The heavy wooden door clicked shut behind Zheng, cutting off the warmth of the home. The moment she stepped into the cool outside air, the tears she had been trying to hold back finally spilled over her lower lashes. As she walked away from the house , her chest heaved with a complex, painful knot of emotions—her eyes were damp not just from the looming pressure of tomorrow's exam, but from the vivid, stinging image of the mark she had just discovered on Naea's skin.
Back inside, unaware of the quiet storm brewing in her student's mind, Naea softly closed her bedroom door to ensure Naria remained undisturbed in her deep sleep. Walking out into the living area, she approached the dining table where Wei Jian was sitting.
A warm, encouraging smile touched Naea's lips. "So, how did it feel taking the lead today? How was the teaching experience?"
Wei Jian looked up, her rigid posture relaxing just a fraction under Naea's gentle gaze. "It was actually really helpful," she admitted honestly. "Explaining the steps out loud made a lot of my own hazy concepts feel much more solid."
"I told you so," Naea chuckled softly, giving her a supportive nod before turning her steps toward the kitchen to begin preparing dinner.
Within minutes, Wei Jian quietly followed her into the kitchen, rolling up her sleeves to help chop the vegetables. Naea immediately shook her head, trying to wave her away. "Wei, you don't need to do this. Go rest, you've been studying and teaching all afternoon."
"I'm helping, Naea, and I'm not taking a no for an answer," Wei Jian replied with a small, rare streak of stubbornness, quietly taking a knife from the counter. She needed the distraction; focusing on the domestic chore was the only way to keep her mind from drifting back to the tension she had shared with Zheng under the table.
Meanwhile, cutting through the evening traffic, Akira's sleek car glided down the asphalt roads, heading straight back toward the home . Her mind was still completely wired with the intense, unyielding philosophy of the manuscript she had just edited at the cafe. She was returning home with a sharp, renewed focus—completely unaware of the invisible shift that had just taken place under her own roof.
Inside the warm, dimly lit kitchen, the rich aroma of spices began to lift from the stove. Wei Jian kept her eyes fixed on the vegetables she was chopping, her hands moving rhythmically as she tried to strike up a casual conversation to ease her mind.
"Naea," Wei Jian started softly, not breaking her workflow. "Do you mind if I ask you something personal?"
Naea looked up from the stove, a gentle, welcoming smile breaking across her face. "Of course, Wei. Go ahead."
Wei Jian hesitated for a fraction of a second before continuing, "Well... Akira mentioned to me once that you both moved here from Japan. But... don't you ever miss your family back there? I mean, it's been a couple of days since I've been staying here, but I realized I've never actually heard you mention your family at all."
The moment the question hung in the air, Naea's hands paused over the hot pan where she was carefully stirring the shrimp gravy. The bubbling sizzle filled the brief silence as a soft, bittersweet shadow crossed her features. She stared down at the food for a long beat before exhaling a quiet breath.
"Well, as of right now, my only family is Akira and Naria," Naea replied, her voice steady but laced with a quiet emotion. She resumed stirring, looking back at Wei Jian. "And as for my family back in Japan... before we officially shifted to our new home, Akira had sat down and told me something. She said, 'Naea, once we move, I am never going to force you to stop talking to your family. But I want you to make a promise—only call them when they take the initiative to call you first.'"
Naea offered a small, knowing smile, shaking her head slightly. "Back then, when I was still in Japan, I couldn't understand why Akira was putting up such a strange condition. But now, after spending all these days here, I completely understand what she meant. It has been a long time since we arrived, but there hasn't been a single day—not even a single missed call—from my mother or my sister."
She turned the flame down, her gaze softening as she accepted her reality. "Perhaps they are just too happy and busy living their own lives. And that's fine. That is why I never reached out to them either. It doesn't mean I have forgotten them; they are my childhood, after all. But Akira and Naria... they are my future."
Hearing Naea's quiet acceptance of her past, a soft, genuine smile appeared on Wei Jian's face. She paused her chopping for a moment, looking at her friend. "Your partner knows you incredibly well, Naea. She shielded you before you could even get hurt."
Naea didn't look up from the sizzling pan, but the soft curve of her lips deepened. "There is absolutely no doubt about that, Wei."
Before Wei Jian could add anything more, the sound of the front door unlocking cut through the steady hum of the kitchen. The door swung open, and Akira stepped inside, her car keys jingling softly in her hand. "I'm home," she announced, her voice carrying a tired but focused weight as she kicked off her shoes.
Naea turned around immediately, her face lighting up. "Welcome back," she called out warmly.
Akira stepped out of her outdoor slippers, walked over to the dining table to set her bag down, and instinctively headed straight toward the kitchen. Her eyes locked onto Naea, and for a fleeting second, she intended to step up and plant a deep kiss on her lips. But just as she closed the distance, the strict boundary Naea had set earlier flashed vividly in her mind—no touching without explicit permission. Halting her movements right at the edge of the kitchen counter, Akira forced her expressions to remain neutral. To hide her frustration, she reached for a glass, poured herself some cold water, and took a slow sip.
Turning her gaze slightly, she looked at the guest at the counter. "So, Wei? How was your rest today?"
Wei Jian offered Akira a polite, calm smile. "It was quite good, actually. I helped out a bit."
Akira nodded, but her attention was already drifting back to Naea. Naea had turned her back again, completely absorbed in perfecting the shrimp gravy, looking entirely unbothered by Akira's return. Inside Akira's chest, a sudden, powerful urge to step forward and wrap her arms around Naea's waist in a tight back-hug flared up. But knowing she couldn't break the rule directly, a sharp, manipulative idea sparked in her mind.
If Naea won't let me touch her willingly, I will make her demand it.
Deciding to use jealousy as her weapon to break Naea's resolve, Akira set her glass down with a deliberate click. She turned her entire body away from Naea, walking directly into Wei Jian's immediate space. Stopping right in front of her, she looked down at Wei Jian with an unreadable, intense gaze.
"Wei, could you do me a quick favor?" Akira asked, her voice dropping into a smooth, deliberate tone.
Wei Jian blinked, completely caught off guard by Akira's sudden proximity. A deeply confused look crossed her face as she stepped back slightly. "A favor? What kind of help do you need?"
Akira didn't back down. Instead, she took another step forward, narrowing the physical gap between them until the distance was almost scandalous. "For that..." Akira murmured, her eyes flicking toward Naea's back before locking onto Wei Jian with a sharp intensity, "you'll need to step a little closer to me."
"Well," Akira continued, her voice smooth as she lightly tugged at her own neckline, keeping her eyes locked onto Wei Jian. "The top collar button of my shirt is stuck, and it's starting to feel incredibly suffocating. Since my Miss is currently way too busy with her cooking, I was wondering if you could help me out, Wei?"
Wei Jian, completely oblivious to the silent psychological warfare playing out in the room, offered a polite, innocent smile. Viewing it purely as a helpful, gentle gesture between housemates, she stepped forward without any hesitation. "Sure, let me try."
Wei Jian reached out, her fingers grasping the tight button. Akira braced herself, expecting a brief, harmless touch of fingers that would be just enough to trigger Naea's jealousy. But the thread was knotted tightly, the fabric stiff and unyielding. No matter how much pressure Wei Jian applied, the button refused to slip through the loop.
Needing more leverage and a closer angle, Wei Jian leaned in significantly further, completely invading Akira's personal space. Before Akira could even process what was happening, Wei Jian tilted her head forward, using the edge of her teeth to carefully grip and pull the stubborn button apart.
Akira froze, absolute shock paralyzing her senses.
She had never anticipated a move so bold or unconventional. More than the shock, a wave of intense discomfort washed over her. Akira despised the physical proximity of anyone who wasn't Naea—and feeling Wei Jian's warm, steady breath brushing directly against the sensitive skin of her neck thoroughly disturbed her inner peace.
Right across the counter, Naea's hands slowed down. Her eyes quietly drifted over, taking in the entire scandalous sight of Wei Jian leaning into Akira's collar with her mouth. Yet, true to her impenetrable composure, Naea didn't utter a word. Her face remained a perfect, unreadable mask—absolute silence, completely devoid of any visible reaction.
With a final, sharp tug, the fabric gave way. Wei Jian stepped back, a triumphant smile on her face as she dusted her hands. "Done! Wow, that was one incredibly stubborn button."
The moment the physical boundary was restored, Akira didn't offer a polite smile, nor did she utter a single word of thanks. Feeling thoroughly rattled and disgusted by the unwanted closeness, she didn't even glance back at Wei Jian. Turning sharply on her heel, she practically bolted out of the kitchen, heading straight toward her private bedroom to scrub off the discomfort and change her clothes.
The suffocating quiet inside the apartment was suddenly broken by a sharp, piercing sound echoing from the master bedroom. Little Naria had woken up from her nap, her soft, distressed cries cutting straight through the heavy domestic tension.
Hearing her daughter, Naea immediately set her cooking utensils down. Without giving the kitchen area—or the lingering awkwardness—another glance, she wiped her hands on a towel and walked straight into the bedroom.
A few minutes later, the door swung open . Naea emerged into the hallway, gently cradling a fussy, blinking Naria against her chest, rocking her rhythmically to soothe her back into silence. At that exact same moment, the door to the private room clicked open, and Akira stepped out, having finally washed away the discomfort and changed into a fresh set of casual clothes.
As they met in the middle of the corridor, their steps halted simultaneously.
An incredibly intense, heavy wave of eye contact locked between them. Akira's gaze searched Naea's face, desperately looking for a crack in her armor, a hint of anger, or the fiery spark of jealousy she had been trying to provoke. But Naea's eyes were a flat, chillingly calm sea. She looked back at Akira with an absolute lack of warmth, her expression entirely unreadable.
Breaking the heavy silence, Naea looked directly into Akira's eyes, her voice smooth, formal, and utterly devoid of emotion.
"Dinner is ready. It's time to eat."
The sheer coldness in Naea's tone hit Akira like a physical wall. The confident, dominant aura Akira usually carried completely deflated in front of her partner's frozen exterior. Realizing that her petty jealousy game had completely isolated her instead of drawing Naea closer, Akira lowered her gaze just a fraction.
"Hmm," Akira replied quietly, her voice unusually subdued. "I'll be right there."
Naea didn't wait for her to finish. Offering a casual nod, she turned around and walked back toward the dining table to set Naria down, leaving Akira standing alone in the hallway, fully facing the bitter consequences of her failed mind game.
The three of them finally gathered around the dining table, where Wei Jian had already neatly laid out the fresh dishes. The rich aroma of the shrimp gravy filled the space, but the atmosphere remained heavily wrapped in an unspoken frost.
As they sat down, Naea kept little Naria balanced securely on her lap. Because the baby was still fussy and squirming around, Naea was struggling to hold her with one hand while trying to manage her cutlery with the other. She could barely manage a single proper bite, completely occupied with keeping Naria calm.
Watching this from across the table, Akira didn't say a single word. Without waiting for permission or breaking the heavy quiet, she simply stood up, stepped over to Naea's side, and gently but firmly scooped Naria up into her own arms, settling the baby comfortably on her lap before sitting back down.
Before Naea could even open her mouth to object or question her, Akira cut in smoothly.
"I'm perfectly comfortable," Akira murmured, her voice soft but absolute. Keeping her eyes fixed strictly on Naria as she began to eat her own dinner, she added, "Eat peacefully, Naea."
Naea froze for a brief second, staring at Akira's profile. Despite the cold wall she had put up just minutes ago, Akira's instinctive protectiveness and immediate care for her comfort subtly pierced through her icy facade.
Sitting right beside them, Wei Jian observed the entire silent exchange. Her eyes flicked from Akira's focused face to Naea's momentarily stunned expression. She was thoroughly confused. Just a few minutes ago in the kitchen, there was a scandalous, suffocating distance between them—yet here they were, communicating flawlessly without even looking at each other, sharing the responsibility of a child with an intimacy that felt completely unbreakable.