Chapter 417 - Out Of My Hands

Qing Chen was massaging his temples while he was on the way home. It was rare that he got headaches but it seemed like it was one of those days. Once he got home, he was already looking forward to the cold shower that he was going to take to numb the pain away. He still had to look over a some things before heading to bed.

What he was not looking forward to was his wife. "Hey," her voice called from the kitchen. The scent from the other room was simple. It seemed like she was not cooking something too complicated. It was confirmed when he saw that she was only making egg drop soup.

"How's your day?" Qing Chen asked, tentatively waiting on the entryway.

Feng Xuan had not looked at him. She had her back turned to him as she stirred in a pot over the fire. "It went well. It's kind of a slow day at the office. We are all just coming down from the last fashion show."

She didn't follow up anything. It was a closed conversation.

"Well," Qing Chen said, he was not in the mood to get talking as he felt like there was a miniature carpenter pounding a sledgehammer against his brain. "I'll take a shower first before dinner."

"Okay."

Qing Chen would deal with the cold shoulder later. For now, he needed to quiet his mind. His shower turned into a bath and he allowed himself to soak underwater for a few minutes, covering his ears. He should've went for a nice swim.

Even though his mind was in a better state, dinner didn't go as well as he thought. He kept on trying to talk to his wife, but she kept on answering him with one word sentences. Before dinner was over, he also gave up as he could feel the headache coming back. They sat in silence until they both finished and Feng Xuan moved again to clear the table and wash the dishes.

Qing Chen waited for her while going through the last of his emails for the day. As usual, he sent the reminders task for his secretary tomorrow. He also sent messages to his brothers that he would be needing new ideas by tomorrow.

Thinking about Qing Lok, he was thinking his brother was the one that started this headache. On the back of his mind, he kept on thinking about what Qing Lok had been saying.

Could they really survive without Enigma backing them up? Or should he say, could they really survive without La Hiena?

Shhh, Qing Chen said to the other voice inside his mind. Of course we are going to be fine. We still control the city. We have pockets too deep to fit everybody in there. There was no way that severing ties with La Hiena would cause the doom of us all.

Qing Chen had thought through everything before he started thinking about the reform in Enigma. Nothing was going to happen to them. They were going to make a smooth transition and live in their happily ever afters.

Ah, he sighed in his mind.

What he was REALLY thinking about was not having his youngest brother's support in that family matter.

Qing Chen nibbled on his lip. It was not like Qing Lok was going to betray them at some point, right? They were still brothers. He was not going to turn over and side with the enemy.

Qing Chen pressed against his temples again and closed his eyes. They were hot just like the rest of his body. He started to move to get some medicine when he felt Feng Xuan's cool hand on the nape of his neck.

"Are you alright?" her voice was a cold as her damp hand. But at least, there was a drop of concern in it.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said. "I think I just need to take something for my head."

Feng Xuan nodded. "Do you want some tea?"

He shook his head. "I'd really rather we just go to bed."

Qing Chen was already on the bed while his wife took her time in the bathroom. He kept on counting on his head so he would not fall asleep. He wished that she would already be done so they could have a decent conversation before the night was over. Finally, after about an hour of pulling himself away from dreamland, Feng Xuan emerged from the shower smelling clean and like flowers.

"Why are you still up?" she asked as she got in the bed along with a bottle of lotion.

"I want to apologize about what happened last night. I didn't mean to snap at you like that."

Feng Xuan started on her legs. "It's fine. I know that it's none of my business—"Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click <a href="#&apos;s-rose-married-the-ceo_15939261805465305/out-of-my-hands_52473125505397154">#&apos;s-rose-married-the-ceo_15939261805465305/out-of-my-hands_52473125505397154</a> for visiting.

"It is your business. You're part of this family."

"Yes, I might be a Qing but I am not going to touch that subject anymore. I already understand what you mean. Time would be the only thing that could heal you. I just hope that you won't be too late."

There it was again, that fear that came with the realization that they might not be a family again before his father passes away.

Why do I have to deal with everything?  he asked himself. He was honestly tired trying to compartmentalise everything in his head.

"I won't," he said positively. "It'll be okay."

"If you say so," Feng Xuan said and capped the bottle. "I was just trying to help."

"I know. You meant well with what you did. But it's not something that we want to fix at the moment." The words left a distasteful flavor inside his mouth. He was the kind of person who wanted to fix everything as soon as possible. It was hard to believe that he was literally leaving the solution to such a thing called time.

Feng Xuan smiled, still cold. "It's already out of my hands."