Zhang Qing and Jiao Jiao were already badly injured. They didn’t need to receive their punishment at the moment. Meanwhile, Zhang Sheng would also not have to do it as he was the one who was able to find Lu Xinyi’s location first.

Once the couple arrived at Imperial Residences, Lu Xinyi couldn’t contain her temper anymore.

“Don’t be angry, Xinxin. I’m just overjoyed and over the moon. I… I didn’t expect this at all.”

Shen Yi had found himself kicked out of their bedroom after returning home. He lightly knocked on the door, hoping his wife would let him in; but Lu Xinyi’s resolve to keep him in the dog house was strong.

“Overjoyed? Over the moon? CEO Shen, I think you’re forgetting something here!” He heard her voice inside. “You were missing for the whole two weeks without any communication. Have you ever thought how scared the twins were when you suddenly dropped them to Dad’s place without explaining anything? Zichen and Yuyan were crying nonstop when I arrived yesterday!”

“Okay, it’s all my fault, Xinxin. I know my mistake now, but can you calm down? It’s bad for the baby.” He was really worried that her anger would affect their baby.

Shen Yi panicked and gestured to a servant to take the master keys from his study. -.

“I can explain, Xinxin! Can you calm down first and let me in? Please?”

“You didn’t even tell me where you were and just appeared whenever you wanted to! Do you know what the first thing I saw upon arriving was? Your picture with Li Qiao in the newspaper!”

Shen Yi didn’t know what to do once he heard her crying at the other side of the door. It was only when the servant came back with the master keys was he able to enter their room to console her.

Once he opened the door, Lu Xinyi smacked him right on his face with a pillow. She was already on her silk pajamas, with hair tied on a small bun to keep it out of her face. She huffed out a breath, threw back the covers, and glared daggers at him.

“I’m really mad at you!”

“I know. I wouldn’t do it anymore. Can you forgive me this once?” Shen Yi pleaded. He had no idea how long it’d take for her to calm down.

“I’m surprised you didn’t vanish into thin air again after showing yourself to me.”

“I wouldn’t leave you anymore.” He promised as he stood next to their bed.

“How can you be a good father to our baby when you can’t even be responsible to the twins and me?” She continued to sob much to Shen Yi’s horror. “Wuuu… what kind of husband are you? Always trying to worry me to death.”

Shen Yi realized at that moment that it was really hard to pacify his wife when she was pulling out her mommy guns.

“And you have the audacity to punish my bodyguards? Shen Yi, you’re really brave to overstep your boundaries! Didn’t you say I’ll be the one responsible for their actions? Why did you have to punish them instead?”

Lu Xinyi ignored his pleas to calm down and continued to list down his offenses. Was he only concerned about the baby and not about what happened in the past few days?

Shen Yi ran down his hands on his face in despair. He knelt on the bed and took her into his embrace, his hand rubbing her back and his chin resting on the crown of her head.

She clung to him, crying quietly on his shirt, letting the tears that had been building for two long weeks of his absence finally fall. Lu Xinyi had kept her emotions in check during the competition although she was aware of the problems going on back at home.

“Don’t leave us again without a word anymore,” she begged, “I don’t think I would be able to endure it if something wrong happens to you without us knowing.”

Shen Yi felt his heart breaking seeing her like this. He kissed the top of her head while Lu Xinyi squeezed her eyes and clung to him tightly, afraid that she would be left again.

“You should rest. You had a long day.” He murmured into her hair, breathing in her familiar scent, calming his nerves. She wasn’t the only one who was worried. He also missed her so badly these past weeks she wasn’t around.

Lu Xinyi nodded and parted with him.

“Go, wash up. I’ll be here when you’re done,” she told him.

Shen Yi didn’t need to be told twice. He sprinted towards the bathroom and did what she asked him to do. A few minutes later, he came back and climbed into the bed beside her. Through the faint light coming from the lamp, he glanced over her sleeping face, his hand reaching out to caress her cheek.

“Go to sleep. I’m really tired, Shen Yi.” Lu Xinyi said irritably without opening her eyes.

Shen Yi leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead. When she didn’t pull away from him, he reached out and pulled her into his embrace. He tightened his arms around her as if he was afraid that she wouldn’t be there on his side once he woke up.

“Xinxin, we have to be more careful now, okay? You aren’t one person anymore. As for your bodyguards, I was merely reminding them of their responsibilities. I know that none of us wanted it to happen, but we cannot control other people’s desire to plot against us. You understand that, do you?”

How could they even allow this to happen to Lu Xinyi under their watch?

Lu Xinyi hummed indicating that she was listening to him. She encircled her arms around his waist and listened intently. She couldn’t really blame him and understood why he needed to do it. It was just she wasn’t expecting that he’d be the one to give punishment to them.

With Zou Yin apprehended and Feng Qianyu dead, Shen Yi wouldn’t be surprised if Feng Zexian would come out anytime soon; but with Lu Xinyi being pregnant, she would be more susceptible to danger more than ever. Punishing her bodyguards would help them remember their purpose.

“By the way, congratulations. I heard you and Han Yixin won the World Patisserie Challenge. I know my wife is the best and will win. I should be the first one to congratulate you. I’m sorry, Xinxin.”

With that, the couple spread out beneath the covers with Lu Xinyi laying her head on Shen Yi’s chest, her hand resting on his chest. She sighed, feeling more content and at peace than she had in weeks, which wasn’t odd at all. Then again, anytime she went without her husband around, it was like she was living in a haze: her days were dragging longer than she expected.

“I love you,” she whispered before drifting into the land of slumber, holding into him tightly.

Shen Yi held her close with sleep evading him. He waited for some time until her breathing even out into a deep sleep.

“As I, you,” he whispered to her, kissing her parted lips as she slept.