The lattice door of the Gu Family dining room slid open with a warm, welcoming click.
Inside, golden paper lanterns cast a cozy amber glow over the large round cedar table at the center of the room. On the walls hung twelve-year-old Ye Xiao’s framed calligraphy scrolls and eleven-year-old Gu Nian’s crayon drawings of the whole family holding hands under a big yellow sun.
On the windowsill, nine-year-old Su Nuannuan’s potted honey-marigolds bloomed in cheerful orange clusters, while in the corner sat a tidy wooden toy chest holding Little Fifth’s wooden building blocks and spare squeaky sandals.
It was not a cold, gilded immortal palace.
There were no jade thrones, no scheming elders, and no icy protocols.
Every inch of the room breathed peace, safety, and the lived-in warmth of a real home.
“Mom! Sit right here in the middle!” eleven-year-old Gu Nian hurried over and pulled out the wide cedar armchair at the place of honor, patting the thick goose-down cushion on the seat.
“Dad put his warmest cushion on this chair just for you!”
