Tiantian looked at him. "Softer? It’s hard to imagine brother Xian being soft."

"Why? He’s soft to us, that’s why we can leave our lives freely." Moying said simply. "But I get what you mean, he’s very different with his partner. He smiles more, I didn’t think there’ll be a day where I’ll see him smile at someone so softly. It’s different from the smile we see as his family, he smiles like he’s in love but I doubt he’d admit it."

Tiantian was quiet for a moment. Wen Haoran appeared in the kitchen doorway, drying his hands, clearly having been listening.

He looked at Tiantian and she looked back at him with the quiet satisfied look of two people who had been hoping for exactly this for a long time.

"Good," Tiantian said. "That’s all I needed to hear."

Yaoyao looked up from where she had been quietly going through Moying’s bag. "Is Uncle Xian’s husband going to bring me something from America?"

"Yaoyao.." Tiantian said.

"What?" Yaoyao said. "America has good things."

"She’s not wrong.." Wen Haoran said, and went back to the kitchen before Tiantian could respond.

Tiantian looked at the kitchen doorway. Then at Moying. Then at Xiao Bao who had climbed back into his lap and was patting his cheek with both hands like he was a drum.

"Your room is at the end of the hall," she said. "Haoran set it up. Lunch will be ready soon."

Moying looked down at Xiao Bao still patting his cheeks.

"Uncle Moyi," she said seriously. "Did you bring me something?" She asked again.

He had not brought anything.

"I’ll get you something next time or we can go for ice cream tomorrow.." he said.

Xiao Bao stared at him with the flat disappointment of a child who had expected better but then at the thought of ice cream, she beamed.

Mingming, Lele and Yaoyao immediately began asking about their own gifts.

Moying looked around at all of them and accepted his fate.

"Alright, we’ll go out tomorrow and get gifts. Your uncle is not poor.."

Tiantian laughed "You’ll go broke meeting these kids demands, but knock yourselves out.."

"Yay!" They cheered.

"But don’t forget you have school, all of you.." Tiantian pressed.

-_-

"But mummy, can’t we skip..."

-_-

"Did I hear skip? Who told mummy they wanted to skip school?" Haoran looked out from the kitchen.

Yaoyao immediately hid behind Moying, knowing she was in trouble.

"I was the one who wanted them to skip because I miss my beautiful and handsome nieces and nephews."

Haoran chuckled and nodded "No one’s skip classes in this house. Y’all can go gift shopping during the weekend, mummy and I won’t stop you.."

"Okayyy. Then what are you making Daddy? You have to show uncle Moying your amazing cooking skills.."

Yaoyao said as she climbed the counter chair, it was a high stool so she could see him perfectly.

Haoran dropped the spatula and turned to her.

Taking off the apron.

"Well, Daddy is making some yummy spring rolls, fried rice and dumplings as well as other side dishes.."

"Like rice!" Mingming shouted from the kitchen door.

"Yes like rice.."

"And we don’t eat mummy’s cooking cause it’s fart.."

-_-

-_-

The room suddenly fell quiet as though a bomb was dropped.

"So mummy’s cooking is fart? That’s nice to know, mummy will go find a corner to cry.."

Moying laughed, it seemed her kids had also experienced her bad cooking.

"Your mummy’s cooking is not that bad. I’ve eaten most, she’ll really good with her orange chicken.."

Tiantian smiled, her kids and husband might be against her cooking but her brother was her biggest backer.

"Thank you, Yingying, only you likes my cooking. Why don’t you send me your alipay so I can send you some allowance."

Moying smiled. This was one of the perks of having older siblings who we’re rich.

He didn’t have to worry for money.

"Thank you big Sis. What would I do without you.."

"Nothing, you’ll just run to brother Xian."

Tiantian laughed and patted him.

Three days had passed and everyone’s big day had arrived.

Monday morning.

The Xue Corporation boardroom on the twenty eighth floor was full by eight forty five.

Directors, shareholders, legal representatives, the kind of gathering that happened when something significant was about to change hands.

The news had moved through the building the moment ShangYan’s name appeared on the morning agenda.

By nine the entire company knew.

Xue Deyong arrived at eight fifty and took his seat. Xue Jiaming sat beside him two minutes later. Neither of them spoke.

The door opened at nine exactly.

ShangYan walked in with Tao half a step behind him and four men positioning themselves without being directed to. He crossed the room to his seat and sat down.

He was not what anyone had expected.

Slight, quietly dressed, a face that offered nothing threatening. But his Alpha presence filled the room the moment he entered, dense and settled, not aggressive but absolute, the kind that made every other Alpha present quietly aware of the order of things without a word being exchanged. Several directors straightened in their seats without realizing it.

He looked across the table at Xue Deyong.

Xue Deyong looked back at him for the first time in over twenty years.

ShangYan smiled. "Brother. It’s been a long time."

Xue Mingzhan’s lawyer stood at the head of the table and began. The formal transfer of shares from Xue Mingzhan to Xue ShangYan, documented, witnessed, legally binding.

Numbers, percentages, the particular sound of something irreversible being made official.

ShangYan listened, turned pages, made a note in the margin, turned another page. Tao sat behind him with his tablet and said nothing.

When the lawyer finished he looked up. "Any objections?"

Silence.

Xue Deyong looked at his brother. ShangYan looked back at him with that same soft smile, patient and entirely unmoved. Deyong understood in that moment that this man had not come to fight him. He had simply come to collect what was already his.

"None," Deyong said.

ShangYan picked up the pen and signed.

Tao collected the documents and slid them into a folder. ShangYan capped his pen, set it down, and looked around the table at each director slowly.

"I look forward to working with all of you," he said. "I don’t anticipate dramatic changes. I simply intend to ensure the company reflects the standard it was built to meet."

He stood.

Every person in the room stood with him without thinking about it.

ShangYan buttoned his jacket and looked at Xue Deyong one last time.

"We should have dinner sometime," he said pleasantly. "Twenty years is a long time. We have a lot to catch up on."