Bai Li placed all of it into a mory box she had built herself, lined with pale wood and soft cloth. She told no one except Lili, who took the confidentiality of the project very seriously until she did not and accidentally shouted one useful detail in the hall. Bai Li had nearly fainted from the stress.
The funny part was that Yan Cijin suspected almost everything and still had no proof.
She watched them with narrowed eyes every evening.
"Why is there dust on your sleeves?" she asked Bai Li one night.
Bai Li looked at her with complete innocence. "Work."
"Why are there flower petals in Lili’s shoes?"
Lili imdiately answered, "I fell into them."
Yan Cijin looked from one to the other.
Bai Li smiled in the exact way people smiled right before lying badly.
Yan Cijin crossed her arms. "I do not trust either of you."
Bai Li stepped close and kissed the tip of her nose. "That is an."
"It is accurate."
"You wound , wife."
Yan Cijin looked down at the hand on her waist, then back up. "You would survive."
Bai Li’s smile widened. "I would survive better if you kissed first."
Yan Cijin made a quiet sound of disbelief. "You are impossible."
"Still?"
"Always."
Bai Li looked unbearably pleased by that word.
The actual anniversary arrived on a night when the sea breeze was mild and the sky above Jinghua was clear enough to show a pale scatter of stars.
Yan Cijin ca ho later than usual, tired from a long day at the institute, her bag heavier than it should have been and her shoulders slightly stiff. She stepped into the apartnt expecting silence and found instead Lili waiting by the door with suspicious excitent.
"Mommy," the child whispered, grabbing her hand. "Co with ."
Yan Cijin narrowed her eyes. "Why are you whispering?"
"Because surprise."
"That is not an answer."
"It is a secret answer."
Lili pulled her down the hall with great purpose, leading her toward the private elevator. Yan Cijin had to smile despite herself because Lili looked so serious she seed almost professional.
The elevator carried them upward.
When the doors opened onto the rooftop, Yan Cijin stopped moving.
For a mont she just stared.
The garden was glowing.
Not in a loud, flashy way, but in a soft and layered way that made the whole rooftop seem alive. Tiny lanterns hung from the trellis fras, casting warm golden light through the leaves. Moonflowers blood along the far wall, their pale petals catching the shine and giving it back like polished silk. White and blue roses climbed the archway near the entrance. A small table had been set under the center pergola with warm food, tea, and a cake shaped like a flower. The stone path had been lined with little glowing edges so it looked like a stream of light leading through the garden. Every part of it had care in it. Every part of it had mory in it.
And Bai Li stood near the far side of the rooftop, hands in her pockets, trying to look casual and failing because she was smiling too hard.
Yan Cijin did not speak.
She could not.
Bai Li took one step toward her, then another, and the look on her face changed when she saw Yan Cijin’s eyes shine. "You found it," she said quietly.
Yan Cijin stared at the garden, then at Bai Li, then back at the garden. "You did this."
"We did," Bai Li corrected.
Yan Cijin’s voice was suddenly thin. "For our anniversary."
"Yes."
"For ."
Bai Li smiled, the kind of smile that had no defense left in it. "For you. Always for you."
Yan Cijin’s lips parted and her hand went up to cover part of her mouth. A second later the tears ca, not hard and fast, but enough to make her blink and look away in confusion and surprise.
Bai Li crossed the space between them instantly. "Hey."
Yan Cijin shook her head. "You cannot just do this."
"Do what?"
"Build an entire world and then look proud of yourself."
Bai Li let out a breath that was almost a laugh. "Why not? It took days."
Yan Cijin looked at her through wet lashes. "You are ridiculous."
"Yes." Bai Li lifted a hand and gently brushed a tear from her cheek. "But you are crying."
"Because of you."
"That sounds like success to ."
Yan Cijin gave a tiny broken laugh, then imdiately covered her face again because she hated crying in front of Bai Li when she knew Bai Li would get soft-eyed and smug all at once.
Lili darted forward with the intensity of a child who had been waiting for her cue. "I helped."
Yan Cijin lowered her hands and looked at her daughter. "You did?"
Lili nodded so hard her little flower crown wobbled. "I hid the ribbons, and I chose the yellow lights, and I told Mother where the cake should go, and I kept the secret."
Bai Li pointed at her. "Mostly kept."
Lili ignored that. "It is very beautiful, right?"
Yan Cijin bent down and cupped the child’s cheek. "It is beautiful."
Lili looked very satisfied. "Good."
Bai Li watched them with an expression that was dangerously tender. Then she stepped behind Yan Cijin and wrapped both arms gently around her waist, chin resting lightly on her shoulder. Yan Cijin leaned back into her without thinking. It had beco a habit, this way of fitting together, like their bodies knew the shape of one another better than their minds sotis did.
"Walk with ," Bai Li murmured.
Yan Cijin nodded once.
They moved slowly through the rooftop garden, with Lili darting ahead to point out every little detail as if she had personally constructed the whole thing. There was a bench under the moonflowers where Bai Li had hidden small carved initials inside the underside because she was cheesy enough to do it and proud enough to think no one would ever look. There was a wall of frad notes from family and friends.
.
.
.
To be continued.
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