Chapter 373 - End of Xiao Lei's birthday

After a few hours of a passionate lovemaking session in the tent with the woman whom he loved more than anything now, he spent the night gazing at her as he thought about the tumultuous future that they might be facing soon. Han Ye would support her all the way, from her claim to Fan Entertainment to getting her revenge for her parents' deaths. Everything. 

But it wouldn't be easy... Up until now, they were still unclear on who was involved in the murder back then. Han Ye felt that Fan Shaohang might be innocent, but Xiao Lei was too afraid to trust anyone from that family again, and he did not blame her. Han Ye just figured that with Fan Shaohang's help, it would be easier for them to get more dirt on Fan Chuan and his wife's activities. 

Han Ye could get the information on the wrongdoings within Fan Entertainment, but regarding the incident that claimed Fan Lei and his wife's lives, he was still stuck in the same point. And Xiao Lei's disappearance back then... Because she was the one who snuck out of the house, she basically made it easy for Fan Chuan and his wife to hide their tracks. 

"Emm..." Xiao Lei mumbled something inaudible in her sleep as she snuggled closer to Han Ye. 

When Han Ye saw the marks he left all over her body, he could not help but smile at his own achievement. Xiao Lei had been responding well to his every touch and kiss, and god knows how many marks she left on his body as well.

"You little tiger..." he whispered as he leaned down to kiss her on her temple while pulling the throw blanket higher so that she would feel warmer. Since they were too tired to walk back to the villa, they decided to just sleep in the tent. After all, everything they needed was here. 

However, his smile dropped when he saw her scarred back, and a pained expression appeared on his face. He remembered visiting Xiao Lei, or as she was known back then, Fan Wushuang, when she was still in a coma with his late wife, and how they were kept outside the door by Fan Chuan and his wife. 

He wished he had known how much pain she was carrying in her little body back then, and he wished he had treated her a little more kindly. With a regretful sigh, he pushed her hair away from her face as he whispered with a gentle smile, "Looks like my punishment is that I have to be bullied by you for a long time now... And you know what, I'm totally fine with it..."

As he gently traced his finger over the scars, he thought about how to push this situation forward. 

"Wait..." Han Ye suddenly thought of something. "Xiao Lei said that she trapped the man in the underground bas.e.m.e.nt... I wonder if Fan Chuan had sold off the buildings under Xiao Lei's name. Regardless, if by a chance, the bas.e.m.e.nt remained hidden, then wouldn't that mean the man would still be there...? Or at least, his skeletal remains." 

.....

A few hours later,

Xiao Lei felt that she had just fallen asleep when someone nudged her in the shoulder. "No..." she groaned as she grabbed onto the warm body next to her. "Sleepy..." 

"Hey, beautiful..." a man's hoarse voice whispered next to her ear. "You're going to miss something..."

Xiao Lei could feel someone pulling her up to a sitting position before adjusting the throw blanket around her, and she slowly opened her eyes as she threw a hand out at whoever it was to protest. "Han Ye... We barely slept yesterday..." she mumbled as she looked up at the culprit who woke her up, who still dared to grin mischievously at her. His hair was completely messy, and he looked nothing like the always-on-the-ready Secretary Han. 

"Look..." He pointed out toward the sea with his chin. 

Xiao Lei grudging looked at the sand, thinking that it was what he wanted to show her. The reddish-brown sand was very beautiful, but she would prefer to sleep over looking at sand... They went at it until the wee night yesterday. She could have sworn that her phone clock showed 3 a.m. right before she fell asleep last night. What could be so important that he had to wake her up so early in the morning?

Besides, he was the one complaining about backache last night and wanted to stop!

"Reddish brown?" Xiao Lei thought and looked out toward the sea. At the horizon, there was a very beautiful egg yolk that was slowly rising above sea level, coloring the sea and the sand a bright reddish-orange hue, as if it were setting up the world in flame. 

"Beautiful?" A voice traveled to her ear, and she looked to the half-n.a.k.e.d man sitting at her side. "I didn't want you to miss this... With your schedule and mine, as well as when the babies are here, it would be a while before we can relax and watch sunrise such as this one..." he said as he looked out at the rising sun. When he felt the wind picking up pace, he hugged Xiao Lei tighter to him, making sure that the blanket covered most of her body. 

Before he carried her out of the tent earlier, he had helped her put on a shirt; his shirt, which covered her all the way to the middle of her thighs. He didn't want her to get too hot, but he didn't want her to get a cold as well, so he just brought a couple of throw blankets with him and adjusted the layers according to how she responded in his hug. 

"How long have you been up?" Xiao Lei asked as she snuggled against him with her head resting on his chest and her legs tangled with his. 

Han Ye shrugged and took her hand that was on his chest before kissing it. He did not sleep the whole of last night because he was afraid of missing out on watching the sunrise with her. In between the time when Xiao Lei fell asleep and when he woke her up, there was only about 2-3 hours.

"My birthday is over..." Xiao Lei mumbled regrettably as she looked at the sun that was slowly getting higher and higher. 

"Mm..." Han Ye nodded. He then looked down at her and said, "Don't be sad... Your birthday will come again, and I'll celebrate it with you again. Each and every birthday. Anything you want, I will give it to you." 

"Can we come back here again?" Xiao Lei asked with a smile as she looked up at his face, where stubble had appeared on his chin. Even though it was getting a little chilly, she felt warm, both from inside her heart and outside. 

Han Ye nodded. "I'm sure Madam President Du will grant us if we ask for it." 

They watched until it was getting too bright for them to look at the sun any longer, after which, Han Ye gently carried the almost-sleeping Xiao Lei up in his arms. 

"Just sleep..." he mumbled as he made sure he covered all of her. He was about to get her back to the villa, and he did not want anyone to see her body. 

"Mmhm..." Xiao Lei mumbled sleepily as she closed her eyes. "I love you, Mr. Han..." 

"I love you too, Ms. Xiao..." Han Ye chuckled and placed a kiss on her before walking back into the villa. By the time he got back, she was already fast asleep. 

"Mr. Han?" the head butler said when he saw Han Ye walking in with Xiao Lei. "Is Ms. Xiao alright?" 

Han Ye nodded. The head butler followed behind them as Han Ye walked toward his room. "She's just sleeping. I think we will skip breakfast today. Please prepare a heavier lunch for us. My Xiao Lei would probably be starving, and she can be scary when she's hungry."

"I'll tell the kitchen, sir," said the head butler politely. 

Han Ye then listed down the things that Xiao Lei liked to eat, as well as her dislike. Before going into the bedroom, he said to the head butler, "Tell the pilot to be on standby. We don't know what time we want to go back yet, so tell him to rest for now. It's unlikely that we would leave before evening, so he's free to do whatever he wants."

"Yes, Mr. Han. I would inform him." 

Han Ye nodded. "You can go back to your work now. I won't be needing any help, but if I need it, I would give you a call. Thanks."