing not many women were courageous enough to even think of. Putting herself first. Prioritizing herself, for once. Being selfish, when necessary.

    She demanded a chair at the goddamned table, amongst thousands of those snobbish men who sat at the top. Rightfully so. With her unparalleled intellect and sense of righteousness; she deserved to be listened to by the world. And she knew that. Her Six Tigers had made sure of that.

    Though it was still wretched, the situation she was in now, Florence realized. They couldn''t speak for Xi Yuan since the Hybrids hadn''t known the man for long, but it distressed the Ten men to watch her like this.

    Zhou Che was the reason she''d stopped believing in love, and family, and ever afters. For the first six months of their Military Chief Training, none of them had seen her smile even once. She was this living thing, existing, desperately searching for anything to hold onto. A mission, a purpose, in life. And the nation''s army had given her that. A reason to think that she mattered.

    The Hybrids had watched her fight, and break, andugh, and cry. They''d seen what her past had done to her. How it''d broken her and wounded her for the rest of her existence. And as a result of it all, they''d genuinely hoped to never find her in a state as dreary and horrid as she was in now.

    This was worse than when it was with Zhou Che. Because while that man was her first love, Xi Yuan was her epic one. He was her husband, and friend, and everything else in between. She''d be crushed by her own darkness if they were to ever part. And that was thest thing Rong Xinghe needed in her life. To be deserted by her sweet, sweet Yuan.

    How he wished Xi Yuan would not let that happen. How he wished he''d have faith in his Xinghe.

 Chapter 544: Aberration

    Chapter 544: Aberration

    MCO, City A, Country X, 10:15;

    Humankind was constituted of people with different looks, behaviors, temperaments, and natures. While some chose to have an easy, regr life; others fought round the clock to make a difference. While plenty lived to have just enough; there were those rare few who couldn''t settle for an ''enough''. Humans could not be summarized into words. And this difference made it all so interesting, the wonder this was.

    But then, there were those with exceptional minds and extraordinary ambitions, who refused to go on with a life of normalcy. Xi Yuan and Rong Xinghe were two such individuals. People like them could not tolerate standing alongside the crowd. They had to have a path of their own, and an Everest of their own.

    Rong Chang was absolutely right. People like Xi Yuan could never stay satisfied with just wealth. The man was much too far-sighted than that. This was the modern world, where power stood on the highest pedestal. While money was a luxury millions possessed, power was a strength limited to those with a passion for change. Xi Yuan understood that.

    Country X was a nation with hundreds of Billionaires. Still, there remained just one Military Chief, one Prime Minister, and one President. And these people created history. It thrilled him, the irreceable status they shared.

    Now he could not be a politician, neither did he crave to step into the Military. Xi Corporations was already a challenge enough. An empire with a worth of 110 Billion USD, his conglomerate was, in the present, most profitable business in the world. It was a huge responsibility as it was. Switching professions had never been one of his ns anyway.

    But it didn''t mean he couldn''t have a power of his own, did it? Aberracin, or Aberration, was apany founded and owned solely by Xi Yuan. It was an enterprise instituted by the man two years after he''d taken on the Xi Corporations.

    It had but one purpose. To yield to Xi Yuan''s, or in matters of urgencies, to Xi Fang''s orders. It was no ordinary business organization, still. It was, on-page, a surveince corporate, looking after Xi Corporations quietly. Composed of several teams ofwyers, retired bureaucrats, skilled and elite technocrats, and even security officers; Aberration was a semi-private, semi-government institution, sanctioned by the three heads of the country themselves.

    It was probably the onlypany in the nation who''d never been raided or taken updates from by any legal department, whatsoever. Politicians had a benefit, of their own, from it, obviously. Upon a vote of approval from Xi Yuan, Aberration could, without any restriction, conduct the highest levels of unofficial and sensitive investigations on issues of interest for literally anyone, without any ountability to any senior organization in the world.

    Though, this also separated Xi Yuan from a normal businessman. It put him in a position of unquestionable power. Even the highest judicial courts of the country couldn''t issue a search warrant for the enterprise. And that irked people. The exceptions the government had made for him. How could a person have ownership to both wealth and power to such an extent, they''d demanded when thepany had initially been established.

    But then Aberration had been a huge help to Country X, over the years. Through different sorts of situations. From investigating a politician to providing them with leads concerning national and international rtionships, thepany had always ced Country X in a state of great advantage. So gradually, the public began to make peace with its confidential approach. Maybe it was ideal, they thought, to have it this way and sometimes, leave things to mystery.

    "Word from the men?", Xi Yuan asked his brother, as he followed behind Shou Wu in a hurry. They''d received a call from Lieutenant Zhao minutes ago. He''d found something finally.

    "Not yet.", Xi Fang shook his head, "That Korean boy, the Primary Hacker in the Sogement case, he is still under therapy. Now that he cannot speak, he ismunicating by writing down his replies in a notepad. Once, he''s done with his session, they''ll take him to Aberration''s HQ. They''ve even had a word with the team of doctors working on the boy. Hopefully, they''ll be able to tell us something useful."

    "Hmm.", the man hummed, looking ahead, "What about her brothers? Any problem on their end?"

    "They''re dealing with the media issues, mostly.", the younger man answered. "Mr. Shou.", Xi Fang then looked at his Sister-inw''s assistant, "Is there no way to know if everything is alright on Military Chief''s end over there in Afghanistan?", he asked.

    "There isn''t.", the old man replied, "At least, not for the Hybrids."

    "What do you mean?", the man furrowed his brows.

    "Military Chief, and the Ten of them, they''re quite difficult to track.", Shou Wu exined, "It has always been a headache for the Prime Minister and the President, you know. They never leave a trace behind. None of them.

    "Ma''am is not just a soldier. She is the Crown to Country X''s Army too. If anything is to ever happen to her on any of these missions, without a worthy sessor to her throne, the nation will witness literal hellfire unleashing upon itself.

    "Enemies have, for years now, waited for an opening, a vulnerability like this one. Her death, or her absence, even.

    "Technically, she should not even be there, at the very center of the danger zone. But her work approach is tooplicated. Instead of regting them from above, she chooses to work alongside them. She makes them feel like a team. And while her methods have resulted in a ferocious and unparalleled sess in the country''s strength, they''ve proved to be equally life-threatening for her."

    Xi Yuan listened to the two men''s conversation silently for a while before his footsteps slowed down a bit. Subconsciously then, his hands reached into his right pocket as he pulled his ringing phone out.

    "Are we at the liberty to involve this boy''s family, Sir?", a woman''s voice came through the other end, her tone steady, "I, here."

    "Yeah.", Xi Yuan nodded, clearing his throat, "And I need you to do one more thing."

    "Whatever you need, Boss.", she raised her brows, staring at the evidently harmless Chan Hyun sitting opposite her.

    "Locate my wife.", hemanded, his gaze turning a few shades darker as he said so.

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