Yancy Shaw looked at the sleeping Lauren Shaw, gently lifting the hand she'd draped over his waist. As he watched her peaceful face, he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek.

Lauren Shaw stirred, turned over, and continued sleeping.

Moving quietly, Yancy Shaw slipped out of bed, put on his slippers, and left the bedroom.

There were two missed calls on his phone. He’d put it on silent, worried that any noise would wake Lauren Shaw.

After a moment’s thought, he called back.

Xavier Quinn’s voice came through, carrying a hint of wind on the other end, making him sound oddly distant and blurred.

"The Mo family called me out tonight."

"Mm. And?" Yancy Shaw’s reply was low, giving nothing away.

"They want to team up with me against the Shen family," Xavier Quinn’s tone was layered, as if he was weighing many things. His car was parked outside a hotel as he glanced up at the windows, wondering if the person he was thinking of was already asleep.

Yancy Shaw kept silent, waiting for him to continue.

Without a response, Xavier Quinn went on, "Aren’t you going to ask if I said yes?"

"If you had agreed, you wouldn’t be calling me now." Yancy Shaw, sly as an old fox, easily saw through him.

Xavier Quinn gave a short, mocking laugh. "No fun at all. Can't you at least play along? Aren’t you curious what the Mo family offered me?"

"What did they offer?"

"They promised that if I worked with them, I’d get a ten percent stake in the company they're setting up in Ancheng." It was a tempting offer—one Xavier Quinn might've accepted in the past, because he'd been a businessman who only cared about profit.

But things were different now. He'd found something more important than money, something no amount of profit could buy.

"So?"

Yancy Shaw sounded nonchalant, neither warm nor cold. Xavier Quinn was used to his poker face and continued, "Of course I turned them down. As much as I dislike you, I still want the Shen family to do well."

He wasn’t doing it for Yancy Shaw’s sake, but for Nina Shaw.

Suddenly, Xavier Quinn got a mischievous idea. "Call me brother-in-law, let’s hear it."

"…" Yancy Shaw was speechless. Childish as ever, he thought, but answered smoothly, "Your wife just called mine, said she couldn’t sleep and felt off. You should hurry home and check on her."

Xavier Quinn: "…"

Not letting him get even a sliver of advantage, huh.

"Funny, I don’t like you either. But I hope you and my wife’s sister work things out," Yancy Shaw replied, refusing to back down for even a second.

A man who refused to lose, no matter what.

After they hung up, Xavier Quinn went back into the hotel.

Nina Shaw was asleep, curled up on the big bed, her small figure wrapped in the blankets, looking lonely and frail. Maybe she lacked a sense of security; she’d tucked herself tightly, and who knew how she’d finally fallen asleep.

Xavier Quinn crouched by the bedside, quietly watching her sleeping face. He couldn’t help but reach out and touch her cheek.

Half-asleep, Nina Shaw felt something moving across her face. She scratched at it in discomfort, opened her eyes—only to find an enlarged, handsome face hovering over her. She jolted, nearly tumbling off the bed.

"What—what are you doing? You came back and didn’t make a sound—nearly scared me to death!" Still shaken, she patted her chest.

She’d been sleeping so well, and now she was so startled her heart felt like it was trying to leap out of her throat.

Xavier Quinn rubbed the tip of his nose, embarrassed. "I saw your blanket had slipped off. I was trying to tuck you in."

Nina Shaw: I should really thank you for that.

She’d finally managed to sleep and now she was wide awake—and in no mood for nonsense.

Xavier Quinn hadn’t expected her to wake up suddenly, nor had he meant to startle her. Seeing her like this, he felt a bit guilty.

"Don’t be mad. I’m sorry, I won’t disturb your sleep next time." He tried to coax her, keeping his tone low, then crawled under the covers and pulled her into his arms.

At first, Nina Shaw struggled a little, but he held her snugly, and eventually she gave up resisting.

Resting in his embrace, Nina Shaw felt safe. Before long, she’d drifted right back to sleep.

So strange—when he wasn’t around, she couldn’t sleep; but with him there, she fell asleep in no time.

—

When she opened her eyes again, daylight had arrived.

She turned her head; the man beside her was still sleeping soundly.

Keeping quiet, she simply watched him for a while. She rarely stared at him like this, but she had to admit—even if Xavier Quinn could be awfully irritating sometimes, his looks were something she could never tire of.

No wonder Sheng Hanxia had never been able to forget him.

The man stirred, and Nina Shaw quickly shut her eyes, pretending to be asleep.

Xavier Quinn had already woken up. He knew she’d been watching him, but to play along, he pretended to stay asleep.

"Sharing a bed doesn't make you wake up as different people," he thought, watching Nina Shaw fake her sleep. He leaned in and kissed her lips, wanting to see how long she could keep the act going.

Nina Shaw immediately broke character, opening her eyes to glare at him. "Why did you kiss me?"

Xavier Quinn propped his head up with one hand and shrugged. "You’re my wife. I like kissing you. Do I need any other reason?"

He let his hand rest on her belly, face serious. "When I kiss you, the baby in your belly gets happy too."

Nina Shaw: "..."

Could he be any more childish? The excuses he found to take advantage of her were certainly original.

She became aware of his hand on her stomach—a strange feeling.

"Get your paws off me!"

Probably only Nina Shaw dared talk to him like that. Still, Xavier Quinn obediently moved his hand away.

This woman, not a hint of softness in her.

—

Fashion Week, backstage.

Lauren Shaw was backstage overseeing the models’ makeup. She was determined that nothing would go wrong with this show like last time, so she was doubly attentive.

Every drop of water or bite of food given to the models was rigorously checked, all to prevent anything like last time from happening again.

Xiaomei came in holding a bouquet. "Sienna Shaw, a gentleman outside asked me to give you these."

Lauren Shaw turned to glance at the bouquet in her arms. "Who sent them?"

Xiaomei shook her head. "I don’t know—he was in a wheelchair." She hadn’t wanted to accept the flowers, but when she saw him in a wheelchair, she didn’t have the heart to refuse.

Their Sienna Shaw really was a head-turner.

Hearing the mention of the man in the wheelchair, Lauren Shaw instantly guessed who it was.

"Just put them over there."

With the models still putting on makeup and two hours to go before the show, she finally had time to sit down and rest.

Claire Xu wandered over and spotted the bouquet on the makeup table. Curious, she asked, "Who sent the flowers?"

Lauren Shaw, seated, answered flatly, "Someone unimportant."

Actions like Mo Qinglin’s were truly off-putting. Remembering the things he’d said to Yancy Shaw the other day, she knew he was just trying to provoke trouble between her and her husband, which made her all the more averse to him.

Claire Xu drew a chair over and teased, "Seems Dr. Shen’s gained another love rival."

"Don’t be ridiculous," Lauren Shaw cut her off, pulling out a lipstick to touch up her makeup.