By the time the final trimester arrived, their home had transformed. A cradle room had been prepared with soft automated lighting and a sleep system that hummed like a heartbeat. Tiny clothes hung in a drawer that Bai Li had reorganized three times because she kept imagining everything by size and season and emotional practicality. Yan Cijin painted a mural above the cradle wall, a wide field of silver grass under a warm sky, so Lili would have something gentle to look at when she first opened her eyes. Bai Li installed the room's safety systems herself and tested every panel twice. Yan Cijin called her overprotective. Bai Li called herself prepared. The truth was that both of them were nervous in the exact same way, and neither wanted to admit it too early.
Then came the night the city lights flickered.
