"See you in the morning, hon." She kissed his cheek again. "We have to tackle this situation ASAP."

Of course, the sleeping Chen Linyun could not hear her words, but she uttered them anyway.

As much as she was worried about him, she's also disappointed. 'There he goes again, acting all tough alone as if he's the only one capable. We're a team. Dammit.' She gritted her teeth as she returned to the master's bedroom to return to her slumber.

However, in the morning, when she woke up, Chen Linyun had already left. She sent him a message. 'You went off early today. Didn't even kiss me goodbye, huh?'

***

At Xue s.h.i.+pping, in the midst of a sea of papers needing his utmost attention, Chen Linyun smiled like a crazy person as his eyes landed on the missus's morning rant. With such mirth in his eyes, he decided to play on. 'I did. I kissed you but you were asleep so you didn't notice. You didn't even flinch. I should be the one slighted here.'

"Hehehehe." He laughed gently as he continued reviewing his doc.u.ments. After a while, his phone beeped again.

'Hmph. We have to talk. It's serious. Don't you try to evade again. See you tonight.'

Chen Linyun gulped in nervousness. The message was foreboding. 'What have I done? Did I miss something? Did I do something off? Or didn't I do something I should have?' He wracked his brain for answers but for naught. He raked his head with his fingers in annoyance. 'What is it?'

He sent another message. 'But honey I might get off work late tonight… Don't wait for me. Sorry, just text it, okay? Did I do something off?'

'See you at home tonight or I'll go there. Choose, Chen Linyun.' Her stern message popped on his phone's screen. It initially gave the husband some gooseb.u.mps.

The OIC of Xue s.h.i.+pping sighed when he finally recovered his senses. He did not have the time for this. His schedule was already fully booked as it was, and even then, it was still not sufficient for all his pending activities. He needed to finish lots of projects prior to his two-week trip to Southern China.

Dialing, he called the wife.

*Ring* *Ring* *Ring*

There was a click. "Mhmm?" Xue Jinxu answered, signs of displeasure were apparent in her voice.

"Jinxu, dear. Can you tell me what's bothering you? What's the matter?"

"Honey, it's something we need to talk face-to-face…" Silence engulfed them both. Afterwards, the missus added, "Don't think much about it but I'll wait for you~"

There was a drastic change in her demeanor. Just seconds ago, she was too grumpy and even terrifying. Another moment, she took a complete one-hundred-and-eighty-degrees turn and had gotten sweet as caramel.

Chen Linyun squinted his eyes as he got suspicious of his wife's actions. It was unusual for her to behave this way. 'There's really something wrong. What is it?'

***

Xue Jinxu started off steaming with exasperation. She was determined to give her husband a las.h.i.+ng of scoldings and a piece of her mind about being kept in the dark and for taking everything and being responsible for everything as if he's Superman. However, the moment she heard his voice, which, by the way, mirrored such uneasiness, her strong façade simply melted like ice cream under the scorching sun in the middle of summer. 'He's doing everything he could, trying to survive each taxing day without burdening me of the details. He's alone yet we're together. I don't have to add on top of all the trepidations he's already exposed to.'

'He needs my support.'

"Honey, it's something we need to talk face-to-face. Don't think much about it but I'll wait for you~"

She said sweetly instead of the scolding.

That night, she cooked his favorite meals and some other nutritious food and waited for his arrival. There was mushroom soup, fried rice, sweet and sour pork, and sautéed vegetables. While waiting, she turned on the television in the living room and navigated until she reached the business channel. Although she had been recently detached from that world, she's still part of it. Once in a while she still made herself well-informed of and well-acquainted with the latest happenings and trends – who bought this or that company, which company was at the top rankings, etcetera etcetera. After all, she's not just the humble Madame Chen. She's the Xue G.o.ddess and heiress first and foremost, the former lioness COO of Xue s.h.i.+pping.

Conviction taking over her whole persona, she made up her mind as she balled her hands into fists, a look of determination and purpose radiating on her lovely face. 'I need to convince him.'