Lu Yuze’s expression imdiately softened. "You can go back to sleep," he said gently, his voice completely different from the icy tone he’d used monts ago. "It’s still early. There’s no need to be up yet."
But Yuyan was already shaking her head, already moving to get out of bed with the practicality of a child who’d learned not to waste daylight hours on sleep. "No, Father. It’s already nine in the morning." She glanced at the clock on the nightstand to confirm. "We should be up anyway. Chen Xiao and I will go downstairs and see if there’s breakfast. If not, we can make sothing ourselves."
"Why make when the servants are there? All right... Go on." When it ca to his daughter, he allowed anything for her so long as it wasn’t dangerous. "Be careful in the kitchen. And if any of the staff give you trouble..."
"They won’t," Yuyan said with the confidence of soone who’d already assessed and dismissed potential threats. "They won’t dare."
She took Chen Xiao’s hand and led him toward the door, pausing only to grab the stuffed rabbit that had fallen to the floor during the night. The little boy clutched it to his chest as they slipped out into the hallway, the door closing softly behind them, a marked contrast to Lu Yuze’s earlier slam.
Alone again, Lu Yuze returned to the bed where Shuyin lay. She hadn’t moved much during the commotion, but he could tell from her breathing that she wasn’t deeply asleep anymore. The banging and shouting had pulled her closer to consciousness even if she hadn’t fully surfaced.
He slid back under the covers and reached for her, drawing her into his arms with gentle insistence. She ca willingly, her body soft and warm, her face pressed against his chest. For a mont, they just lay there in the restored quiet.
"I heard," she murmured against his shirt, her voice rough with sleep but carrying an edge of dark amusent. "Lin Feng calling from jail. Wanting to fix his problems."
"I told the maid to leave us alone."
"Good." She shifted slightly, getting more comfortable. "Let him wait. Let him sit in that cell and think about what he’s done. Maybe after several hours he’ll understand a fraction of what my mother went through."
There was no sympathy in her voice. No concern. Just cold satisfaction at watching her father suffer consequences for once in his privileged life.
Lu Yuze’s arm tightened around her. "What do you want to do? Ignore the calls? Eventually soone will..."
"Eventually soone will bail him out," Shuyin interrupted, her voice carrying absolute certainty. "The Lin family has money. They have lawyers. They have connections. He’ll be out by this afternoon at the latest." She paused, then added with grim humor, "But until then, he can suffer. And when he does get out, he’ll co back here angry and desperate. Which is exactly when I want to face him, when he’s off-balance and making mistakes. I will make him wish death knocked at his door."
Lu Yuze smiled against her hair despite himself. This was the Shuyin he has co to know with ti, calculating, strategic, always three moves ahead even when half-asleep.
They settled into comfortable silence, the kind of peace that only ca from being wrapped around soone you trusted completely. Shuyin’s breathing began to even out again, sliding back toward sleep. Lu Yuze let his own eyes close, content to drift for a few more minutes before the day truly began.
But fate, it seed, had other plans.
Less than a minute later, another knock ca at the door. This one was softer, more respectful, almost apologetic in its gentleness. But it was still a knock, still an interruption of their peace.
Lu Yuze’s eyes opened, a flash of irritation crossing his face. But before he could move, before he could summon the energy to be angry again, the door opened slightly and Ting Fei’s voice ca through the gap.
"Good morning, Master Lu. Mrs. Lu." His tone was perfectly professional, perfectly respectful, carrying none of the presumption that the maid’s had. "I apologize for the interruption, but I have so updates that I thought you’d want to hear sooner rather than later."
Lu Yuze exchanged a glance with Shuyin. She’d opened her eyes at Ting Fei’s voice, more alert now. They both knew Ting Fei wouldn’t disturb them without good reason, unlike the maid who’d been sent by other household staff, Ting Fei understood boundaries and priorities.
"Co in," Lu Yuze said, his voice carrying none of the cold fury he’d directed at the maid earlier. "But stay by the door... We aren’t decently dressed!"
It was a lie, they were both perfectly covered by blankets and nightclothes, but it established a boundary, kept Ting Fei at a respectful distance from their bed.
Ting Fei stepped just inside the door and stopped, his posture professional but relaxed, his hands clasped loosely in front of him. His eyes remained carefully fixed on a point on the wall above their heads, giving them privacy even while delivering his report.
"First," he began without preamble, "you have seventeen missed calls on your mobile phone. Seven from your father, four from your mother, three from Lin family mbers, and three from business associates likely calling about the situation."
Lu Yuze’s jaw tightened fractionally. Seventeen calls. All demanding his attention, his intervention, his capitulation to family pressure.
"Noted," he said flatly. "Continue."
"Second, I received an update from St. Catherine’s Private Hospital at 8 AM as requested. Both patients, Mrs. Lin and Miss Qiao, are responding well to treatnt. Their vital signs continue to improve. The dical staff report that they’re healing faster than expected given their conditions." Ting Fei paused, then added, "However, neither has awakened yet. The doctors estimate it may take another twenty-four to forty-eight hours for them to naturally erge from the sedation."
Shuyin’s hand clenched briefly against Lu
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