Chapter 14: A Meeting Gift

Feng Miwan dawdled her way to the corresponding unit door number. She stared at the heavy security door, and the courage she had mustered on the road deflated by more than half.

She just stood there foolishly at the entrance, raising her hand only to lower it again, repeating the motion several times, too scared to press the doorbell.

“What if Dr. Xiong was just being polite?”

“What if she finds me troublesome?”

“What if living together turns out super awkward?”

“I could still run away now…”

Two little figures fought furiously in her mind.

Finally, she seemed to steel herself with some resolve. She pulled her good-luck charm out of her jeans pocket with her left hand—

That one-yuan coin.

“Alright, let fate decide!”

She took a deep breath and muttered to herself as she set the rules.

“Heads, I knock. Tails, I head home and tell my brother Dr. Xiong isn’t in!”

She placed the coin on her left thumb and flicked it upward gently!

The silver coin spun through the air, tracing a faint gleam. Feng Miwan’s eyes followed it intently, her left hand already poised to catch it.

Just as the coin reached its peak and was about to fall—

Click.

The security door in front of her opened from the inside.

Xiong Yibai opened the door while saying,

“Dad, it’s so late, you…”

Her “aren’t you going back yet?” trailed off unfinished. She looked up and caught sight of Feng Miwan at the door, frozen in her coin-tossing pose.

And that spinning coin landed with a plink right back in Feng Miwan’s open palm, without a deviation.

The air froze.

Inside the door, Xiong Yibai wore casual loungewear, her gold-rimmed glasses still perched on her nose bridge.

Outside the door, Feng Miwan remained in that coin-tossing stance, utterly stunned.

The two women stared at each other across the doorframe for a good several seconds, neither speaking.

Xiong Yibai recovered first. “You… what are you doing at the door? Why didn’t you knock?”

Feng Miwan stammered incoherently.

“Ah? I… I just got here! I was just about to… about to knock!”

“Really! What a coincidence! Haha, what a coincidence, Dr. Xiong…”

She noticed Xiong Yibai’s gaze sliding to the coin in her left palm.

In a rush of heat to her head, Feng Miwan didn’t even check if it was heads or tails, nor did she think if it was appropriate.

She shoved the coin straight into Xiong Yibai’s hand.

“This… this is my, my good-luck charm that I carry everywhere! It brings smooth sailing in everything! H-here, for you!”

“I’m really so grateful that Dr. Xiong is willing to take me in! Just a little token of appreciation!”

Xiong Yibai: “…”

She looked down at the utterly ordinary one-yuan coin in her palm, as if struck by some thought. For a moment, she didn’t know how to react and fell into contemplation.

Just then, in this awkward moment, a robust male voice came from inside the house, drawing nearer.

“Xiaobai? What’s taking so long at the door? Is it my son-in-law? Why aren’t you inviting him in to sit?”

Before his words finished echoing, a middle-aged man dressed impeccably with an elegant demeanor walked over from the living room.

It was Xiong Yibai’s father, Xiong Daichuan.

The expectant smile on his face froze the instant he saw Feng Miwan, turning into pure bewilderment.

He sized up the young woman at the door—one arm in a splint, dragging a suitcase, handsome-looking yet somewhat embarrassed—and hesitantly turned to his daughter.

“Xiaobai, this… is my son-in-law? Ah no, daughter-in-law? Wait, no, that’s not right…”

He shook his head, trying to sort out his logic. “Xiaobai, who is this young lady?”

Xiong Yibai looked at the scene, helplessly pinching the bridge of her nose, unsure where to even begin the introduction.

Though Feng Miwan had no clue what was going on with “son-in-law” or “daughter-in-law,” she straightened up at the question.

She flashed the most well-behaved smile she could muster and greeted him quickly.

“Hello, Uncle! I’m Feng Miwan—Feng from blockade, Mi from diffuse, Yue from night.”

Xiong Daichuan regarded the girl before him. Though she dressed handsomely, even a bit roguishly, her attitude was surprisingly polite and obedient. His impression of her soared.

“Oh my, oh my, hello hello! Feng Mi… Wan, what a nice name!”

Xiong Daichuan’s face broke into a beaming smile. He warmly stepped aside.

“Don’t stand in the doorway—come in, come in!”

As he ushered her, he called back into the house. “Lao Chen! Come help the guest with her luggage!”

A middle-aged butler hurried over and picked up the suitcase from beside Feng Miwan’s feet.

“Miss Feng, leave it to me. Please, come in.”

Feng Miwan was caught off guard by this sudden warmth and could only thank them repeatedly.

“Thank you, Uncle! Thank you, Butler Chen! Sorry for the trouble…”

Xiong Daichuan welcomed her into the living room, while the butler wiped the suitcase wheels clean before carrying it toward the guest room.

Xiong Yibai gestured for Feng Miwan to sit on the sofa, then sat beside her.

Xiong Daichuan called after the butler’s retreating figure.

“Lao Chen, just put the young lady’s things in her room. Don’t touch her personal items, alright?”

He said this deliberately to reassure Feng Miwan.

“Understood, sir.” The butler responded and left.

Only then did Xiong Daichuan sit on the sofa opposite them, his tone affectionate as if they weren’t meeting for the first time.

“Feng Miwan, hmm… Uncle can call you Xiao Wan, right?”

Feng Miwan was a bit dazed but nodded obediently.

“Ah? Oh, yes, Uncle…”

“Alright then, Xiao Wan,”

Xiong Daichuan said as he pulled a thick red envelope from his suit’s inner pocket and handed it straight to her.

“First time meeting—this is a little something from Uncle, a meeting gift. Take it, take it. No need to stand on ceremony with Uncle!”

Feng Miwan stared at the astonishingly thick envelope and nearly jumped off the sofa. She waved her hands frantically, leaning back.

“No need, no need! Uncle! Really, no! H-how could I? I can’t accept! You’re too generous!”

She refused to take it, hands clasped behind her back, body recoiling.

But Xiong Daichuan insisted on offering it. “Come on, kid, are you treating Uncle like a stranger?”

“Take it! It’s just ten thousand yuan! A tiny token!”

The two were at a stalemate, Feng Miwan sweating bullets from anxiety.

Suddenly, she felt the person beside her shift.

The hitherto silent Xiong Yibai leaned in close, whispering in a volume only they could hear, right by her ear.

“Take it first. If you don’t, he’ll drag this out all night.”

Warm breath brushed her earlobe, carrying a faint fragrance.

Feng Miwan’s ear tingled, her heart skipping a beat.

She glanced sideways at Xiong Yibai, but the other woman had already resumed her prim and proper posture.

Feng Miwan had no choice but to grit her teeth and accept the hefty red envelope.

“Th-then… thank you, Uncle… You really didn’t have to spend so much…”