A few days passed. Life settled into a quiet rhythm.
The difference was Li Feng was home. The financial pressure that had sat over everything had eased and there was no urgent reason pulling him out the door each morning. So he stayed.
"Daddy! Daddy!" Xian appeared at the kitchen doorway. "Xian wants to help!"
Li Feng looked down at her. "Daddy has everything handled."
"But Xian wants to—"
"Handled, Xian."
She stared at him. He turned back to the stove.
Xian's cheeks puffed up. She turned on her heel and marched to the living room, Baozi swinging from one hand. Zhao Lihua looked up from the sofa. "Daddy said no," Xian announced, dropping herself down beside her mother with great feeling. Zhao Lihua patted her head. "Sit down." Xian sat. Still puffed.
Zhao Lihua looked toward the kitchen. The sounds of breakfast coming together drifted through. She leaned back into the sofa. *Hasn't he gone anywhere these past few days.* Cooking. Cleaning. Groceries. Every single time she moved toward something that needed doing he had already done it. She had not lifted a finger in days. All she had done was sleep, eat and watch television.
*Is this what princess treatment feels like.*
She didn't hate the feeling. But she didn't entirely like it either. Her hands wanted something to do. She was not built for sitting still this long.
In the kitchen Li Feng's phone buzzed on the counter. He set down what he was doing and picked it up.
*¥800,000 Credited to Your Account.*
*Chen Long Logistics.*
He stared at the screen for a moment. *For an audit.* A smile curved on his lips. He set the phone down and went back to cooking.
---
A while later the family settled at the dining table. Breakfast laid out, chopsticks in hand, the morning quiet around them.
Li Feng set down his chopsticks. His gaze drifted to Zhao Lihua and settled there. She noticed. She looked back. Neither spoke.
*She's getting bolder.* Li Feng held her gaze, something warm moving through him quietly. He wanted to say something but the moment she looked back at him with that look — chin lifted, eyes steady — he stopped. There was a challenge in it. Quiet but clear. He wasn't about to lose.
So he held her gaze. She held his. And somewhere between him not looking away and her refusing to be the first to fold, it had become a staring contest without either of them deciding it would. The table was completely silent. Xian ate her breakfast unbothered, entirely unaware that her parents were locked in a silent battle of wills directly across from each other.
*Just look away,* Zhao Lihua thought. Her face was already warming. *Look away look away look away.* But Li Feng's gaze stayed on her, calm and steady and completely unbothered, and something in her refused to be the one to fold first. Her cheeks went red. *I am at my absolute limit.*
Li Feng's smile widened just slightly.
Li Feng looked away first. *This is silly.* Across the table Zhao Lihua straightened slightly. A small quiet victory settled in her chest. She said nothing but she felt it.
Li Feng picked up his chopsticks. "Hmm." He glanced between Xian and Zhao Lihua. "The two of you could probably use some new clothes." Zhao Lihua looked at him. "I'll transfer some money today. Go out, get some fresh air. Take Xian with you." He kept his eyes on his food. "You've both been inside for days."
He had noticed over the past few days. Both of them had a few good pieces. The rest were not.
"My clothes are still fine," Zhao Lihua said. "Just get Xian new ones."
"No." Li Feng said it simply. "Don't worry about the money. I got a bonus recently."
"How did you know I was worried about the money." Zhao Lihua clicked her tongue.
Li Feng glanced at her. "What kind of man lets his wife walk around in worn out clothes."
Zhao Lihua felt a wave of heat move through her. He was acting too cool. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. Sitting there calm as ever, chopsticks in hand, completely unbothered. She could see it for just a moment — the thing that had made her fall for him in the first place.
She pushed the feeling down and answered simply. "Okay."
She turned to Xian. "Xian. Would you like to go out with Mummy today?"
Xian's head snapped up from her bowl. Her eyes went wide. "Out?"
"To get new clothes."
"YES." Xian slapped both hands on the table. "Yes yes yes!"