The sports fest at Xue s.h.i.+pping continued successfully until the teams had collected respective points and wins.  Expectantly, the yellow team - Xue Guangxi's team - had been on the lead towards the champions.h.i.+p.

In one of the Xue family's dinners, Zhao Feiyan had been happily and proudly bragging about it, only to be shot by Master Xue with such a hurtful, sarcastic comment. "If he's that capable, then he should have done it with more serious matters other than just games and sports!  In the company, for example!"

Xue Guangxi could only let it pa.s.s since he valued peace.  His father was right, anyway.  So he thought to himself while fisting his hands under the table, 'Just wait and see.  I will make something relevant out of myself.  I will prove myself.'

During one of the games, the young master himself attended the event.  It was not announced beforehand and utterly random, and everybody was taken by surprise.  He took the time to engage casually with the employees.  He inquired some of them who were seated near him on the bleachers how they had been doing as if he was an old friend that had not been in touch with them for a long time.  He was too casual yet still managing a certain degree of self-preservation but enough to make the employees easily share with cheerful faces their pleasant experiences in the company.  He could feel their sincerity in their words; however, he couldn't be certain if they were simply being polite.

After that impromptu attendance at the sports fest, the Xue young master attended the company meetings almost daily.

He had completely embraced his position and authority. Clad with a crisp, black suit, slacks, and leather shoes, every morning, the view temporarily lit whenever he pa.s.sed by the foyer, smartly and confidently walking into a brisk stroll towards his office suite.  All the ladies stopped whatever they were doing involuntarily as they froze on-the-spot and used that precious fleeting moment to take a good glimpse of the outstanding president.  At first, they thought that his presence would be rare and so they secretly took photos of him as some sort of souvenir.  Little did they know that the young master was there to stay. 

The ladies fawning over him cheered in glee, but their happiness was short-lived when a company rumor had spread that the reason why the young master was staying in the country was to be available for his pregnant wife.

Oh, how it broke the ladies' hearts, no one could fathom.

Yet, they still admired him from afar because they were convinced it was harmless anyway.

Other company gossips sprouted like mushrooms after the first one - such as his absence was due to elopement with a flame, and because if this, he had been estranged from his family, even if he was the heir, and all this mess he had fixed with marriage and the conception of another heir his family could not neglect before coming back.

Some more romantic variants mutated and were spread among the employees, often shared and talked about at the ladies' powder rooms where all the gossips seemed to originate. 

And so, in the eyes of the ladies, he somewhat wore the hat of a hopeless romantic, a true prince charming who would fight against all odds for the one who owns his heart.

Nothing could be confirmed, though. But the ladies prefer to be dreamy over some fairy tale than believe in harsh realities of life. 

Xue Jinxu, being a lady herself, and a user of that venerated gossip focal point - the restroom, had, of course, heard about the rumors which she had brushed off with rolling of her eyes and some rants to the husband.  The indulging husband patiently waited until her temper simmered because most often than not, her annoyance regarding her twin brother's sudden return with a lady was quite ephemeral and would only last a few breaths.

Because of her twin brother's presence, Xue Jinxu had taken a lighter workload.  She could even afford to take leave of absence now, which was good because she's finding herself more and more inclined to doze off.  She usually got teary-eyed from all the yawning, and even lightheaded from the sleepiness.  Chen Linyun who had always accompanied her nudged her incessantly to take a nap or go home or both.  At least now that her twin brother was finally here, she could take it easy.

With this luxury, she often opted to simply stay at home, read a magazine in her free time, near the gla.s.s windows where the sun would reach her and where she could be surrounded with the lush greens of their plants.

It was a quiet life which she learned to love and crave for whenever she needed to step outside for work or with duty as a wife.  Soon after all of her duties, she would return to this indolent life while she waited for her b.u.mp to show more of itself.

Mother Chen would often accompany Xue Jinxu at home who simply sat across her or adjacent from her, a few s.p.a.ces in between.  Sometimes the ladies would chitchat about light topics about lifestyle, health, and wellness, and at other times, the more seasoned woman would give invaluable advice to the younger expectant mom.

They left all the crying and weeping behind them, together with the memory of the one night when the truth Mother Chen would want to bury had come out in the open.  At the bottom of their hearts, the truth still lies, but there was no reason to touch on it every single time the two ladies spend with each other.

They were in good terms, and their relations.h.i.+p had not changed after that discussion.

Same with Chen Linyun.  His relations.h.i.+p with his parents, Chen Lingfang and Jiang Biyu had not changed at all.  If anything, they had grown even more accustomed and grateful towards each other.  This was to Jiang Biyu's relief since one of her greatest fear was just that: Chen Linyun falling off with her.  It would have hurt her deeply.

She was convinced that Chen Linyun was indeed a good son who cares for his parents genuinely, whether they were blood-related or not.

Chen Linyun had even been too considerate with them to notify them about a patient named Han Lan that he happened to see in the hospital and the updates on the efforts to locate her.  Mother Chen had nothing against it if her son wanted to search for his real mother.  After all, the woman was her old friend.

Therefore, Chen Linyun juggled his corporate life while being a devoted husband, a good, filial son to Mother Chen, and a yearning son to a woman named Han Lan who left her more than two decades ago.  

As each of them lived one day at a time, another special event loomed at a near distance.  

In a month or so, Xue Guangxi and Kang Sola would celebrate their eighteenth birthday.  The Xue Family, led by Mother Xue, Zhao Feiyan, had been throwing a huge fuss over it, to the annoyance of Xue Guangxi, the celebrant.

Chen Linyun had asked Kang Sola how she would want to celebrate her birthday, but the girl wanted nothing elaborate.  She simply wanted to spend an intimate dinner with the family.

It wasn't hard of a wish to be granted, Chen Linyun contemplated.