Yi Jie climbed up the steep steps towards the grave. w.a.n.g Jing was buried on a cliff facing the sea. As she reached the top, she saw a young boy.

The boy, sensing another presence, turned to look back. His eyes met with Yi Jie's and a moment of silence enveloped them.

Yi Jie smiled.

She walked towards him and gently ruffled his hair.

"How are you?" She asked.

"… I'm fine."

"Is your new family treating you well?"

He nodded.

After a short pause, Yi Jie spoke again.

"Want to go home with me instead?"

The boy's eyes widened. He hesitated before shaking his head.

"Don't be afraid." Yi Jie comforted him.

The boy smiled and shook his head.

"My new family is great. Don't worry about me."

He then turned to look at w.a.n.g Jing's grave again.

"Grandpa found me a loving home."

Yi Jie smiled and nodded.

"If you need anything, you know how to contact me right?"

The boy smiled and nodded.

"Master Xu." An old butler came to call the young boy.

Xu Yang turned to face him before looking at Yi Jie.

"I'm going now, sister. Take care."

Yi Jie nodded.

"You too. Take care."

Xu Yang turned to face w.a.n.g Jing's grave again and smiled.

"Sleep well, grandpa."

---

Life continued on and the twins had graduated from university. During their stay there, Mingli used Daiyu and Liu Jin's condominium unit while Meili used Zhihao and Ying Yue's. Mingli took up a major in economics while Meili followed her dream to become a doctor.

After university, Mingli began working at the Liu Enterprise while Meili continued her study and practice. By this time, the gang was in their thirties while the twins were twenty-five. Ah Wu was three, Yanyu and Yawen were six, the triplets were ten, Kai was eleven, while Haoran was twelve.

"Where will we take the kids this year?" Bob asked.

Right now, everyone was gathered in the w.a.n.g Mansion's garden. They had just finished an outdoor dinner and were currently drinking while the children played in the background.

"Ah Wu, where do you want to go?" Daiyu asked. The baby boy loved his mother very much and preferred sitting on her lap rather than playing with the older kids.

"Swimming!" He said happily.

"Ohhhh that's a good choice, Ah Wu!" Bob smiled and ruffled his hair.

"Uncle Bob will cook corn for Ah Wu?" He asked, tilting his head to one side.

Bob laughed and nodded.

"Sure!"

The children had grown accustomed to their yearly beach trips and night grills. Bob always grilled corn for them while the adults drank.

"Then let's go sometime in late July. We'll be taking the kids to the summerhouse first." Liu Jin said as he took a swig of his beer.

"Hey, count us in! I wanna bring my kids there too!" Zhihao chimed in.

"Then why don't we all go together?" Daiyu suggested.

The others nodded in agreement.

As such, that summer, everyone visited the Liu summerhouse together.

"Where's your brother?" Daiyu asked Zhihao.

"Oh you know. That guy's a workaholic. He rarely comes to join us for a drink these days." He sighed.

Daiyu frowned. She took out her phone and gave Zhichen a call.

---

Meanwhile, inside the top floor of the Zheng Corporation's headquarters, a man sat behind a desk with stacks of papers on each side. Suddenly, his phone rang. He took it out and answered the call.

"h.e.l.lo?"

"Zhichen-gege!"

He chuckled.

"Xiao Yu, what's wrong?"

"Zhihao-gege told me that you have been working too hard. Stop working and come out and play!"

He laughed.

"Sorry Xiao Yu. Things have been pretty busy lately." He said as he played with a pen with one hand.

The truth was that things were going great. In fact, it was going too great. The company was running smoothly, his parents were healthy, and his nephews were growing up well. When the surroundings were too quiet, one tends to remember one's loneliness. As such, he had been busying himself with work.

He was taking in more projects than usual and he often worked overtime. At least, his job kept his mind busy and he had no time to worry about anything else.

"Hmp!" Daiyu openly sulked and Zhichen laughed.

"I'll make it up to you guys, alright? When's the next trip?" He asked.

"Late July. We'll be going to the beach as usual. You better not skip it, okay?"

"Alright."

"Promise?"

"Promise." He smiled and the call ended.

He let out a huge sigh and continued working.

---

That night, around nine in the evening, it was raining hard and the roads were slippery. Zhichen rode the elevators down to the underground parking lot, preparing to go home. He wanted to work some more but his eyes were too tired to focus. As such, he thought it best to sleep for a while. Taking out his car keys from his pocket, he entered his car, buckled the seatbelt, and drove out of the building.

On his way home, there was only light traffic. Since the roads were wet, not many people wanted to risk it. Still, Zhichen was too tired and he hurriedly made his way home. Stepping on the accelerator, he sped through the roads.

Upon reaching the last intersection before the Zheng Residences, the traffic light was green. He sped up and crossed the street, not knowing that an oncoming truck was headed his way from the other side.

In the blink of an eye, the vehicles collided and Zhichen's car spun out of control. The safety mechanisms automatically engaged and the airbags deployed.

---

"This just in. At nine in the evening, at the intersection between Peony road and Liberation road, a vehicular collision occurred between ….

Zhihao's hand trembled as he watched the news. Beside him, Ying Yue was on the phone with Victoria.

"Alright. Thank you, mom." Ying Yue sighed and ended the call.

"How is he?!" Zhihao asked in a panic.

"He's safe. By some miracle, he only suffered a light concussion and some scratches but his car was totaled. He's in the hospital right now, recuperating."

Zhihao let out a huge sigh of relief, his heart finally relaxing.

"Let's go home." He said as he held her hand.

Ying Yue chuckled and shook her head.

"Even if we leave now, he'll be asleep by the time we reach the hospital. Let's go tomorrow. Let's give him some rest first."

Zhihao hesitated but nodded.

---

Meanwhile, back at the hospital, Zhichen laid in bed, his head heavy and throbbing. Beside him, Victoria was nagging loudly while Liwei stood beside her.

"Honey, let him sleep first." He urged her.

"Sleep?! If he wasn't lucky tonight, he would be sleeping forever!!!"

Liwei immediately clammed up and Victoria continued her nagging.

Suddenly, a knock came from the door and it opened. A beautiful girl entered the room and smiled.

"Aunty, I'm here to check on Zhichen-gege."

Victoria paused and smiled.

"Meili! I didn't know you work here. Oh do come in. This idiot brother of yours was too careless tonight – 

"Mom. Can you let her do her job first?" Zhichen interrupted.

"Right! Meili, I leave him in your hands."

Meili nodded and went to check up on Zhichen.

"Does it hurt anywhere else?" She asked.

He shook his head. He laid on the bed obediently, watching Meili as she worked.

---

Zhichen continued staying at the hospital for a few more days. Zhihao eventually visited him and he brought the triplets along too. Of course, the others visited him as well. During those times, he happily chatted with them or listened to them talk. When they left, the empty room enveloped him in silence once again.

He sighed.

To ensure that he rested well, Victoria had confiscated his phone. He couldn't contact his secretary to bring his files over so he had nothing to do. The silence that he once loved had turned into loneliness. The freedom he once wished for became emptiness.

He clenched his fists, hoping to quickly get out of this prison-like room.

A knock came from the door and it opened. The familiar face of the woman greeted him with a smile.

"Zhichen-gege, I'm here to check on you again."

Zhichen paused and smiled.

"Trouble you."

---

After finally being discharged from the hospital, Zhichen let out a huge sigh of relief. Time to get back to work and get busy. As such, he headed straight for the company.

He returned to his usual routine. He took up the same amount of projects, worked overtime, drowned himself with work, but his mind always wandered off.

He sighed.

He took out his car keys from the desk and headed down.

"President Zheng, there's a meeting… President Zheng?" The secretary asked, confused.

"Cancel it." He said as he waved his hand before entering the elevators.

---

Meanwhile, Meili had just finished her s.h.i.+ft. She stretched her arms and yawned. As she was about to approach her car, another car cut her off. The windows rolled down and the familiar face of the man greeted him.

"Get in."

"… Where to?" She asked.

"A date." Zhichen smiled.