Tang Xiu s.h.i.+fted his gaze from Mu Wanying and glanced around. What made him feel at a loss between laughter and tears was that there were many male and female students in the surroundings, even those who just came out of the examination building, that were somewhat out of sort upon seeing her.

"Why do you have to be this dazzling, belle?" muttered Tang Xiu with a wry smile as he walked forward while shaking his head.

Mu Wanying stood upright with her arms half opened and made a turn in place. Her skirt danced in the wind while her perfume permeated the air as she asked with heartfelt laughter, "Well, why the long face after seeing your girlfriend so dazzling, though?"

The beaming smile that Mu Wanying wore at the moment attracted Tang Xiu so much so that, despite having a firm mind and being familiar with her, he couldn't help but feel a.s.surgent astonishment. He collected himself quickly and grabbed Mu Wanying's delicate wrist to pull her to the car's door. He opened the door, closed it, and then came to sit in the pa.s.senger, saying, "Drive."

"Gimme a reason," said Mu Wanying smilingly.

Tang Xiu pointed out what she was referring to and hummed, "You see, the most beautiful side of my girlfriend can only be appreciated by me. No other men are allowed, else I won't feel happy. Is that good enough of a reason?"

"Hehe…"

Mu Wanying sweetly smiled again, while even her bright eyes that reflected that beaming smile were sparkling as though they were drops of clear water. As she started the car, she smilingly asked, "So, where are we heading to?"

Tang Xiu gave it a thought and said, "I'll treat you to a great meal since you've dressed up so gorgeously. That reminds me, though. There's a stall that sells delicious barbecue in a nearby alley. Well, that is if you wanna have the sky as the roof and use the floor as a table to enjoy the steak well, though."

"Pfft…"

Mu Wanying couldn't help but laugh and she rolled her eyes with infinite charm in response at Tang Xiu's suggestion. Then she smilingly said, "I'll treat you today to celebrate the end of your freshman semester, though. Let's have a great meal and head to the Arabesque Garden Mansion!"

"Well, looking at your sincerity and good looks, let's go to this Arabesque Garden Mansion then!" said Tang Xiu with a smile.

"Hahaha…"

With the sweet laughter of the belle, the car gradually drove away.

And yet, countless mourning could be heard from those among the crowd. Even some boys sang the "Valentine's Day Without a Lover" song to vent out their innermost feelings.

Arabesque Garden Mansion. It was a famous upscale dining venue in Shanghai, where all the guests who could enjoy the delicious delicacies here were among the haves. The place had been widely recognized as a venue that provided the most delicious meals, though it also came with the most expensive prices.

"Wanying, you seem to be familiar with this place, no?"

After following Mu Wanying into the interior of the Arabesque Garden Mansion, Tang Xiu found that she was rather familiar with the pathways that led into the hall with a plaque signed Emperor's Hall, and he asked with a bit of a surprised expression.

"Yeah, been here twice before," replied Mu Wanying with a chuckle.

"Words have it that dining here is quite expensive, the most expensive in Shanghai, though. Never thought you wanted to visit this venue, really," commented Tang Xiu smilingly.

"Not really, I've been here twice but not to dine, though." Mu Wanying shook her head and said, "My first time visiting this place was to find my Dad a couple of years ago. And the second time was when I came with my best friend, though she happened to b.u.mp into her boyfriend here who secretly met with another woman."

"Hahaha…" Tang Xiu laughed and smilingly said, "I can tell your best friend kinda ended up feeling very bad, didn't she?"

"Why do you say that, though?" asked Mu Wanying.

"Well, does this good friend of yours have a good temper?" asked Tang Xiu with a smile.

"Not at all, she's exactly a bomb waiting to go off," grinned Mu Wanying wryly. "Tang Xiu, do you know why I'm still willing and happy to be with you until now even if I'm not the only woman for you?"

"Ugh…" Only then did Tang Xiu feel regretful why he had to talk so much. But the words had been spat out by his long tongue regardless, so he could only brace forward and ask, "Why is that?"

With bitterness somewhat concealed in her eyes, Mu Wanying said, "My love for you comes first and it's a feeling that can never be replaced with anything. After that comes the issues with society and environment issues. You also know that the status of women has been better after the reformation and the opening up of our country. But in fact, carved deep into people's bones and inside their blood, there is still that inferiority feeling flowing inside women, whereas men still retain their superiority. Even I am no exception. It is said that "women account to occupy half of the sky" and the remark was indeed better than "men are the pillars of the household". Deep down, however, many women still feel weak, and yet they want to have someone to rely on and thus became the crux of the problem.

"As a woman myself, I actually am fully aware of how much the environment will affect women. For example, Ouyang Lulu and the famous Kang Xia. The men in the circles we come into contact with cannot be fully imprisoned by the monogamy system. Those powerful men have more than one wife either in Hong Kong, Macao, or Taiwan. Like my Dad, he does indeed love and care a lot about my Mom, but the love for beauty is carved deep in his bones. That led him to have other women besides my Mom.

"The patriarch of the Ouyang Family that is Ouyang Lulu's father likewise also has more than one woman, even though Ouyang Lulu's mother is also a very powerful woman whose name I've long heard a long time ago. Yet, that didn't stop Lulu's father for being unable to keep his integrity pure either."

Having said that, the bitterness was getting more evident on her face.

Tang Xiu took a deep breath and shook his head, "If a man does really love a woman, he can give up everything for her and he won't fall in love with another woman."

"Is that so?" Mu Wanying couldn't help smiling.

"Yeah, I've seen such a man," said Tang Xiu with a deep voice.

"You've seen one? Where?" Mu Wanying was startled and asked in astonishment.

Tang Xiu fell into silence. The man he mentioned was actually himself. Even if he had more than one woman at present, he dared say that back when he was in the Immortal World, if Xue Qingcheng didn't betray him, he believed that there would never be another woman who could move him beside her.

They spent thousands of years getting along well together, understanding each other inside out...

Instead of being fed up, bored, or tired with their relations.h.i.+p at that time, he loved that woman more and more as time pa.s.sed by. It was like old wine; the more it aged, the more mellow and tasty it was.

Even the Emperor Qing, who went insane due to his pursuit of love before he ultimately died on the path of that love, didn't hesitate to fight Heaven while struggling against the Samsara cycle of life and death just to protect his wife for thousands of years. He did all that even if he had to be suppressed by the Heavenly Dao laws, devastated by Heavenly Thunder tribulation, and ravaged by mental demons; and yet, the very one thing that made him persevere was the face of his wife, the name he had been calling out for millenniums before dying.

Mu Wanying watched Tang Xiu who fell into silence and she faintly felt pained inwardly. She could tell that Tang Xiu once had a loved one, even though she couldn't guess what form of existence his love was.

She was a smart woman and could be said to have a heart with a seventh sense. Through Tang Xiu's words, she could even tell that the man Tang Xiu mentioned was none other but himself.

'What exactly has changed him in the end?'

Mu Wanying wanted to find out the answer, but she was afraid to go deeper into the matter seriously.

Knock, knock…

The door was knocked and pushed open as two young and beautiful waitresses came inside to deliver two menus. Tang Xiu was dragged back from his recollection and wiped off the trace of pain and grief in his eyes before he motioned Mu Wanying to order the meal.

Dining with gourmet and fine wine made Tang Xiu and Mu Wanying tacitly leave out their previous topic and enjoy their food while having a chat.

Ring, ring, ring…

Tang Xiu took out his handset and saw that it was Hao Lei. His mind immediately moved since it just had been a few days after some people sent him four zodiac jade carvings, whereas there was no news about the remaining six. Was Hao Lei about to give him some good news?

"What is it, Hao Lei?"

Hao Lei's tone, however, carried a bit of killing intent within, "Boss, we found the whereabouts of the jade rat, but there's quite a problem regarding it."

"What problem?" Tang Xiu knitted his brows.

"The person who called me was from overseas and he said that he has the jade rat we're looking for," explained Hao Lei. "He sent its photo via the Internet and he said that he wants the price increased by at least 500 million US dollars if we want to buy his jade rat, else we'll never collect the whole set of the twelve zodiac jade carvings."

"Agree with his demand!" said Tang Xiu without hesitation.

"But Boss, about this…" Hao Lei hastily replied back.

"These jade carvings are very important objects to me," said Tang Xiu in a deep voice, "This concerns an earthshaking deed I'm going to do in the future. Promise him that we can transfer 500 million US dollars to him at any time as long as we get that object."

"Understood!" complied Hao Lei before she hung up.

Mu Wanying herself had never asked Tang Xiu why he must collect the zodiac jade carvings. After hearing Tang Xiu's words at this time, she finally asked, "It's just a jade carving; is it really worth spending that much money?"

"It's worth it because these zodiac jade carvings can never be measured by money in my eyes." Tang Xiu nodded, "To tell you the truth, if I can collect the whole set of the twelve zodiac jade carvings, not only will it be of great benefit to me, but also very great for you."

"What benefits?" asked Mu Wanying curiously.

"I can't tell you for now," Tang Xiu shook his head and said, "But please believe me. You'll know sooner or later."

Ring, ring, ring…

Hao Lei called again. When Tang Xiu picked it up, the anger in her tone was stronger as she spoke aloud, "Boss, that man has no goodwill whatsoever. I just agreed the 500 million dollars price he demanded as per your order, but he actually raised the price 300 million more. He now wants to sell it to us for 800 million dollars. Also, he also has a request to transfer 300 million dollars as a down payment to his Swiss Bank account."

"He's looking for death!" a chilling light flashed in Tang Xiu's eyes and asked again in a heavy voice, "Can you trace his location?"

"It's very difficult, but possible," replied Hao Lei.

"Then let's prepare for both eventualities. Tell him that we'll comply with his request. It's no longer 800 million dollars again this time, but a billion," said Tang Xiu. "As long as he's willing to sell his jade rat to me, I'll give him that one billion. However, tell him that we need some time to raise the money for at least half a month first. We'll transfer half of the money to his account in half a month."