"I am sorry. I should have thought about that earlier."

  "Absolutely not. You just need to come the day after tomorrow to the service. I would like you there," Uncle Bai said.

  "Of course. Of course, I will come," she spoke quickly. "I… I will pick you up from home. Is that okay?"

  "Thank you, Qian Meng," he whispered. "It's getting late in the night. Time for the old man to go to sleep. I will speak to you later. See you."

  The greeting was polite and the phone was hung up. Qian Meng felt herself stare at the television blankly. It was only when the bathroom door shut that she came back to the present.

  "What is wrong with you?" Mo Qingchen asked. Qian Meng turned her head slowly and watched as he dried his hair with the towel.

  She shook her head. Her phone was still clutched in her hand and Mo Qingchen's eyes flickered to it.

  "Is there a problem at work? Do you want me to drive you to the office?" he asked carefully.

  She shook her head again.

  "Why do you look so lost, then?" he pressed.

  She opened her mouth to speak and then closed it. Finally, after a minute of silence, she gathered her thoughts enough to tell him what it really was.

  "Uncle Bai called. Bai Wenxi's burial is the day after tomorrow. He asked us to come. Will you be free?"

  Mo Qingchen's eyes flashed with understanding. "Of course, I will come. Tell me what you want to do and I will tag along." There it was, the strong wall behind her, reading to let her lean on him lest she falls when she doesn't have her guard up.

  "I want to pick Uncle Bai up from his home in the morning. There must be a ton of work at the burial and then the funeral service. There is no need for Uncle Bai to face all of that alone," she said firmly.

  Mo Qingchen stared at her.

  A funeral. He hated those things. Sycophants and treacherous monsters who waited and relished the death of someone and pretended that they were mourning. He hated those. He would have never gone if not for Yun Qian Meng's distressed expression.

  There was no way he would allow her to face those people alone.

  "Okay. He will be distressed so you can stay by his side," Mo Qingchen assured.

  Qian Meng's eyes flashed with surprise. "Since when did you become considerate about people who are not me?" she asked.

  He raised his eyes. "Isn't he someone you consider family? I might not personally feel attached to him, but I am bound to him through you. And he has treated me well. I am not an ungrateful dog." Unlike that son and wife of Bai Yu's, Mo Qingchen thought to himself.

  "Moreover, that Chen Yu might be there eating people's ears off. I am not letting you face the gunfire alone," he commented gruffly.

  Qian Meng chuckled despite her worry. "That is the real reason, isn't it?" she inquired.

  Mo Qingchen didn't respond, but the answer was clear.

  "Don't worry. I can handle just about everyone. At this point, no one is strong enough to distress me." She smiled sweetly. "By the way, were you the one who sped up the court proceedings?" she asked finally.

  "I did put a word in but it seems there are a lot of people who want Bai Ye Qing to stop speaking. Faster court proceedings usually mean he won't give information about his clients to the police and prosecutors," Mo Qingchen shrugged.

  "There are more people…" she trailed off in thought.

  "People who want him dead," Qingchen said abruptly. The slight hatred in his voice surprised Qian Meng.

  "There are people who want to kill him? Is that even possible in jail? If he gives out information, won't he be in protective custody inside the jail system?" she inquired.

  "Not always. It depends on what his information brings to the prosecution's table. Also, protective custody is a flimsy thing. There is no saying what can happen inside the jail."

  For some reason, Qian Meng felt a chill run up her spine when she heard him say it. Like he had a plan. "What does that mean?" she whispered.

  "If someone wanted to hurt him, it would be easy. There are so many reasons why someone can get hurt in jail that no one would bat an eye."

  Qian Meng felt like he had a plan. "I hope nothing does happen, though." She could feel his intense gaze. "No matter how much I hate him and want him gone forever, I don't want Uncle Bai to face more pain."

  She pressed her lips together. She hoped the meaning in her words was clear. She didn't support him doing anything under the table to get revenge.

  "It's not under my control, unfortunately." He shrugged. As Qian Meng gripped onto him in the bed, she felt like she didn't really know the man in front of her. She had thought she did, but sometimes, he surprised her.

  And she didn't know what motivated him to do it. Was he not as nice as she had thought before? Was he a ruthless master who could discard anything and everything that he didn't like? Or was there a purpose to all of this… she didn't know.

  It had flattered her a little before, but this was excessive. His wrath… sometimes, it scared her.

  "What punishment are all of them going to get?" Qian Meng asked all of a sudden in the middle of the night.

  Qingchen's eyes remained closed as he thought about the response. She didn't seem okay with vigilante justice, so he had to tone it down. The little shark had destroyed cars and reputations but physical harm wasn't in the cards for her, it seemed.

  "Bai Ye Qing will get life in prison because he will reveal the names of everyone he ever associated with."