Home.

It had been two weeks since Shen Yi hadn’t seen his home and his family due to the long business trip he had. It also didn’t help that his flight back home was canceled due to the heavy snowstorms.

Today was the first recital of Zichen and Yuyan at school, and he was dreaded to find a way to go home at this rate. Initially, they planned to go to the twins’ school as a family. With Shen Yi’s flight being delayed, Lu Xinyi had to bring their children alone.

“So… you’re not coming on time then?” He heard his wife took a deep sigh at the other end of the line.

These were the rare times he hated working on a big company even if it was his business empire that he started. If he could, he would rather stay with them at home; but the need for his presence to oversee the construction of the project that been planned months ago. He didn’t have the liberty to cancel or postpone his trip.

“I don’t know, Xinxin. Qiao He has managed to book our flight back at the capital. We’ve just arrived at the airport,” he told her.

“But we only have half an hour later before their recital begins. Qing Qing is also missing you. She’d been asking me and Xue what time you’ll arrive,” Lu Xinyi informed him.

“I know, Xinxin. I also miss Qing Qing and the twins, especially you,” he murmured before passing his luggage to Qiao He, removing his irritating necktie before entering the car.

Qiao He loaded their luggage on the trunk before taking his place at the driver’s seat. They only have half an hour left before the show starts.

—-.

At the recital hall, Lu Xinyi led the twins at the backstage with Qing Qing in her arms. The twins’ mood was down as they knew their father hadn’t arrived yet. Both were dressed up and ready for their performance, but Shen Yi’s absence had made the two sad.

“Mommy, is Daddy coming here to watch? He promised he would be here,” Shen Zichen asked worriedly. They’d been waiting for Shen Yi to arrive for more than two hours, and he still hadn’t come.

“He’s on his way now, Zichen,” Lu Xinyi assured her son. The whole ordeal on his business trip was finally settled, but the bad weather had forbidden Shen Yi to go back on time.

“Well, let’s just hope that he gets here on time.” Shen Xue appeared next to her and consoled the twins. “I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t like it if your mommy put him again in the dog house for a week.” He chuckled earning a laugh from his nephew.

Like any children born from the Shen family, the twins’ good looks were becoming more prominent as they grew up. As Lu Xinyi looked at Shen Yuyan, she noticed how the girl’s eyes spoke of a beautiful soul; and her movements told of a need for nurture. Perhaps that’s how people were before they grew up.

Meanwhile, Shen Zichen had eyes of pure mischief and a heart of gold; he had that way of moving others that honest people do, with the spark of the child and a smile that went all the way through to his core.

“Daddy will be here. He should be,” Little Qing Qing insisted.

There was something about Shen Lingqing that drew people to her. Lu Xinyi guessed that it didn’t hurt that she was a good-looking girl spoiled by her father, but it was more than that.

Shen Lingqing was quiet but not out of painful shyness. It was reservation like a conscious choice to observe the person in front of her before she would get involved. Because of this, she was very much like her father.

“But what if he doesn’t make it?” Shen Yuyan gripped her skirt tighter. All those endless practices she and her brother did would for the naught if their daddy wouldn’t be able to see it.

Lu Xinyi pulled her eldest daughter and gave her a slight hug to comfort her.

“Is there a time Daddy let you down? Didn’t he promise you that he’ll be here? Calm down, Yuyan. Let’s wait for him here, and if ever he missed your performance, Uncle Xue will record it for him to watch later.”

The stage manager came running towards them to inform them that the twins’ turn would start soon.

“Mrs. Shen, ten minutes before the curtain lifts up,” she told Lu Xinyi before leaving to instruct the rest of the crew to get ready.

Lu Xinyi kissed the forehead of her twins before gesturing them to go upstage.

“Go now, Mommy will be watching with Qing Qing at the front row seats,” she told them.

“But Daddy!” Both twins exclaimed at the same time. “He isn’t here yet.”

Shen Xue and Lu Xinyi glanced at each other and wondered how to deal with them. They both look ready to burst crying over their father’s absence.

At that moment, Shen Yi came rushing at the backstage and wrapped his arms to the twins who’d been waiting for him for a long time, raining them with kisses.

“Daddy is here. I’m so sorry for being late.”

The Shen twins’ faces instantly brightened up.

“Daddy, you made it!” Shen Yuyan squealed and jumped on her heels.

“Of course, I promised you, didn’t I? Now go and show everyone how amazing you are.” He patted their heads.

The twins gave their parents and Shen Xue a kiss on their cheeks before getting on stage. After that, Lu Xinyi pulled her husband outside the backstage and led him in front of the auditorium where their whole family was waiting.

Even the Tangs took their time to watch and enjoy the twins’ performance much to their delight, and Tian Lingyu took a day off from Oriental Bliss to join them. What surprised Lu Xinyi and Shen Yi the most was to see the heavily pregnant Sun Feiyan sitting next to her husband, Ye Xingjie, waiting for the show to start.

“I thought you don’t like recitals,” Lu Xinyi teased her cousin as they waited on their seats. She vaguely remembered that Sun Feiyan endured all those music and piano lessons when they were younger while Lu Xinyi always sneaked out and hid from her tutor the whole day.

Sun Feiyan gave her a pointed look before shaking her head.

“I only hate it when I’m part of it,” she told Lu Xinyi, making her laugh at her response.

“I haven’t been in a recital for ages,” Lu Xinyi admitted to her cousin, her eyes slightly wet as she remembered Sun Qiushan. “The last one was when Qiushan had a cello performance.”

Sun Feiyan noticed the distant look on Lu Xinyi’s eyes but didn’t comment on it. She was also missing Qiushan.

The lights inside the auditorium dimmed and the curtain covering the stage rose. The room was instantly filled with applause when Shen Zichen and Shen Yuyan walked towards the center and took their bows.

Yuyan sat before the piano set at the stage while Zichen picked up his violin. On cue, the twins started playing their musical instruments at the same time. The auditorium was then filled with the music and melodies.

Music filled the air without effort, the sound rushing in and around every person in the room. Some reacted to the beat while others continued in chatter, but it spoke to them in some manner. Before the notes filled the air, every person was an island. With it, they all felt the gentle crashing of the waves and the warm beginnings of togetherness.

As Lu Xinyi continued to listen to her children’s performance, she reflected on what happened to her life. The painful memories came with a cost; once lessons were learned there is nothing in them of value. Meanwhile, the happy memories she had with the people around her were good and nourishing, supportive and kind.

She was glad she chose the way she lived, letting the bad ones wander off on their own and encouraging the good ones to blossom and grow. This way, she became confident, well-balanced, and in control of herself. She was able to appreciate each moment as a gift and to see a positive future.

When she was young and had lost both of her parents, she hated the world. She hated everyone with passion. Lu Xinyi thought then that she was abandoned and left alone in this cruel world, and yet Shen Yi was able to make her remember the joy of being alive and that she wasn’t alone.

As Lu Xinyi held his hand to hers, she wondered whether if it was her choices that brought her to him or if it was their fate.

Shen Yi hummed his agreement, never breaking his gaze on the twins.

“Another memory to share with you.” He nodded and turned his attention to her, “Are you happy?”

Lu Xinyi leaned forward and gave a peck on his lips.

“Is that enough to answer your question?” She smiled—the same smile that made her husband fall head over heels when she was just merely a three-year-old girl.

“That’s unfair.” Shen Yi grumbled.

“W-what?”

“How can you easily make me fall in love with you every time I look at you?” he questioned her, earning a deep blush from his wife.

Lu Xinyi huffed, ignoring the tint of a blush spreading on her face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

However, she finally understood now that she came to love not by finding a perfect person… but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.