“What? Don’t you want to hear what else you did?” Shen Yi’s grin widened much to his wife chagrin. “I remember seeing a girl running around naked, refusing to take a bath with her mother,” he continued.

“You’re lying!” Lu Xinyi countered. Her face grew beet red as she glared back at her grinning husband. “Shen Yi, aren’t you afraid to be struck by lightning?! You’re just making it up to make fun of me!” she accused.

“How would you know if I’m lying or not? If your parents and my uncle are still alive, they are most likely to side with me.” Shen Yi pointed out, one corner of his mouth pulled into a slight smile.

Suddenly, a realization came into light. Lu Xinyi’s eyes widened the more she thought of it.

“Wait. Does this mean you’ve recognized me on that cruise ship, and you proposed to me because you already know who I am?”

Shen Yi walked up to her with a grin of amusement. He hugged her from behind and whispered in her ear.

“What do you think?” his breath tickling her ear.

With a slow, secret smile, Lu Xinyi finally understood why Shen Yi casually proposed to her without thinking hard about it. It was just too bad for her; she couldn’t remember meeting him and his uncle.

“You knew! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I can vaguely remember everything, and your appearance changed from the last time I’ve seen you… but I know it was you the moment you told me your name.”

His smile brought an immediate softening to his features.

“But still! You could’ve just told me you knew me,” Lu Xinyi grumbled.

“I doubt that you’ll believe me if I’ve told you. You’ve changed, and you yourself said you can’t remember any of it. Anyway, knowing who you are has helped me decide easier.” He moved and sat at the edge of his desk and stared down at his pouting wife. She was still the same girl who could easily be happy and content just by having delicious foods in her hands.

“What happened then?”

—

“That kid looks suspicious, dear,” Lu Sibai whispered to his wife as they watched the children continue playing in their blanket fort from the kitchen, his eyes narrowing when the boy made his daughter laugh.

“What do you mean? They’re getting along well,” Sun Meixiu responded, not sure what Lu Sibai was thinking at the moment. She was helping him dry the plates while he washed the used ones.

“No, I just think something’s wrong with Jin’s nephew. He’s been staring at our Xinxin but not saying anything!” he countered. It was like his instinct was telling him to watch out for that kid, for he might be able to sweep his daughter away.

“Maybe he’s just shy.” His wife tried to reason out. “Brother Jin himself said that Yi’er doesn’t have any friends.”

Sun Meixiu was glad to see her daughter being energetic once again. Even though she also had a temperament, she would not show it to Xinxin after a certain incident. She didn’t want her daughter to feel like she did something bad when in fact she didn’t.

During a parent-teacher meeting at the daycare center where Lu Xinyi was attending, Sun Meixiu had shouted in anger at another woman when she mentioned how pitiful Lu Xinyi was for not having the same status Qiyan and Feiyan back at the Sun Estate.

Lu Xinyi, who accidentally heard the argument, froze in fear and cried. She thought she was the reason why her mommy was kicked out of her own family. When Sun Meixiu saw her, it broke her heart. None of these was her daughter’s fault. After that incident, she stopped mentioning anything about the Sun family in Lu Xinyi’s presence. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀ​ꪶ​

Sighing, Sun Meixiu continued her work while Lu Sibai was mumbling to himself how a certain ‘Shen brat’ had managed to steal her princess when he should be the one spending the playtime with her.

Indeed, Little Xin’er gave the couple the happiness they never thought they could ever have.

“By the way, what was the favor Jin asked you to do?” Lu Sibai asked as he wiped his hands dry with a clean towel.

“It’s a secret.” Sun Meixiu grinned. “You aren’t supposed to know about it.”

“But I’m your hubby. I wanna join the fun. You always make plans with Jin without telling me.” Lu Sibai almost said with a whine in his voice.

The little girl’s giggles and voice floated around and reached their ears. Coming back from his phone call, Shen Jinxiu’s eyes widen dramatically at the sight of his nephew dressing up as a clown to please Xin’er. He could clearly see the deep scowl etched on Shen Yi’s face as the girl bounced on her feet around him.

If someone had told him earlier that there would be a day he’d see his stubborn nephew at a disadvantage, Shen Jinxiu would laugh at their face. Now, however, as he watched Shen Yi play with the girl dressed as a knight, planning together how to raise a dragon to conquer the world; he was at loss.

True to the couple’s prediction, the blizzard became fiercer when the clock hit midnight. The wind started churning outside, whipping across the streets trapping the residents inside their homes. Shen Yi and Little Xinxin continued until the latter fell asleep inside their blanket fort with her head lying on the boy’s leg.

“Alright. Did you give her a call? I’m pretty sure she’s upset that you’re going to have a sleepover with us tonight.” Sun Meixiu’s voice startled him out of his thoughts, his eyes turning to look at her.

“It’s alright. I know she wouldn’t agree that easily, but this harsh weather wouldn’t give us a safe journey,” he answered, his eyes turning back to the children.

“They look so cute together,” Sun Meixiu said, following his gaze. “It’s nice to see those two get along, especially with their attitudes.”

“What do you mean? Who can resist your Xin’er adorable face?”

“I mean just based by your words, I can say that Yi’er reserved himself from other children while my Xinxin doesn’t trust anyone but us, her parents.”

Two hours had passed; it was at that moment that Shen Jinxiu found his nephew in a conundrum if he should wake the girl up so he could move or stay still, not wanting to disturb her slumber. He was starting to feel his legs being numb.

“Played until she passed out from exhaustion, eh?” Shen Jinxiu laughed.

“Still new to this even if you already have nephews?” Sun Meixiu asked teasingly, giggling when Shen Jinxiu nodded, “Well, I’m afraid it doesn’t get any easier. You’ll just have to let them. They’re still kids; let them enjoy it.”

“You seem to understand this better than me, ah? Of course, Xinxin is your daughter; but Yi and Xue are my nephews. Dealing with them wasn’t easy to begin with,” he sighed.

Lu Sibai kneeled next so Shen Yi and hoisted up his daughter, careful that he wouldn’t wake her up, with his wife trailing behind him.

“We’ll see you in the morning.” She winked at the Shens, bidding good night.

“Come on, Yi. Let’s retire for the night.” Shen Jinxiu yawned and went to the other room.

Shen Yi, after washing his face and brushing his teeth, found his uncle already asleep on the bed. He slowly settled under the covers and turned off the lights, aware of the rumbling and howling sounds of the wind outside.

His eyelids growing heavy as his head hit the soft pillow, his thoughts revolving around the young girl of the Lus, whose skin as smooth as a baby and with a smile so warm enough for him to forget the chilling storm outside. Sleep settled in quickly, and for the first time since forever, Shen Yi felt peace in his entirety.

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