Early morning.
The sky was just beginning to lighten, and faint sunlight filtered through the snow-white curtains, casting a hazy glow. On the bed, Bai Yuyou slowly opened her eyes, noticing the familiar profile of someone sleeping beside her. However, it was clear that the person wasn’t resting peacefully—his brows furrowed slightly from time to time, as if troubled by a dream.
On the other side, Chen Qin was pressed tightly against Ye Shuang, fast asleep, her shoulder strap slipping slightly to reveal a smooth, rounded shoulder.
Bai Yuyou sat up slowly, a stray strand of hair sticking up from her head as she rubbed her sleepy eyes.
“Ye Shuang… is he in pain?” Bai Yuyou noticed his slightly troubled expression. Her calm, well-like eyes flickered as she glanced around, finally settling on the spot where he often got hurt.
“The wound is swollen again…”
She reached out a small hand, gently stroking the injured area, only to see his expression grow even worse.
Tilting her head, Bai Yuyou suddenly remembered something—hadn’t her teacher once said that saliva could disinfect wounds?
Worth a try.
But the next second, Ye Shuang’s eyes snapped open.
Staring at the dimly lit ceiling, he quickly sat up and reached under the pillow for his phone. Only after confirming it was just past six in the morning did he let out a small sigh of relief.
“Hm?” It was then that he noticed Bai Yuyou sitting beside him, watching him quietly.
Lowering his voice, Ye Shuang said, “Yuyou, today you mustn’t tell anyone that the three of us slept together, okay?”
Bai Yuyou nodded obediently.
“Good. I’ll go freshen up first.” Ye Shuang glanced at Chen Qin, still sound asleep, before getting out of bed to wash up.
However, he soon became aware of a certain physical reaction and decided to splash cold water on his face to force himself to calm down.
By the time he finished, Bai Yuyou still looked half-asleep and dazed. Sighing, he led her to the bathroom, letting her brush her teeth while he picked up a comb to tidy her hair.
Bai Yuyou’s hair was silky smooth, allowing the comb to glide through effortlessly. And thanks to recent improvements in her diet, not only was her hair healthier, but her cheeks had also gained a rosy hue, losing much of their former pallor.
Seeing the girl in the mirror thriving under his care filled Ye Shuang with a deep sense of accomplishment.
“Stay in the room and play on your phone for a bit. I’ll go downstairs to greet the elders first. If Chen Qin wakes up, come down together with her,” he instructed.
Bai Yuyou, toothbrush still in her mouth, mumbled indistinctly, “Ye… together.”
“Be good,” Ye Shuang understood what she meant.
“Oh.”
After heading downstairs, Ye Shuang found Chen’s Father and Mother already awake and having breakfast.
“Shuang, come eat,” Chen’s Father called out when he spotted him. Zhou’s Father and Mother also turned their gazes toward him and asked, “Has Roumei woken up yet?”
“She should be up soon,” Ye Shuang replied.
The Chen family’s breakfast was relatively simple—typical dim sum fare like char siu buns, chicken feet, rice noodle rolls, and tripe, with a dozen or so common dishes laid out.
“Shuang, come sit by Aunt Xian,” Zhou’s Mother said.
Realizing she had something to discuss, Ye Shuang took a seat beside her.
“Here’s the thing… we’ve been thinking about it all night,” Zhou’s Mother began. “We’d like Roumei to come back to Hong Kong with us first, to acknowledge her roots.”
“She can live with us for a while, and if she really doesn’t want to stay, she can always return later. Isn’t that fair?”
Ye Shuang picked up some stir-fried rice noodles as he considered her words. With a faint smile, he replied, “Aunt Xian, we already argued about this yesterday… I think Yuyou is grown up now, and we should respect her wishes.”
“She definitely won’t want to go back with us, but she adores you. Maybe you could talk to her for us?”
Zhou’s Father chimed in, “Exactly. It’s just about recognizing her heritage. At the very least, she should know where her family is, right?”
“That makes sense,” Ye Shuang conceded. “How about I go with her?”
If he went along, Bai Yuyou would surely agree.
But at his suggestion, Zhou’s Father and Mother exchanged uneasy glances. The truth was, if they took Bai Yuyou back, they had no intention of letting her leave their side again.
“Let’s hear what the child has to say,” Chen’s Father, ever perceptive, interjected, well aware of their intentions.
Just then, Bai Yuyou and Chen Qin came downstairs.
“Good morning, Dad, Mom, Uncle Zhou, Aunt Xian,” Chen Qin greeted before guiding Bai Yuyou to the table.
“Sweetheart, did you sleep well last night?” Zhou’s Father and Mother immediately asked Bai Yuyou with warm smiles.
Bai Yuyou gave a slight nod.
“Here’s the thing. We just talked to Shuang about it—would you be willing to come back to Hong Kong with Mom for a little while? Just to recognize your family roots, okay?”
“Think of it as learning where home is, so you’ll know the way back in the future,” Zhou’s Mother added with a smile.
Bai Yuyou didn’t hesitate before shaking her head. “Where Ye Shuang is… that’s home.”
The moment those words left her mouth, Ye Shuang felt Zhou’s Father and Mother’s gazes shift toward him once more, their expressions unreadable.
Perhaps even Ye Shuang hadn’t realized just how deeply Bai Yuyou relied on him.
“Here, have a bun.” Ye Shuang handed her a walnut bun, which she began nibbling on quietly.
The atmosphere grew awkward again.
“Which is why I say, they should just get engaged,” Zhou’s Father said, turning to Chen’s Father.
But Chen’s Father immediately waved a hand. “Not happening!”
“Come on, Old Chen. Qin is such an outstanding girl—she has plenty of suitors to choose from.”
“It’s not the same. Don’t you see how my Qin has been pining over that Zhao family girl? Now that we finally have this chance—” Before he could finish, Chen Qin’s face flushed red as she shouted, “Stop talking, Dad!”
“As if I have no other options besides A’Ye!”
Chen’s Father raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Who else do you like?”
“I—I’m not listening! Your daughter isn’t that cheap!” Chen Qin huffed, secretly kicking Ye Shuang under the table.
Ye Shuang, who had been keeping his head down and focusing on his noodles, could only sigh helplessly after receiving those kicks.
How is this my fault?
“Enough, let’s drop this for now,” Chen’s Father said, turning back to Zhou’s Mother. “Xian, now that you’ve found your daughter, why not spend more time with her, build a stronger bond before taking her back to Hong Kong?”
“Right now, she barely knows you. If you try to take her away like this, of course she’ll refuse.”
Bai Yuyou had been taken away when she was too young to remember her birth parents. All she recalled was the cold, chaotic room where she had lived—until Ye Shuang’s light broke through, illuminating her world.
To her, parents who had been absent since her earliest memories could never compare to the person who had been by her side day and night.