The car rolled to a stop outside the estate. Guiying blinked awake to Haiyan already holding the door open.
"We're here."
He stepped out on legs that didn't quite feel like his own and crossed the gravel toward windows glowing warm against the dark, grateful the house itself asked nothing of him yet.
Old Li's head appeared around the kitchen doorway the second the front door opened. "Second Master, you're back." He wiped his hands on his apron and reached for a pot already simmering on the stove. "I kept dinner warm. Give me a few minutes."
"Thank you, Uncle Li."
Wang Chengli passed through the hallway, offered a small nod, and left him to it without a single question. The kind of quiet that only came from years of knowing exactly when not to ask.
