Page 14 of Two Thousand Shadows

“Are you planning to wake Ming Yu?” Xiang inquired, sounding as if he thought Xiao Dan had lost his mind.

“Of course not. It’s been a while, but I’m pretty sure I can remember how to make something as simple as congee. Or even some scrambled eggs. If I recall correctly, humans are quite fond of their scrambled eggs for breakfast.” Xiao Dan reached out and lightly brushed some hair away from the child’s forehead and ever so gently tapped the tip of his nose. “Let’s get something to fill your belly.”

“Shixiong?” Junjie whispered. His heart raced and his breath became trapped behind a lump in his throat. Was he going to allow the child to stay with them? Just like that?

The broad grin on Xiao Dan’s face dimmed slightly and there was a hint of sadness that entered his warm chestnut-brown eyes. “We’ll figure everything out later. Right now, the important thing is that this little guy has a full belly and a sense of security.”

“Yes, Shixiong.”

They formed a line and followed Xiao Dan through the house, past where other clan members were supposed to be sleeping, to the kitchen. Once there, Xiao Dan directed Junjie to sit on a stool at the center island counter with the child. He issued a series of impressive orders to Xiang and Kai to help him find the ingredients and cooking instruments he would need.

It also didn’t hurt that Kai located some soft pastries that had been tucked in the pantry, along with some fruit that could be cut up for their guest. One corner of Junjie’s lips quirked higher as he twisted to look at the child’s face. The boy watched all the movement in the kitchen with such rapt attention.

“I know you’re not making a mess in my—” Ming Yu’s comment stopped as she walked into the kitchen, and her eyes fell on the newcomer. “Oh, my. He’s absolutely adorable.”

“Shixiong was trying to make him something for breakfast,” Junjie supplied.

“Just a bit of congee,” Xiao Dan added.

Ming Yu’s sharp gaze swept over the strange assortment of things that were spread out on the island and counters. She clucked her tongue at them. “Congee is good. The apples are fine. Put the rest away for now. What were you thinking with the peppers?” She glared at Xiang, knowing it was his nonsense without being told. Her expression softened when she turned to the child and touched his cheek. “What’s your name, little one?”

“We don’t know. He’s an orphan because of the fae,” Junjie replied.

“That’s okay,” she cooed. “We’ll get you fixed up with some breakfast. Then you can take a nap with your new gege.”

To Junjie’s surprise, the child relaxed against him, the tension that had hummed through his small body flowing out through his toes.

“Gege,” he mumbled.

Everyone in the room froze, their eyes locked on the boy. He’d spoken. Not only that, he’d called Junjie “gege.”

“That’s right! You have many new gege now!” Ming Yu cried, clapping her hands together.

“Ming-jie,”?1 Xiao Dan broke in, his tone low and warning. Junjie understood it with nothing else being said. They needed to keep in mind that it was no guarantee that the child would stay with them. It needed to be thoroughly discussed.

“Pah.” Ming Yu waved a dismissive hand at him, not at all caring about his warnings. She acted as if she were sure they were keeping the boy, and there was no point in discussing it further. Junjie bit his bottom lip and lowered his head to hidehis grin behind the child’s head as Shijie?2 stole control of the kitchen from Xiao Dan.

Wisely, their shixiong got the hell out of her way as she worked.

But even as she set about getting food prepared for the kid, no one was willing to leave the kitchen. They lingered about, trying to make the child smile or laugh.

Naturally, that created a great deal of noise and drew the rest of the clan into the kitchen. Mei Lian was the first to appear and the only one who didn’t look as if she’d been sleeping, but the woman stayed up gaming and watching her shows well into the morning.

“Oh. My. Gods. Could he be any cuter?” she demanded, slapping her own cheeks with both hands. “Are you keeping him? I didn’t know we could adopt humans. Do they have to be kids? Like real little kids? There are some boy group members I would totally adopt right this second if?—”

“Meimei,” Xiao Dan cut in before her ramble could spiral further down the rabbit hole.

Xiang sighed. “What you’re talking about is kidnapping, not adopting.”

“And I think this clan has dealt with enough kidnapping. At least enough to last us a few centuries,” Xiao Dan said.

“Is he talking about me?” Kai whispered loudly to Xiang.

“No, baby.” Xiang turned and pressed a kiss to Kai’s jaw. “He’s talking about Rei and Chen. They’re the troublemakers.”

Junjie rolled his eyes and ignored their nonsense. He turned to Meimei, who was busy making faces at the child and earning giggles for her efforts.

“Meimei, do you have any old T-shirts you don’t mind parting with? I was hoping to give him a bath after breakfast, and I’m sure he’d like something clean to wear.”

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