"I might tell," Yuyan said with a mischievous grin. "It seems like valuable blackmail material."
"You wouldn’t dare," Shuyin gasped in mock horror. "Betrayed by my daughter! What has the world co to?"
"I learned from the best," Yuyan replied sweetly.
Shuyin laughed, pulling both children close for a quick hug. The tears from earlier had dried, the heavy revelations had been spoken and acknowledged, and now there was just this, simple, uncomplicated affection between people who’d chosen to be family.
Shuyin straightened her clothes, smoothed her hair, and checked her reflection in the window to make sure she looked appropriately professional again. The woman looking back at her was composed, elegant, perfectly put together.
No sign of the silly ga they’d just played.
No evidence of the tears that had been shed earlier.
Just the polished exterior of soone who had it all under control.
But inside, Shuyin felt lighter than she had in years.
Because she’d just played with her children.
Had just chased stress balls around an office and laughed until her stomach hurt and made silly jokes that ant nothing except that they were together and safe and allowed to be ridiculous.
Had just done sothing completely normal that the original Lin Shuyin had probably never experienced, simple, joyful family monts that had nothing to do with strategy or survival or performing for others.
She left them to settle down on the balcony while she sat down on her office chair to relax a bit.
She sank back into her chair, the leather cool against her spine, and let the quiet settle.
Outside the glass doors, Chen Xiao had claid a corner of the balcony rug. He sat cross-legged with the stress ball in his hands, squeezing it experintally as if discovering sothing fascinating. Yuyan leaned against the railing, elbows propped, silver eyes watching the city below with an ease that still felt new, like she was learning what it ant to look outward instead of constantly checking behind her.
For the first ti all day, the office wasn’t humming with tension.
No incoming calls.
No assistants hovering.
No crisis waiting to be defused.
Just the faint sound of traffic far below and the occasional soft laugh when Chen Xiao made exaggerated sound effects every ti he squeezed the ball.
Shuyin closed her eyes.
She hadn’t realized how tight her chest had been until now. The adrenaline from earlier, the revelations, the fear, the protective rage, finally ebbed away, leaving behind a pleasant heaviness in her limbs. The kind that ca after surviving sothing and knowing, truly knowing, that it was over.
"Momma?"
She opened her eyes. Yuyan had stepped back inside, her voice softer now, the teasing edge gone.
"Yes?"
Yuyan hesitated, then walked over and perched on the edge of the desk, swinging her legs slightly. It was such a normal, childish gesture that sothing ached gently in Shuyin’s chest.
"Are you... tired?" Yuyan asked.
Shuyin smiled faintly. "A little."
Yuyan nodded, as if that answered sothing important. "You can rest. I’ll watch Chen Xiao."
"I trust you," Shuyin said without hesitation.
The words hung in the air between them, heavy but not painful.
Yuyan blinked, then looked away, her lips pressing together as though she was fighting the urge to say sothing too emotional for her own comfort.
"Don’t fall asleep," she muttered. "You’ll get neck pain."
"Such filial concern," Shuyin teased. "Your father would be proud."
That earned a small snort.
Shuyin leaned back again, but this ti she didn’t close her eyes. She watched instead.
Chen Xiao carefully lined up an imaginary shot toward a potted plant, whispering, "Chen Thunder strikes again," before gently tossing the ball and giggling when it bounced harmlessly off the pot.
Yuyan drifted closer to him, resting a hand lightly on his shoulder. Grounding him without smothering.
No fear.
No flinching.
No rehearsed smiles.
Just children being children.
Shuyin felt sothing loosen in her chest as she watched them. This mont, quiet, unremarkable, gentle, was what she’d been fighting for all along. Not the dramatic confrontations or the victories over threats. This. The simple peace of watching her children exist without shadows hanging over them.
The afternoon light slanted through the glass, turning everything golden and soft. Chen Xiao’s laughter rang out again as he missed another imaginary shot. Yuyan shook her head at him, but she was smiling.
Shuyin let herself breathe.
— — — — —
YUYAN HEADQUARTERS
Lu Yuze leaned back in his chair, the leather creaking softly as he allowed himself a mont to process everything Ah Yue had just confird. The investigation into Xia Lin’s death was officially underway, handled with the discretion and thoroughness only his most trusted subordinate could provide.
But now his mind was shifting gears, moving from the cold analysis of potential murder to concern for his daughter and the woman who’d inserted herself so thoroughly into their lives.
He pulled out his personal phone, the one only a handful of people had access to, and scrolled to Shuyin’s number. She’d programd herself in as "Your Beautiful Wife" with a ridiculous amount of heart emojis, and he still hadn’t changed it despite his initial irritation. Sothing about the audacity of it amused him in a way very few things did anymore.
The phone rang twice before she picked up.
"Well, well, well," ca Shuyin’s voice, warm and teasing in a way that shouldn’t affect him but sohow did. "If it isn’t my darling husband calling to check on his beloved wife. Did you miss already? We’ve only been apart for a few hours."
Lu Yuze felt his lips twitch despite himself. "Shuyin."
"Yuze," she mimicked his serious tone, then laughed. "Co on, you can do better than that. Where’s my ’hello beautiful,’ my ’I’ve been thinking about you all day,’ my..... My love, my darling..."
How can a man not be romantic?
"You really do know how to push buttons!" For a stupid person, he would think Shuyin loves him, but it doesn’t work like that; he knew she was soone chasing revenge, and love won’t happen out of nowhere.
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