The tall, imposing figure and commanding aura even made Daives feel intimidated.

"I disagree." Wanting to marry his precious daughter? No way.

"You? You’re simply outrageous." Amber couldn’t stand it anymore. His little master was supposed to marry a royal princess. But now he’s to marry some unknown little girl? This... this was unprecedented for the Westminster Family.

Yet he dared to refuse.

Lin En, who was not far away, heard and looked over worriedly.

The Duke gave his son a reassuring look before turning back to continue playing.

"Miss Sheng Ning, please consider it."

"I agree, I totally agree." Sheng Ning beamed, watching the Living Yama fume with anger. Her heart filled with amusement.

******

All the way back from the restaurant, Xu Qigang was so angry he didn’t say a word. After getting out of the car, he carried a child in each arm, leading the way.

"Living Yama."

"..." No response.

"Xu Qigang."

"..." Still no response.

"Xu Zongdui."

"..." Continued silence.

Just as Sheng Ning was climbing the stairs, she suddenly cried out in pain, "Ouch!" She sat down on the cold step.

The person in front quickly turned around, knelt on one knee before her, and asked with concern, "What happened? Where does it hurt? Does it hurt?" Since his hands were full holding the children, he couldn’t check where she was injured.

"You’re not leaving? You’re not angry anymore?" Sheng Ning said in a huff.

"Xiao Ning." He smiled wryly, "How can I bear to be angry with you?"

"Then why are you ignoring me?"

"You... you shouldn’t have agreed. The little sister is still so young, what if they don’t treat her well in the future? Plus, England is too far away; I don’t want the little sister to get married that far."

Thinking about his precious daughter marrying far away and possibly never seeing her again made Xu Qigang angry.

"You think it’s far now, but in the future, we have planes, so it’ll be convenient. Besides, when the little sister grows up, if she doesn’t like it, she can call off the engagement!"

"Still no."

Sheng Ning was exasperated, "What if it were the little brother?"

Xu Qigang thought for a second and nodded, "Little brother can."

Now it was Sheng Ning’s turn to be angry, grabbing the little brother and heading upstairs.

Xu Qigang looked innocent, "Xiao Ning, what’s wrong? Don’t be mad."

Sheng Ning ran back to the room, locking Xu Qigang outside, "You’re biased."

"I’m not."

Sheng Ning ignored him. Just then, the little brother woke up, chewing on his fingers and smiling foolishly. "My darling, your daddy doesn’t like you anymore; he resents you. From now on, it’ll just be us two."

Outside the door, Xu Qigang heard the sounds inside and smiled wryly, "Xiao Ning, listen to me, the little brother is like me, with thick skin, so he should be raised tough. The little sister is like you, so of course, she should be pampered."

What kind of logic is that?

Even though it didn’t make sense, it successfully hit the soft spot in Sheng Ning’s heart. She placed the little brother back into the cradle and opened the door with a swift motion.

As their eyes met, Xu Qigang pulled her into his arms.

"Be careful of the children."

Not far off, in the crib, the little sister watched her mom and dad curiously with her big, round eyes. What are they doing? Mommy is crying so loudly!

The little brother waved a chubby hand, still wet with drool, conveniently blocking the little sister’s view.

Thus, the two little cherubs tumbled and crawled around in the crib. It looked like they were fighting, but their adorableness melted hearts.

Sheng Ning, drenched in sweat, felt she might literally die of exhaustion.

Late at night, Sheng Ning didn’t know when she fell asleep until someone gently called her name, waking her up from her drowsiness.

In front of her was Xu Qigang’s magnified, handsome face. The smug look made her want to bite him.

"What’s wrong?"

"I have to go." Xu Qigang looked at her reluctantly, already fully dressed, calling her before leaving.

Still groggy, Sheng Ning didn’t grasp what he meant by leaving until she suddenly sat up in bed but fell back down due to soreness. Luckily, he caught her slender waist, gently laying her back on the bed.

"Are you going to the Gambling City?"

"Yes!"

"Be careful." Sheng Ning clutched his clothes tightly, reluctant to let him go, but Qin Yue’s life was also important, so he had to go.

"I will. You take care of everything. Don’t go out while I’m away."

"I will wait for you to come back." Sheng Ning’s eyes turned red, afraid that crying would affect him, so she forced herself to hold back.

"Good girl!" He kissed her forehead, "I left you a gift. Get some rest!"

"Okay!"

Sheng Ning got out of bed and stood by the window, watching his figure disappear into the night, feeling sleepless. She threw on some clothes and went to Gu Yunbo’s room.

"Come in."

"Open the door!" How is she supposed to get in if it’s closed?

Gu Yunbo opened the door, her hair a wild mess, and her ear stuffed with a cotton ball. She gave Sheng Ning a thumbs-up and teased, "Your man’s stamina is impressive."

She admired him completely.

Sheng Ning blushed and gave her a playful slap. "Where’s An’an? Didn’t wake her up, right?"

"An’an?" Gu Yunbo was startled, and immediately wide awake. "You didn’t know?"

"Know what?" Sheng Ning pushed past her into the room, finding no sign of An’an on the bed. A bad feeling surged in her heart as she recalled what An’an had said that afternoon.