LITTLE PLUM

The night was quiet but you can hear the city buzzling, Yueying stood at the rooftop with her hands resting gently on the edge of the balcony, her fingers curled like she was holding something she couldn't let go. Below her, the lights of the city twinkled.

The pendant pressed against her collarbone, pulsing faintly.

Thump... thump.

A rhythm that wasn't her own, it was faint.

It made her lips part slightly — not in fear, not even in disbelief — but in something softer. Wonder and expectation.

"I can feel you, you're… real."" she murmured as she touched her belly then the pendant, barely above a whisper.

Behind her, the door creaked open without a sound.

She knew it was him before he spoke.

"Why are you out here alone?"

Lu Quing's voice always had that restrained gravity. The kind that made you straighten up without realizing. But tonight, it was lower. Rougher. Not angry, not cold. Just… protective and concerned.

"I needed air" Yueying said, still facing the city. "Your sister keeps trying to feed me fish soup." She pouted.

"That's because she thinks you look thinner" he replied.

Yueying turned halfway, catching the flicker in his expression. The faintest twitch at the corner of his mouth. Not quite a smile. Not quite displeased either.

She gave a small laugh, but the sound didn't reach her eyes. "I think I'm glowing."

"You are."

She blinked. "That's not just a compliment, is it?"

He stepped forward. "No."

They stood like that for a moment. The wind teasing strands of her hair. The pulse of the pendant still steady. Lu Quing's eyes lowered to it — and lingered.

"You've been touching that thing more lately, paying more attention to it than me." he said quietly.

She hesitated. "Because… I seem to get more familiar with it day by day. Sometimes it beats. Like a heart."

His jaw tightened. "Whose heart?"

She placed her palm over it. "Mine. And someone else's."

A pause.

Yueying finally turned to face him fully. Her face was calm — not afraid, not uncertain. She was… ready.

"Lu Quing" she said, gently. "I think I'm pregnant."

There was no dramatic gasp. No thunder. Just silence.

His hand reached out, slower than usual. Like he was still catching up. Then he placed it lightly on her stomach — hesitant, but firm. His brows drew together, unreadable.

"I had a feeling" he murmured. "The night your blood ran hot enough to burn through frost. That wasn't just your power acting up, It was… something else."

Yueying tilted her head. "Are you angry I didn't tell you before now?"

"No." He looked up. "But I'm done letting people close to you. From now on, no one touches you randomly."

She rolled her eyes slightly. "You say that like they've been lining up to assassinate me."

"They have." His voice was flat. "You just haven't noticed."

Before she could speak, footsteps clicked across the rooftop entrance behind them.

Yevana.

Draped in navy silk, her silver hair gleamed like moonlight, and her heels made no sound on stone. Her beauty was sharp — the kind that could cut a man's pride in half with just one glance. She gave Yueying a single, amused look.

"Out in the wind?" Yevana's voice was smooth, but distant. "You'll catch a chill, little phoenix."

Yueying dipped her head politely. "Good evening, Madam Lu."

Lu Quing's eyes narrowed, barely perceptible.

Yevana didn't look at her son.

Instead, she stepped forward and held out a small, round candy — glistening like glass, wrapped in thin paper. "Take it again. It's good for the nerves."

Yueying hesitated. Just long enough. She did like the first one but she was trying to be cautious.

Yevana's smile curved slightly. "You're skin glowing but you look a bit thinner."

It was a compliment, but not really.

Yueying unwrapped the candy slowly. She didn't break eye contact with the older woman — not once — as she raised it to her lips and gave it a single, slow lick.

Sweet. And something else between bitter and sour taste.

She smiled. "Thank you."

Lu Quing stepped between them a little too smoothly. Not rude, but final.

"Is there any other thing, mom?"

Yevana raised an elegant brow. "I came to see the girl who carried the Han bloodline. You've given her everything, haven't you?"

Yueying stiffened.

Lu Quing's tone was flat. "She doesn't owe you anything."

"No," Yevana said, eyes flicking to Yueying. "But she will. When the child's name begins to whisper in her dreams, she'll come asking."

The wind shifted. Yevana turned and walked away like she had all said nothing at all.

When it was just the two of them again, Yueying let out the breath she didn't know she was holding.

"She scares me."

Lu Quing didn't deny it. "Good."

He reached down and took her hand — not just held it, but wrapped it completely, anchoring her in place.

"I don't care what she says. I don't care what anyone says. You don't belong to the flame. Or to fate."

His voice dropped.

"You belong with me."

Yueying didn't speak. But she leaned into his side — finally — and let her fingers press into his palm.

And beneath the pendant, the heartbeat fluttered again. Stronger this time but a little to faint for them to notice.

ONE WEEK LATER

The morning light stretched slowly across the silk sheets, warm and gold, but not warmer than the hand already resting low on Yueying's belly.

She lay still, caught between sleep and something quieter ( not death, haha ). Not dreaming. Just breathing.

Lu Quing's palm was splayed gently over her abdomen. Protective and quiet like he didn't want to wake her or disturb the little life growing beneath his touch.

Yueying blinked awake, her lashes brushing his jaw where he had fallen asleep beside her. His other arm was around her waist, holding her like she might vanish if he let go.

Her voice came out soft. "You're up."

"I never really slept." He shifted slightly, just enough to press a kiss—barely there—to the space just above her navel. "Too busy listening."

She smiled sleepily, her fingers finding his hair. "It's too early for poetry."

Lu Quing looked up at her with eyes she still hadn't figured out. They held a thousand secrets, but right now they only reflected her. And the tiny, invisible heartbeat beneath her skin.

"She's the size of a plum," he murmured, as if he couldn't believe it. "Something this small… and I already feel like I would burn the world if anything happens to her."

Yueying laughed softly. "We don't even know if it's a girl."

"Doesn't matter." He brushed her hair away from her face. "She's ours."

Something about the way he said it—like he was still in awe of the word ours—made her chest ache.

She curled closer to him, their bodies tangled and warm, and he kissed the curve of her shoulder, then her collarbone, and finally the soft belly again.

Every kiss was quiet and careful.

---

Later, as they dressed for the day, she caught him watching her in the mirror.

Her blouse was loose, but his eyes lingered on her middle anyway, like he could see through the fabric, through her skin, into the tiny miracle he hadn't stopped thinking about since the day the doctor had confirmed it.

"Lu Quing?" she asked as she slipped on her earrings.

He didn't answer at first. Just crossed the room, wrapped his arms around her from behind, and kissed the top of her head.

"You don't have to go in today."

"I want to" she said. "It's a normal day."

He pressed his chin to her shoulder.

Back at Lu Corporation, the rhythm of heels on marble, typing, and quiet conversations filled the air.

Yueying walked into her office with a cup of tea Lu Quing had made all by himself. Chamomile. No caffeine. No arguments.

Aaron Li was already seated at the conference table just beyond the glass partition, organizing charts. He looked up when she passed.

"You look well today, Yueying," he said with a warm smile. "Glowing."

She raised a brow.

"Not that kind of glowing out of anger" he added quickly. "Just… peaceful."

She gave a polite nod. "Thank you, Aaron."

But as she stepped into her private office, Lu Quing followed close behind and shut the door with just a little more force than usual.

"He's getting too familiar" he muttered.

Yueying turned to face him, a small smile tugging at the edge of her mouth. "You think everyone is getting too familiar."

He leaned against her desk, arms crossed. "He stares too deeply at you."

"He's allowed to look."

Lu Quing didn't smile. His gaze dropped to her stomach again.

"He doesn't know," she added gently. "And even if he did… he's not you."

That got his attention. His jaw softened. He reached out, touched her hand where it rested against the desk.

She let him take it.

"Sometimes I still can't believe it's real," she whispered.

Lu Quing said nothing. Just leaned forward, pressed a kiss to her hand, then lowered himself to his knees before her.

She froze.

He wrapped both arms gently around her waist and rested his cheek against her belly. "It's real" he said quietly. "Even if it's just the size of a plum."

Yueying looked down at him — this man the world feared. This man who had once torn empires apart without blinking, taken ths business world in his hand.

And now, here he was. Kneeling before something he couldn't even see. Something he would never stop protecting.

Something they had made.

And for the first time in weeks, Yueying felt something like peace.