"Xue Ting you're here! Must be a very late night?" Xiao Ji greeted as Xue Ting nodded while rushing to keep her bag.

"Yes, how are we managing the orders? All good? Is it too many?" She asked while catching her breath.

"Don't worry! Working on it since this morning!" Macy yelled from the kitchen as Xue Ting sighed in relief.

"Alright, I will come and help…" Before she could enter the kitchen, Xiao Ji passed her a tray of baskets of utensils.

"You don't have to. Go ahead and catch your breath preparing the tables. We can manage." Xiao Ji said before disappearing into the kitchen leaving Xue Ting to sigh in defeat this time and went to set the table for opening hours.

Back at home when the twins were heading out for their secret driving lessons, Qiu Wen began to miss Xue Ting but a text message from Dan inviting him for a lunch meetup had made him take his mind off Xue Ting for a moment. Wondering if he would be home late and the twins might be late, he decided to drop by the restaurant with the house keys to pass to Xue Ting.

"It's another new day…" Xue Ting thought to herself while setting the basket of utensils on each table.

Feeling a little lethargic from the late event last night, she smiled recalling Qiu Wen's surprise. She looked forward to a good night's rest tonight and could not wait to see him again. As she started to walk around rearranging the flower decoration on each table, a lean figure walked up to her.

"Welcome…" Xue Ting greeted without checking who it was as she assumed it was just a customer but as she turned around and met the eyes of the lean figure, her tired mind was dreading what was to come.

"Hello." Francesca greeted.

Xue Ting was resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "What is it again?" She questioned herself in her mind.

"Hello." Xue Ting greeted primly as she continued to display the flowers.

"Oh, is that how you greet your guests?" Francesca provoked.

"Well if you're here for breakfast, please sit. Otherwise, I have no business with you." Xue Ting forced a smile before walking to the next table past Francesca.

Francesca was agitated as she chased and turned her around half dragging Sicily closer to her.

"Not so fast, you husband stealer! You think you get to marry him and then walk around with that entitlement. Just wait I will strip you of the position you're at. You're not even worthy of it." Francesca threatened but it did not have any effect on Xue Ting at all.

In the first place, Xue Ting really did not want to be involved with the Tangs but now that her relationship with Qiu Wen had been progressing this far, there was nothing left to be afraid of as she trusted Qiu Wen.

"Look, Francesca, feel free to do whatever you want. I can't control them. I'm not interested either. Take my position if you can." Xue Ting retaliated. Seeing some letters in the letterbox, Xue Ting walked away from Francesca to collect them.

"You're challenging me now? Just you wait!" Francesca scolded while trying to get down the steps with her six-inch stilettos. Just when Xue Ting was at the bottom of the short steps, Francesca nearly tripped and held on to Xue Ting for support.

What Francesca thought of as a support ended up with Xue Ting falling on her side with the tray of cutleries flying around them. Xue Ting knocked her right arm onto the ground trying to keep the impact lesser but it was to the contrary.

Francesca regained her balance as she gasped in disbelief watching the scene of Xue Ting enduring the impact of the accident. Before she could react, Xiao Ji came by the entrance after hearing the loud noises.

"Xue Ting! Are you alright?!" Xiao Ji was squatting trying to help Xue Ting up while Macy appeared from the kitchen running towards them.

"Xue Ting! What happened? Who are you?!" Macy's hysterical voice sends Xue Ting struggling in pain trying to get up while Francesca was too stunned to answer Macy.

Xue Ting gave up after a few attempts as she lay on the ground unable to move her right arm.

"My arm…" She pointed to her right arm and winced in pain while Macy had a look.

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"Oh no! I think it's broken!" Macy announced worriedly.

Francesca began to gain her senses as she discreetly scurried away to her car and drove off. Qiu Wen who had just arrived saw Francesca dashing out from the restaurant in a hurry. Before he could grab hold of her, she sped off while he heard a commotion coming from the main entrance. The sight of Francesca made him agitated and grew worried of Xue Ting.

When he saw Xue Ting lying on the ground at the main entrance, his heart dropped as he fought his anxiety.

"Ting Ting!" He called out as he rushed to her side.

"What happened?" He asked Macy and Xiao Ji while assessing Xue Ting's situation.

"When I came here she was already laying here. Her right arm seemed broken." Xiao Ji explained as Qiu Wen quickly carried her up.

"Did she make you fall?" Qiu Wen asked Xue Ting indicating if it was Francesca but she was in too much pain to answer him. Qiu Wen's heart ached as he hurriedly stood up.

"I will take her to the hospital first! If you need any help, I will get the twins over." He suggested hastily while heading towards his car with Macy and Xiao Ji.

"Go, go hurry get her treated first. Don't worry about us. Let her rest longer." Macy replied as Xiao Ji helped Qiu Wen with the car door before he rushed to drive off.

Xue Ting was getting pale from withstanding the excruciating pain of being moved earlier. Now that the pain had subdued a little, she studied Qiu Wen's face in the car. He was a man who rarely gets angry but when he does, words cannot describe how bad it was especially if you are the person he was angry with.

"Wen Wen…" She called out as he stopped at a traffic light. He turned to look at her as he grabbed onto her left arm.

"Yes, what is it? We are close to the hospital, bear with me would you, please honey?" He tucked her loose hair behind her right ear.

"It wasn't her fault that I tripped…" Xue Ting tried to calm him.

"What do you mean? If she wasn't there, you wouldn't have tripped. Just by her being there, that's enough to cause an accident!" He was raging as he slammed the gear when the traffic light turned green bringing the car to a quick speed that Xue Ting struggled to hold on to her seat.

"Wen Wen... Slow down... She was the one who tripped but held on to me for balance then, accidentally pushed me down…" She further explained.

At the point he heard her saying held on to her for balance, he ignored the rest of her sentence and interrupted her, drowning her last words.

"Regardless, I am going to put on her a restraining order! There is no excuse!" He vented as she leaned back on the passenger seat knowing that she had no way to put sense into him.

He was way too angry to argue rationally.

Over the next few days, he felt guilty over the incident and he blamed himself. He could not sleep well for several nights. His anxiety issues overwhelmed him when he realised how close he was to losing Xue Ting again.

What if she finds me not strong enough to protect all of them? What if the twins find me as a failure? I don't want them to leave me… I cannot lose Ting Ting. He thought to himself as he folded his arms suppressing his anxiety.

Xue Ting woke up from the cold breeze that early morning to find him sitting by the sliding door on the balcony of her room. She could tell he was still very upset with her accident. Over the past few days, he had been looking after her discreetly by checking up on her when she fell asleep or getting the twins to feed him with updates constantly on her progress. He had avoided talking to her. It hurt her somewhat though she knew it was not intentional.

It reminded her of the time when he failed his maths in school cause Mrs. Tang would punish him badly not because he did not do well but for tarnishing her reputation of giving maths tuition to students. It was the same look he had now. She knew he would always give himself unnecessary pressure.

As she sat next to him and slowly patted his back, it took him a while to realise it was Xue Ting by his side.

"It's me…" She held on to his arm closer but he pulled away. Instead, she pulled him in for a hug. With her cast removed, she could still feel the pain a little as she felt his arms begin to tighten around her. His hug was slowly crushing into a tight hug but she endured it for a moment. Only then did she realised how tense and worried was Qiu Wen.

It was a hug she missed over the past few days. She never noticed he had anxiety issues because he always managed to calm it whenever she was around. She tightened her hug subconsciously. She slowly rubbed his back like she always does when comforting the twins.

It made his anxiety better he noticed. "I'm sorry for worrying you. I'm fine now." She comforted as he leaned his head on hers and she could feel his shaky breathing.

"It's alright. I'm all good now. So, can we end this silent treatment already? I missed you…" She whispered while caressing his cheeks.

Perhaps knowing she was around had helped him to be more calm. He was determined more than ever to keep her around. It was dark but the dimly lit street lights were enough for him to see her silhouette which he missed.

He looked deep into her eyes and found that look he once saw sixteen years ago but was never to be found again. He dared himself to kiss those lips and lingered. He tried hard to stop himself from going further as he carried her back to bed and laid in with several more kisses. Xue Ting was weary as she fought hard to not succumb to his desirable pleasures.

It took her a while to bravely call out his name with a wobbly voice.

He whispered gently. "Do you want me to stop?"

A part of her did not as it was smitten by his sultry husky voice she finally got to hear after days but a part of her was hesitating as she forced herself to nod.

He took the signal that she needed time as he forced himself to get up and head to the washroom to calm himself before washing up. Xue Ting lay still in bed thereafter wondering if she upsetted him but when he came back to bed, she sighed in relief.

He planted a kiss on her forehead instead as he hugged her back to sleep. She held on closer to his arms. "Don't worry. Take your time. I will always be by your side." He whispered sleepily as she opened her eyes.

She could see a wide smile appear on his face with dimples as he fell asleep. She kissed his cheeks before falling back to sleep as she let herself savor the moment.