The silence inside the Maybach felt heavier than the marble halls they had just left behind.
Mr. He kept both hands firmly on the steering wheel, eyes fixed on the road. Secretary Lin sat in the front passenger seat, suddenly finding the passing streetlights incredibly fascinating. Neither of them dared to make a sound.
In the back seat, Guo Min looked out the window, the reflections of the city lights dancing across the glass.
"...Min." Zihan finally broke the silence.
No response.
He exhaled quietly before speaking again. "...Our home was broken into."
That finally earned him a glance. "That's why I wanted to leave the banquet early." Then came a brief pause. "You've been exhausted since this morning. I thought it would be better if I handled the situation first before telling you."
His eyes met hers. "I didn't want you worrying while you were hosting such an important event...I'm sorry."
Guo Min looked at him for several seconds before looking away again. "You decided?". She sneered. "Since you always decide things yourself, you might as well decide how I should live my life from now on."
Before Zihan could respond, the Maybach slowly rolled through the gates of the Zhu Villa, and immediately, Guo Min understood why he had wanted to leave.
The usually tranquil estate had become heavily fortified, luxury vehicles lined the driveway.
Armed security personnel moved methodically across the grounds, some wore tailored black suits with concealed earpieces and others were dressed in military tactical gear, rifles slung over their shoulders as they secured every entrance and perimeter.
The atmosphere was tense, it was nothing like the peaceful home they had left that morning.
Zihan glanced toward Guo Min before looking at Secretary Lin. "...Take Madam inside."
"Yes, President."
The moment Guo Min stepped out of the car, two security officers immediately fell into formation beside her.
She looked at them in confusion, she was about to speak when one of them offered an apologetic smile. "Just to be safe, Madam."
She gave a small, uncertain nod. "...Alright." Without another word, she walked toward the villa with Secretary Lin.
The moment Zihan stepped out of the vehicle, several men approached him. "Boss."
He loosened the button of his suit jacket and lazily leaned on the car door, gently closing his eyelids. "Speak".
One of the men stepped forward. "We intercepted them before they breached the main residence, they never made it inside."
Zihan remained silent, waiting.
"But...". The man frowned. " Something doesn't add up, it doesn't look like they were after valuables and they also made no attempt to engage our personnel directly." He hesitated for a moment, checking how to frame his words. "It doesn't look like an assassination attempt either, it feels like they came looking for something.
Silence engulfed the environment for minutes before Zihan finally opened his eyes, and a faint smile slashed his lips.
He shifted his attention to Secretary Lin.
"Lin. I want Zhao Feng and Zhang Haitao to see me early tomorrow morning". A pause then. "Arrange a meeting with Minister Bai and the state councilor."
"Understood, president."
After that Zihan told them to clear the environment, Lin was signalled to return home and guards were heavily stationed in and out of the house.
One after another, the vehicles departed until only the estate's permanent security remained.
The once chaotic courtyard slowly returned to silence.
Zihan rubbed the bridge of his nose, he loosened his tie while walking upstairs. All he wanted now was to soothe the anger of the deity upstairs.
But his hope was short lived as he looked at the neatly folded blanket with a pillow on the floor, in front of the entrance of their bedroom.
"...". Zihan stared for several seconds, his voice completely lost, a rare creepy feeling crawling into his chest.
He slowly bent down, picked up the pillow, then reached for the doorknob.
Click... He pressed down the door knob but it didn't budge. "...Min." Then called out to her but was answered by the wind.
Accepting the consequences of his actions, Zihan sat on the blanket and rested his back on the door to nap. "... At least she left me a blanket and pillow, on the bright side that makes it hurt less".
He went quiet. "... That means she still cares. Right?".
He paused noticing that he was speaking to him, before continuing. "I hope this is not a sign of madness".
________
Next morning.
Click. The bedroom door swung open.
Already dressed in a casual blouse and tailored trousers, a laptop tucked under one arm, Guo Min stepped out.
The sudden movement caused the person sleeping against the outside of the door to lose his balance.
Thud!
"...Mm." Zihan landed awkwardly on the floor, the back of his head knocking against the polished wood. He winced before slowly opening his eyes.
The first thing he saw was Guo Min looking down at him. "... Good morning love".
"Morning". Guo Min sighed as she looked at him. "Freshen up, we need to talk". She spoke as she went down the stairs.
First she headed to the kitchen and made a quick breakfast, toast and eggs before serving both plates and walking to the dining room. She sat down and started to eat without waiting and occasionally would tap on her keyboard.
It wasn't too long and Zihan walked into the dining room, in a tailored suit as usual. He elegantly sat in his chair. "...Thank you". He said, then started eating.
Guo Min didn't respond, she just looked at him until she had her fill, "Am I really your wife?".
Her words made him pause, immediately losing appetite, he dropped the rest of the toast back in the plate, her glare was intimidating even for him.
"Mrs. Zhu why would you ask that?".
"You are such a schemer, aren't you?". Guo Min stood up from her side and sat on the chair beside him. She locked eyes. "Zihan, I rarely get annoyed and trust me you won't like it when I do".
"We fought once because of an issue like this and now that I'm deciding to trust you again, you seem to be taking me for granted".
"... No ...Guo Min. I just thought..."
"You just thought that if you lied, you wouldn't burden me or you thought you could protect me better by lying". Guo Min made a brief pause. "What are you so afraid of?".
"... Guo Min, I... Please you shouldn't fall deep into matters like these, It's dangerous, the less you know... the safer you'll be". Zihan's words were cut off.
Guo Min stood up abruptly, the chair scraping the floor. "If you wanted to protect me that much, maybe we shouldn't have gotten married in the first place."
"Guo Min...". Zihan's stiffened.
SPLASH!
His lips went shut as he felt cold water drip down from his hair down to his tie.
"What?!!. You dragged me into your world and now you tell me not to get involved, like I'm not already, marriage is supposed to be a WE, at least tell me what I should be expecting and how to protect myself!". She hissed and left for their room.
Zihan on the other hand just sat there, his breathing becoming unstable as a surge of panic fell onto him.
He picked up his phone and headed to his study, walking through the hallway lostly. His mind was imagining different scenarios that could happen if he were to go to Guo Min at the moment, for now he would just avoid her and drown in work. "... maybe she'll forgive me again".
HOME OFFICE
He sat in his chair and after an hour of conference call, Zhang Haitao and Zhao Feng entered.
"Boss!". Zhang Haitao call in a loud voice.
Zhang Haitao was the complete opposite of Zhao Feng who was smart, innocent looking yet masculine and very reserved.
Zhang Haitao on the other hand was muscular and the loud rough around the edges type of guy.
"President ". Zhao Feng greeted, his face looking bored while Haitao was all smiles. Both of them sat on the two chairs facing Zihan.
"Welcome". Zihan forced a smile.