Tan Mo was softly comforted by Xie Qichen and eventually fell asleep peacefully in his arms.
The words the man had spoken to her, filled with sincerity and tenderness, slowly mended the wounds in her heart, big and small.
They say those who have an unhappy childhood spend their entire lives healing from it, but Tan Mo felt fortunate to have met someone in this life who could heal her.
He understood her entire past and recognized all her pain, helping her turn the page completely from it.
Later on, Tan Mo had a dream.
It felt as if she was suddenly back in high school, during the times when she was bullied by Tan Zhiwan and her group of friends. When she was cornered and overwhelmed with fear, a hand suddenly appeared in her dream and pulled her up. Looking up, she saw Xie Qichen—like a ray of light breaking through the darkness, radiant and dazzling, illuminating everything around her.
The night passed.
The next morning, around eight o’clock, sunlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows, slightly glaring against her closed eyelids.
After a while, Tan Mo turned over and finally woke up.
Rubbing her eyes, she slowly sat up. Her vision was still blurry when a gentle male voice suddenly came from ahead:
“You’re awake?”
She opened her eyes and saw the man from her dream.
In the room, Xie Qichen, who had been sitting by the desk, noticed her waking up. He put down the documents and walked over to sit beside her, checking on her condition:
“How are you feeling? Did you sleep enough?”
Tan Mo glanced at the wall clock and, seeing him still there, looked puzzled: “Why aren’t you at the company…”
“I’m staying home today to be with you.”
He reached out, wrapped his arm around her waist, pulled her closer, and brushed a strand of hair from her face: “After a good nap, are you feeling better?”
Looking at him, Tan Mo murmured guiltily: “I’m fine now. I just got a bit emotional last night. You shouldn’t have stayed home—work at the company is more important…”
“It’s okay. I don’t have much to do today. I can work from home and go in this afternoon.”
Feeling warm inside, Tan Mo leaned against his shoulder. He gently patted her head: “It’s good that you let it out last night. Don’t hold things in anymore. You can always talk to me, okay?”
Xie Qichen stroked her long hair: “It makes me really happy that you trust me, Mo Mo.”
Gazing at him, Tan Mo smiled sweetly: “Alright… don’t worry, I won’t shoulder everything alone like I used to. I know you’re here with me. I may distrust others, but I will always trust you.”
Just like he had said last night, she could be an imperfect child in front of him. So what was there to be afraid of?
He smiled slightly, “Yes, I’m always here.”
Then he picked her up and carried her toward the bathroom in the master bedroom next door: “Let’s get ready. I’ll take you downstairs for breakfast later.”
Tan Mo clung to him like an octopus: “Okay.”
After brushing her teeth and washing her face, Tan Mo felt much more awake and her mood had improved.
Returning to the guest bedroom, she picked up her phone from the nightstand and found a missed call from her adoptive mother twenty minutes ago. But Xie Qichen had silenced her phone last night, so she hadn’t heard it.
Hesitating for a moment, Tan Mo called back. The call was quickly answered:
“Mo Mo, are you awake now—”
“Mm, just woke up and saw your call. What’s up?”
“Nothing much. I just wanted to chat with you…”
Tan Mo’s adoptive mother said that last night, her husband had told her about the conversation between Tan Mo’s adoptive father and Xie Qichen. She had barely slept all night, thinking about how they had wronged Tan Mo over the years. She felt guilty and heartbroken, so she couldn’t help but call early this morning.
Hearing her mother’s words of remorse, Tan Mo also felt emotional: “Mom, why do you and Dad feel like you’ve wronged me? If it weren’t for you two adopting me, I don’t know how I would have ended up. You’ve already been so good to me.”
Then her mother also told her about how Tan Mo’s adoptive father had scolded Tan Zhiwan the previous night and the punishment Tan Zhiwan had received.
It turned out that Tan Zhiwan had indeed been the one to falsely accuse her first. Actually, what Xie Qichen did wasn’t that harsh—just two cooperation projects from the wealthy Tan family. But that was already enough to make the ambitious and profit-driven Tan Zhiwan furious. Most importantly, now Tan Mo’s adoptive father was genuinely angry.
Tan Mo had no intention of getting involved in this matter anymore and wouldn’t plead for Tan Zhiwan: “Mom, it’s all in the past. Anyway, now that Qichen is by my side and treats me well, that’s all that matters.”
She looked up and saw Xie Qichen walking toward her, and a smile lit up her face.
Her mother chuckled: “Yes, knowing that Qichen is looking after you makes me feel at ease.”
After hanging up, Tan Mo looked up at Xie Qichen with a bright smile. Seeing her adorable expression, the man took her hand and smiled too:
“Goofy, let’s go downstairs to eat.”
“Okay.”
Holding his hand, Tan Mo walked downstairs, no longer thinking about the matter.
At the restaurant, while drinking milk for breakfast, Tan Mo chatted casually with Xie Qichen: “I’ve been too busy lately to shoot food videos properly. I’ve taken a long break, so I should start filming again recently.”
The man stirred his salad and pushed it toward her: “You can also talk to the chef at home about what you want to do.”
“Alright, I have a few ideas. I’ll show them to you later…”
She was scrolling through her phone when suddenly a few messages popped up in her dorm group chat—
Chang Yue: [Picture]
Chang Yue: “Mo Mo, did you see the post Ye Yao shared on his Moments? What’s going on here?”
Tan Mo was taken aback and opened the chat screenshot. It was a post Ye Yao had shared on his Moments late last night at 11 PM.
He had shared a photo of a table full of empty bottles, with the caption:
“It’s ridiculous. So all my efforts amounted to nothing but indifference.”
Tan Mo: ? What is this?!
She clicked into the original Moments post and saw over ten concerned comments asking what happened. Some even asked if he was heartbroken over a relationship. Ye Yao had only replied with one sentence: [I don’t want to talk about it. It’s really not worth it.]
That kind of response indirectly seemed like an admission.
Others in the comments joked: [I swear, I didn’t even realize Ye God was dating someone before he got his heart broken?]
Tan Mo looked confused. Returning to the WeChat group, her other two roommates had also chimed in, saying that they were all shocked by this late-night emo post last night but had no idea what was going on.
After a while, Tan Mo typed: [I ran into Ye Yao after I went downstairs last night.]
The three of them: [???]
Tan Mo: [I told him I’m dating someone, and he saw me with my boyfriend.]
Three: ???!
[Wait, so does this mean his post is kind of implying something about you?]
[Yeah, everyone knows he liked you. It kind of feels like he’s acting like he’s the one who got hurt. But didn’t you make it clear from the beginning that you weren’t interested?]
[People who don’t know the truth might think he’s the one who got treated unfairly, lol.]
[This is so ridiculous. If you can’t get her, just accept it. Why post something like this on Moments? Isn’t that awkward…]
Finally, Tan Mo locked her phone screen and rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on.
Could it be that Ye Yao was hurt after seeing her kissing Xie Qichen last night…
But the thing is, she had never led Ye Yao on…
Xie Qichen glanced at her and asked: “What’s wrong? Not hungry?”
“No…”
Tan Mo couldn’t help but smile helplessly, deciding not to dwell on it anymore since she had nothing to feel guilty about.
At that moment, Xie Qichen’s phone also vibrated with a message from Xun Huo:
“Bro, have you thought about what I said last night? I’ve set the time for this Saturday. I’ve already asked Lu Zi’an and others, and they all said they’re free. You must come, okay?”
Last night when Xun Huo mentioned this, Xie Qichen and Tan Mo were in the middle of a passionate moment. He hung up the phone and completely forgot about it.
Seeing the message, Xie Qichen wrapped his arm around the girl’s waist: “Xun Huo called last night, inviting us to his brother’s vineyard this weekend. Do you remember?”
“Yeah, so?”
“Do you want to go?”
Tan Mo hesitated slightly. Xie Qichen guessed her thoughts and gently said: “It’s just a few close friends. No one like those annoying people at the wedding. Don’t worry. This time I’ll be by your side the whole time, and I won’t let you feel hurt again like last time.”
Hearing this, Tan Mo felt reassured: “Okay.”
Now that their relationship had changed, she no longer felt the fear and discomfort she had before.
Then the man sent a voice message: “We can come. I’ll bring Mo Mo with me this weekend.”
Xun Huo: “Great! I was actually hoping you’d bring Tan Mo. We can hang out more as we get closer to the weekend.”
Xie Qichen put down his phone and looked at the girl beside him: “I’ll be with you the whole weekend. It’ll be like a little vacation.”
His voice was gentle and playful: “Besides, now that I’ve finally won you over, I should show you off a bit, right?”
Tan Mo was slightly taken aback and asked him blankly: “You want to… show off our relationship?”
“Does Mrs. Xie approve?”
Tan Mo blushed: “I always thought you were pretty low-key…”
Xie Qichen raised his eyebrows: “Well, there was no one before who made me want to be high-profile.”
Tan Mo smiled brightly:
“Alright… you have someone now.”
After Monday, Tan Mo and Xie Qichen’s life officially got back on track.
Xie Qichen continued pushing forward with the company’s reforms and new product development, while Tan Mo focused on her studies and content creation. Her show filmed at An Hui Mountain would air later, and for now, she spent her days working on her graduation project and filming videos, enjoying a relatively relaxed lifestyle.
During this time, Tan Zhiwan called her once, but she happened to miss it. She assumed it was another scolding and decided not to engage.
Tan Mo’s adoptive father specifically told her that if Tan Zhiwan ever caused trouble again, she should inform him immediately.
Thus, a week quickly passed, and the weekend arrived.
On Friday night, Xun Huo called Xie Qichen to confirm the vineyard’s location, which was in the suburbs of Li City. It was like a resort with various entertainment, leisure, and accommodation facilities. They would leave the next morning and could stay for two days, returning on Sunday.
So, Tan Mo packed a few things for herself and Xie Qichen. The next morning, around eight o’clock, they set off for the vineyard.
Wanting Tan Mo to feel more at ease, Xie Qichen chose to drive them himself.
In the morning, the sun shone brightly, and the sky was clear. The Aston Martin smoothly drove along the asphalt road.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Tan Mo wore a deep blue preppy-style dress. Facing the gentle breeze coming through the window, she felt cheerful and murmured with a smile to Xie Qichen: “This is actually the first time I’ve ridden in a car you’re driving since you came back to China.”
The composed and striking man kept his eyes on the road ahead while steering the wheel casually:
“Yeah, I’ve been busy with company affairs lately and prefer not to get too tired on the road, so I rarely drive now.”
Tan Mo rested her cheek on her hand and looked at him: “I remember when I first met you in high school, you were really good at racing.”
Xie Qichen had many dazzling sides. Tan Mo had seen him focused and solemn while coding, and also seen him exuding intense masculinity while speeding on the racetrack. His personality was unpredictable, sometimes cold, sometimes passionate, making it no wonder so many girls fell for him.
Xie Qichen said: “I don’t race much anymore. If you want to, I can take you for a drive sometime.”
Tan Mo’s smile deepened: “Great, though I wonder if your driving skills have improved or gotten worse.”
The car came to a stop at a red light. The man rested one hand on the steering wheel, turned to look at her, and replied with a teasing smile:
“You don’t know how good my skills are? Haven’t you already experienced it at night?”
How could she possibly know that from nighttime…
The innocent girl was momentarily stunned. Two seconds later, she realized the implication and blushed furiously, puffing her cheeks in indignation:
“Xie Qichen, you’re such a pervert…”
His deep chuckle followed, making Tan Mo’s cheeks flush with heat.
She thought about how, since the man had gotten his way recently, he seemed to have endless energy and a variety of ideas, leaving her exhausted and drained every time. The little box had gone from empty to empty again.
Tan Mo had been quite inexperienced and shy about such matters at first, but recently she had gradually been influenced by him, learning to enjoy the pleasures and even taking the initiative, which made the man increasingly eager.
The worst time was one evening when Xie Qichen returned from the company and went to the bedroom to find her editing a video.
They got caught up in each other, and he couldn’t care less what time it was, immediately pulling her into his arms.
Later, the housekeeper knocked on the door and heard very obvious sounds coming from inside.
Anyone with normal hearing would know exactly what was going on.
The housekeeper was so embarrassed that she quickly announced dinner was ready and hurried away, leaving Tan Mo’s face burning with embarrassment until it almost caught fire. Half an hour later, Xie Qichen finally let her go. At dinner, Tan Mo was too shy to even make eye contact with the housekeeper.
Moreover, Xie Qichen had declared that from now on, the chef and housekeeper would have weekends off and wouldn’t come to the villa.
His intentions were obvious—so no one would disturb them at the villa, allowing him to do whatever he wanted with her, unrestricted…
Pushing away the blush-inducing memories, Tan Mo shot a shy glare at the man beside her:
“Xie Qichen, I’m sleeping in separate rooms tonight.”
Xie Qichen glanced at her.
Tan Mo softly huffed: “Someone’s been indulging too much lately, getting too nourished. It’s time to eat some vegetables.”
Xie Qichen looked at her, suppressing a smile: “Seems like someone hasn’t really wanted to eat vegetables lately.”
“…”
The girl, whose thoughts had been exposed, had no response.
The traffic light turned green, and Tan Mo, both shy and flustered, buried her face and mumbled: “I’m not talking to you anymore. Just drive faster.”
Hearing this, Xie Qichen’s smile deepened further.
After nearly two hours of driving, Xie Qichen arrived at a private winery named Barbeito, following the location sent by Xun Huo.
As the car drove through the gate and along the tree-lined path surrounded by greenery, the place appeared like a private paradise. There were vast vineyards, a large golf course, a horse racing track, orchards, and swimming pools, offering excellent recreational and leisure facilities.
Backed by mountains on three sides and facing a river on the other, the estate had a dock with yachts moored nearby. The air was fresh, the scenery serene, and it was truly a playground for the wealthy.
Driving forward, they spotted a building ahead with five or six private cars parked outside. Xun Huo and Lu Zian were standing there, surrounded by about a dozen classmates. A group of young men and women were chatting and laughing, seemingly having just arrived.
Xie Qichen parked his car nearby. When everyone saw him:
“Oh, Achen is here!”
“Wow, Xie Qichen actually drove himself here today…”
Tan Mo looked at them and recognized most of the group as close university friends.
She stepped out of the car, and Xie Qichen walked to her side, taking her hand and leading her up the steps in front of the building. Everyone noticed the couple:
“Hey, welcome, Tan Mo!”
“I’ve noticed that since Achen got married, he always brings his wife with him whenever he goes out.”
Xie Qichen smiled slightly, ignoring their teasing. As Tan Mo greeted everyone, a guy winked playfully at her:
“Tan Mo, you’d better keep an eye on Achen when you two go out, otherwise there’ll be so many girls eyeing him. You should turn Achen into a henpecked husband.”
“Then wouldn’t Xie Shen be furious…”
Tan Mo blushed, looking up just in time to see Xie Qichen arching his eyebrows, his tone calm and simple:
“It’s fine. I’m quite willing.”
“Oh my god, is this really Xie Qichen who used to be indifferent and aloof to every girl?!”
As they were joking around, suddenly a red supercar came speeding from a distance. Someone recognized it:
“Is that Song Nvshen arriving? I remember this is her car.”
Xun Huo smirked and waved his hand toward the car, signaling it to park in front.
After the car parked, the driver’s door opened, and a pair of silver high heels stepped out. Then Song Ranxia’s face appeared. From the passenger seat came another girl, their classmate and also Song Ranxia’s roommate, named Xiao Qian. She had been absent from the previous class reunion and wedding due to other commitments.
The two women walked up the steps. Song Ranxia smiled brightly at everyone:
“Am I the last one to arrive again today?”
“Of course, Xiao Qian, we haven’t seen you in ages, you’re so busy now!”
Xiao Qian had a neat short hairstyle, an outgoing and straightforward personality, like a tomboy, smiling casually:
“No, I just thought about coming to see you guys, but honestly, I wasn’t really interested.”
“Hey, listen to what she’s saying…”
The two laughed as they approached. Xun Huo’s smiling gaze fell on Song Ranxia:
“I thought you might get lost today, I was even considering going to pick you up.”
Song Ranxia smiled gently:
“This place is indeed a bit hard to find, I almost couldn’t locate it.”
After saying that, she turned and noticed Tan Mo next to Xie Qichen:
“Tan Mo, you’re here! We were afraid you wouldn’t come today. You should come out and play with us more often in the future.”
Tan Mo greeted her, and Song Ranxia introduced Xiao Qian beside her:
“This is Achen’s wife, the very young little sister I told you about before. She’s several years younger than us and hasn’t even graduated from college yet.”
Xiao Qian raised her eyebrows toward Xie Qichen:
“Xie Shen, a question that has been bothering me for years has finally been solved.”
“What question?”
“So your type is—cute little girl.”
Everyone burst into laughter, and to everyone’s surprise, Xie Qichen didn’t deny it this time. Tan Mo’s delicate face quickly turned red.
Then, the winery’s usual manager came out, greeted them, and said everything was already arranged inside, inviting them to go in.
Xun Huo smiled and invited everyone to go inside first, saying:
“Everyone, if you want to play golf, go play golf. If you want to go fishing, go fishing. You can also visit the wine cellar. Today is for everyone to have fun as they like…”
Tan Mo was holding Xie Qichen’s hand, and the man leaned down to ask her:
“Where do you want to go? I’ll accompany you.”
“I’m fine with anywhere.”
“Then shall we first go to the wine cellar?”
Tan Mo nodded. Coincidentally, others also said they wanted to see the wine first, so the group took the tour bus and headed deeper into the winery.
On the way, the manager introduced the place to them:
“This area now has large-scale modern equipment, and the annual production capacity can reach 1.5 million liters in the future, 80% of which are red grape varieties. There is also our experimental vineyard…”
Finally, they arrived at their destination:
“This is the aging area for the wine.”
As they walked inside, it looked like a giant treasure vault, filled with thousands of stainless steel and oak aging barrels. Then they reached the tasting room.
After sitting down, the manager asked the staff to bring the wine, respectfully looking at Xie Qichen and specially saying:
“Today, our boss Xun knew that Mr. Xie would come. Knowing that you are a connoisseur, he specially instructed us to bring out the best wines for you to taste, some rare collections that are not available on the market.”
The winery would specially treat clients with special status and identity.
Xun Huo joked with Xie Qichen:
“Did you see that? My brother never treated me like this when I came here.”
Others laughed:
“We are benefiting from Achen’s presence, hahaha.”
Then several wines were brought up, and the manager introduced them. Tan Mo, resting her cheek on her hand, listened attentively. She occasionally whispered questions to Xie Qichen. The man’s hand was half-draped over the back of her chair. Seeing the sparkling eyes of the little girl, he couldn’t help but smile:
“Little wine lover, you get so excited whenever you drink.”
They whispered to each other, their voices not loud. Hearing this, Tan Mo felt shy:
“I’m not like that. I’m just curious and want to try…”
“Reflect on yourself. How many times have you gotten drunk in front of me?”
Tan Mo recalled. It seemed that the day after returning to the country, she had gotten drunk and went to find him. She had only been drunk a few times, and each time he was there.
She remembered that during high school, she had once gotten drunk in front of him.
That night, she and a few classmates went out for dinner and secretly had some alcohol. Xie Qichen came to pick her up. She was quite drunk and, when passing a boutique, saw a brown bear taller than her. She clung to it and refused to leave, whining that it was pitiful and she wanted to take it home.
Later, Xie Qichen bought the bear and presented it to her, gently coaxing her:
“Jiaojiao, hold the bear and go home with your big brother, okay?”
Thinking of those past events, Tan Mo couldn’t help but smile at Xie Qichen:
“It’s because I’m with you that I dare to drink. Besides, Uncle sells so much wine and is very strict with me, barely letting me drink much.”
“It’s okay, today if you like any of them, we’ll buy them.”
Tan Mo’s eyes lit up:
“You’re allowing me to drink?”
His deep, magnetic voice sank into Tan Mo’s ear as he teased her softly:
“You can have a little. After drinking, you become quite affectionate.”
?? Affectionate in what way?!
Tan Mo’s face turned bright red.
Hmph, no way. Not buying a single drop. She wouldn’t let this old man have his way!
…
After the final tasting, Xie Qichen selected a few wines with good taste according to the girl’s preference, also supporting Xun Huo’s business. Everyone marveled at how easily the man spent seven-digit figures.
After the tasting, it was already noon, and everyone went to the restaurant for lunch.
The high-end meal had been prepared a few days in advance, with many ingredients freshly flown in from abroad that very morning.
After lunch, everyone took a short rest, and in the afternoon, they planned to go play golf.
In the afternoon, Tan Mo and Xie Qichen walked together on the lawn heading to the golf course. Tan Mo fiddled with her sunhat and looked up at him with a pout:
“Xie Qichen, I don’t know how to play golf.”
“It’s okay, I’ll teach you later.”
She was unhappy:
“How come you know everything? It makes me look so dumb.”
“You don’t have to pretend.”
“Because I am.”
Tan Mo angrily hit him:
“I don’t need you to teach me later.”
As they were playfully bickering, Tan Mo suddenly saw Song Ranxia and Xiao Qian approaching. Hearing their conversation, Song Ranxia smiled at her:
“Tan Mo, you don’t need Xie Qichen to teach you. We’ll teach you, come with us.”
Tan Mo haughtily glanced at Xie Qichen and then went to Song Ranxia and Xiao Qian. The two women took Tan Mo’s hand and smiled at Xie Qichen:
“Achen, you don’t mind if we borrow your wife for a while, right?”
The man smiled helplessly:
“Go ahead.”
Song Ranxia and Xiao Qian laughed and pulled Tan Mo to walk ahead. Seeing the three girls chatting happily together, Xie Qichen let them play while he and the other men continued their game.
Half an hour later, Xie Qichen finished a round and then his gaze fell on Tan Mo, who was trying to swing not far away.
The girl’s fair nose was dotted with small sweat beads, and her eyes curved like the moon when she smiled, looking sweet and soft.
But her movements were a bit clumsy.
Xie Qichen smiled and walked over to Song Ranxia and Xiao Qian:
“You two go play, I’ll teach her.”
“Okay, then we’ll play for a bit…”
After the two left, Tan Mo shyly said to Xie Qichen:
“I was so embarrassed letting them teach me.”
Xie Qichen’s lips curled:
“Come, let’s go to a quieter place.”
Tan Mo was pulled by him to another spot, softly muttering:
“Xie Qichen, if I’m really dumb, you won’t look down on me, right?”
“Yes, I will, especially.”
“…”
Although Xie Qichen said he looked down on her, he was surprisingly gentle and patient while teaching her personally.
He demonstrated a swing for her, and Tan Mo exclaimed:
“Wow, Gege is so amazing.”
The girl’s black hair and red lips looked as white as spring snow under the sunlight. She approached him, lifting her small face, her eyes as clear as a spring.
She deliberately used a soft and sweet voice to call him Gege, innocent yet clearly flirtatious.
Hearing this, Xie Qichen’s temples throbbed. Looking down at her, his dark eyes swirled with deep emotion, his voice low and husky:
“Don’t tempt me in broad daylight.”
Tan Mo suppressed the corners of her smile, innocently blinking her eyes:
“Where did I tempt Gege? I was just praising you.”
Her eyes twinkled mischievously. As soon as she finished speaking, she was abruptly pulled into his arms.
Xie Qichen rolled his Adam’s apple, his voice hoarse:
“Tan Mo, are you really trying to provoke me?”
How could Xie Qichen resist her like this?
On the surface she appeared pure, yet inwardly she was a little temptress who repeatedly dared to provoke him even after being chastised.
“Xie Qichen, why do you react so much when I call you Gege?”
With no one around, Tan Mo’s eyes shimmered. She stood on tiptoe, exhaling warmly in his ear:
“I’ll try calling you Gege tonight and see how you react.”
The man’s gaze darkened, his grip tightening around her waist. His lowered, black eyes locked onto hers, a low chuckle escaping as his hot breath brushed against her ear, carrying a sense of invasion:
“Mm, let’s try then.”
“Just don’t cry like a baby tonight when Gege thrusts you.”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage