"Xiao Xi, you wouldn't be...?"

"Mr. Shi, Mrs. Shi, it's been a long time."

A white-haired, white-bearded man walked over with a cane. He interrupted Bai Shengsheng and took the opportunity to turn everyone's attention away, allowing Mu Yiran to catch her breath.

The atmosphere between these three people is so suffocating.

While Bai Shengsheng and Shi Yan were talking to someone else, Shi Youxi pulled Mu Yiran aside and said, "Sister, where did you go? I couldn't find you."

Mu Yiran didn't tell him what had just happened, saying, "I went to the restroom."

"From now on, you have to tell me when you go to the bathroom, so I don't lose track of you."

Mu Yiran: "..." Is she a primary school student? Does she need to ask permission to go to the toilet?

Shi Youxi leaned closer to her, resting his chin on the girl's soft chest, his phoenix eyes shining in the light.

"Don't let me lose track of you."

A direct hit to the face emptied Mu Yiran's health bar.

"Okay, okay, since you're so cute today..." she said, grabbing Shi Youxi's hair at the back of his head and pulling the boy's head away from her chest.

Shi Youxi: "?"

The boy's gaze was so intense that he didn't see anything wrong with the action, and his eyes even held a hint of reproach.

"You'll understand when you're a little older. This position isn't healthy. If you want to lean on it, lean on a different spot next time."

Mu Yiran patted her biceps, which were barely visible, and said, "Hey, my shoulder is always open for you to lean on."

Shi Youxi scoffed lightly, her face full of disdain.

"You dare to complain? If you're so capable, grow a double door in the future, otherwise you're no different from me now," Mu Yiran said sarcastically, raising her eyebrows.

"..."

These words seemed to have deeply wounded the boy's young pride. He left Mu Yiran alone and went to Shi Yan and Bai Shengsheng's side, his departing figure showing a hint of panic.

Shi Youxi said goodbye to his parents and, after receiving permission to go home, grabbed his schoolbag and left. As he left, he heard Bai Shengsheng say with a smile, "I'm having a birthday party next month, and Mr. Thomas must come..."

A birthday party?

My mother's birthday is indeed in the middle of next month, but she has never held a public birthday party before. Why is that this time?

And this brooch.

Shi Youxi lowered her head and took off the brooch for the first time to examine it carefully. Apart from its exquisite and unique design and the expensive diamonds on it, there was nothing special about it.

So why did the mother get so excited when she saw this?

Could it be...?

A fleeting thought flashed through his mind, but before Shi Youxi could think about it, he heard Mu Yiran calling out to him. He immediately stopped thinking and ran to Mu Yiran's side, their fingers intertwined.

The two walked toward the parking lot, the empty parking lot echoing with their footsteps. Shi Youxi listened to the girl's chattering voice while taking the food the girl fed him.

Shi Youxi chewed a few times and swallowed, but couldn't taste any flavor at all.

But every time, as long as Mu Yiran babbles on and on, and then casually asks, "Right?"

She always received a curt but timely "Mm" from the boy.

…

Nighttime, the middle house.

Bai Shengsheng stood in front of the full-length mirror, slowly wiping her damp hair. She stared at herself in the mirror, her skin firm and fair, as if the past ten years had left no trace on her.

"What is Sheng Sheng thinking about?"

Shi Yan appeared behind her without her noticing, pulling Bai Shengsheng into his arms and taking the towel to dry her hair. Shi Yan keenly noticed Bai Shengsheng's astonishment after regaining her senses, and stared intently at Bai Shengsheng in the mirror. "It seems that the person Shengsheng is thinking about isn't me."

Bai Shengsheng loosened her grip, turned around, and nestled into the man's chest. "I'm tired."

Shi Yan didn't say anything, but carried her to the sofa in the dressing room outside and gently dried the woman's long hair with a hairdryer.

The comb is smoothly inserted into the black hair, from the top of the head to the ends, combing all the way through.

One after another.

Just as Bai Shengsheng was about to fall asleep, she heard a man's soft voice in her ear, "Why did you suddenly want to have a birthday party?"

Bai Shengsheng said with her eyes closed, "Let's do it while I'm still relatively sober."

"Can't you live with me and Xiaoxi?"

What is the reason for throwing such a big birthday party?

Bai Shengsheng understood what he meant. She opened her eyes, looked at the man in front of her, and chuckled, "Do you know what people are saying about me and Xiaoxi?"

“Some say I am Xiaoxi’s stepmother, while others say Xiaoxi is an illegitimate child.”

“I don’t want our son to suffer any criticism,” she said, gently stroking Shi Yan’s face with a dreamy yet tender gaze. “You think so too, right?”

Shi Yan: "...."

"I was just about to fall asleep when you woke me up, and now..."

"You have to coax me to sleep." Bai Shengsheng moved closer to him, their noses touching, their breaths mingling.

Shi Yan stared intently at the woman's face, his dark eyes filled with Bai Shengsheng's features, leaving no room for anything else. He rubbed his hand against the side of her face, then kissed her palm upwards: "Okay."

Bai Shengsheng was laid down on the bed, the room was dimly lit, and the two bodies on the bed were tightly intertwined.

...

After the performance ended, Mu Yiran waited every day for the day when Shi Youxi would be called to her residence.

Although she didn't know when the fire occurred, she at least knew it happened at the Shi family's house. Thanks to Mu Yiran's specific instructions and daily checks, the villa where Shi Youxi lived was perfectly safe.

Fire prevention equipment has been fully upgraded, and fire extinguishers are piled up in the warehouse.

The place that Mu Yiran couldn't control was the central house where Bai Shengsheng and Shi Yan lived. Although the report didn't mention any injuries from the fire, it's always good to be prepared.

Mu Yiran remained on guard for almost half a month, and just when she began to relax her vigilance and felt that there was no need to make such a fuss, the incident occurred.

Bai Shengsheng's birthday banquet will be held in two weeks, and the capital's elite families and top figures from all walks of life will be invited. However, the banquet will not be held in the central residence, but in the eastern suburbs villa next to the villa where Shi Youxi lives.

A long corridor connects the East Suburb Courtyard and the villa, and in the middle of the corridor is the courtyard that Mu Yiran saw first after she traveled through time.

"You mean, you have something in the other courtyard?" Mu Yiran mixed milk into coffee and handed it to Shi Youxi.

Shi Youxi sipped her drink, "Hmm, my old toys, sister, go and get them for me."

"Are you in a hurry?" She had just woken up from her afternoon nap. Her mind was awake, but her body was still asleep, and she didn't want to move at all.

“Yes, the people who are setting up the banquet will arrive this afternoon, and I don’t want them to touch my things.” Shi Youxi was unexpectedly stubborn this time.

Watching the girl lazily walk away, Shi Youxi took a long time to walk to the study, where a servant was holding a cup of coffee, the familiar bitter aroma filling the entire corridor.

Shi Youxi drank it all in one gulp without hesitation. "When are Father and Mother coming?"

Maid: "They've already come from the Zhongzhai residence, and the reporters are with them."

This wasn't the first time reporters had come to interview him. As the only son of the Shi family, Shi Youxi naturally received a lot of attention from the outside world. Since his performance at Ace Academy, many people had wanted to interview him.

This time is no different.

The mother seemed to value this small interview very much.