She didn't mind, though. She didn't need gold when she had her father's smile.
Still, she couldn't help noticing how the grown-ups looked at her like she was an intruder.
'They're sizing me up,' she realized. 'Trying to see what they can get from Daddy.'
Her eyes hardened slightly, a look that didn't belong on a six-year-old face.
She reached under the table and squeezed her father's sleeve lightly. Yuanfeng glanced at her, and she gave him a reassuring smile.
She might be small now, but she wouldn't let anyone hurt him again. Not in this life.
"Yuanfeng," Xu Meilin spoke again, her voice soft as velvet, cutting through the quiet clinking of silverware. "I heard you've been living modestly these past few years. That must've been… difficult."
The subtle condescension in her tone made Huaijin's blood boil.
"It was fine," Yuanfeng replied evenly, not looking at her. "I prefer peace over politics."
"Ah, peace," she said, swirling her wine glass elegantly. "I suppose that's easy when you have a child to keep you company. Though—" her gaze slid to Huaijin, "—raising a child alone must be exhausting, isn't it?"
Before Yuanfeng could reply, Huaijin set her spoon down and looked straight at her.
"It's not exhausting," she said clearly. "It's fun. Daddy cooks for me, braids my hair, and reads me stories every night. He's the best daddy in the world."
Xu Meilin blinked, caught off guard by the child's firm tone.
"And," Huaijin continued proudly, "he doesn't need anyone else to help him. We're already perfect like this."
"Perfect," Yuanfeng repeated softly, looking at his daughter, a warm smile tugging at his lips despite himself.
Across the table, Xu Meilin's hand tightened around her fork.
By the time the servants began serving dessert, the tension had become something everyone could taste.
Huaijin sat quietly, eating her pudding with calm grace, occasionally chatting with Luo Ming when he came by. The young butler seemed unable to resist her cuteness, smiling every time she looked at him.
But each time he did, Yuanfeng's sharp glare would slice through the air like an invisible warning.
Luo Ming coughed nervously, pretending to focus on the wine bottles instead.
Grandfather Chi watched all of it silently, his eyes deep and unreadable. But if one looked closely, there was the faintest hint of a smile tugging at his lips.
The lively spark his granddaughter brought into this gloomy manor was undeniable.
When the meal finally ended, the adults rose one by one. Xu Meilin, of course, was the last to stand. She turned toward Grandfather Chi with an elegant bow.
"Uncle, thank you for letting me join. I'll look forward to our next family gathering."
Then, deliberately, she turned to Yuanfeng. "And Yuanfeng, I hope next time, we can talk more. For old times' sake."
Yuanfeng's expression didn't change. "Let's hope there isn't a next time."
Huaijin's lips twitched, 'Her father never missed a chance to stab politely.'
Xu Meilin's perfect smile faltered for a fraction of a second before she turned to leave. Her perfume lingered in the air even after she disappeared through the door.
Only when the red silhouette vanished did Huaijin finally relax her grip on the edge of the table.
Yuanfeng noticed. He knelt beside her chair, brushing her hair from her face.
"What's wrong, Jin'er?"
She looked at him quietly, her big eyes shimmering.
"Daddy… promise me something?"
"What is it?"
She lifted her pinky finger. "Don't ever like bad women."
Yuanfeng blinked, caught off guard, then chuckled softly, hooking his pinky with hers. "Never."
The faint sound of their laughter filled the grand, empty hall, a fragile, beautiful sound that no amount of wealth could ever buy.
***
After a long, tense dinner filled with fawning smiles and veiled hostility, the night at the Chi Manor began to sink into a still silence.
The moonlight spilled across the white stone pathways outside, brushing against the edges of the grand courtyard where faint laughter and the clinking of wine glasses had slowly faded. Inside, the servants began to clear the dishes from the dining hall, and the heavy scent of roasted duck, sea cucumber, and lotus soup was replaced with the faint sweetness of osmanthus incense.
Chi Yuanfeng was quietly finishing his tea, clearly eager to take Huaijin and leave. The little girl was sitting beside him, swinging her small legs under the table, her cheeks puffed slightly as she finished her dessert, a perfectly round snow-skin mooncake that looked almost too cute to eat.
Grandfather Chi, however, had other plans.
"Yuanfeng," his deep, aged voice suddenly filled the room, stopping Yuanfeng mid-sip. "It's already late. The roads outside the manor are dark, and the weather's turning windy. You and Huaijin should stay here for the night."
Yuanfeng's brows subtly furrowed. He wasn't a man who liked to stay where he didn't belong, especially not in his father's domain, where every look and every word carried hidden weight. But he also wasn't the type to outright reject an elder's order.
"Father," he began, his tone calm but slightly strained, "we can manage the drive. It's only—"
"Yuanfeng," Grandfather Chi cut in with a kind but firm tone, "this is the child's first time visiting her grandfather's house. Let her spend the night here. The rooms are ready, and it will be good for her to feel familiar with her family's home."
At the mention of her, Huaijin looked up from her mooncake and blinked her big eyes. She could tell her father wanted to say no, but she wasn't entirely against the idea. Especially when she noticed that across the table, the woman in the red qipao, Xu Meilin, had also perked up at the suggestion, her eyes shimmering with a spark that Huaijin immediately disliked.
Xu Meilin placed a delicate hand over her mouth and smiled shyly. "Oh my, if Yuanfeng and Huaijin are staying, then I suppose I could stay as well. Isn't that right, Uncle Chi?"