What transpired at the Chen Family mansion was reported to Chen Huai in a prompt manner. The butler didn't exaggerate nor hide words when he spoke to his master.

Chen Kai sat across from his father and analyzed his microexpressions.

The old man didn't show much reaction to the fact that his wife and son were unruly at home. The slight raise of his brow to whatever was said signified his little surprise. Chen Huai then pursed his lips after speaking before ending the call.

Around them, the restaurant was bustling and filled with various noises; they both could hear audible whispers about them, but the atmosphere around the father and son was stagnant.

No one spoke.

Only the clinking of tableware.

Each was lost in their thoughts, a different scene from the amiable chatter earlier.

Chen Kai, not one to wrong himself and having the innate need to clarify all doubts, had to pose a question to this man. After all, besides Chen Yan, Chen Huai was his blood relative and an important one too.

How many lives did he live without such a person in his life?

"If it were mother's presence, what would have been your plans?"

Both men, equally handsome with similar features, paused in eating and met each other's gaze. Young and old couldn't hide their innate domineering aura, and faced off in a silent waiting session.

One demanded answers.

The other wanted to declare his authority so the latter won't doubt his decisions and actions.

As a doting father, Chen Huai gave in first. He knew from the first time he met this son of his that the brat was more like his mother than himself. Coercive, stubborn, and extremely carefree.

"Bring her home."

Chen Kai raised an eyebrow. Bring his mother back, isn't that bringing a xiaosan home in the eyes of the outside?

His face changed drastically when his thoughts went that way.

Chen Huai noticed this right away. The murderous aura emanating from his child affected not only him but the table next door. He knew immediately where his son's conjecture went. Chen Huai felt immensely proud, knowing that their child was protective of his Qing'er, even after her death.

"Son. Calm down. I will never do that to your mother."

The need to explain his household was clear.

"Let's go for a walk. The meal was rather heavy."

Sensing his father's intentions, he nodded and sent a quick message to Tong Ming.

The restaurant Chen Huai chose had a private garden, possibly opened to important guests or for the boss himself.

Whether it's Chen Huai's prestige or Chen Kai's importance to the country, access was given immediately.

Father and son walked leisurely on the paved stone path. Both had similar temperaments and upright postures, maybe it's unknown to them at the moment, but the two walked in tandem with their arms behind their backs, giving a sense of harmony between blood relatives.

The warm morning wind brushed against their clothes, shifting their hair playfully as the peaceful garden settled their emotions.

Chen Huai's brows, which were tight, became loose with each step.

"Older folks always say they have your best interests at heart. Their age has always been a hammer to the younger ones, stifling dreams and requests. It's even more so when those elders are either prominent businessmen or officials. When I entered college, the country was approaching the era of true prosperity; having luxury clothes and cars, along with huge manors that matched a prosperous business, could equate to having a supposedly good background. The Chen family was the best family that most families wanted to enter.

As the eldest, I knew more than my siblings and was groomed from a young age to be the next patriarch. So many teachings were given, but my father's words were meant to be obeyed no matter what. His control over my actions and friend circle withdrew me from my siblings and also my mother.

I obeyed quietly while inwardly despising his teachings. I couldn't walk in his shoes, and he probably saw this, so his intentions were clear - mold me to be the person he wants me to be. To go to college, I did a lot of persuading while depending on my grandmother's doting....."

Chen Huai was lost in his memories as he spoke. Each word and sentence brought numerous emotions. When he reached the memory of his college days, his edges became softer and his brows became gentler.

"I met your mother the moment I set foot on the college campus and fell in love with her on the next step. Maybe it was our similar backgrounds or our longing for a few years of freedom that attracted us to each other, but we knew that it was the ever-elusive and complicated love at first sight. I followed her everywhere and pampered her to the heavens. Qing'er was my haven. I wanted her to be my wife, my world." He gave a sad laugh after that last sentence.

The melancholy was real, and Chen Kai couldn't help but associate with it. The thought of planning for a future with your lover that didn't come through is painful at most. A thought of Su Lian popped up.

"A month before graduation, we celebrated her birthday together, and I proposed. She gave me an answer before I finished the proposal." Chen Huai chuckled at that fond memory. His little wife snatched the ring and wore it before he said the word, 'me'.

How long has she been waiting? Then her decision.....

"I was happy. Explicably happy. So happy that I forgot my father's personality. Stupidly, I brought her home to make the announcement. Before I can officially say her name, my father ruthlessly announces an arranged marriage for me. It was humiliating not only for me but Qing'er. I rebelled on the spot, and things took a turn I never expected."

The dark emotions he suppressed over the years exploded.

"Scheme after scheme, my own father played against me, just because he wanted me to be heir. He detained me for a week, blocking all communication from outside. When I was finally freed, my every attempt to go see Qing'er was blocked. It took me two months to get a hold of her, only for her to send me back.

I didn't want to accept it.

She left. When she did, she left a few words - Till we meet again when the world isn't against us..

Whenever I sent people to look for her, they were either removed or sent on a wild goose chase.

My father's handiwork.

I didn't stop and used external people only to get a few clues. I wanted to go to Beijing, thinking that maybe she had returned to her home also, but I got word that the Li family had been abroad all these years, and the main family had gone into seclusion.

I had to focus on the work thrown at me. Then... at a banquet, I was drugged. Twice. By my own father. Those two drugs can incapacitate any man, giving him an entire night of unconscious behavior. When I got back my bearings, the Sun family's treasured daughter was beside me.

I left home for three months, still searching for Qing'er, silently asking her to forgive me - I don't deserve it though. Am I pathetic and foolish? My own father calculated me, all for a business deal. The old man called me to deliver the 'good news'. Sun Yilan was pregnant.

There was no joy. I didn't care. I stayed away from the ancestral home for a year. Marriage was always pushed, but I ignored them. The only thing I gave her was a small wedding with most of her people; it was enough to deal with one of her obsessions. I shot down the idea of a marriage certificate. Madam Chen - that name was only nominal."

Chen Huai turned to his son. He missed many years of his child's life and missed the last few of his Qing'er's love. He knew in his heart that she hid not only to shake off the old man but to protect Kai. He knew his father would have killed his little son if they were found. She was also in a state of embarrassment about her family's teachings. An unwed mother in those times, no matter how rich, was still a shame to the family.

"If your mother were alive, upon her return, I would have placed the fate of the Chen family in her hands. No one can stain her name."