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, rus.h.i.+ng out as she followed the direction from which the music was coming.
"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 wors.h.i.+pped the art of music, as if it was her personal pilgrimage.
"Yeah. What should I play?", 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 s.h.i.+rt?"
Rong Xinghe chuckled as she clutched onto the man"s Mey Club Navy Blue sweats.h.i.+rt, 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 man laughed. She had worn them, after all. "Hey, Mom called today earlier.", the man said after a few minutes pa.s.sed 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 a.s.sumptions, 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 accident too. She seemed to be thrilled towards the possibility of becoming 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 bed last 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 become 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 be coming 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 doc.u.ments in front of her, "Any recent activity?"
"Nothing, Ma"am.", the man informed, "Your security team has been informing about the a.s.sa.s.sins 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 account. 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 well compensate 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 vigilant 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 ident.i.ties. 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...