“Father, I’m curious—why did you keep Li Muyan and Ye Yiyi so close from childhood, like two saplings planted side by side?”

Confusion pressed like mist on his chest as Li Shoujing turned to his father; he truly had no idea why he’d arranged it.

“Ah…”

At the thought, Li Jingtian sighed, like autumn wind through dry reeds.

“Actually... only Ye Yiyi’s parents and I know this, a secret sealed like ice beneath winter water.”

“What is it?” The others asked, their surprise flaring like sparks.

Li Jingtian held the silence like a stone, then spoke slowly.

“Actually... Ye Yiyi... isn’t Ye Zhenghao’s by blood,” he said, the words falling like distant thunder.

Li Jingtian had unleashed a bombshell, like lightning splitting a clear sky.

“What?!”

Everyone cried out; they stared at Li Jingtian, disbelief bright as noon sun. The news hit them like a hammer.

“No way. How is that possible?”

Shock swelled like a tidal wave; Li Muyan covered her mouth. “I used to visit the Ye house and play with Yiyi as a kid.”

“Then tell me—did Ye Yiyi and her parents share that deep warmth, like spring sun on skin?”

Silence pooled like ink; Li Muyan said nothing.

“Father, what’s going on?” Li Shoujing asked, his heart thudding like a drum; he’d never heard this in all these years.

“Twenty-one years ago, disaster swept the Ye family like a black storm.”

“Their patriarch, Ye Kang—Ye Zhenghao’s father—passed away.”

“The house was in peril, rocking like a small boat on rough waves.”

“Yet in that period, our Li family had a joyous event, bright as spring rain.”

He spoke slowly, words dropping like dew.

“Twenty-one years ago? Then that was…” Li Muyan’s mother spoke up, a thought flashing like a fin in dark water.

“Yes. That year Li Muyan was born under our roof, like a red lantern lit in winter; I gained a precious granddaughter.”

He gazed at Li Muyan with tender warmth, like moonlight on still water, then went on.

“Back then, I had some ties with Ye Kang, thin as silk yet real.”

“To keep our household’s joy intact, like an unbroken festival, one night I went alone to the Ye residence.”

“That night at the Ye house, Ye Zhenghao and his wife asked me for help, their voices trembling like wind through bamboo.”

“Ye Kang had more than one son.”

“The other brothers eyed the company’s reins like wolves eyeing a lamb.”

“After Ye Kang’s death, control should pass to his eldest, Ye Zhenghao.”

“The old man once confided to me, drunk as a village lantern in rain.”

“He loved his eldest and wished to give him the estate if possible.”

“But he said... Ye Zhenghao couldn’t father a child.”

The group reeled again, shock spreading like ripples across a pond.

“Think of it as one last deed for the old man.”

“I didn’t turn Ye Zhenghao down, yet I didn’t say yes.”

“But driving back from their house, I met something unforgettable, like a ghost stepping from fog.”

“On a trash bin in a small alley, I saw a strange bundle, hunched like a sleeping cat.”

“Odd, isn’t it? For some reason, driving through night like a slow river, I noticed that bundle.”

“I stopped and opened it, hands shaking like leaves.”

“I think it was heaven’s arrangement.”

“Was there…?” Li Shoujing imagined the impossible, a picture flashing like lightning behind closed eyes.

“Yes. Inside lay a baby, small as a warm sparrow under cloth.”

Everyone’s eyes widened, like moons rising at once.

“I carefully carried the baby to the car, cradling it like a fragile porcelain bowl.”

“Looking at the sleeping baby in my arms, a strange idea stirred like mist.”

“Was this that old man’s soul reborn?”

“I drove back to the Ye house.”

“In a room with no one else, I handed the baby to Ye Zhenghao.”

“Ye Zhenghao was terrified, fear skittering like mice in the rafters.”

“An infant appearing out of nowhere felt like a ghost at noon.”

“He couldn’t accept it at first.”

“With no better path, I said this—raise the baby as your own daughter, like a seed under your roof.”

“Then our Li family would back you with both arms, solid as stone.”

“After the three of us discussed, they accepted the child, like taking in a stray star.”

“Ye Zhenghao had his wife stay hidden for months, feigning a swelling belly like a crescent moon.”

Sadness stung like cold rain; Li Muyan clenched her hands. “So that’s why... no wonder Yiyi kept distance from her parents.”

“I feared they might neglect the baby, fear like a shadow on the wall.”

“So when Muyan was small, I often sent her to check on Yiyi, like a gentle watch-lamp.”

“In the unseen weave of fate, I felt that child wasn’t simple, a willow bent toward storm.”

“Someday, something would surely happen.”

Li Jingtian looked up at the chandelier, its light trembling like water; his eyes were heavy with sorrow.

“I see…” Understanding settled like dusk; Ningxin spoke with her head bowed.

“I never imagined Yiyi’s past would be so cruel, like frost on a young flower.”

Tears glazed Li Muyan’s lashes like dew; her closest friend carried such a fate.

“So I kept you by Ye Yiyi’s side, like a steady lantern in a long night,” Li Jingtian said, his voice warm as tea.

Li Muyan kept her head down, silence like falling snow.

“Will you tell Yiyi?” Li Jingtian asked Ningxin, the question hovering like a moth at a lamp.

“...” “I don’t know,” Ningxin said, glancing at Li Muyan like a sparrow seeks a safe twig. “It’s best she decides.”

Pain tightened in her chest like a knotted cord. “No, don’t tell Yiyi; it would strike her too hard,” Li Muyan said after thinking.

“All right,” Li Jingtian said, tone firm as carved wood. “We’ll follow your lead. No one tells Ye Yiyi.”

They answered with soft hums, nodding together like reeds in a breeze.

“Enough of this heavy talk,” Li Muyan’s mother said with a smile, trying to lift the mood like opening a window to sun.

“Ningxin, what are your plans?” Li Shoujing asked, catching her intent like a fisherman feels a tug.

“I’ll steady the situation in Ninghai first, like tying down a rattling sail,” Ningxin said. “I feel bigger storms are coming.”

“Mm, that’s good,” Li Shoujing nodded, motion small as a leaf in breeze.

“If you need help from the Li family, just say it,” Li Jingtian said, his words firm like stone pillars.

“Okay, Grandpa Li~” Ningxin replied, obedient as a small fawn under a tree.

“All right, I’ll head out,” Ningxin said, rising like a plume of smoke. “Muyan, are you coming?”

“I’ll go with you,” Li Muyan said, standing as light as a willow branch.

“Mm. Grandpa Li, we’ll take our leave,” Ningxin said with a nod, taking Li Muyan’s hand like threading silk.

“All right. Travel safe,” Li Jingtian smiled, the curve of his mouth gentle as a crescent moon.

Ningxin drove out of the Li estate, tires humming like bees.

After a while, she stopped at a quiet intersection, still as a pond at dusk.

“All right~ You’ve got something to say, don’t you?” Ningxin parked, her gaze soft as candlelight on Li Muyan.

Silence hung like mist around her, then Li Muyan spoke:

“Sis Ning, I’m… really worried about Yiyi,” she said, worry fluttering like a trapped sparrow.

“What’s wrong?” Ningxin’s voice floated gentle as rain on bamboo.

“I feel we lied to her about Keke, and that was wrong.”

“She didn’t get real affection at Ye Zhenghao’s place, a house cold as stone.”

“But I can feel it—Yiyi truly likes Keke, like sun to a flower.”

“Keke is badly hurt this time and can’t stay by her side.”

“I feel guilty toward Yiyi, guilt like bitter tea.”

Li Muyan spoke with her head lowered, voice thin as thread.

“So then~ what do you want to do?” Ningxin asked softly, words light as feathers.

“I want… to go back and stay with Yiyi,” Li Muyan said, resolve steady as a lantern. “While Keke can’t be around, I’ll keep her company, make her smile.”

Her tears fell slowly, like beads sliding off a string.

“Ah… envy rises like a green vine,” Ningxin laughed. “You little ones can chase whatever you want.”

“Sis Ning?” Li Muyan looked at Ningxin, confusion flickering like fish under water.

“Heh, it’s fine, Muyan,” Ningxin said, her smile warm as coals. “Follow your heart; you’re doing it for them anyway.”

“...” “Mm!” Li Muyan nodded, motion firm as a pecking bird.

“But don’t tell Yiyi about Keke’s injuries yet,” Ningxin said, voice calm as still water. “She’ll worry. We tell her after Keke wakes.”

“Mm, I know,” Li Muyan said, certainty settling like a stone in a stream.

“All right, I’ll take you back to the villa~” Ningxin said, casual as a breeze.

Then Ningxin drove Li Muyan back to Ye Yiyi’s villa, headlights painting the road like silver threads.

After twenty-some minutes, they reached Jinxiu Garden’s gate, lanterns glowing like fireflies; Ningxin stopped there.

“All right, I can’t go in,” Ningxin said, caution drifting like fog. “We told Yiyi Keke and I went to America. If she sees me, she’ll suspect.”

“Mm, I’ll get out here,” Li Muyan said, decision clear as a bell.

She unbuckled and slipped out, the door thumping like a drum.

She leaned in and said to Ningxin:

“Drive slow, Sis Ning~” Her voice curled like a ribbon in the night air.

“Mm. If anything happens with Yiyi, tell me at once,” Ningxin said, words taut like bowstring.

“Okay~” Li Muyan replied, light as a sparrow’s chirp.

Then Li Muyan walked toward Ye Yiyi’s villa, footsteps soft as rain.

At the door, she steadied her mood like smoothing silk, then knocked.

Knock, knock!

But after a while, no answer came, the doorway silent as a stone gate.

“Is she not home?” The thought drifted like a pale cloud.

“Ah—my keys are in the suitcase, still with Mom…” Li Muyan said, smacking her forehead like a wooden clapper.

“What do I do now…” The question sat like a pebble in her shoe.

With no better choice, Li Muyan sat on the doorstep steps, like a cat curling in sun, and waited for Yiyi.

She could call, but she chose silence, like keeping a bell unrung.

Let her roam a little longer and breathe the evening air.

But that wait stretched until five o’clock, shadows lengthening like bamboo.

On the steps, watching the door, sleep drifted over her like soft fog.

From afar, two girls came, one tall and one short, like paired cranes.

“Yiyi-jie, why’d we buy so many vegetables?” Meng Xiaoxiao asked, bags rustling like leaves.

“I want to practice my cooking these days,” Ye Yiyi said, hope bright as morning. “When they return, I’ll make lots of good dishes.”

“Wow, I’m so jealous~” Meng Xiaoxiao said, envy flickering like green shoots.

“Huh? Yiyi-jie, look—someone’s sitting at the villa door!” she pointed, finger sharp as an arrow.

“Hm?” Ye Yiyi looked ahead, eyes narrowing like crescents.

“Let’s go see, quick.” Meng Xiaoxiao sped up, pulling Ye Yiyi along, their steps pattering like rain.

“Mu… Muyan!” At the door, Ye Yiyi recognized the sleeper, surprise bursting like a firecracker.

“Why’s she asleep here?” Meng Xiaoxiao asked, puzzlement fluttering like moths.

“Muyan! Wake up!” Ye Yiyi hurried forward and shook her gently, hands trembling like leaves.

“Mm… mm… oh… Yiyi~ you’re back…” Li Muyan blinked awake, mind hazy like morning fog.

“When did you get back? Why are you sitting here?!” Ye Yiyi asked, excitement bright as lanterns. She pulled Li Muyan up and hugged her tight, arms like warm quilts.

“Uh… I forgot my keys…” Li Muyan said, embarrassment prickling like nettles.

“You’re too adorable and silly~ come in,” Ye Yiyi said, tugging her like a playful breeze.

Saying that, Ye Yiyi drew Li Muyan inside, the door closing behind like a soft wave.

“Did you handle everything over there?” Ye Yiyi asked, concern glinting like metal.

“Mm! I wrapped it up and ran back,” Li Muyan laughed, voice bubbling like spring water. “It’s lonely being alone at home~”

“Oh~ hee-hee~” Ye Yiyi chuckled, her smile blooming like a peach blossom.

“Wow, didn’t think you had that kind of charm—back in and Yiyi-jie’s glowing,” Meng Xiaoxiao said, hands on hips like a little general.

“Hey, don’t put it on me—why are you here!” Li Muyan said, finger pointing at Meng Xiaoxiao’s small face like a tiny moon.

“Me~ Of course I’m here to co~live with Yiyi-jie~” Meng Xiaoxiao said proudly, chin up like a sparrow on a fence.

“You!” Heat rushed through Li Muyan like summer thunder; anger swelled in her belly.

“Yiyi, this little rascal hasn’t messed with you, right?” Li Muyan said, suspicion flickering like foxfire. “Don’t be fooled by her harmless face—she’s packed with tricks.”

Calm settling like a quiet pond, Li Muyan stepped to Ye Yiyi’s side and said...

"Pfft~ hehe, you two are really something~" Ye Yiyi laughed, her voice like wind chimes in a soft breeze.

The pause hung like mist...

Li Muyan and Meng Xiaoxiao traded a glance, two sparks crossing in the dusk...

Joy bubbling like spring water, Ye Yiyi said, "Alright~ I’ll wash the vegetables; I’ll cook you something tasty tonight."

"Mm, I’ll help you," Li Muyan said, his voice steady like a lone pine.

He moved to help, his steps light as a shadow slipping across the floor.

"No need~ you just got back, rest a bit; I can handle it alone," Ye Yiyi said, shooing him away like a sparrow flicking its wing.

"Alright then~ I won’t be polite," Li Muyan said, grinning like a cat in the sun.

With that, he fished a bag of chips from Meng Xiaoxiao’s snack bag, quick as a fox slipping through bamboo.

"Hey, hey, hey!? That’s mine!" The protest burst from Meng Xiaoxiao like firecrackers...