"I know," Shuyin said.
The bathroom door opened behind them. Yuyan erged, her hair wet and slicked back, her clothes damp in places but cleaner. Chen Xiao followed, similarly damp, his small face scrubbed clean.
"We’re done," Yuyan announced. "But we have no towels."
"Ting Fei will be here soon with proper ones," Lu Yuze said, reluctantly releasing Shuyin and turning to face the children. "Just wait a few more minutes."
As if on cue, there was a knock at the door.
Lu Yuze moved to answer it. Ting Fei stood in the hallway, his arms laden with neatly packaged bags, clothes, toiletries, and other essentials, all from high-end stores.
"Everything you will need for your stay here," Ting Fei said quietly, passing the bags to Lu Yuze. "And I took the liberty of including first aid supplies. Proper ones."
His gaze flicked to Shuyin’s bandaged hands.
"Thank you," Lu Yuze said.
"The household staff is occupied with dinner preparations," Ting Fei continued, his voice dropping even lower. "Ah Ying reports that Chen Madam and Lin Yueling are in the sitting room, still discussing your arrival. Lin Feng is in his study, on the phone with soone, but we couldn’t determine who. But he looked agitated."
"Keep monitoring," Lu Yuze said. "Report anything unusual."
Ting Fei nodded once and disappeared back down the hallway.
Lu Yuze locked the door again and brought the bags inside.
"Fresh clothes," he said, setting them on one of the beds. "Towels. Everything we need."
Yuyan imdiately moved to inspect the bags, pulling out a soft, oversized towel and wrapping it around Chen Xiao’s damp shoulders. The little boy looked up at her gratefully, his small hands clutching the fabric.
Lu Yuze pulled out another set of clothes, simple, comfortable things for all of them. Pajamas for the children. A change of clothes for himself. And for Shuyin, a soft cotton shirt and loose pants that wouldn’t aggravate her burns.
"Get dried off and changed," he said to the children. "We still have dinner to get through tonight."
Yuyan nodded and guided Chen Xiao back toward the bathroom with the fresh towels.
Shuyin moved to the bags and pulled out the first aid kit Ting Fei had included. Proper antiseptic. Clean bandages. Pain relief gel.
She sat on the edge of the bed and began unwrapping the makeshift bandages on her hands, hissing softly as the fabric pulled at the blisters.
Lu Yuze was there imdiately, kneeling in front of her.
"Let ," he said.
Shuyin looked at him for a mont, then nodded.
She held out her hands, palms up, letting him see the full extent of the damage. The burns were angry, red, blistered in places where the Leviathan Spawn’s acidic mucus had eaten through her skin.
Lu Yuze’s jaw tightened, but his hands were gentle as he cleaned the wounds with antiseptic, applied the healing gel, and wrapped them in fresh, clean bandages.
"Better?" he asked when he was done.
"Better," Shuyin confird.
She flexed her fingers experintally. The bandages were snug but not too tight, allowing movent while protecting the worst of the damage.
"Thank you," she said quietly.
Lu Yuze stood and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"Always," he said.
And in that mont, in that stolen quiet before the storm of dinner and lies and psychological warfare, Shuyin felt sothing settle in her chest.
They were in enemy territory.
But they were together.
And that made all the difference.
Lu Yuze stood and moved back to the bags Ting Fei had brought, thodically unpacking them. He pulled out several sets of clothes, neatly folded, high-quality, exactly what they needed.
"Let’s get organized," he said, his voice shifting into the efficient tone he used when managing logistics. "We need to store these properly. Make this room functional."
Shuyin rose from the bed, her freshly bandaged hands moving carefully as she helped sort through the items. There were clothes for everyone, multiple changes, enough to last several days. Underwear, socks, casual wear, and even sothing more formal for dinner.
Ting Fei had thought of everything.
Lu Yuze claid one of the dressers, pulling open drawers and checking them for cleanliness before beginning to organize. "This one’s for the children," he said, gesturing to the smaller dresser near the window. "Yuyan, Chen Xiao, co here when you’re ready."
From the bathroom, Yuyan’s voice called out. "We’re almost done!"
Shuyin moved to the closet, opening it to find it empty except for spare hangers and the faint sll of cedar. She began hanging the more delicate items: a dress for herself, a button-down shirt for Lu Yuze, and a few things that would wrinkle if left folded.
Lu Yuze worked beside her in comfortable silence, their movents synchronized in a way that ca from familiarity. He handed her hangers. She passed him folded items to place in drawers. Neither needed to speak to know what the other needed.
The bathroom door opened, and Yuyan erged first, wrapped in one of the large, fluffy towels Ting Fei had provided. Her silver hair hung in wet strands down her back, dripping slightly onto her shoulders. Chen Xiao followed, similarly wrapped, his dark hair plastered to his forehead.
"Father," Yuyan said, "where are our clothes?"
Lu Yuze gestured to the small dresser. "Bottom two drawers. I’ve separated yours and Chen Xiao’s. Everything should fit."
Yuyan nodded and moved to the dresser, kneeling down to pull open the bottom drawer. Inside, neatly organized, were several sets of clothes in her size, soft cotton shirts, comfortable pants, a simple dress, undergarnts, and socks.
She pulled out a set of pale blue pajamas with small stars embroidered along the collar and held them up to examine them.
"These are nice," she said, surprised.
"Ting Fei has good taste," Lu Yuze replied.
Chen Xiao stood beside Yuyan, peering into his own drawer. His clothes were similarly well-chosen, simple, comfortable, and appropriate for a child his age. He pulled out a set of pajamas in dark green and clutched them against his chest.
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