Yun Qingrong and Lu Qingfeng stayed with the rest of the Yun family and even had dinner with them. From the corner of his eye, Lu Qingfeng could see that his Aunty Qing was quite apprehensive about her talk with her brothers later. If the old general could sense her worries, the old man didn’t show any indication that he knew of it.

When the time came for Yun Qingrong to leave and have a word with her brothers, Lu Qingfeng rose to his feet, intending to accompany her, but the woman held his wrist to stop him. She shook his head and smiled at him.

“It’s okay, Xiao Feng. You have done enough for this old woman. Let me take it from here.” She told him.

“If you are sure, Aunty…”

Worry flashed on Lu Qingfeng’s face as he looked at her. Would she really be fine on her own? He wondered.

“I’m sure. The worst thing has already happened anyway, but thank you, XIao Feng. Knowing that you are here is enough to help me.” She assured him.

What could have been the worst aside from having cancer? Yun Qingrong thought. It was inevitable that life would end one day, because all humans live in this mortal plane anyway.

What she resented was that her death might be longer and more painful than it needed to be. Yun Qingrong knew her body would self-destruct, day by day. The tumor will grow, spread, consume, squash the very organs that worked to sustain it. She had led a pretty good life, better than most.

If she could make a choice, she would rather end her life sooner, taking an ‘exit pill’ rather than see her daughter suffer because of her, but she wouldn’t. Because she knew that just like her, Feifei wasn’t ready to lose her yet. Heck, even she wasn’t ready to leave her daughter yet, especially like this.

Lu Qingfeng could only watch her go on her own and hoped that things would turn out for the better. If they could face the problem as a family, Yun Qingrong wouldn’t have to suffer on her own. Su Xiaofei was still occupied with work and wouldn’t be returning until the photoshoot for the Bellissima campaign was done. Until then, he could only stay with Yun Qingrong to accompany her.

As he waited for Yun Qingrong, Lu Qingfeng found himself at the patio outside the Yun Estate, looking at the darkened sky. Even at this time, not a single star could be seen from where they were, as if reminding him that they were about to face a storm they couldn’t avoid.

“It seems as if everyone is on edge now. I wonder what’s the problem.”

Lu Qingfeng didn’t even notice that Yun Xiang had joined him at the patio, as his mind was still on the problem Feifei and Yun Qingrong were facing at the moment.

“It’s a family matter that I can’t divulge yet.” Lu Qingfeng replied with an impassive face.

Yun Xiang frowned, not knowing whether Lu Qingfeng was saying that he didn’t know what their elders were talking about or if the younger man was implying that he, Yun Xiang, had no rights to poke into their family business, now that Lu Qingfeng was about to become Su Xiaofei’s husband.

“We can only wait and see what will happen next.” Lu Qingfeng continued, not bothering to explain what he’d said earlier.

The two men fell into silence, deep in their own thoughts. Lu Qingfeng was thinking about Su Xiaofei, wondering what he could do to ease the pain that was about to hit her once Yun Qingrong revealed her health condition. Meanwhile, next to him, Yun Xiang had a startling realization as to why he was bothered by his tangmei’s relationship with Lu Qingfeng.

He lowered his eyes and cursed himself for not even realizing it earlier. So it turned out that in his eyes, Su Xiaofei wasn’t his real cousin. Yun Xiang was confused as to how he should proceed with this information.

He glanced at Lu Qingfeng, and as a man, Yun Xiang understood why Su Xiaofei would fall in love with this young man. Aside from Lu Qingfeng’s exceptional looks and family background, they have known each other since childhood. Their bond was deep and strong even before they decided to become lovers.

“Is there something else you want to ask?”

Lu Qingfeng’s sudden question caught Yun Xiang off guard. Did he sense his hesitation to question him? Yun Xiang pondered as he looked at the younger man.

“I know that you aren’t happy with me being with Feifei.” Lu Qingfeng said in a matter of fact tone. “But I don’t care.” He added, giving Yun Xiang a pointed look.

Yun Xiang narrowed his eyes, a little annoyed that Lu Qingfeng wasn’t even trying to give him some face.

“Is this how you’re supposed to talk with your fiancée’s cousin?” He retorted.

“Oh? So you know that you are Feifei’s cousin?” Lu Qingfeng chuckled, but his eyes were mocking Yun Xiang. “If you know, then I hope Lt. Yun won’t cross the line.”

Lu Qingfeng hadn’t forgotten that Yun Xiang was one of those people who persecuted Feifei in their previous life. When Su Xiaofei died, he took a lot of effort to send Yun Xiang into dangerous military missions without the latter knowing that he had used his influence.

After years of being sent to a remote area of the country to keep the peace there, Yun Xiang came back with post-traumatic stress disorder, which he continued to suffer from throughout the rest of his life. He almost lost his sanity when Ye Mingyu had once again rejected him after her divorce with Mo Yuchen.

Yun Xiang stiffened and stared at the young man in front of him with widened eyes. Was he that obvious to everyone? He questioned himself.. Lu Qingfeng could see the indecent feelings he harbored for his tangmei.