Soon, the two finished their hotpot on this chilly autumn rain-soaked night, feeling warm all over and in high spirits.

After dinner, they watched a drama together to aid digestion.

Half an hour later, Si Hua went to take a shower, and He Ju did the dishes.

Si Hua always took her time in the shower. By the time He Ju had finished the dishes and went to check on her, she said, “I’m just about to start. You go use the other bathroom.”

He Ju chuckled and, wanting both of them to be in top form later, he indeed took his pajamas and went to shower in another bedroom.

He checked the weather for the night. If nothing unexpected happened, it looked like the rain would last all night.

But this suited He Ju just fine. After his night with Si Hua, he had serious matters to attend to.

After his shower, He Ju dried his hair and lay in bed waiting until he was nearly out of patience before Si Hua finally emerged leisurely from the bedroom.

He glanced at the time; it was almost eleven at night. Good grief, she took an hour and a half. He decided he’d help her with her showers in the future to save time.

As Si Hua approached, He Ju caught the scent of her perfume and was immediately enraptured.

Before Si Hua could speak, He Ju got up and swept her into his arms.

Si Hua exclaimed, “He Ju…”

He Ju rolled onto the bed with Si Hua in his arms and turned off the bedroom light.

He Ju whispered, “Be good. You said you’d make it up to your husband when you got back. Now’s your chance to show me.”

In the darkness, Si Hua’s body was burning hot, and her voice was soft and coy, “I did say that, but don’t be too hasty.”

He Ju chuckled deeply, “How can I not be? Wife, let’s have a child.”

Si Hua couldn’t even refuse before she was rendered speechless.

…

Around one in the morning, Si Hua fell into a deep sleep, but He Ju didn’t rest. After another shower, he donned a black trench coat, a raincoat over it, and water boots, then left the house.

At the Fang residence, Fang Yuxue was sleeping when a gust of cold wind woke her up. She realized her curtains were drawn open and the window was ajar, letting the storm in and soaking much of the floor.

Fang Yuxue was puzzled; had she forgotten to close the window last night?

Despite her doubts, she quickly got out of bed and ran to close it. But as she turned, a flash of lightning accompanied by thunder allowed her to see a figure through the window.

Fang Yuxue felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave. She wanted to scream, but panic seized her voice.

Too frightened to move, she wondered who this person was and how they had entered her room so silently.

After standing still for a few minutes, the figure in black remained silent and didn’t attack. Fang Yuxue finally found the courage to run, but as she opened the door, she found two men in raincoats standing there.

Fang Yuxue’s face turned pale, her heart pounding. She tried to turn on the lights but realized there was a power outage, which meant the security cameras were down too.

The door closed again, and Fang Yuxue collapsed to the floor.

Then the person finally spoke, “Fang Yuxue, are you afraid? When you hired a private detective to tail my wife day and night, did you ever consider fear?”

Fang Yuxue realized who it was… He Ju.

Fang Yuxue stammered, “What are you talking about? I didn’t…”

He Ju finally removed his hat, his eyes dark and menacing. He showed her photos on his phone.

Indeed, the people who had been following Si Hua included Bai Shangmo’s men and those hired by Fang Yuxue and… Su Ran.

The Su family’s intelligence network was extensive, and thanks to He Ju’s superior computer skills, which had once helped the Su family upgrade their system, he was able to trace them.

Si Hua was strikingly beautiful and came from a wealthy family, which made the private detectives’ backgrounds not so clean. He Ju felt a chill thinking about it, blaming himself for not paying attention to this matter.

He Ju was terrified of anything happening to Si Hua, so he wouldn’t let anyone who posed a threat to her, man or woman, get away.

He hadn’t found the chance to take down Bai Shangmo yet, but as for Fang Yuxue…

He Ju squatted down, his large hand clamping onto Fang Yuxue’s chin, forcing her to look up at him. His voice sent shivers down her spine, “I’m right in front of you, Miss Fang, and you still want to lie? You think I have no way of dealing with you?”

Fang Yuxue’s jaw ached, and she reluctantly clawed at He Ju’s hand. She had thought she was being secretive, but now she realized He Ju was no longer the man he used to be.

The current He Ju scared her.

Fang Yuxue, sweating profusely and looking terrified, confessed, “Yes, I had Si Hua investigated, but I only ordered the investigation, I didn’t harm her.”

He Ju suddenly laughed, his grip loosening, and Fang Yuxue breathed a sigh of relief, only to tense up again as He Ju said:

“If anything happens to Si Hua, your Fang family will never have peace again.”

Fang Yuxue quickly got up from the floor, “I didn’t hurt her, I just wanted to know Si Hua’s whereabouts…”

He Ju sat on the sofa, quietly observing Fang Yuxue, “You think I’d believe that?”

Fang Yuxue tried to explain further, but He Ju cut her off, “Leave City A within a week.”

Fang Yuxue looked at He Ju in terror, “I really didn’t intend to harm Si Hua. I know the Bai family’s power and your stance towards the Su family. I wouldn’t be foolish enough to act against any of you. I just wanted to…”

Fang Yuxue trailed off.

He Ju frowned at her, “You’re tracking my wife and you tell me you have no ill intentions?”

Fang Yuxue’s next words shocked He Ju, “Because of past events and the auction incident, my family feared you’d seek revenge on the Fang family, so they wanted me to find a way to earn your forgiveness and not hold a grudge against us. Our kind of family fears nothing more than provoking the wrong person…”

Fang Yuxue smiled wistfully, “If I can’t earn your forgiveness, I’m likely to be abandoned by my family. Before, Su Ran could speak for me, but not anymore. I can only try to imitate the person you like to win your favor. I wouldn’t foolishly harm any of you.”

“And the private detective following Si Hua doesn’t only work for me; they take other jobs too, but I don’t know who else hired them.”

“He Ju, you can verify the truth of my words.”

Her words sounded genuine, but He Ju was not one to forget a grudge.

He remembered vividly how Fang Yuxue had humiliated him.

Fang Yuxue had always been promiscuous, with countless partners. He Ju was not attracted to such women.

He preferred pure women like Si Hua. Fang Yuxue was the type to avoid, fearing it would shorten his life.

He Ju believed Fang Yuxue’s words were true, but he despised her underhanded tactics, “Win my favor? You think you’re worthy?”

It was like how Fang Yuxue once thought He Ju wasn’t good enough for Su Ran. Now the tables had turned, and Fang Yuxue wanted to imitate Si Hua to gain his favor, but He Ju still looked down on her.

Fang Yuxue’s face visibly paled, her fear subsiding, but her heart felt heavy and uncomfortable.

He Ju stood up, “I don’t know how much truth there is in your words, but I advise you not to do anything that invades my wife’s privacy again. Also, leave City A as soon as possible. I don’t really want to see you here again.”

After speaking, He Ju said, “From now on, the business between Starshine and the Fang family is over.”

He Ju was about to leave when Fang Yuxue stopped him.

He Ju looked at her darkly.

Fang Yuxue was scared but stood her ground, then bowed deeply to He Ju, “I apologize for my past disdain. Thank you for not completely destroying the Fang family.”

He Ju didn’t respond. Cutting off the Fang family’s business would make it difficult for them in City A, but not impossible.

Fang Yuxue knew this, but she also understood that it’s better to retreat and live to fight another day.

The Fang family still had roots in City A. Without Starshine’s cooperation, the path would be tough, but not a dead end.

Su Ran was once the woman He Ju adored, and he didn’t spare the Su family, so what about her Fang family?

Fang Yuxue was intelligent. She knew He Ju wasn’t interested in her, so she didn’t dare lie or pester him. Instead, she sincerely apologized and acknowledged her mistakes.

He Ju didn’t speak, but he had to admit, Fang Yuxue was a smart woman.

He Ju walked away.

Fang Yuxue called out, “I’ll leave City A tomorrow, He Ju. I’m sorry.”

He Ju didn’t stop but simply said, “Make sure you do.”

After He Ju was out of sight, Fang Yuxue stood there for a long time, staring in the direction he left until dawn broke. She then smiled bitterly, “I really was blind…”

In fact, the moment He Ju gave the Fang family a chance, Fang Yuxue regretted how she had treated him.

In her twenty-three years of life, she had never met a man like He Ju – not a womanizer, didn’t drink or smoke, had no bad habits, was ambitious, and was devoted to his wife. She was blinded by the glamorous world and held such a bias against He Ju.

Looking back now, she realized men like He Ju were truly rare.

Tonight, although He Ju scared her, Fang Yuxue also felt her heart stir.

Unfortunately, by the time she realized it, she was already blacklisted by He Ju.

Fang Yuxue began packing her suitcase. She would head to the airport immediately, leave City A, and give He Ju and Si Hua a clean slate.

—

Meanwhile, He Ju had been staking out Bai Shangmo’s villa alone all night. As dawn approached, he drove away.

No wonder Si Hua said Bai Shangmo was involved with the underworld. The villa was guarded by two bodyguards all night, with more on rotating shifts inside.

Perhaps Bai Shangmo became suspicious after what He Ju did to Qiu Shaoze at the hospital. The villa’s security was extremely tight.

He Ju didn’t even know if there were armed people inside.

He couldn’t touch Bai Shangmo now. Keeping an eye on him was risky, so He Ju could only go back for now and remind Si Hua to be more cautious when going out.

The following days were peaceful. Si Hua went to work as usual. With the Su family’s decline and the Fang family blacklisted by Starshine, the company was calm. Everyone was afraid of getting burned, which made Si Hua’s life much more stable.

He Ju, along with Bai Yan, Fatty, and Motor, gathered to start a business. They pooled their money, and He Ju spent his work hours busy with the company’s location, structure, and future development.

After work, He Ju would pick up Si Hua, and they would go take wedding photos together. Although tiring, they were both very happy.

Their days were busy but comfortable.

He Ju also finalized the purchase of the seaside villa. The masters worked overnight to renovate it, and He Ju would check on the progress from time to time.

Si Hua wanted a traditional Chinese wedding, and He Ju agreed. He would cover all the expenses for the wedding banquet.

Bai Yan suggested having the banquet at a hotel, but after that, they would return to the old house to live, as their marital home was still being renovated. It would take some time before they could move in.

He Ju sought Si Hua’s opinion, and she agreed, so he had no objections.

After taking their wedding photos, He Ju and Si Hua announced the wedding date on social media, inviting friends and family to attend.

Liu Jia, far away overseas, saw He Ju’s post. Although she already knew, seeing the wedding invitation still made her heart skip a beat.

Yang Liu noticed her daughter’s distress and asked, “What’s wrong, Jia Jia?”

Liu Jia handed over her phone. After reading the post, Yang Liu sighed, stroked Liu Jia’s head, and asked, “Do you want to go back?”

Liu Jia nodded with teary eyes, “Mom, I want to see him one last time.”

Yang Liu felt for her daughter but nodded, “Go ahead. Don’t leave any regrets in your youth…”

Remembering the recent large sum of money in their account, Yang Liu added, “He Ju, he’s a good kid.”

The Liu family’s roots weren’t in China. The domestic Liu Corporation was just a dowry prepared by the couple for Liu Jia. They wouldn’t interfere with whoever she chose.

Yang Liu didn’t expect He Ju to not want the Liu family’s assets. The company continued to operate normally, even thriving, with just a new chairman in charge. The employees weren’t laid off; in fact, their salaries increased significantly.

And every penny earned, dividends and profits, went into their designated account.

No wonder…

Liu Jia liked He Ju so much.

And she didn’t know about it.

But, Yang Liu thought, it was best not to let Liu Jia know for now. Since she decided to let go, she shouldn’t give her daughter any hope.

Yang Liu hugged Liu Jia, “Go get your hair and nails done. Look your best to see him one last time. But you have to promise me, after seeing him, let go and live your own life.”

Liu Jia closed her eyes, hugged her mother, and tears streamed down her face.

Liu Jia sobbed, “Okay.”