It was absolute chaos. Nope, not the country. Xiu Mei's mind, that is.

And nope, it wasn't because Pei Ji Huang is dead.

...Okay, maybe a tiny weeny bit probably. But definitely not that much.

What truly brought her mind into chaos was this handsome looking, loving, cold, and workaholic husband and boss of hers in front of her. The one who is holding his phone tightly in his hand and his expression turning stiff the longer she stared at him. Oh, yes. The one namely Lu Chen that is.

It almost felt like her eyes were magnified in the dark because she wasn't sure if it was an illusion or not but is Lu Chen's lip twitching lightly right now?

Xiu Mei's eyes grew colder. First, because Lu Chen kept his mouth shut when she asked him a question. Second, his expression and small actions clearly show her that this wonderful husband of hers is on the verge of not becoming one very soon.

Which one, you ask? The wonderful or the husband?

Xiu Mei shrugged. Who knows. Maybe both?

He's not only wonderful. He's a really great secret keeper too. Because it seems like he and her second brother had already made an alliance of keeping every secret from her. On normal days, she would have been alright with it.

But right now… it seems like her palm is getting quite itchy again. She wondered if her husband is itchy about being hit as well?

Lu Chen, who was completely unaware of her wife's… unparalleled thoughts at the moment, felt guilt-ridden when he chose to keep his mouth shut when Xiu Mei asked what they were talking about. He felt that it wasn't the right time to let her know about it at all. And now, the seed of doubt was planted at the worst time possible.

"I can't explain it to you right now.

" He said upfront. Xiu Mei's eyes twitched at his resolve, at the same time, she felt slightly better when she realized that Lu Chen chose not to lie to her but instead, he was direct with his words that he wouldn't tell her about it at all.

She bit her lip as the two of them fell into a staring contest. Ultimately, she gave up pushing him and sighed in defeat. It would have been better if she could talk at the moment. Arguing with Lu Chen like this is simply useless.

How can she even bombard him with her opinions and thoughts if she's unable to make a sound? And Xiu Mei meant that in a literal way.

And then she remembered Lu Chen telling her last night that she made a sound...a m.o.a.n.

Her brows furrowed in dissatisfaction. So what now? Does she have to get it on with Lu Chen just so she could regain her ability to speak?

Xiu Mei was filled with frustration. She didn't even notice that all her shifting moods can be seen on her face as clear as a day. Lucky for her, the man beside her was very tolerant of her changing moods. Understanding that she was quite sensitive at this time, he kept silent all throughout and waited for her to sort out her thoughts.

He couldn't stop himself from extending his hand to stroke her back, a simple action to soothe her unstable emotions. Xiu Mei felt the warm hand behind her back and all her thoughts went into a complete pause.

She raised her head and met the man's pampering gaze, completely different from the stubborn expression he put on for her a while ago. Now, he was looking at her as if she was some kind of baby that he had to pacify and appease by this gesture.

She sighed. Lu Chen… he's becoming more and more familiar with her habits ah? Even his method of coaxing was becoming better and better. He was really picking up and having a better understanding of her personality lately.

And so, Xiu Mei waved the white flag first. Grabbing her tablet on the bedside table, she pressed a series of letters on her screen before holding it in front of Lu Chen.

'Fine. I won't push you anymore today. But! You have to promise me. That you���ll tell it to me maybe in the future, and that you have to keep yourself safe.' are the words being reflected on Lu Chen's eyes.

His mouth parted slightly as he read the last sentence before he shifted his eyes to his wife's face. She didn't look angry or annoyed at him anymore. This time, her expression was serious and sincere.

...to keep yourself safe...Lu Chen felt warm as he read those words again. Regardless, he still felt guilty because he was actually jumping into the danger. Keeping himself safe is quite a shaky promise that he didn't know if he should promise.

When he didn't react to her written words, Xiu Mei pushed the tablet closer to Lu Chen in an attempt to get a response from him. Of course, she won't let him not say anything this time. She's not exactly benevolent when it comes to these kinds of things.

This time, Lu Chen wrapped her soft hand with his. Looking straight into her eyes, his eyes quivered ever so slightly which quickly disappeared for a split second.

"I promise.

"

A smile crawled up on Xiu Mei's face as she expressed her satisfaction with his answer.

'Good.' She mouthed.

She took back her hand that he was holding before climbing off the bed to walk over to her laptop. Lu Chen was suddenly confused with her movements.

He glanced at the window and knew that it was nowhere near morning yet. He stood up and followed behind her. He saw her open the word doc.u.ment and started typing some familiar words that he had seen quite a few times in the past.

It was a letter of condolence.

He finally recalled that Xiu Mei was always the one who types this kind of letter for him before. She was very prompt in sending this to him because she would always be done an hour after they receive the news of the passing of a partner or someone they've worked with before.

So this time, she must have subconsciously thought that she should be the one to write it this time as well.

"Wife,

" He halted her movements by putting his hand over hers that was typing the words. Xiu Mei slightly raised her head and looked behind her.

"I'll do this.

" And then he turned her chair around so he could make her look at him properly.

"You're on a break, so I should be the one doing this. Or Lu Shao or your assistant.

" He explained.

Xiu Mei blinked. A second later, she nodded hesitantly while listening to Lu Chen's explanation. Seeing her so agreeable, he pulled her up and nudged her towards the bed.

"Wife, it's still pretty early. So you should just continue sleeping, okay?

"

Xiu Mei slowly nodded her head in response. After lying down on the bed, Lu Chen pulled the blanket over her shoulders before dropping a kiss on her temple.

"Sweet dreams, my wife.

" He murmured in her ear before he pulled away and walked over to her laptop where she was working a while ago. After looking back to her sleeping figure, Lu Chen smiled before facing the laptop screen and started moving his hands.

He was so focused on wanting his wife to rest and sleep that he didn't even notice the subtle change in Xiu Mei's mood.

Under the blankets, Xiu Mei's hands fisted tightly as she tried her best to suppress her emotions.

No, she wasn't angry at Lu Chen for convincing her to sleep instead of working.

She was angry at herself.

Lu Chen's words were like a slap to reality for Xiu Mei. She knew that it wasn't his intention, but when he stopped her from working on the letter of condolence, which was originally her task, and then he explained that he could do it or Lu Shao instead of her, she felt a sting in her heart.

It was as if she was now so useless. She knew that both father and son just want her to rest but for a person who had been working for many years, it was already like a habit.

Something that was very normal for her to do. But right now, she had to temporarily give up the majority of her tasks to her colleagues. A lot of stuff that she could normally perform, she had to hand it over to her assistant.

Just because she was on break—No, the real reason she was on break was because of her sudden loss of voice right now. She's unable to perform her duties properly as Lu Chen's company secretary. And now, even the basic task of writing a letter is given to somebody else.

Xiu Mei fell silent.

Had she really become that useless?