The 3 B's- Beauty, Brains and Bravery

Earlston, Scotland, Xinguan's Farmhouse, 07:30;

The next morning, Xi Yuan opened his eyes exhaustedly, as he shut off the ringing alarm beside him, agitated by the noise. He then stretched his right arm to the other half of the bed. He was habitual to it by now. Placing his hand over her waist, pulling her against his chest, breathing in her uniquely intoxicating scent, before getting up to prepare breakfast for the two of them. But as his hands landed over the cold, empty, organized sheets, he frowned, finally turning to search for her. However, the lady wasn't there. That was unusually strange, for she wouldn't wake up before nine, in general. 

Then, at once, he sat up and threw the blanket from him away, getting down the bed. It was not until the warm, sweet aroma of pancakes wafted to him, did his worries came to a halt. It couldn't be the staff, as they weren't to show up until eleven that day. But why was she up so soon? And why didn't she wake him up? He could've helped her in the kitchen, at the minimum.

Xi Yuan leaned against the wooden door frame of the kitchen, suppressing the rush of adrenaline the sight of her often produced through his veins. He wondered why, sometimes. But mostly, he didn't bother to think at all. He loved to watch her. Busy. Indulged in tasks at hand. Her long black hair tied up in a messy bun, a few strands rebelling though, as they brushed against her lips and cheeks, and collarbone. She had put on her Bro Al's headphones, humming to the song she was listening to. God... she looked beautiful. As pretty as a painting. All of her. 

At this time, the girl turned around to check on her brewing coffee, only to notice her darling gawking at her from a distance, and she panicked. The batter bowl in her hand almost slipped through her fingers, as she encountered a mini-heart-attack. 

"Yuan!", she glared at him, removing her headset abruptly, "You scared me."

"Good morning, Love.", the man smiled, walking over to her. "How are you feeling today? Did you get proper sleep?", he asked then, planting a soft kiss against her left cheek, "And what's with all the cooking?"

The girl waited for her heart to ease down before she replied to him eventually, "I feel great, actually. I woke up around Six. I tried to sleep back but I couldn't. So then I thought why not enjoy my me-time, which by the way, includes roaming throughout the house like a witch, baking, and listening to sad heartbreaking songs."

"..."

The man looked at the girl's wise expression, not knowing what to say. Roaming like a witch? Who on earth talked like that?! So... adorable.

"Got it.", the man burst out laughing, "But now that I am here, let me handle the haunted pancakes, okay?"

"I am not letting you take credit!", Rong Xinghe turned down the man's suggestion, "Just grab a chair from the dining and talk to me while I do the decoration part."

"Okay.", Xi Yuan gave in to the woman's commands with a sigh, "Just don't tire yourself out too much."

"I won't. Don't worry.", the girl giggled, picking up the butter pack next to the carton of milk from the fridge, "So what's on your to-do list today?"

"It entirely depends on your to-do list, Xinghe.", the man shrugged, "I'll be, of course, accompanying you."

"I haven't decided, yet.", the girl said, "I mean... there's so much to do. But I simply wanted to check out this mysterious underground library of yours today. So I'll probably just crash here. We could go out for a stroll in the evening, but. What do you think of that?"

"Works for me.", Xi Yuan smiled. 

___________

Meanwhile, Xi Family Mansion;

Luo Youyou stared into the mirror, the nails of her right hand digging deep into the flesh of her left palm. She'd just gotten off of the call with Luo Chen. The man was devastated, literally trembling in fear that'd been inflicted upon him overnight by the Superfamily. She would never forget the slap she'd received the night before, she swore to herself. She would make them pay for their sins!

"Forget it, Youyou.", Xi Chonglin walked into the room, his tone perturbed, "I'll help your brother reopen some other business. Just treat last night like a bad dream, alright?"

"Don't you understand my troubles at all?", Luo You said through gritted teeth, her eyes bloodshot with rage. 

Shaking his head, Xi Chonglin grabbed a seat beside the woman, squeezing her hands comfortingly, "I do. But we are at a dead end right now, dear. You heard Fang last night. He didn't so much as even blink an eye as Lu Wei pushed Luo Empire into damnation. 

"Even if we were to fight, who would we be fighting for. You and I, we both know that of all the three kids of ours, Fang is the only one who is worthy enough to replace Xi Yuan.

"Let's say, Yuan decides to step down from his position. Even so, Fang would rather let the entire business collapse than take it over from him."

Luo Youyou closed her eyes shut, inhaling a long deep breath before she finally spoke up, "Then let's win our son back, Mr. Xi. It doesn't matter how much he adores and respects his saint of a brother, we still are his parents. He can't just give up on us, can he?

"Let's just approach him benignantly next time, you know, the way brother Chongkun and sister Jungah have been treating Yuan since they returned back. Their method is working just fine, apparently.

"Once Fang begins to trust us again, we'd be able to move on to the next part of our plan."

"But how do we do it?", Xi Chonglin questioned, his tone intrigued now.

"He loves that girl, right? Jiang Yue?", the woman chuckled, "It's about time we meet our to be daughter-in-law, I think."

Luo Youyou and Xi Chonglin's intentions weren't pure, clearly. Nonetheless, they thought otherwise, at the moment.

Xi Corporations was a legacy passed down to a fifteen-year-old years ago, leaving a bruise upon their minds, and hearts, for that wasn't how it was supposed to be. Despite thousands of disagreements and diplomatic battles between Xi Chongkun and Xi Chonglin, neither of the two brothers was allowed to taste the fame and power that resided inside that particular throne of business. As if that wasn't enough of an insult, their competitor's son was now calling the shots in Xi Corps today. 

The old man had the audacity to chose Xi Yuan over Xi Fang, not giving their son even an opportunity to put up a fair fight. To them, Xi Yuan's current might and pride were Xi Chongkun's victory. And that was just intolerable to the couple. So by hook or by crook, they were going to take back what was rightfully 'theirs'. One day, they would, definitely.