Silence thickened the air as Mrs. Ming Li fixed her glare on Mrs. Rou. The house fell unnervingly quiet. Zhu Ling, mid-sip of her juice, nearly choked as her eyes darted nervously between the two women.
"Please," Tai Xun said, stepping forward, his voice low and steady. "Let's not do this today. I'm here now—you've seen me."
He closed the distance, trying to soothe her with calm words. "Mum Li—"
"Don't call me that!" Mrs. Ming Li snapped, her voice sharp as a whip. She whirled toward him, her chest heaving.
"I'm just Mum," she cried, pounding her chest with her fist. "Don't add the Li to it. I'm not some extra mummy number two, not a replacement—I am your mother!"
"Don't you dare raise your voice at my son," Mrs. Rou shot back, tightening her hold on Tai Xun's arm.
"Your son?" Mrs. Ming Li's eyes widened, disbelief breaking into fury. "The audacity."
She grabbed his other hand, pulling him toward her. "He is my son!"
Caught between them, Tai Xun froze. The weight of their grips, the fire in their voices—it all crashed into him like a memory he wished he'd buried. A painful déjà vu of the
the same suffocating drama from his past.
He sighed
"Seriously, Mum—like, we can't… we can't do this," Tai Xun said, slipping his hands free from their grip with quiet finality.
"I'm twenty-two now. Way past this kind of drama." He casually strolled toward the fridge,and pulled it open for a drink.
"You all keep asking why I avoid coming home," he continued, his voice carrying across the room. "This. This is exactly why. I can't do…" he gestured lazily between the two women, "…this with you guys, Every time I step in, I get this circus, It's exhausting. Crazy, actually."
Mrs. Ming Li turned toward him, her voice breaking. "Am I supposed to just let go of my son then— Tai Xun you were taken from me!"
He shut the fridge halfway and looked at her, the room falling silent as if everyone was waiting for his next words.
"I wasn't taken from you, Mum Li." The name hung in the air like a knife.
For the first time, it felt like he was letting some of what he'd kept buried slip out. His gaze didn't waver.
"You left me. Remember?"
She froze—guilt flickering across her face. The silence grew heavier.
He let the silence stretch, then exhaled slowly. "Look… I'm sorry if the way I call you feels improper. I really am. But I can't switch off years of habit overnight. For the longest time, she was the only mother I knew and she is still my mum, You can't expect things to flip just cuz you want it to, Try being in my shoes for once." He sighed "It's crazy out there in City, and I just needed to come home to cool off. You don't really expect me to go straight to your place, do you? This is the home I've known all my life." He paused, shutting the fridge door with a soft thud. "Try to understand… Mum. Li."
Tears welled in her eyes. She couldn't answer.
"Even if you drag this back to court, at the end of the day it's still my choice. I'm an adult now. We're way past the custody drama." He leaned casually against the counter, twisting the cap off his drink. "The truth is, I'm fine with having two mums in my life. Not ideal, sure—but it's what it is."
The room went quiet. A few people nodded slightly, the sense in his words undeniable. But Ming Li's face made it clear she wasn't buying it, and Tai Xun caught the resistance in her eyes.
He tilted his head, voice light but edged. "But if you can't get on board with that… then you'll just have to accept not seeing me at all."
Her eyes widened—she hadn't expected him to push that far. Her lips parted but words didnt come out, when suddenly the front door swung open. A young girl Somewhere around her early teens, strolled in with her gaze glued to her phone, oblivious to the storm she had just walked into.
"Mum, do you know, the Wi-Fi here is way better than the one at home," the girl said casually, eyes still glued to her phone.
Every head in the room turned toward her.
"Mum?" Tai Xun echoed, his brows furrowing. The girl finally looked up, freezing as she realized every pair of eyes in the room was fixed on her. Her gaze landed on Tai Xun—curious, almost amused.
He raised a brow, glancing between Mrs. Ming Li and the girl, silently demanding answers.
"Um…" Ming Li began, shifting under the weight of everyone's stares. She smoothed her sleeve nervously. "I was going to introduce you to… Dali." Her voice faltered for a moment before she added, "Your sister."
The air grew heavier.
"And you must be Tai Xun," Dali said, instantly pulling everyone's attention. "My infamous big brother."
Once again, all heads turned toward him, like an audience watching the next twist in a drama.
"Uh… Y-yeah?" Tai Xun replied awkwardly,
His eyes lingered on her a little too long, not out of rudeness but because he couldn't ignore the resemblance.
Dali's features were delicate yet striking—wide almond-shaped eyes with a sharpness that hinted at boldness, the same soft curve of cheekbones, and a natural elegance in the way she held herself. And it wasn't just her. He realized, uncomfortably, that he shared those same traits, out of all his siblings she looked most like him.
Both of them were cut from Ming Li's mold.
Their mother was undeniably beautiful—graceful, poised, with a kind of radiance that seemed to follow her even when her words stung. Tai Xun had always been told he "looked different" from the rest of his siblings, but standing across from Dali made it clearer than ever, They had the same sharp jawline, The same eyes, even the same faint tilt in their smile.
It was almost eerie. Looking at Dali was like looking at a version of himself. And for the first time in a long time, he felt the weight of those inherited features—features that marked him as hers.
"Uh…" Tai Xun muttered, then flicked his eyes down at his watch.
"Oh, shi—" he said suddenly darting over to grab his bag from the couch.
"I gotta go."
Mrs. Cheng's face fell as slumped back into the couch. "For goodness' sake… all that effort wasted."
"Won't you at least stay a little for the soup?" Mrs. Rou asked, hope flickering in her voice.
Tai Xun paused, then walked over to her, his tone soft but hurried.
"As much as I'd love to, I can't. I've got things to do back in the city."
He leaned down, giving her a quick hug and planting a light kiss on her cheek before pulling away.
"Of course. Run away till the next one and a half years," Xiao Mei piped up, arms crossed, her tone sharp with mock-annoyance. "I just hope Grandma will still recognize you by then."
Tai Xun smirked faintly at her jab, then turned toward his grandmother.
"I'm sorry, Grandma," Tai Xun said softly, crouching a little so he was eye-level with her. "I promise I'll come back again soon and you'll be the first person I call."
He lingered, almost holding his breath, waiting for her reaction. Slowly, a gentle smile spread across her face. She pulled him into a short, warm embrace, her frail arms still steady with affection.
"Be sure to drop your address in my chat box," Su Li chimed in the moment he pulled away.
Tai Xun groaned and rolled his eyes. "Seriously?"
"Unless you want me to go to the club alone," she added, smirking.
"What am I, your bodyguard?" he sneered, half-exasperated, half-amused.
Su Li only smirked wider, flicking her hair over her shoulder as she strolled toward the stairs. "Are you just realizing that now?"
Tai Xun rolled his eyes again. Of course. Lowkey, he had been her bodyguard all along. Su Li, always wild and restless, wanted to do the craziest things — and the only reason their parents ever let her was because she had Tai Xun who was always asked to tag along.
He finally walked up to his mother, Ming Li, whose eyes shimmered with tears that threatened to spill.
"I thought you'd only push me further away if you knew I had another child," she confessed in a trembling voice. "I… I didn't want that to happen. But I also thought you had the right to know" she explained.
The truth was, she had kept Dali a secret not out of shame, but out of fear. Fear that if Tai Xun learned she had built another family, he would see it as betrayal and cut her out of his life completely. She couldn't bear to lose him again, not after the years of distance that had already carved a wound between them.
Tai Xun suddenly pulled her into a warm embrace.
"I don't mind having another sibling. It's alright," He said looking down at her, his shadow practically enveloping her. He had grown so tall over the years, while she seemed smaller now, almost delicate in comparison
"Take care, Mum," he said simply, his lips curling into the faintest smile.
"Dad. Chen Xi." Tai Xun called out casually as he headed for the door, his bag slung over his shoulder. He stopped just before stepping out and turned back for one last glance.
It had been so long since he'd seen them all together. Every sibling was there now—crowded in the living room, each with their own unspoken thoughts,even Ling Qian, who had stormed to her room earlier. She now stood quietly on the staircase behind Su Li, her eyes locked onto her brother's, not saying a word.
The house fell into a stillness, heavy with the kind of tension only family could carry—equal parts love, resentment, and longing. None of them would ever admit it outright, but the truth hung in the air: they missed him. For all his teasing, for all the times he got under their skin, Tai Xun had always been the kind of brother who brought life into the house. Annoying, yes, but also protective. Infuriating, but also dependable. That messy balance—their own brand of love and hate—was what made them family.
He gave them one last look, then turned and stepped outside.
For a moment, the room stayed frozen. Then Dali, who had been sitting in a daze lost in thought, suddenly snapped back to herself. Heart racing, she bolted up and ran after him, rushing out the door to catch her big brother before he was gone.