I'm Qianhui. Pangu's daughter, God of Administration.
In the Mortal Realm, I had a secret crush.
He was easy to get along with for everyone, and he never explained himself. Everyone thought he had nothing to do. Only I knew that whatever happened in our class, he was the one who wrapped it up in the end. When someone came looking for trouble, all it took was one sentence from him.
I liked him a lot.
After I became the God of Administration, I still wished him well, quietly.
He got married at twenty-seven. I couldn't go down yet back then. I saw it later, in the records.
At thirty-one, he had his first child. The year he turned forty, he lost a lot of weight. I looked into it, and found out it was because work was too busy.
Later, once I could leave my body, I went to see him when I had time. I stood beside him, and no one could see me.
At sixty-eight, he passed away.
I watched all of it.
Not once did I appear in front of him.
I knew I could take a mortal body and go down, walk up to him.
But my work was mostly in Heaven. One busy day for me here was a year for him. Visiting him now and then, and living a life with him, are two different things.
I couldn't put down my work, and I couldn't let him spend his whole life waiting for me to have time.
Later he had a family of his own. So I kept wishing him well, quietly.
At first, some things about Big Brother reminded me of him.
Easy to get along with for his own people. Everyone thought he had nothing to do.
But the longer we were together, the more what I remembered were things that were Big Brother's own.
I replaced his officers' bonus, and he didn't stop me. Things that used to be his call alone now had to wait for my brother to finish reviewing them, and wait for my books.
In those seventy years, I worked out the allocation, and he made sure people got to where they needed to be. Some things I thought would get stuck, when I looked back, someone had already caught for me.
Later, when I passed his door, I would stop. The music would still be playing, and I wanted to wait for him to come back, so I could tell him about my day.
So when I got the confession, I knew who it was I wanted to say yes to.
That day, Father had only said that Big Brother was the one who chose us.
In the letter, he said my divine office was something he had asked Father for.
He also wrote that he had looked at the column I changed for a long time and couldn't find anything wrong.
I read those lines again.
So all the things I had been doing with my head down, he had seen.
——
That day, Qianhui put the letter away and went to the Sanctum to find Wanquan.
Pangu's room was in the Sanctum, and he usually spent most of his time there. That day was no different.
She walked up beside him.
Wanquan didn't look at her.
He kept looking straight ahead.
His hand hung at his side.
Palm turned outward.
Qianhui looked at that hand, which he never drew back, took one step closer, and held it.
Wanquan's expression didn't change.
Only the threads of cause and effect wound around him all went still for an instant.
As if the whole world had skipped a beat.
Pangu saw it.
He said nothing.
——
That evening, the family finally sat down to celebrate the investiture. Shunyi set out one extra dish.
In front of Pangu: a pot of tea, a plate of candied chestnuts.
In front of Shanjue: a cup of milk tea, a bowl of shaved ice.
In front of Wanquan: a cup of black coffee. No sugar bowl beside it.
In front of Qianhui: a plate of little snacks.
The little snacks were placed beside the black coffee.
——
Shunyi set down the last plate and stepped back.
"Congratulations, Master."
"Congratulations, Second Young Master. Congratulations, Miss."
He paused.
"And congratulations, Young Master."
Wanquan looked up. "Congratulations on what?"
Shunyi didn't say on what.
"I know."
Qianhui lowered her head and ate her snacks.
Wanquan took a sip of coffee.
Shanjue looked at the two of them, then at Shunyi, and dug out a big spoonful of shaved ice.
——
Pangu peeled a chestnut and held it out.
"Shunyi, you have one too."
"Master, I don't eat them."
"Why not?"
"Not chewy enough."
Shanjue laughed out loud. Qianhui laughed too.
Pangu ate the chestnut himself.
"Then you get a raise."
Shunyi paused.
"How much?"
"Seven percent," Pangu said.
Shunyi paused again.
"Master, that's the biggest one in several hundred years."
"Mm."
"...Thank you, Master."
——
When the dishes were being cleared, Wanquan's coffee was still half full.
Cold.
Shunyi replaced it with a hot cup and put it back where it had been.
That was his job.
He knew everything.
He just didn't say.