The knock echoed softly through the quiet alley.

Fu Sheng lowered his hand slowly and waited.

For a few moments, nothing happened.

Then footsteps approached from inside the house.

Fu Sheng’s expression remained calm, but his eyes darkened slightly as the door finally opened.

A woman stood there.

Wei Meilan.

The warm light from inside the house fell across her figure, revealing familiar features Fu Sheng had not seen in years.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Wei Meilan looked at him carefully from head to toe.

Then she let out a quiet sigh.

"Took you long enough," she said.

Her voice sounded calm.

Too calm.

As though she had already expected him to come eventually.

Fu Sheng’s gaze remained fixed on her.

"You knew it was me?" he asked.

Wei Meilan leaned lightly against the doorframe.

"You have been standing outside my house for quite a while," she replied. "Who else would come looking for me at this hour?"

Fu Sheng remained silent.

The night air moved quietly between them.

Wei Meilan studied his face for another moment before speaking again.

"You look older," she said.

Fu Sheng gave a faint laugh.

"So do you."

That finally pulled a slight smile from her.

But it disappeared quickly.

Neither of them looked relaxed.

Too much time had passed between them for that.

Wei Meilan straightened slightly and stepped aside from the doorway.

"Are you going to stand outside all night?" she asked.

Fu Sheng hesitated briefly.

Then he stepped inside.

The house was small but clean.

A lantern burned quietly near the table, and the faint smell of herbs lingered in the air.

Fu Sheng’s eyes moved around the room slowly.

Nothing luxurious.

Wei Meilan closed the door behind him.

The soft sound immediately sealed the silence between them.

Fu Sheng remained standing.

Then finally, he looked at her again.

"I did not expect to find you here," he said.

Wei Meilan walked toward the table calmly.

"You already said that earlier today with your eyes," she replied.

Fu Sheng’s expression shifted slightly.

Wei Meilan poured tea into two cups before continuing,

"You looked at me like you had seen a ghost."

Fu Sheng let out a quiet breath.

"Maybe I did."

Wei Meilan paused briefly at those words.

Then she handed one of the cups to him.

"You are married now," she said suddenly.

It was not a question.

Fu Sheng accepted the cup slowly.

"Yes," he replied.

Wei Meilan nodded once.

"And yet," she said quietly, "you still came here in the middle of the night."

She said as she led him into the house.

Fu Sheng did not answer immediately.

Because even he was not fully sure why he came.

The room became quiet after her words.

Wei Meilan remained standing near the table, one hand resting lightly against the teapot as she watched him carefully.

The lantern beside her cast a soft glow across the room, but it did little to ease the tension between them.

Then she spoke again.

"I hope your wife knows you are here tonight."

Her tone was calm.

Almost casual.

But the meaning behind the words was clear.

Fu Sheng did not answer.

His silence alone was enough.

Wei Meilan studied him for a moment longer before letting out a faint breath through her nose.

"I thought so," she said quietly.

She lowered her gaze briefly and pushed one of the tea cups slightly toward him.

"Do you want tea?" she asked.

Fu Sheng shook his head immediately.

"No."

Wei Meilan looked slightly surprised by how quickly he answered.

Then she gave a small nod and pulled the cup back toward herself instead.

For a few moments, neither of them spoke.

The silence between them no longer felt unfamiliar.

It felt heavy.

Filled with too many things left unsaid over the years.

Wei Meilan finally sat down slowly across from him.

"You should not have come here," she said quietly.

Fu Sheng looked at her.

"You told me to find you if I recognized you," he replied.

Wei Meilan’s fingers paused slightly against the tea cup.

"That was before I saw your wife standing beside you," she said.

Fu Sheng’s expression remained unreadable.

Wei Meilan lowered her eyes briefly before speaking again.

"She looked at you carefully," she said softly. "Like someone who pays attention to every small change."

Fu Sheng remained silent.

"And yet," Wei Meilan continued quietly, "you still came here."

The room fell silent again after that.

Fu Sheng finally looked away slightly and spoke for the first time in several moments.

"There are things I need to understand," he said.

Wei Meilan looked at him carefully.

"About me?" she asked.

Fu Sheng’s gaze slowly returned to her face.

"Yes."

Wei Meilan stared at him quietly for a long moment.

Then finally—

She smiled faintly.

But this time, the smile carried sadness beneath it.

"Fu Sheng," she said softly.

"Some things are better left buried."

The room remained quiet after her last words.

The lantern between them flickered softly, casting moving shadows against the walls as the night deepened outside.

Fu Sheng looked at Wei Meilan steadily for several moments before finally speaking.

"Do you blame me?"

His voice was calm.

But quieter than before.

Wei Meilan’s fingers paused slightly against the tea cup she held.

For a brief moment, she did not answer.

Then she lowered the cup slowly onto the table.

"No," she said softly.

Her gaze lifted toward him.

"I used to," she admitted. "A long time ago."

The room became still.

Then she continued quietly,

"But after thinking about it for years, I realized something."

Her expression remained calm, though there was tiredness hidden beneath it now.

"What happened back then was not only your fault," she said.

Fu Sheng remained silent.

Wei Meilan gave a faint smile, though sadness lingered inside it.

"We were both at fault," she said quietly. "You made choices. And so did I."

Her gaze lowered briefly.

"No one was innocent."

Fu Sheng listened without interrupting.

For the first time since entering this house, his expression softened slightly.

Because those words mattered more than he expected.

Then after a moment, he spoke again.

"Aren’t you curious about them?"

Wei Meilan looked back at him.

Fu Sheng’s gaze remained fixed on her.

"You have not seen your children in six years," he said quietly.

His voice carried clear confusion now.

"That still baffles me."

The moment those words settled between them—

Wei Meilan’s expression finally changed.

Not dramatically.

But enough.

Her fingers tightened slightly around the edge of the table.

And for the first time that night—

Real emotion appeared in her eyes.

"You think I was not curious?" she asked softly.

Fu Sheng remained silent.

Wei Meilan let out a quiet breath and looked away briefly.

"There was not a single year," she said, "not a single month, not a single night where I did not think about them."

Her voice remained calm.

But there was pain beneath every word now.

"I wondered how tall they became," she continued quietly. "I wondered whether they still remembered my face. I wondered if they hated me."

Fu Sheng’s expression darkened slightly.

Wei Meilan gave a faint laugh.

"But wondering changes nothing."

She looked back at him again.

"I left," she said simply.

"And children do not forget things like that."

Wei Meilan lowered her gaze slightly, and for a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Fu Sheng finally said quietly,

"I never told them their mother was alive."

Wei Meilan looked up at him immediately.

His expression remained calm, but his eyes had darkened with old memories.

"They only know that their mother is gone," he continued. "I never explained anything beyond that."

Wei Meilan remained silent for a moment before speaking softly,

"They must have wondered."

Fu Sheng looked at her.

"No child goes that many years without asking questions," she said quietly. "Especially after never seeing their mother even once."

Her voice carried no accusation.

Only sadness.

Fu Sheng lowered his gaze briefly.

Then after a long silence, he finally spoke again.

"When I returned from war," he said slowly, "I did not even know they existed."

Wei Meilan froze slightly.

Fu Sheng leaned back slightly in his chair, his expression distant now as the memories returned clearly.

"When I reached home, my mother was holding two children in her arms."

His voice remained calm.

Too calm.

"But the moment I saw them..."

He paused briefly.

"...I did not even carry them."

Wei Meilan stared at him quietly.

Fu Sheng let out a slow breath.

"I ran straight to your house."

The room became completely silent.

His gaze lowered slightly as he continued.

"I thought there had to be some mistake," he said quietly. "I thought maybe you were sick or hiding somewhere."

A faint bitterness entered his voice.

"But when I got there..."

He stopped briefly before continuing.

"Your parents told me you had already left."

Wei Meilan’s fingers tightened slowly.

Fu Sheng looked at her again.

"They said you had gotten married," he said. "And that you had already left the village with your new husband."