Transmigration; Married to My Ex-Fiancé's Uncle-Chapter 296; Lu Yuze & Shuyin 8

His sister had found this. A ready-made family, a child who already loved her, a home that welcomed her. After five years of being lost, or hiding, Kailani had somehow stumbled into something surprisingly wholesome.

"A family," Long Chen repeated softly. "That’s... nice."

Yuyan beamed at him, clearly pleased by his response. Chen Xiao remained quiet, but his small hand had found its way back to Yuyan’s, seeking comfort in the familiar presence while facing this elegant stranger who radiated an otherworldly quality that even children could sense.

"Would you like to see the drawings we made?" Yuyan offered suddenly, her natural friendliness overcoming her formal manners. "We drew pictures for Mama to help her feel better. Chen Xiao is really good at drawing!"

"Is he?" Long Chen glanced at the boy, who flushed slightly under the attention.

"Maybe our guest would prefer to wait quietly, Young Miss," Ah Ling interjected gently, clearly trying to prevent the children from overwhelming their mother’s visitor with their enthusiasm. She was really easy-going and welcoming.

"Oh, right. Sorry." Yuyan immediately reined herself in, straightening up again. "We’ll leave you to wait in peace then. Please let us know if you need anything at all."

She bowed once more, tugged Chen Xiao into a matching bow, and then the two of them retreated to a corner of the sitting area where they settled down with a deck of cards, speaking in hushed whispers so as not to disturb the guest.

Long Chen watched them go, a small smile playing at his lips.

His little sister, the ancient princess of the deep, the fate-seer who’d lived for centuries, was playing mother to these mortal children. Making them breakfast, accepting their drawings, and letting them interrupt her rest to check if she was okay.

It was absurd.

It was completely unlike the Kailani he’d known.

And yet, watching the way that little girl had spoken of her ’mother’ with such genuine love and concern...

Maybe his sister had found something in the mortal world worth staying for after all.

He settled back into the new couch, clearly purchased this very morning to replace whatever had been destroyed last night, and resigned himself to waiting a bit longer.

Whatever had happened in this house, whatever crisis had required furniture replacement and left Mei bruised, and his sister depleted, it had clearly been resolved.

And now his sister was upstairs sleeping peacefully, with a mortal husband holding her close and two children drawing pictures to make her feel better.

The celestial court would never believe it.

— — — —

It was noon when Shuyin finally woke, her eyes fluttering open to the soft light filtering through the curtains. The first thing she registered was hunger, a deep, gnawing emptiness in her stomach that demanded immediate attention.

She sat up slowly on the bed, stretching her arms above her head with a soft groan. Lu Yuze was still there beside her, propped up on one elbow, watching her every movement with those distinctive silver eyes that seemed to track her like she was the most fascinating thing in the world.

"Mr. Lu," she said with a playful smirk, rolling her shoulders to work out the stiffness. "Are you so free today? It’s already noon and you haven’t done anything constructive at all." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood, stretching again and yawning lightly. As she raised her arms, she caught sight of a few iridescent scales shimmering across her waist where her pajama top had ridden up, remnants of last night’s expenditure of power that hadn’t quite settled back into full glamour yet.

She didn’t bother trying to hide them. Lu Yuze had already seen far more than a few wayward scales.

"It’s already constructive enough if I can spend a day accompanying my wife," Lu Yuze replied, getting up from the bed and moving toward her with clear intent. "What’s money without having people to enjoy it with?"

Before Shuyin could respond, he wrapped his arms around her from behind, pulling her back against his chest, his chin resting on her shoulder.

"Geez! I want to take a shower," Shuyin protested, trying to pry his hands loose from around her waist. "Don’t be so clingy!"

His grip didn’t budge even slightly.

"I washed and cleaned you thoroughly this morning," he murmured against her ear, his voice carrying a hint of smugness. "You don’t need to shower again. Too much washing spoils the body, you know."

"Tsk." Shuyin stopped trying to remove his hands and instead wiggled in his embrace, attempting to slip free through sheer determination and creative maneuvering.

But Lu Yuze held firm, and when she realized escape wasn’t working, she tried a different tactic. She twisted around in his arms to face him, clearly intending to kiss him into distraction, but at the last second, her hand shot up in a lightning-fast strike aimed directly at his chest.

Lu Yuze moved to the side with practiced ease, her fist missing him by mere inches. But the movement put him off-balance, and in the split second that followed, Shuyin’s training kicked in: her leg swept up in a high kick while her other hand reached for the back of his shoulder, attempting to use his own momentum against him.

Lu Yuze caught both her leg and her reaching hand, stopping the attack mid-execution and holding her in an awkward, suspended position that would have sent most people tumbling to the floor.

"Missus," he said, amusement dancing in his silver eyes as he held her effortlessly, "I don’t think that’s a good move there. Do you want to murder your husband?"

Shuyin glared at him from her compromised position, one leg held up near his hip, her hand trapped in his grip, perfectly balanced but completely immobilized. "Let me go."

"Not until you promise to stop trying to attack me," Lu Yuze said, clearly enjoying himself far too much.

"I wasn’t attacking. I was just... testing your reflexes."