"These are good times." Xue Jinxu expressed her sentiments. "It's a breath of fresh air from the previously stifling situation we were in."

"Right, honey?"

"Y-Yeah, definitely. Refres.h.i.+ng, isn't it." Chen Linyun retorted. "Are you enjoying our vacation?"

"Yes. Immensely enjoying. Hehehe."

They were walking hand in hand. Once in a while one of them tugged the other hand lovingly, teasingly.

'She looks so happy. Always smiling and laughing at the smallest things.' His heart was perturbed by the fact that there's an uninvited guest in their current accommodation that might trigger negative energy to come out from the wife. 'She might simply… erupt later…' He shuddered at the thought.

'The objective is to buy more time for Mo Wenbin. Need to drag this on.' He thought, concentrating hard how to do it.

They sat down at the empty recliners along the sh.o.r.eline. They shared one empty recliner and sat beside each other.

"Are you cold?" Chen Linyun asked out of concern.

"Nope." She smiled at him then touched his face. "You? Honey you look pale." She noticed. "Are you feeling unwell somewhere?" She touched his forehead and neck.

Chen Linyun grabbed her hand from his face. "Nothing's wrong." He kissed the back of her hand.

"Zhu Li Qiang mentioned your twin brother earlier." Chen Linyun changed the topic. "I noticed you were uncomfortable."

"I was just caught off-guard. I haven't been asked about him for a while. I have to speak with the elders regarding that matter."

"What do you think? I mean we cannot make it appear forever that he's still alive. In the long run, if people try to dig deeper, they would have found out for themselves. It wouldn't be good for the company and for my family if the outsiders discover it first before we announce it."

"It's still a weakness."

"You still think about your family too much." Chen Linyun commented. He kissed her on her temple admiringly. "Everything will go well eventually. You don't have to overthink. Guangxi's getting more responsible and reliable every single day. That's just one more step away from the ghost that haunts your family. All of you would be freed finally once you announce your brother's pa.s.sing. It will also allow all of you to move forward successfully."

"I support you." Chen Linyun said solemnly. "No matter what happens or what your decision is, always remember that I am always behind you. I've got your back."

"Thanks." Xue Jinxu smiled at him genuinely. Her 'Thanks' was an understatement.

"May I just ask, how did your twin brother die?" Chen Linyun asked tentatively.

Xue Jinxu turned her head and scrutinized Chen Linyun's face.

"He sailed on his yacht but was trapped in a storm. His yacht was found wrecked too terribly in one of the islands in the east. But his body… wasn't found. No matter how tedious the search was…"

'No body.' Something clicked in Chen Linyun's mind.

"Jinxu… What if your twin brother is still alive somewhere?" Chen Linyun asked.

"Possible. But it has been six years already. If he's alive, he should have come home to us on his own. If he's still alive, why hasn't he returned yet? I know the elders are still hopeful. That's probably the main reason my parents haven't announced his pa.s.sing yet."

"But, if he is, and he has chosen to abandon us, that would be heartbreaking too."

"I don't want to think about it, and put my hopes up without any claims to support, so I am sticking to the older and existing belief that he already pa.s.sed. Anything could be better than that, and would be welcome news, but until it finally happens I wouldn't have clung to it."

The afternoon breeze swept across them.

Chen Linyun squeezed the lady's arm to comfort her. He had not been exposed to this part of her ident.i.ty, her life. 'There's still so much to learn about her and still so much to be part of.' He thought.

"If he's alive and he returned to your family, how would you take it, Jinxu?"

"Then I would have been relieved. Before you came into my life, Chen Linyun, the closest person to me from the opposite gender was my twin brother. I know people have this impression of me that I'm strong and independent. But do you know, that I only became like that after he pa.s.sed away. Before that, I was really a pampered princess, and I had been relying too much on him, and he didn't mind at all. He always thought about me first."

"That's why if he really had abandoned us…" She trailed off, eyes flickering with emotions.

"But he's dead. And it's not good to talk bad about the dead. It's not good to talk about daring ideas we couldn't even validate. I loved him so and even if his pa.s.sing was really hurtful, I just hoped that he's in a much better place now."

"Alright, dear." Chen Linyun kissed her on the temple again. "I'm glad you're opening up to me. I bet it's not easy to talk about your twin brother. I appreciate it." Chen Linyun said while wrapping the lady in his warm embrace. The breeze was getting colder as the sun had successfully set in the west, although the horizon was still on the purplish hue.

"Let's go back? The others might be looking for us already." Xue Jinxu asked.

"Just a little while longer. Come here." He pulled her closer.

From their sitting position, they lied down on the recliner, beside each other, cuddling. "Let's enjoy the peace some more." Chen Linyun urged.

The lady giggled. "But the others…"

"Let them be. They're old enough to fend for themselves and to respect our privacy. We're a married couple. They understand that."

The lady's cheeks turned lovely pink. Chen Linyun tightened the wrap oh his arm around the lady.