The morning sun peeked through the wooden shutters of Ban Shu Li's home, casting soft golden light across the modest room. The warmth of the rays touched the two figures resting peacefully beneath a thin blanket, their breaths calm and steady.
Shu Li stirred first, blinking away the haze of sleep. His gaze drifted to the side—and there she was.
Sui Inyi lay next to him, one hand resting on his chest, her face serene and full of contentment. Her long hair was sprawled messily across the pillow, a few strands tickling his neck. A small smile curled on her lips even in sleep.
Shu Li watched her quietly for a moment, a strange feeling swelling in his chest. Peace… maybe even happiness. For the first time in years, he felt truly alive.
But it didn't take long before Inyi's eyes fluttered open. She blinked a few times, then slowly looked up at him.
"You're staring," she murmured, her voice groggy but playful.
"And?" Shu Li replied with a faint smirk. "It's my right. You're mine now."
Inyi raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Who said I wasn't yours before?" She stretched like a lazy cat, then poked him on the forehead. "You were just too dense to realize it."
They both laughed lightly, the morning silence now filled with warmth.
Inyi rolled onto her back, wincing slightly. "Hey… I was wrong," she whispered dramatically. "You're not tiny at all. You—punished me way too hard! My stomach hurts, and down there... I think I broke."
Shu Li chuckled smugly. "Now you're not a virgin anymore. You belong to me."
"Ugh, shameless," Inyi muttered, throwing a pillow at him.
Just as they began trying to get out of bed and untangle the disaster they'd made of the sheets, a sudden knock came from the far end of the street—sharp voices, footsteps, the clinking of armor.
From another corner of the village, **Sui Gao** had returned.
A tall, broad-shouldered man in his late forties, dressed in a travel-worn coat and leather boots, Sui Gao walked with quiet authority. His eyes were sharp, scanning the familiar homes and alleyways of the village he'd left behind weeks ago.
"Excuse me," he asked a passing vendor. "Ban Shu Li… his mother, did something happen?"
The vendor looked up in surprise. "Ah, yes… she passed two days ago. Old illness, took her quietly. The boy buried her himself."
Sui Gao's expression darkened, and he nodded slowly. "Where is he now?"
"Still at home, I think. He's been with your daughter, Inyi, mostly."
At that, Gao's brows furrowed. Without another word, he adjusted the straps of his bag and began walking briskly in the direction of Shu Li's home, asking another person or two on the way, confirming the same story.
Inside the house, chaos had erupted. Inyi was hopping on one foot trying to pull on her underclothes, while Shu Li was attempting to straighten the bed, fluffing cotton into corners and folding sheets half-heartedly.
"Inyi! Hurry, your father is coming! He's just outside!"
"Don't rush me! I can't even walk properly, thanks to you!"
They scrambled. Clothes flew. Blankets were stuffed. Bedsheets were flipped.
And then—**a knock**.
"Shu Li? It's Gao."
Both froze.
Shu Li and Inyi locked eyes—he buttoned the last of his shirt, she smoothed her hair and tried to breathe normally.
The door creaked open.
Sui Gao stood there, expression unreadable, eyes taking in everything.
"...I heard," he said slowly, stepping inside. "About your mother."
Shu Li bowed his head. "Yes, Uncle Gao… she's gone."
Sui Gao placed a firm hand on his shoulder, his grip warm but heavy. "She was a strong woman. I'm sorry, boy. I should have been here."
As his gaze drifted to Inyi standing beside Shu Li, his eyes narrowed slightly.
There was a silence.
But nothing more was said.
Yet beneath that silence, tension stirred. A father's intuition. A young couple's secret. And outside, the world continued moving—toward a future neither of them could escape.
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