「By the lake.」

The two of them sat quietly on the embankment. It was the first time they had ever sat together in such peaceful silence.

Lin Xiao gazed at Su Qingning's charming profile. Its perfect contours seemed like the heavens' finest masterpiece. The afternoon sun danced upon her face, as if plating her in a sacred, unbelievably alluring light.

Su Qingning seemed to sense his stare and turned her head to glance at him. The moment their eyes met, she quickly looked away.

"Didn't you want to talk? Why are you so quiet?" Lin Xiao asked with a smile.

Su Qingning was silent for a moment before saying softly, "I'm sorry about last night."

Hmm? Lin Xiao was stunned; he hadn't expected her to apologize. To be honest, the incident last night had left him somewhat upset. But then again, Su Qingning hadn't really done anything wrong. Their marriage was indeed for a six-month term, and that had been agreed upon beforehand.

"Su Qingning, you really didn't do anything wrong, so there's no need to apologize. After all, we did have that agreement, and I agreed to it," Lin Xiao said sincerely.

A hint of gloom flickered in Su Qingning's captivating eyes. Even though Lin Xiao was telling the truth, her heart ached inexplicably. She wanted to say something to contradict him, but she didn't know what to say.

Lin Xiao didn't notice any of this, as his gaze was fixed on the calm lake in the distance.

Seeing that Su Qingning remained silent, he smiled again and said, "I thought about it carefully last night. I think we should sleep in separate rooms."

This was what he had sincerely concluded after much thought. Although his relationship with Su Qingning was not as tense as when they first got married, her guard was still up. To be more precise, she had yet to truly see him as her husband or genuinely accept him. Moreover, Lin Xiao had realized last night that sharing a room with him put Su Qingning in a difficult position. If that was the case, it would be better to sleep separately. He would give her some space until she truly accepted him in her heart, at which point they could share a room again.

Lin Xiao's words made Su Qingning even more dejected, though she didn't understand why she was reacting this way. Logically, she should have been happy when Lin Xiao suggested sleeping in separate rooms. Even though they were husband and wife, she always felt an invisible wall stood between them, and living with Lin Xiao did indeed feel awkward. But right now, Su Qingning was genuinely unhappy. She had wanted to have a proper conversation with him about last night, to be honest about her feelings. But Lin Xiao had started with this, leaving her at a loss for words. Su Qingning was never a skilled communicator. After her father passed away, she and her mother had depended on each other for three years. She had witnessed the fickleness of human nature and the harsh realities of the world, and these experiences had made her quiet and reserved.

"What's wrong, are you unhappy about it?" Lin Xiao asked with a laugh.

He had thought Su Qingning would be pleased to hear his suggestion, so why was she still frowning?

Su Qingning simply shook her head.

"If that's your decision, then I'll respect it."

Her voice was quiet yet resolute, and her tone carried a hint of annoyance, though Lin Xiao wasn't sure if he was just imagining it.

Looks like she wants to sleep separately, too. Lin Xiao smiled helplessly.

He was about to say something else when his phone suddenly rang. The call was from Pei Donglai.

Lin Xiao quickly answered it.

"Captain, someone is looking for you!" Pei Donglai said gravely.

"Who?"

"I don't know, but they came on strong, and they're Martial Artists. I suspect they're from the Shura Hall!"

Lin Xiao chuckled. "Okay, I got it."

They hung up.

"Su Qingning, some friends are here waiting for me at the bar. We should head back."

Su Qingning didn't want to stay any longer either. Although the scenery was beautiful, her mood was terrible. She wanted to leave this place that was making her so upset as soon as possible.

"Good, I was just about to go back and check on the renovations anyway," Su Qingning said coldly, getting into the car first.

Lin Xiao knew she was angry, but he didn't know why. He decided not to press the issue.

On the way back, Su Qingning stared silently out the window, lost in thought. Lin Xiao, for his part, was mulling over what Pei Donglai had said on the phone, so he also remained silent.

「Soon, they arrived back at the bar.」

After getting out of the car, Su Qingning briskly walked into the bar. Pei Donglai quickly came up to greet him.

"Where are they?"

"I told them to wait in the security office," Pei Donglai said respectfully.

"How many?"

"Two."

Lin Xiao nodded. "Alright, you can get back to what you were doing. I'll go meet them."

"Captain, why don't you let me handle this?" Pei Donglai's eyes flashed with a terrifying murderous intent.

"No rush. I want to see why they're here first."

Pei Donglai nodded.

Lin Xiao turned and entered the security office. Inside the large room sat two young men, both around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. As Lin Xiao sized them up, they were also watching him, their gazes both extremely cold.

"Looking for me?" Lin Xiao asked with a smile.

One of them asked, "Are you Lin Xiao?" His voice was sinister.

"That's right," Lin Xiao nodded.

The man who had just spoken said coldly, "Since you're Lin Xiao, come with us."

"Where to?"

"The Shura Hall!" the man snapped.

"So, you're from the Shura Hall?"

"That's right!" the man said, his expression arrogant.

Lin Xiao shrugged and asked, "Who sent you?"

"No comment."

"Since you're being so uncooperative, I'm afraid I can't go with you," Lin Xiao said, taking a seat and leisurely sipping his tea.

A terrifyingly cold glint flashed in the two men's eyes.

"Listen, kid. We're not here to negotiate or invite you. We're here to inform you. You will come with us. Right now. Immediately!"

Lin Xiao spat out a tea leaf, smiled, and asked, "And if I refuse?"

"We don't mind taking a corpse back with us," the first speaker said coldly.

Lin Xiao laughed. "Before you say that, you should ask yourself if you're any match for me. Otherwise, you'll lose more than just face."

As he spoke, the one who had been silent all this while suddenly sneered. "Kid, are you threatening us?"

"Threatening me? Sorry, that's not my style."

A terrifying sharpness flared in their eyes once more.

"Then you're asking for death!"

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