Four months later, in the military hospital.

Yuan Xuan removed the final steel nail from his leg and Yuan Tian could not help but sigh as she looked at her handsome brother sitting in a wheelchair.

“Stand up and try walking around.”

Yuan Xuan supported himself with the handrails on the sides of the bed and stood up. Even though he had always used a wheelchair when he was at home or in the office previously, he did not feel troubled.

Now that he removed the steel nails and stopped using crutches or wheelchairs, he was as handsome as ever.

“Luckily there aren’t any residual effects from the injury. Otherwise, who knows how many socialites in Luo Hai would cry themselves to death when they found out that you’re crippled!”

Yuan Tian noticed that Yuan Xuan recovered pretty well, and her earlier concerns were unnecessary. Fortunately, he only broke his leg after falling from such high ground. It would be a pity if it left a scar on his face!

“What does that have to do with Luo Hai’s socialites?”

Yuan Xuan said in a brief tone.

Thankfully, the stairs in Hibiscus Garden were made of wood, so he was able to keep his life.

“Of course, they would be sad if you’re crippled. The position of Yuan Family’s Third Missus…

“Is reserved for Mu Chenyan!”

Yuan Xuan interrupted Yuan Tian’s sentence and stared at her with his cold gaze.

It was spring already, yet Yuan Tian felt a sudden and inexplicable coldness.

She stuck her tongue out and did not dare to continue talking.

Both of them were like a pair of quarrelsome lovers. They had been in love for more than ten years yet had only truly been together for a year.

When Yuan Tian thought about it, ever since Mu Chenyan left, Yuan Xuan once again returned to being a cold, sadistic person who showed no mercy.

Shu Qinger was the best example.

Yuan Xuan knew that Shu Qinger had something to do with what happened, so the first thing that he did after he woke up was to take revenge on her.

That woman miscalculated a step, as there was no use pleading to the Old Mistress.

Yuan Xuan ordered someone to throw Shu Qinger in jail on the grounds of kidnapping and human trafficking.

None of the lawyers in Luo Hai dared to defend Shu Qinger and the prosecutor ended the case carelessly.

Just like that, the socialite lifestyle that Shu Qinger was looking forward to came to an end. It seemed like a good idea for her to spend her remaining years in Luo Hai’s prison…

*

Hibiscus Garden.

The birth of Little Ginger Fur Ball and Briquet’s first batch of kittens lifted the atmosphere in Hibiscus Garden.

After two hours of labor, the three little kittens laid closely in Little Ginger Fur Ball’s arms.

The kittens’ meowing calmed Yuan Xuan who was sweating profusely.

Little Ginger Fur Ball was once just a little maiden cat, yet it seemed to be covered in a motherly radiance when it saw the three kittens cramming up to feed on milk. Then, she licked her kittens with her tiny little tongue.

“Young Master, this one looks the most like Little Ginger Fur Ball!”

Ah Fu pointed at one of the ginger-colored female kittens with a particularly excited expression.

“Mm!” Yuan Xuan answered lightly.

There were three kittens, one fully yellow, one fully black, and one a tabby cat. It was nice to have two males and a female.

Little Ginger Fur Ball saw Yuan Xuan and Ah Fu pointing at them. Due to her motherly instinct, she was a little unhappy as she was worried that they might harm her kittens, so she purred to complain.

Briquet also developed a fatherly instinct as he growled at Yuan Xuan and Ah Fu. He straightened its tail and seemed like it was ready to attack!

Briquet: I dare you to make a move on my wife and kids!

“What an ungrateful bastard dog. You’ve forgotten all about your father now that you have a wife and kids.”

Yuan Xuan cursed lowly and pinched Briquet’s butt.

Briquet: Meow-meow, father, are you blind? I’m a bastard cat…

“I fed you imported cat food, and this is how you repay me!”

Briquet: Meow-meow, father, if you were to become a father, you’d be worse than me…

Yuan Xuan, “…”

Briquet, stop being so merciless!

Yuan Xuan looked at the group of kittens cuddling with Little Ginger Fur Ball and he was suddenly struck by a sense of sadness.

If Mu Chenyan did not get an abortion, she would be in labor now…

*

Three years later.

Zhong Heng International.

Yuan Xun walked out of the office and Yan Jun rushed over from somewhere else with a travel-weary look on his face.

“Young Master, are you leaving work?”

Yan Jun went to the pantry to get a cup of water and before he could even take a sip, he was a little surprised to see the elegant man getting ready to get off work.

It had been more than three years since Young Mistress disappeared and Yuan Xuan worked overtime almost every night. Even when he did not work overtime, he would be on a business trip.

The number of times Yuan Xuan went on a business trip had increased significantly compared to before. He seemed to have begun to enjoy the feeling of walking on the street. Whenever he returned to Hibiscus Garden, the feeling of emptiness kept him up all night.

“Shouldn’t I get off work?”

Yuan Xuan had a question mark written on his face. He was the boss after all, so why would he need someone else’s permission to take a day off? Let alone getting off work.

Yan Jun gulped with a fearful look on his face. Then, he said smiling, “Of course there’s nothing wrong with it! Just that…”

“What?”

Yuan Xuan had gradually gotten sick of Yan Jun’s fussiness. His expression sank and his eyes were filled with dissatisfaction.

“The Old-Old Mistress arranged a blind date…”

Yan Jun saw that Yuan Xuan had a grim look on his face. Moreover, his ice-cold gaze stopped him from finishing his sentence.

Ever since Little Mistress disappeared, the Yuan Family’s Third Young Mistress position had been empty. Besides that, the Yuan Family’s second son was gone, so the once lively Yuan Family Mansion suddenly seemed cold and desolate.

The Old Mistress was feeling anxious and she could not care less about what Yuan Xuan had done to the Yuan Family’s second son. After all, the one left alive was the more important one. Thus, forcing Yuan Xuan to get married became the Old Mistress’s greatest pleasure.

To the socialites of Luo Hai, this was a great opportunity. With the support of the Old Mistress, they could not wait to throw themselves at Third Young Master Yuan.

However, Yuan Xuan was not willing to be manipulated. He put on an act in front of the Old Mistress whenever she gave reasons like “encouraging relationship between aristocratic families”. Whenever she set up all kinds of “sudden encounters”, he pretended to be very “surprised”. Nevertheless, nothing happened after that.

Ultimately, nothing definite ever occurred…

As for the directly arranged marriage meetups, it went without saying that Yuan Xuan always had all kinds of excuses to reject them.

Seeing how there was no hope of ever getting a grandchild, the Old Mistress used her trump card. Since Yuan Xuan always used working as an excuse, she sent the women directly to his office. Let’s see if he could run now!

Yuan Xuan saw how Yan Jun served as the Old Mistress’s henchman and he was furious.

“I’m the one paying you, but you’re loyal to someone else. What a righteous man!”

Yuan Xuan knew that Yan Jun was looking after him for the Old Mistress.

Yan Jun had an offended look on his face, yet he could not defend himself.

Your grandmother used all her strength to get you a lifelong companion. He was just an innocent bystander that was dragged into it, please do not look at him as a traitor…

“Young Master, the lady is waiting downstairs already…”

Yan Jun thought in his heart, I was not the one who brought her here after all, if you do not wish to meet her, at least let her know.

Yuan Xuan’s expression sank and he answered, “Today is the Young Mistress’s solar birthday. I need to rush home to make her dinner! I won’t meet her!”

Yan Jun, “…”

Yuan Xuan was trapped in a curse. Three years had gone by, yet he carried on as if Mu Chenyan never left!

He ate the food that she liked, played the songs that she listened in the office, walked the path that she used to walk, and hugged the pillow that Mu Chenyan slept with while he stared blankly the entire night…

Only then did Yan Jun understand, Yuan Xuan was not blindly clinging onto his loyalty towards her. He truly believed that Mu Chenyan might return at any time, even though he received disappointing news each time he sent people to look for her.

Today was indeed Mu Chenyan’s solar birthday. Yuan Xuan would personally cook a table full of dishes every year on this day. Then, he would open a bottle of red wine, sit in front of the dining table, light the candles, and sing her a birthday song softly.

Yan Jun watched as the Third Young Master Yuan walked past him and grunted in disapproval.

Yuan Xuan made an order on his phone and before he arrived home, the ingredients that he ordered had arrived in Hibiscus Garden.

When Ah Fu saw that the ingredients were all favorites of the Young Mistress. She knew that it was Young Mistress’s birthday when she looked at the calendar.

Ah Fu did not say anything, all she did was help him out in the kitchen with her talent in cooking. Eventually, she made a table full of dishes together with Yuan Xuan.

The affectionate man sat in front of the huge dining table and poured two glasses of red wine which sparkled faintly under the candlelight like a ruby.

The huge bouquet of red roses was beautiful and delicate. The man took a sip of red wine and he felt a burning sensation passing through his throat along with a hint of bitterness surging through his sensory organs.

Yuan Xuan paused, and muttered softly, “Little Chenyan, happy birthday!”

He remembered the time when she was seventeen, they were at a birthday party in England and it was the first time Little Chenyan had formally confessed to him.

Back then, he knew that he should not fall in love with her. There was bound to be a blood feud between the two of them, yet he could not control the excitement in his heart.

She loved him, and he loved her…

However, he knew that he should not feel this way!

The last letter that Yuan Tangbai wrote before he passed contained evidence of Mu Feng’s crime. That was the only keepsake left from his father after Ye Kun’s escape.

Unfortunately, at that time, Ye Kun failed to escape back to Luo Hai and he was captured once again. Under such circumstances, Ye Kun hid the letter and evidence with Yan Mei and imprisoned for ten years. He was forced to hand over the evidence and had been crippled.

Ye Kun was Yan Mei’s first love, however, due to the pressure from her family, she was forced to marry Mu Feng. When she saw her previous lover imprisoned by Mu Feng, she eventually found a suitable opportunity to release Ye Kun secretly.

Ye Kun returned to Luo Hai with the secret. Fortunately, he had been saved by Yuan Xuan as he was being pursued.

It was then that the fifteen-year-old young man knew that his father’s murderer was about to return. However, he was too weak then. He had to be wary of his second uncle from the inside and be cautious of Mu Feng from the outside.

Thus, he dared not act rashly even after he got the evidence.

He gathered power and waited until he was strong enough so that he could personally destroy the enemy that ruined his family.

The cold young man who grew up with hate did not expect God to play a trick on him. When Mu Feng returned from Xi Fan, he brought along a little girl, called Mu Chenyan…

Love had no reason!

He knew that he was committing a great sin, loving Mu Chenyan was treachery.

Nonetheless, the young man had tried his best to restrain himself. To avoid her, he even chose to hide in another country.

Who would have thought that she would follow along shamelessly…

Yuan Xuan recalled the seventeen-year-old Mu Chenyan. She was young, naive and persistent like no other. She would not hesitate to go through hell for love.

It was not that he did not have love inside of him, just that he kept it restrained.

When he gathered enough power and was ready to retaliate, Ye Kun secretly told Yuan Xuan that Mu Feng drugged Yan Mei and gave her to Ze Da to achieve his goals. Mu Chenyan was Ze Da’s daughter… l. Mu Chenyan was Ze Da’s daughter…