Later in the week, Qiu Wen returned home frustrated as he went to the kitchen for a glass of water late at night when Xue Ting came out from their room to check on him.

Just by looking at him trying to calm himself down with glass after glass of water, she could sense his anger as he was fuming while his phone was vibrating with an incoming call.

She walked over and saw the caller ID to be Francesca. She hugged him from behind and instantly felt his tense body relax.

"Bad day?" She asked gently as he turned around to meet her doting gaze.

"Hey…"He greeted briefly, wanting to storm upstairs, trying to calm himself fearing he would let it go on Xue Ting. As he kept ignoring the incoming call, Xue Ting held his hand and pointed at the door.

"A walk?" She asked as he nodded. She held his hand in hers as he relaxed a little while they strolled.

"The breeze is lovely. It's going to be autumn soon." Xue Ting said while deep breathing the air. She was not giving up on coaxing him when he heard him hum in agreement briefly.

She stopped by the roadside as she gently caressed his cheeks which reminded her of her twin's.

"Shall we head back for a break to see my mum again?' Xue Ting asked knowing it was going to be their safe haven to relax as he forced a smile and nodded. It upset Xue Ting to see him hesitating to tell her his problems.

"Now tell me whatever is bothering you. I could be your empty vessel." Xue Ting used her hands to pull her ears to widen them which made him laugh.

"It's just work... As I said I don't understand the existence of this branch previously… I'm tired of traveling daily to Wai Tao. What's worse is that good for nothing sales director keeps giving so many issues! So many unnecessary dinners and none of those potential customers made it on the deal. They seem to be more interested in talking about real estate! Are we doing favors for the Wei family this way now?! What a waste of resources?!" Qui Wen vented as Xue Ting gently rubbed his arm.

"Calm down. She is just being filial to her parents' request…" Xue Ting tried to comfort him when he harrumphed. "Don't side her! She doesn't need it!" Xue Ting chuckled at his sulking self as he pulled her closer to him.

"Remember you're doing this for Qiu Yeh and we owe him." She reminded him as he hugged her.

"He must have set up this branch for me to finally find you…" He mumbled as Xue Ting pulled away to look at him with a smile.

Xue Ting wrapped her arms around his waist. "Because he knows how much I love you and despite him liking me too, he knows it will never be reciprocated." She assured him as she gently touched his heart. "You have stolen my heart long ago."

Qiu Wen took the chance to kiss her deeply till they ran out of breath. "You're teasing me again. I'm gonna teach you a lesson later Mrs. Tang." Xue Ting giggled.

"The both of you spoke?" He asked as she nodded. "While we were trapped that day…" She explained as he smiled satisfyingly.

"Come and join me over the weekend as my design advisor at the annual dinner. I will announce you as my secretary too…" He insisted as she shook her head.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

"Nope. Give up. Not interested as your secretary but…" She teased while lifting a finger at him as he snarled at her.

"I can still go as Mrs. Tang." She cheered as he laughed and took her hand to stroll home happily.

On the company dinner night, Alfred was waiting for Francesca to dress up in her room. "Make sure you get that witch tonight properly…" Francesca reminded Alfred whom she noticed was eyeing her seductively while she fit into her dress.

He walked over and leaned into her back as his hands worked their way in pulling up her zipper while he winked at her who was looking at their reflection in front of the mirror. "Your wish is granted, baby…" Alfred teased as Francesca smiled triumphantly when he finally got the zip to the top of her dress.

"Thank you for willingly sharing partners…" He added before laughing heartily and left her room to get ready himself.

Somehow his last words made her anger flare for no apparent reason and she wanted to retaliate only to realise her goal was Qiu Wen. So, there was no valid reason for her to control Alfred but her heart ached with jealousy as she forced herself to shrug away all her emotions amid confusion and remain composed for her plans tonight.

Everyone was delighted to see Xue Ting and Qiu Wen arriving especially those who had been to the company trip with them. Many wanted to take pictures with them after the opening ceremony and speeches. While there were performances ongoing, Qiu Wen sneaked her away backstage to have some time alone with her after noticing she was tired in her high heels and long, heavy maxi violet dress.

He passed her a bottle of water as he sat her down on one of the dressing tables. "I'm alright… You should head out to entertain the guests." She told him knowing he was worried.

"But…" He wanted to protest when he saw Xue Ting was busy touching up her makeup.

"It's going to take some time. So, go ahead. I will come to find you." She smiled reassuringly as he stepped out reluctantly to find Jia Yi wanting to introduce him to their clients before Qiu Wen could tell him to look after Xue Ting. Liew Wei was also keeping an eye on the couple and noticed Francesca who had been accompanying Mrs. Tang and her parents, was approaching Qiu Wen and deliberately keeping him busy by introducing many guests.

She also noticed Xue Ting was missing as she paid more attention to the direction of the dressing room only to be distracted by Jia Yi's looks who was busy entertaining guests as well. She had not thought Jia Yi could look so charming when he dressed up.

Alfred who had also been keeping close watch on Xue Ting was delighted at his chance to finally be able to approach her. He quickly grabbed two flutes of champagne and spiked one of them as he approached Xue Ting who had just stepped out of the dressing room.

"Mrs. Tang, what a pleasure to finally get to talk to you tonight." He greeted as Xue Ting smiled politely out of courtesy though she could sense danger surrounding her.

"Pleasure to meet you too. Hope you are enjoying yourself." She replied before wanting to make a move when he held out the flute of champagne to her.

"Here, my repayment for being impolite during our first meeting." Xue Ting eyed the flute knowing it was suspicious but she had no choice but to accept it out of courtesy as she did not want to create a scene.

"Thank you…" She said as they cheered and she drank a little. "Apologies not accepted?" He asked as he used his eyes to point at her flute of champagne which was half full.

"Apologies but I was on the way to the washroom. I really had to go now. So, please don't be offended." She said hurriedly as she returned the flute of champagne to the waiter walking past them before dashing to the washroom.

"Alright! I will wait for you here…" He said while watching her dashed into the washroom. He stood guarding the washroom entrance to ensure she could not escape from him after having half of the spiked champagne.

In the washroom, she tried to call Qiu Wen but he was too busy entertaining clients whom Francesca had deliberately led him on. She was feeling strange and despite being barely sober, she called Jia Yi who was with Grandma but realised there were people in the washroom so she hung up and texted Jia Yi instead.

I'm in the washroom. Alfred is outside. He spiked my dnrik. It's a trpa...

From her text message, he could tell the typo errors meant she was not sober as Grandma began to notice the changes on Jia Yi's face.

"What's wrong, young boy?" She asked while sipping tea.

"Madam, young Miss is in trouble…" He said as Grandma instantly made him explain the situation. Grandma began to think of a mischievous idea as she instructed Jia Yi to bring Francesca and Alfred to accompany her and ensure Xue Ting was well taken care of after rescuing her.

Jia Yi went on to lead Francesca away from Qiu Wen first before he told Qiu Wen about the situation. Jia Yi instantly regretted his move to tell Qiu Wen first as he barely could manage to hold back Qiu Wen from entering the washroom while he led Alfred away.

However, both men ended up with another challenge. They could not find an appropriate way into the female washroom without triggering news to spread as there were always ladies entering and exiting now and then.

Liew Wei who was watching from a corner then felt something was amidst as she decided to pretend to walk into the washroom before Jia Yi stopped her.

"Liew Wei!" He called out to her as she smiled to herself knowing her instincts were right.

"Good evening… I heard you sent my boss to Old Madam. Is there a problem?" She asked Jia Yi as he explained to her the situation.

Liew Wei panicked as she quickly made her way into the washroom and forced herself to stay composed. When she finally found only one cubicle door was not open, she knew Xue Ting was in there. She quickly put up a cleaning signboard outside of the washroom before letting them in. While she scouted the washroom, Jia Yi handed Qiu Wen his own room's card key to ensure the couple would not be disturbed for the night.

While Qiu Wen dashed in, Jia Yi then helped Liew Wei slip back into the hall without being suspected. "Thank you!" Jia Yi managed to whisper before they stepped in as Liew Wei smiled and nodded knowingly.

She walked around looking for Francesca thereafter only to spot Grandma was torturing Alfred and Francesca who awkwardly had to drink tea and listen to Grandma's stories about the history of the empire built by Grandpa back then the whole night. She could not help but chuckle to herself at the karma her boss was getting back at.