Chapter Text
They arrived in Shanghai just as the morning was beginning to unfold, when the sun had not yet fully claimed the sky but lingered instead behind a veil of pale clouds, casting everything in a muted, almost hesitant light.
It felt… fitting.
Wei Ying stepped off the plane with a quiet steadiness that did not quite reach his chest. Beside him, small fingers curled instinctively into his own.
“Baba… is this it?” the child asked softly, voice still thick with sleep and wonder.
Wei Ying glanced down. For a fleeting second, his breath caught. There it was again, that unbearable, tender resemblance. The small tender nose, the golden light of the eyes and the quiet way he observed the world.
A reflection of someone Wei Ying had once loved with everything he had.
“…Yes,” Wei Ying answered, his voice gentler than he intended, as though speaking too firmly might break something fragile between them. “We’re here.”
But the words did not feel like an arrival, they felt like returning to something unfinished.
*****
Immigration passed in a blur of polite exchanges and practiced composure. Wei Ying moved through it all with the ease of someone who had learned how to exist without drawing attention…efficient, calm, self-contained. Five years had taught him that, taught him how to fold pain into something quiet.
By the time they stepped outside, the city had begun to wake. The air in Shanghai was different. Familiar and alive in a way that pressed gently but insistently against memory. Wei Ying paused for just a moment at the curb, his gaze lifting toward the skyline. Nothing had changed. And yet, everything had.
*****
The taxi ride was quiet. Ah Yuan leaned against him, small and warm, still half-lost to sleep as the city slipped past the window in streaks of glass and steel and early morning light. Wei Ying rested his cheek briefly against soft hair, closing his eyes. Just for a second, just enough to steady himself.
“Are we going to stay here forever?” the child murmured, barely awake.
Wei Ying’s arms tightened…just slightly.
Forever, such a simple word, a dangerous promise.
“…We’ll stay,” he said after a pause, his voice low, careful. “As long as it feels like home.”
The taxi turned into a quiet, tree-lined street…one of those rare enclaves where the city seemed to soften at the edges. Its a upscale and secluded neighbourhood, untouched by the relentless pace beyond it. Wei Ying had chosen it carefully months ago back in Singapore through the long nights spent staring at listings, searching not just for a place to live, but for somewhere that would feel… safe for his child and for himself.
The guard had lifted the barrier with a polite nod and the car slipped into the compound as though crossing an invisible threshold. The taxi rolled to a gentle stop in front of the condominium block just as the morning settled into itself. Not the fragile hush of dawn anymore but that in between hour, when the day had fully awakened, yet the world still felt unhurried.
Inside, everything felt… different. Tree-lined paths stretched neatly along the driveway, their leaves catching the soft gold of the rising sun. The air still held a trace of the night’s coolness, but it was already beginning to warm, carrying the faint scent of damp earth and something green, something quietly alive.
There were sounds now…distant and gentle. A door closing somewhere above…. The low hum of a passing car…The faint echo of voices starting their day.
It wasn’t silent but it was peaceful.
Wei Ying stepped out slowly.
The ground felt steady beneath his feet, but his body still carried the lingering fatigue of travel… of everything that had come before. One hand tightened slightly around the handle of his suitcase. The other held Ah Yuan’s small fingers. His warm, trusting fingers…
For a moment, he didn’t move. He looked up at the building rising before them. The clean lines, the quiet balconies. Windows reflecting the soft morning light. It wasn’t grand or overwhelming. But it felt… safe. In a way he hadn’t allowed himself to hope for.
“Is this our home now?” Ah Yuan asked, his voice small but bright, tugging gently at his hand.
Wei Ying blinked…the question settled into him slowly.
Home.
He looked down at the child beside him. At the way Ah Yuan’s eyes were already searching…curious, unafraid, ready to belong. Something in Wei Ying’s chest tightened, then softened.
“…yes,” he said quietly.
His voice was gentle, but steadier than he felt.
Ah Yuan’s face lit up immediately, like the morning had reached him first.
“Really? Our home?” he asked again, just to be sure.
Wei Ying let out a soft breath…something close to a laugh, though it carried the faintest edge of something more fragile beneath it.
He crouched slightly, brushing a stray lock of hair away from Ah Yuan’s face.
“Yes,” he repeated, this time with a little more warmth. “Ours.”
Ah Yuan squeezed his hand tighter, satisfied, already turning his attention toward the building as though eager to explore every corner of it. Wei Ying straightened slowly. His gaze lifted once more to the quiet structure before him.
A beginning…
He tightened his grip on the suitcase and adjusted his hold on Ah Yuan’s hand.
*****
The apartment was on a high floor. It is in an upscale neighborhood. Quiet and well-kept. The kind of space where everything seemed intentional with polished floors, warm lighting, clean lines that spoke of comfort without excess. Safe and carefully chosen.
Wei Ying unlocked the door, the soft click echoing faintly in the stillness.
For a moment, neither of them stepped in, not out of hesitation but awareness. Morning light spilled inside immediately…clean, pale, stretching across the floor like something new and untouched.
Ah Yuan leaned forward first, peeking in.
“…It’s big,” he whispered, as though the room might hear him.
Wei Ying exhaled slowly. Something in his chest loosened…just a little.
“Go on,” he said gently, giving Ah Yuan’s small hand a reassuring squeeze.
Ah Yuan slipped inside with bright curiosity, his footsteps light but eager as he explored, eyes wide as though the space was already unfolding into something magical.
“Baba…look! There’s a big window!” he called, his voice filled with wonder. He ran and touched the edge of the sofa and pressed his face against the cool glass of the window.
Wei Ying followed more slowly. Dragging the suitcase in behind him and closing the door with quiet finality.
The apartment smelled new, not empty…just untouched. He set the suitcase aside and let his gaze move across the space.
Everything had been arranged already…simple, elegant, warm without being overwhelming. It was the kind of place that didn’t demand attention, but quietly offered comfort. He had chosen it carefully, not just for himself, but for his son…for the two of them.
From the balcony, the courtyard stretched below…washed in soft morning light, quiet but waking. A few early figures moved slowly along the paths. Somewhere in the distance, faint laughter drifted upward light, unburdened.
Ah Yuan leaned against the railing, eyes wide.
“There’s a playground!”
“Mm,” Wei Ying replied, his voice quieter now, almost thoughtful.
“…Can we go today?”
Wei Ying hesitated, just for a heartbeat.
“Later,” he said gently. “After we rest.”
“Baba… which one is my room?” Ah Yuan asked, lingering by the hallway, excitement softening into something more thoughtful now.
Wei Ying’s lips curved faintly.
“Whichever one you like.”
Ah Yuan’s eyes lit up instantly.
“Really?!”
Wei Ying nodded, leaning lightly against the wall.
“But you have to choose wisely,” he added, a trace of playfulness in his tone. “You only get one chance.”
Ah Yuan gasped softly, immediately taking the task with utmost seriousness before darting off to inspect each room like it was the most important decision of his life.
Wei Ying watched him go, watched with easy joy and unburdened lightness. Something inside his chest softened.
After awhile…
“Baba! I want this one!” Ah Yuan declared, pointing proudly at the room with the best light. Wei Ying stepped in, glancing around as the warm glow of the setting sun filtered through the curtains.
“Good choice,” he said softly.
Ah Yuan beamed, then added quickly, as though it mattered just as much…
“Then your room is next to mine, okay?”
Wei Ying stilled for a brief moment and he nodded.
“…okay.”
And morning settled into the space slowly...
*****
There were still unopened boxes. Clothes waiting to be folded. Corners untouched and unfamiliar but Ah Yuan had already claimed a small patch of the living room, sitting cross legged with a toy in his hands, humming softly to himself. As if he had always belonged here and Wei Ying moved around him quietly. Spreading bedsheets and adjusting the pillows. Creating something that resembled order. Something that resembled… a beginning.
“Baba.”
Wei Ying glanced over. “Mn?”
“…Will we stay here for a long time?”
The question came softer this time and Wei Ying stilled. The sheet in his hands paused mid-fold…
“…We’ll stay as long as we need,” he said quietly, his voice steady but gentle.
Ah Yuan thought about it and then he nodded.
“Okay.”
Later, when the morning light had fully filled the apartment and softened every edge, Ah Yuan wandered back to him, small and warm, leaning against his side.
“Baba…”
Wei Ying hummed softly, brushing his fingers through his hair.
“…I like it here.”
“…Do you?” he asked, his voice softer than before.
“Mm.”
A pause
“…It feels nice.”
Wei Ying smiled.
“…I’m, glad you feel that way, my love” he murmured.
Ah Yuan relaxed against him, already drifting again and Wei Ying wrapped an arm around him instinctively. Outside, the day continued to unfold.
Wei Ying closed his eyes and allowed himself, just for a moment to believe that maybe this time this is his and Ah Yuan’s forever home.
*****
By evening, the apartment had begun to shift. It was no longer just a space but slowly it was becoming theirs. A small jacket draped over the chair and Ah Yuan’s shoes left slightly askew. The suitcase half-open, spilling pieces of a life carried carefully across years.
Dinner was simple, just a takeout. Shared together in front of the TV with Ah Yuan talking endlessly about how they could decorate and make the place more homely from a 5 years old view. Wei Ying listened, agreeing and smiled.
Later, when sleep began to claim him, Ah Yuan curled beneath the covers in his chosen room. His small voice soft and heavy with drowsiness.
“Baba… stay?”
Wei Ying sat at the edge of the bed, brushing his fingers gently through his hair.
“I’m just right next door, my love” he murmured.
Ah Yuan’s hand found his sleeve, holding on.
“Just until I fall asleep…”
Wei Ying lie down beside him and wrapped his arms around him.
“…alright, my love…as long as you want to”
He stayed until Ah Yuan’s breathing evened, until the small grip loosened, until the room grew still. And only then did he rise….Carefully.