Zhao Lifei was the first to break away from the kiss. She needed to completely change out of her dress first, but Yang Feng held onto her wrist until she finally kissed him back. She pecked his lips and scurried off, leaving him far too amused. She was as shy as ever, a complete contrast to her temperament.

She came out of the bathroom forty minutes later, freshly showered and sporting one of his shirts, which seemed like a scandalous dress instead. She paired it with shorts of her own and even in the simple attire, Yang Feng thought she was a fairy from the immortal realm gracing his presence.

"Stop drooling over me." She laughed at his intense stare, the one that never left her regardless of where she walked in the room.

"You should heed your own advice." He smirked, opening his arms for her to climb into.

"Right after you heed it." She trudged to him, feigning reluctance in going to him, even though she dove straight into his arms, making herself comfortable in his embrace with her head laying on his chest, her ear pressed against his heart.

Yang Feng relaxed with her around, his shoulder becoming less tense. He used one arm to support her body while the other lovingly touched her face. "What’s in the envelope?"

"Well, that depends... What did you hear?"

Yang Feng glanced at her, but he could only see the crown of her head to which he tenderly patted. "Enough to hear your insult towards her." His fingers curled into fists, leaving out the part where Su Boyuan had called her a whore. He ensured the man would pay for it tomorrow and the first step was cutting off all of the training supplies that were sent to the house every week.

"But not enough to hear the contents of the envelope." The first thing he heard was the part where she warmed the bed of many men. A foolish rumor that alone was enough to send his blood boiling. The training supplies would be a warning, should they breach it, the next would be the ruin of the Su family and no one in this world would be able to stop him — not even Elder Yang himself.

"It’s nothing important. You don’t have to worry about it."

"Let me see it then." Yang Feng knew she hid it somewhere in the bathroom and it would be very easy for him to find it if he truly decided to search.

"You wouldn’t like the contents." She mumbled, using her finger to draw random shapes on his chest which felt as hard as a brick wall instead of flesh.

"Show it to me first and I’ll decide if I like it or not." The hand resting on the curve of her waist trailed to play with the ends of her hair, twirling the silky strands in his fingers.

"Alright, I’ll let you see it tomorrow morning." She quietly said, her eyes fluttering shut.

Yang Feng used his thumb to stroke her cheek, soothing her into a blissful sleep. "I have a meeting with my grandfather early in the morning."

"Mm...Okay..." She trailed off, attempting to fight the sleep overtaking her.

"I might not make it back in the morning, but I’ll try my best. If it doesn’t work as planned, I’ll see you once I come home from work." He already gave notice to the kitchen staff beforehand to cook her a very hearty breakfast. If she lounged at home, the same would apply for lunch.

"Or, if you’d like, we can have lunch together every day. You can pick out a restaurant."

She hummed in reply, tiredly nodding her head. "Are you...sure I won’t disturb you?" She yawned, her eyes drooping more and more with each passing second.

"Never." He firmly said and it made her smile, her eyes closing for good while she drifted off to sleep.

Yang Feng continued to play with the tips of her hair while occasionally rubbing his hand up and down her spine to comfort her as he stayed awake, contemplating what would happen tomorrow morning. He worriedly looked at her before hitching her body up a bit so that he could properly plant a kiss on her forehead.

He already knew what would be asked tomorrow morning. Nothing made him more nervous than the idea of her being in harm’s way and that is exactly what would happen if the truth was revealed. He gritted his teeth as he contemplated revealing the truth to protect her heart or utter a lie to protect her life.

- - - - -

It was thundering outside. The howling winds swayed the frail trees outside, blowing the leaves off the branches. Rain pelted down, staining the windows. There was so much rain that it was practically a waterfall outside.

Blinding bright flashes of lightning danced across the sky, accompanied by rumbles of thunder. Gloomy gray clouds hung over an ever-expanding mansion, whose gleaming glory was overshadowed by the horrific storm inside and outside of the house.

Wails could be heard, the desperate pleas and screams of a little girl. "Let me go!" She cried out, her tiny body struggling against the grabbing hands whose grip was firmer than her wildest dreams. She was sobbing, kicking, clawing, and biting at the people forcefully dragging her out of her room.

"Grandpa!" She screeched for the help of the man who never came. Her screams were ear-shattering and when mixed with the booming of the thunder, sent tremors through the hearts of the people grasping her arms.

"Let me go!" She repeated, wildly flailing around, managing to escape their hands for the briefest second before she was captured again.

In her panic, she could not see the faces of the people attempting to grab her. Her room, as dull as her eyes, was pitch black. The only source of light was coming from her slightly opened doorway. It was not enough for her to see properly.

She was never afraid of thunder. It was not until tonight that her fear began.

"GRANDPA!" She screamed in vain, her innocuous voice sounding like a banshee more than human. She did not know why these people were forcefully taking her out of her room, she did not know what she did wrong.

"F-———" She wailed the name of someone else, the characters familiar on her tongue, but blank to her mind.

She was so fearful, she even cried out for her parents even though she knew they would never come and save her. "Mama! Papa! Please! A-anyone!" The people had yanked her to the doorway by now and before she could see their faces, a black bag was thrown over her face.

She screamed, cried, did everything in her power to fight back, but with such tiny arms and legs, what could she do? She was only a child. Hot, welting tears slipped from her eyes as violent hiccups shook her body. She heard muffled voices in the background, stern and rough. Those voices— she could not think straight as something pricked her skin and within seconds, she was sedated, calm, and asleep, slumping in the arms of her captors.

She woke up again, strapped down to a surgery table, the surgical light bleeding into her eyes, further making it difficult for her to see properly. She was in a daze, her vision extremely blurry. She could see people hovering over her, voices that were a mixture of a foreign language but familiar tone.

"Who..." She opened and closed her eyes, slipping in and out of consciousness.

"Are you certain it will work?"

"Trust me... it will."

The little girl felt a loud beeping, screeching noise in her ears as the name of the person who did this to her was mentioned. Why could she not hear it? Who was muffling the voices? Why can’t I see properly?

"If it does not work and she suffered all of that for nothing, there will be consequences."

"O-of course."

Silence was heard in the background. The child tilted her head in hopes of seeing who it was, but all she saw was blurry figures in white... grey... black... and soon, she slipped into unconsciousness again.