The courtyard room had not changed.
The lanterns still burned with the same soft glow, the night air still carried the same quiet calm, and the dishes on the table remained untouched where they had last been placed. Yet something was missing.
Something that could not be replaced.
Xu Chen stood where he had been, his hand still slightly lowered from where Tian Rán had slipped away. For a moment, he did not move, his gaze resting on the empty space before him.
Yue Ning remained beside the table, her fingers slowly curling inward as if the warmth she had just held was still lingering in her grasp.
Neither of them spoke.
The silence between them was not unfamiliar, but tonight, it felt different.
Heavier.
Yue Ning was the first to move. She walked slowly toward the window, her steps light, almost soundless. Outside, the distant noise of the city continued as it always did—people laughing, talking, living their lives without pause.
She watched for a long moment before speaking softly, "It feels… quieter."
Xu Chen did not immediately respond.
His gaze shifted slightly, but he remained where he stood. "It is."
Yue Ning lowered her eyes slightly. "She was loud."
There was the faintest trace of a smile in her voice.
Xu Chen's expression softened almost imperceptibly. "Mm."
"Tian Rán filled the entire space by herself," Yue Ning continued gently. "Even when she wasn't speaking, it didn't feel empty."
Xu Chen walked toward the table slowly, his steps steady. "She clings."
Yue Ning turned slightly, a soft warmth in her eyes. "To you."
"She prefers me," Xu Chen said calmly.
Yue Ning tilted her head just slightly. "She said so."
There was no jealousy in her tone, only quiet amusement.
Xu Chen sat down, his gaze falling on the small space beside him where Tian Rán had been just moments ago. His hand rested lightly on the table, fingers still, as if remembering the weight that had been there.
"She didn't want to leave," Yue Ning said softly.
"No," Xu Chen replied.
Yue Ning walked back toward him, her movements slow, thoughtful. "He understood faster."
"Tian Hào always does."
There was a brief silence.
Yue Ning sat down across from him, her hand resting lightly on the table. "He stayed close."
Xu Chen glanced at her. "To you."
Yue Ning nodded faintly. "He didn't say much… but he didn't need to."
Xu Chen's gaze lowered slightly. "He never does."
For a moment, neither of them spoke again.
The memory of those small moments lingered—the way Tian Rán had leaned against Xu Chen without hesitation, the way Tian Hào had quietly stood by Yue Ning's side, the simple, natural way they had called them Father and Mother.
Yue Ning's fingers tightened slightly.
"They remembered," she said.
Xu Chen nodded once. "Enough."
Yue Ning looked down at her hand. "Even so… they still wanted to stay."
Xu Chen's voice remained calm. "Because they have not experienced it yet."
Yue Ning lifted her gaze slightly. "They will."
"Yes."
Another silence followed, but this one was softer.
Yue Ning let out a quiet breath. "It will take time."
Xu Chen did not respond immediately.
Time.
To them, it meant very little.
And yet—
"For them," Yue Ning continued, "it will feel long."
Xu Chen's gaze shifted slightly. "They chose it."
"I know."
Her voice was gentle, but there was something deeper beneath it.
"They chose to be born to us," she said softly.
Xu Chen looked at her.
Yue Ning's expression had softened completely now, her usual calm touched by something quieter, something more personal.
"As our children," she added.
Xu Chen's gaze lowered again, but this time, there was a faint warmth that lingered.
"They already are."
Yue Ning smiled slightly at that.
"Yes."
The room fell quiet again, but this time, it wasn't heavy.
It was simply… still.
Yue Ning reached out slowly, her fingers brushing lightly against the edge of the table where Tian Hào had been sitting earlier.
"He didn't say it directly," she murmured.
Xu Chen glanced at her. "He didn't need to."
Yue Ning nodded. "He missed us."
Xu Chen's voice was steady. "Both of them did."
Yue Ning let out a soft breath, her gaze distant for a moment. "It felt… natural."
Xu Chen did not question her.
"To hold them," she continued. "To speak to them like that… it didn't feel unfamiliar."
Xu Chen's expression remained calm, but his voice was quieter now. "It isn't."
Yue Ning looked at him.
"They are ours," he said simply.
There was no doubt in those words.
Yue Ning's eyes softened further. "Yes."
Another moment passed.
Outside, the night deepened, the sounds of the city slowly beginning to quiet as people returned to their homes.
Inside, the lantern light flickered gently.
Yue Ning stood up slowly. "We should go."
Xu Chen did not move immediately.
His gaze lingered once more on the empty space beside him, as if committing it to memory.
Then he stood.
Neither of them spoke as they walked out of the courtyard room, down the wooden stairs, and back through the inn. The noise below felt distant now, unimportant.
When they stepped outside, the cool night air greeted them.
Yue Ning paused for a brief moment, looking up at the sky.
"They'll come back," she said softly.
Xu Chen stood beside her. "Yes."
"Not like this," she added.
"No."
Yue Ning smiled faintly. "Next time… they'll call us that again."
Xu Chen's gaze remained steady. "They already have."
Yue Ning turned slightly toward him, her expression gentle. "And it didn't feel strange."
"No," Xu Chen said.
It didn't.
It felt right.
They stood there for a moment longer, the night quiet around them.
Though the space beside them was empty now, the warmth had not faded.
Because what had left—
Would return.
Not as fleeting visitors.
Not as distant beings.
But as something far more permanent.
Their children.
And until that day came, the silence they left behind would remain—not as emptiness, but as a quiet reminder of what was waiting for them in the future.