CHAPTER 4

Terms of Care

Morning in the Li residence arrived without warmth.

The curtains opened automatically.

Soft light entered the west bedroom like a guest who did not dare stay long.

Song Yuxin woke instantly, disoriented for a moment by the unfamiliar ceiling.

Then memory returned.

The contract.

The child.

The man next door.

He changed into the simplest set of clothes from the new wardrobe — a white shirt and black pants — and carefully folded his old ones, placing them inside the suitcase like something sacred.

A quiet promise to himself.

I will not forget who I am.

When he entered the dining room, Li Tingxiao was already there.

Reading documents.

Coffee untouched.

Presence overwhelming.

Chenchen sat beside him, legs swinging, clearly waiting.

The seat across Tingxiao was empty.

For you.

Yuxin stopped for half a second — then walked forward and sat down.

“Good morning,” he said softly.

Chenchen beamed.

Tingxiao gave a short nod.

Breakfast began in silence.

Not peaceful.

Measured.

Like a negotiation table.

Finally—

Li Tingxiao put down the documents.

“From today onward,” he said, his voice calm and absolute,

“Li Chen is your full responsibility.”

Yuxin’s chopsticks paused.

“You will wake him.

Prepare his meals.

Check his schoolwork.

Attend every parent meeting.

Monitor his health.

Manage his daily schedule.”

Each sentence was a command.

Not a request.

“If he falls sick, you will know first.

If he is unhappy, you will correct it.

If he is injured—”

Tingxiao’s eyes lifted.

Cold. Sharp. Alpha.

“—you will be held accountable.”

The temperature in the room dropped.

“And if,” Tingxiao continued, voice lower now,

“anything happens to him because of your negligence…”

A pause.

Even the servants stopped breathing.

“I will make sure you do not remain in this city.”

Not shouting.

Not anger.

A simple statement of fact.

That was far more terrifying.

Chenchen looked between them, confused.

Yuxin slowly placed his chopsticks down.

He did not look away.

“I understand,” he said.

No trembling.

No submission in his eyes.

Only something steady and bright.

“But,” Yuxin added gently,

“since Young Master Li is now my responsibility… may I know what he likes to eat for breakfast?”

The shift in atmosphere was so sudden it was almost violent.

Zhou Kairui — who had just entered to deliver documents — froze at the door.

That…

was not the reaction anyone expected.

Li Tingxiao stared at him.

This Omega —

was not afraid of the threat.

He was focused on the child.

Chenchen raised his hand excitedly.

“I like egg custard! And sweet buns! And—”

“No carrots,” Yuxin said seriously.

Chenchen gasped.

“How do you know?!”

Yuxin leaned closer and whispered:

“Because all children hate carrots.”

Chenchen burst into laughter.

For the first time—

a sound of real life filled the Li dining hall.

Li Tingxiao looked at the two of them.

And something in his chest shifted.

A space that had been locked for five years—

was being entered without permission.

After breakfast, Tingxiao stood.

“I will be at the company. Zhou Kairui will remain available if you require anything related to Chenchen’s schedule.”

This was not trust.

This was surveillance.

As he passed Yuxin, he stopped for a fraction of a second.

“Do not enter my study,” he said.

A boundary.

Then he left.

The sound of the main door closing echoed through the mansion like the return of winter.

The moment the car disappeared beyond the gates—

Chenchen grabbed Yuxin’s hand.

“Gege! Come see my toys!”

And just like that—

the house changed.

They built blocks on the living room carpet.

Yuxin tied Chenchen’s messy hair into a tiny sprout.

They argued about whether dinosaurs could eat cake.

At one point Chenchen climbed into his lap and fell asleep mid-sentence.

Yuxin froze.

Carefully — as if holding something priceless — he adjusted the child’s position and covered him with his own jacket.

No servant came forward.

No one interrupted.

Because for the first time—

Li Chen was sleeping in the open hall.

Warm.

Safe.

In the afternoon, Yuxin explored the kitchen.

Not as a guest.

As someone who intended to live.

He learned where the ingredients were kept.

Asked the staff about Chenchen’s meal times.

Wrote a small schedule in neat handwriting.

3:30 — milk

4:00 — reading time

5:00 — play

6:00 — dinner

Uncle Wen watched silently.

This Omega…

was treating the responsibility as if it were his own child.

Not a task.

Later, in his room, when the mansion became quiet again—

loneliness returned.

Yuxin sat by the window, holding his phone.

No messages.

No home to report to.

He opened the photo of his mother and whispered:

“I’m doing well.”

The lie was gentle.

But his eyes were tired.

Still—

when Chenchen knocked on his door at night holding a storybook—

Yuxin smiled immediately.

“Gege, read for me?”

And the cold mansion—

once again—

gained a heartbeat.

Meanwhile, in the top-floor office of L.T. Cosmetics—

Li Tingxiao signed documents without seeing them.

His mind replayed one sentence.

“Since he is my responsibility… what does he like to eat?”

For the first time in years—

someone had accepted Li Chen

without fear.

Without calculation.

Without trying to please him.

Zhou Kairui spoke carefully:

“President Li… you seem distracted.”

Tingxiao closed the file.

That faint scent of rain and jasmine still lingered in his memory.

“Send home earlier today,” he said.

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