Chapter 127 - Foolishness.

 It was not that Bai Li had been rude. Far from it. She had been almost too polite, too careful, too distant, and that made Yan Cijin feel a little lost. She had expected to see a little more ease, a little more openness, maybe even a little irritation in place of that calm, careful tone. Instead, Bai Li had treated her like a guest who might leave at any time. Yan Cijin did not know exactly why that made her chest feel a little tight, but it did. She stood there for a second longer, then unlocked the door and went back to her own home. The apartment on her side of the hall was warm and full of ordinary family sound. The smell of food drifted from the kitchen. The little dumpling was nearby. Yan Laojin was there too, doing what mothers always did, keeping the home together even while the whole world outside felt like it was cracking.