The hotel came into view shortly after.

Global was tall and glass fronted, doormen in dark uniforms standing at the entrance.

They checked in and took the elevator to the fifty second floor.

Liuxian opened the suite door and Guiying walked in.

Floor to ceiling windows on two walls, the New York skyline in every direction.

A living area, dining table, two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a terrace outside.

Guiying walked straight to the window.

Liuxian set his bag down. "I have a meeting in two hours. Get some rest, order whatever you want from room service, and don’t leave the hotel."

"You’ve said that three times now.." Guiying said, not turning from the window.

"And I’ll say it again," Liuxian said. "Zhang Wei will be next door if you need anything."

Guiying nodded.

Liuxian looked at him for a moment then picked up his jacket and headed for the bedroom to get ready.

Guiying stayed at the window.

He pulled out his phone, took a picture of the view, then took a selfie with the city behind him.

He looked at it, smiled slightly, and sent it to Limo.

Guiying sighed, smiling.

This was the life.

He guessed people weren’t lying when they said travel in your twenties.

Meanwhile, back in China, Moying had arrived at Tiantian’s place.

He rang the doorbell and had approximately two seconds before the door flew open.

He did not see Tiantian first.

He saw four small people, all of them talking at the same time.

"Uncle Moying!!"

He crouched down and got properly mauled. Mingming and Lele pulled at his jacket, Yaoyao went straight for his hair, and Xiao Bao wrapped both arms around his leg and stayed there.

Tiantian appeared in the hallway with a cup of tea. "They’ve been at the window since this morning.." she said.

"You told them I was coming?" Moying said, trying to stand with Xiao Bao still attached to his leg.

"I told them yesterday. Big mistake."

Wen Haoran appeared behind her, looked at Moying buried under four children, nodded once, and went back inside.

They settled in the living room eventually.

Toys on the floor, drawings on the fridge, the comfortable disorder of a house with four children in it.

Tiantian sat across from him. "You look well. Better than last time."

"Brother Xian sorted me out," Moying said.

"Sorted you out how? Last I heard you had run away from home."

"I did. Then he found me, told me nobody was forcing me to get married, and signed me to Yang Entertainment."

Tiantian stared at him. "He signed you to Yang Entertainment? That’s new."

"Audition is on Monday.." Moying said.

Wen Haoran came back with two cups of tea, set them down, and sat beside Tiantian.

"And where is Brother Xian now?" Tiantian said. "I haven’t heard from him in weeks."

"He went to the States."

"For work?"

"Partly," Moying said.

Tiantian looked at him. "Moying."

"He went with someone.." Moying said. "His partner."

Tiantian put her cup down. "Brother Liuxian has a partner?? That’s also new"

"He’s married actually.." Moying said.

-_-

Tiantian stared at him.

Even the children went quiet.

"He’s WHAT?"

"Married. About a month now."

"MARRIED?!" She stood up. "The Liu Liuxian? My brother? The man who has never once shown interest in any living person in thirty three years? That Liu Liuxian?"

"Tiantian—"

"I thought he was a monk!" she said. "I told Haoran last year, I said that man is going to die alone in a boardroom surrounded by documents and I had made my peace with it!"

Wen Haoran nodded. "She did say that."

"And he’s been married for a MONTH?! Who is it? Where did they meet? Why didn’t he tell anyone?"

"His name is Xue Guiying.." Moying said. "I actually knew him from college." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Tiantian pointed at him. "He married someone you know from college?!"

"We weren’t close.." Moying said. "But yes."

"Ah.." Tiantian said, sitting back down. "He married a young one." She shook her head slowly. "What is he like?"

"Really good for him," Moying said simply.

Tiantian looked at him for a moment then nodded, satisfied with that.

Xiao Bao climbed back into Moying’s lap and held his face in both hands. "Uncle Moying. Did you bring me something?"

Moying looked at her. He had not brought anything. "I’ll get you something next time," he said.

Xiao Bao stared at him with the flat disappointment of a child who had expected better.

Tiantian laughed. Wen Haoran shook his head. Mingming, Lele and Yaoyao immediately began asking about their own gifts.

Moying looked around at all of them.

He should have prepared for this.

"Uncle Moying," Mingming said, tugging his sleeve. "Are you sleeping in my room?"

"No," Moying said.

"Why not?"

"Because you kick in your sleep and plus I have my own room."

"I don’t kick," Mingming said.

"You kicked me last Christmas, it still hurts," Moying said.

Mingming had no response to that.

Lele had climbed onto the sofa beside him and was leaning against his arm.

Yaoyao had gone through his bag without permission and was now examining his phone case with great interest. Xiao Bao was still in his lap and showed no signs of leaving.

"Yaoyao," Tiantian said, not looking up from her tea. "Put his things back."

Yaoyao put one thing back and continued with the rest.

Tiantian looked at her.

Yaoyao put everything back.

Wen Haoran stood up. "I’ll start lunch."

"Make enough," Tiantian said. Then she looked at Moying. "Your room is the one at the end of the hall. Haoran already set it up." She refilled her tea. "Now tell me everything about this husband of Brother Xian’s. From the beginning."

Moying settled back into the sofa with Xiao Bao in his lap and four children draped across various parts of him and started talking.

He told her what he knew.

That Guiying was twenty three, that they had gone to the same college, that their history had not been smooth but that they had sorted it out.

That he had shown up at the mansion one day and Guiying had already been there, already settled in, already calling Wang Chengli Uncle Wang and eating Old Li’s cooking and walking around in bear slippers like he had always lived there.

"Bear slippers??" Tiantian chuckled.

"Bear slippers," Moying confirmed.

Tiantian smiled. "I like him already."

"He can sing too," Moying said. "We were in the music room together and he just—" he shook his head.

"He’s genuinely talented. And he’s sharp.

The kind of person who doesn’t say much but when he does say something it lands."

Tiantian was quiet for a moment, turning her cup in her hands. "And Brother Xian? How is he with him?"

Moying thought about it.

About Liuxian carrying Guiying up the stairs that night, the way he had looked at him coming down in that outfit, the way he had left a full board meeting because someone had touched his person.

"Different," Moying said. "He’s different with him. Softer."