I hold you in such deep regard, so it is only natural that I place you above all else.

It was evident that his remark was the result of a thorough investigation into the Xu family.

The domestic affairs of the Xu family had always been shrouded in secrecy. Although there had been subtle undercurrents of restlessness in recent years, no one had ever dared to truly cross the line, maintaining a superficial harmony for the time being. Consequently, very few people were truly aware of the internal situation.

Xu Qichen said, "A harmonious and devoted couple should naturally be this way."

The single sentence seemed to draw a distinct line between the favored and the estranged.

Jingyuan.

After Wen Zhixia finished washing up, she saw Xu Qichen drinking. The bright moonlight outside the window filtered through the bare tree branches, scattering across the ground and finally resting upon his shoulders. He was dressed simply in light-colored homewear, the man and the scenery merging so seamlessly that it felt entirely natural.

He rarely drank at such a late hour.

Seeming to hear the footsteps behind him, Xu Qichen turned his head slightly. Upon seeing her, the corners of his lips curved upward as he poured another glass. "Why are you still awake?"

Wen Zhixia sat down beside him. "What about you? Why are you still drinking so late?"

He handed her one of the glasses. "I couldn't sleep. A little helps with insomnia."

Wen Zhixia took it and swirled the liquid. She hadn't intended to drink, having no habit of consuming alcohol at night, but she still took a light sip.

Her lips possessed a natural, understated hue, now glistening with moisture and carrying a mesmerizing allure that made it impossible to look away.

Xu Qichen was a man accustomed to restraint and asceticism, yet when faced with the only exception in all these years, he too felt the stirrings of desire.

He reached out, took the glass from her hand, and amidst her bewildered gaze, pressed her back against the sofa. Slowly lowering his upper body, he leaned over her. His pupils were a pale amber, and due to a lingering illness from his childhood, his body temperature lacked the fiery intensity of Gu Pingsheng's.

Xu Qichen's warmth was much closer to Wen Zhixia's own, always carrying a detached, wintry coolness during the colder months.

Gazing into each other's eyes, Wen Zhixia's fingertips curled slightly as she stared fixedly at Xu Qichen above her.

"May I?" he asked slowly, seeking her permission. "I want to kiss you."

If it were Gu Pingsheng, wanting to kiss her meant following his impulses. Even before the two of them had truly established a relationship, he would habitually crowd close to her for intimacy. Unlike Gu Pingsheng's blazing passion, Xu Qichen was always like a gentle breeze passing softly by.

Wen Zhixia did not speak, nor did she object.

Xu Qichen's deeply affectionate kiss descended, and the surrounding temperature seemed to rise along with it.

Outside the window, the night was thick, and the floor-to-ceiling windows spilled a pool of pale radiance across the room.

Pressing against her cheek, Xu Qichen was gentle and lingering. A man of ascetic restraint painted in the colors of desire was always exceptionally captivating, and he murmured her name in a low voice.

Wen Zhixia closed her eyes. When his hands began to wander toward her waist, she shivered slightly, her palms pressing against his chest. "Qichen, don't."

Her refusal was so faint, yet he heard it nonetheless.

Xu Qichen looked at her in a daze. After a few seconds, he reached out to straighten the pajamas he had disarranged. "I'm sorry."

He remained as gentle as ever, though touched with a sense of quiet desolation.

Just as he stood up to leave, Wen Zhixia wrapped her arms around him from behind. "Wait until my divorce papers with him are finalized, all right? Right now... I..."

What was she trying to say?

Even Wen Zhixia herself could not clearly articulate it. She simply felt that until this complicated relationship was untangled, she could not take that final step.

Still, she felt a lingering pang of guilt over her refusal just moments before.

Xu Qichen paused, took her hand, and turned around to look at her with a smile. "I know. Xia is a prudent woman. It's fine to wait until the divorce matters with President Gu are settled."

His profound understanding only deepened her sense of guilt.

Wen Zhixia embraced him, drawing warmth from his embrace. "Qichen, thank you."

"Between a couple, mutual respect is essential. I cherish you deeply, so naturally, I put your feelings first." Even if he, too, had his impulses.

After Wen Zhixia returned to her room, Xu Qichen contacted his lawyer. The divorce application for Wen Zhixia and Gu Pingsheng had already been submitted to the court, and what he needed to do now was to expedite the process as quickly as possible.

The next day.

Wen Zhixia suffered from mild insomnia due to the events of the previous night. Over and over, she wondered whether her refusal had caused some invisible barrier to form between them.

He had always been exceptionally attentive to her. During the three years in Berlin, the elderly caretakers who looked after him had more than once remarked that it was the first time they had ever seen Mr. Xu smile so often, let alone take the initiative to draw close to a woman.

Having slept too late, her head felt heavy and groggy when she woke up.

Gu Pingsheng's call had come in early the morning, but she had been sleeping soundly and missed it. Now, it began to ring once more.

The moment the line connected, he demanded directly, "Does your promise to take care of me yesterday still count?"

Wen Zhixia let out a listless "Mn." Hearing her dainty yawn, Gu Pingsheng asked tentatively, "Did you... not sleep well last night?"

Though phrased as a probe, it was more an attempt to pry into whether anything had happened between her and Xu Qichen the night before.

"It's nothing. I'm hanging up," Wen Zhixia said as she walked into the bathroom and squeezed toothpaste onto her brush.

"The police called. They want us to go identify a suspect. Come to the hospital, and we'll go together," he said.

Without saying much, Wen Zhixia simply gave a soft assent.

Hearing no movement on her end, Gu Pingsheng asked again.

Remembering that he couldn't see her nod, Wen Zhixia added a verbal "Okay."

Given his current physical condition, he was unfit to drive, nor would he ever miss an opportunity to spend time alone with her. He always knew how to make full use of every advantage, from the past right down to the present.

When she arrived at the hospital entrance, she called him to come straight down.

One side of the car window was fogged over. The temperature was extremely low today, and she had shivered involuntarily upon stepping outside. Had it not been for his need to go to the police station, Wen Zhixia would likely not have wanted to venture out at all.

Adhering to the philosophy of minimizing outdoor activity whenever possible, she had no intention of getting out of the car.

*Clack.*

The car door shut as Gu Pingsheng slipped into the passenger seat, bringing a fresh wave of chilliness with him.

Wen Zhixia felt as though cold air was radiating off his entire body. Just looking at him made her feel cold, as if he had been standing outside in the freezing wind for a very long time. Yet she immediately dismissed the thought—in this freezing weather, who would stand outside getting frozen for no reason?

She had forgotten, however, that back when he was courting her during the bitter depths of winter, he would routinely wait downstairs in the women's dormitory building. Even that time she had slapped him across the face—he was the one who had been struck, yet she was the one who had turned and bolted.

He had acted as though he were the one in the wrong; after bending down to toss the scattered steamed buns into a trash can, he still had to stand under her building and plead for reconciliation.

Inside the car, the heater was blasting. Her coat was simply draped over her shoulders, making her look cozy and warm. She kept her eyes entirely focused on driving, refusing to spare him even a single glance.

Gu Pingsheng turned his head to look at her, choosing not to disturb her while she drove, knowing how much Wen Zhixia detested being distracted behind the wheel. She always believed that such behavior was irresponsible toward both oneself and others.

As they neared the police station, they hit a red light. When she turned her head to check the rearview mirror, a small patch of red was exposed at the side of her neck. Gu Pingsheng reached out, pushed her collar down slightly, and his gaze instantly darkened.

It was a hickey.

They had been intimate yesterday...

And probably not just kissing.

No one knew better than he how breathtakingly lovely she was; no man could resist such temptation. Every time he touched her, he practically wanted to die in her arms—how could Xu Qichen possibly be an exception?

"He touched you." It wasn't a question, but a statement of certainty.

Wen Zhixia turned her head, her gaze sharp as she brushed his hand away and adjusted her collar. "It's none of your business."

None of his business?

Gu Pingsheng gripped her wrist tightly, his eyes narrowing with a cold, fierce intensity. "Can a sickly invalid satisfy you? If you wanted it, why didn't you just come to me? Have you forgotten how it felt beneath me—"

*Slap.*

Before he could finish his reckless words, Wen Zhixia raised her hand and struck him across the face, her expression a mix of humiliation and anger. "Gu—Ping—sheng!"

Her slap was undoubtedly adding fuel to the fire, stoking the rage burning within him. His hand clamped around her slender throat, though at the very last second before applying force, he abruptly released her.

He slammed a heavy fist against the car interior with a loud thud, his eyes burning red.

The two of them walked into the police station one after the other. The atmosphere was stiflingly eerie, neither exchanging a single glance.

The identification process went quickly. Both possessed exceptional memories and could recount details with absolute clarity, yet when giving their statements, they spoke entirely separately, maintaining absolute zero communication throughout the process.

Even the police officer recording their statements could palpably feel the bizarre tension in the room. A man who had unhesitatingly blocked a blow with his bare arm for the woman beside him, and a CEO with bruises on his face who still fiercely shielded the woman next to him—what should have been a deeply romantic tableau was instead overshadowed by cold expressions, making them look as if their company were on the verge of bankruptcy.

"Senior, Senior, please help me! For the sake of the time we spent together, please help me. I really can't live like this anymore..."

Zhao Fuhe, who had just been released from the police station moments earlier, dropped to her knees the instant she caught sight of Gu Pingsheng. Clinging to his legs, she wept and pleaded.

Over the past three years, she had lived a life worse than death. She had never been able to redeem her freedom from the underground dens, as if her sole purpose for existing was to be taken to rooms by different men. Even when wealthy patrons occasionally paid high prices to take her out for entertainment, she never had a single opportunity to escape.

Just now, she had been arrested for prostitution, and waiting for her outside the police station upon her release was a car meant to drag her right back.

Seeing Zhao Fuhe suddenly rush out, Wen Zhixia's gaze paused slightly.

Gu Pingsheng was already in a foul mood, and seeing her only deepened his irritation. He lifted his foot and kicked her away. "You should know what information I'm looking for. I have all the time in the world to drag this out with you."

Since he had already waited this long, he didn't care about waiting another year or two, just to see how much longer she could hold out.

Wen Zhixia recalled what Gu Pingsheng had previously mentioned: Zhao Fuhe was the sole eyewitness at the scene of his mother's death. Yet, why was she still stubbornly refusing to speak, even under these circumstances?

As Wen Zhixia narrowed her eyes in thought, her peripheral vision caught sight of a figure appearing outside the police station. The person was staring unblinkingly at the commotion between Gu Pingsheng and Zhao Fuhe, her expression laced with panic.