"Don't pout, Mama," Yueqin chirped, twisting in her father's lap to flash a toothy grin at her.
Yueyao blinked, startled by the sudden address, her daughter's grin tugging a reluctant smile from her lips.
She shook her head faintly, pulling the blanket slightly higher, as though it could shield the emotions spilling into her chest.
"I'm not pouting," she murmured, but her voice was softer than she intended, betraying her.
Jin Shuren chuckled low in his throat, his hand resting easily against Yueqin's back. "She is," he said, deliberately loud enough for Yueyao to hear.
His eyes, however, didn't leave hers, lingering across the room with a weight that unsettled and steadied her. "Mama looks like she wants to be over here with us, doesn't she?"
