Li Family Second Branch Residence
The smell of warm congee lingered in the small kitchen when Li Feng came downstairs.
It was earlier than usual for him, but his father was already at the stove, sleeves rolled up, moving with the quiet focus he always had on mornings when something weighed on his mind.
Li Xue sat at the table, hands cupped around a steaming mug. The moment she saw him, her expression softened.
"Morning, Gege."
Li Feng gave a small nod. "Morning."
He sat beside her. For a while, the only sounds were the simmer of the pot, the clink of bowls, and the faint hum of the refrigerator. A peaceful, domestic stillness.
Then Li Guohua placed the final dish on the table and sat across from them.
He didn't start with small talk.
He simply looked at his children—eyes warm, but steadier and more resolved than usual.
"Feng. Xue'er," he said quietly. "I met with my legal team yesterday."
Li Xue blinked, startled.
Li Feng remained calm, though something faint shifted behind his eyes.
Guohua intertwined his fingers on the tabletop, choosing his words.
"I've already begun the process to protect Silent Hands."
Xue straightened in her seat, body tensing.
"…Protect it? How?"
"There will be a formal collaboration offer sent to you after school today."
He looked directly at her.
"My company will approach you properly—professional contract, clear rights, no loopholes. You'll lead the project."
Li Xue's lips parted slightly.
"They… want to work with me?"
"You created it," he said gently. "You should be the one developing it."
Then he turned to Li Feng.
"And as for the core technology…"
A breath.
"The patent will be under both your names."
Neither sibling responded immediately.
He continued, voice lowering.
"I'll handle every filing myself. Confidentially. The Li Group won't hear a whisper of it until it's too late for them to interfere."
His tone held none of the softness he used around the Li estate.
This was the voice of a father making a decision he refused to regret.
Xue set her mug down carefully, afraid her hands might shake too visibly.
"…Dad… you're really doing all this? For Silent Hands? For us?"
"For my children," he corrected, gentle but resolute.
"And for what belongs to you."
A warm silence settled—heavy with meaning, with gratitude neither sibling voiced out loud often.
Li Feng finally exhaled.
"…Thank you, Dad."
The words were soft, but genuine enough to make Guohua pause—just for a heartbeat—before a relieved smile curved his lips.
"You're my children," he repeated. "No one in this family will take what you've built."
Li Xue wiped at the corner of her eye and nodded quickly.
"Dad… we'll work hard. We'll really make Silent Hands real."
Guohua reached over and gently patted her head, the same gesture she had adored when she was younger.
"I know you will."
He stood, gesturing toward their meal.
"Eat. You have school, and it'll be a long day."
Just as the two siblings picked up their chopsticks, Xue suddenly froze—eyes widening as a realization struck her.
"Wait—Dad…"
She leaned forward.
"When did you get a company?!"
Guohua looked instinctively toward Li Feng for support.
Li Feng, without missing a beat, calmly focused on his bowl as if nothing in the world existed beyond his breakfast.
Li Xue stared between her father and brother.
"...Dad?" she pressed.
Guohua coughed lightly.
Li Feng focused very intently on his bowl, the picture of innocence.
---
Longhai No. 1 Highschool
The atmosphere at Longhai No. 1 High School was calmer today—
not as loud as yesterday,
but far more deliberate.
Subtle.
Teachers began dropping hints with surprising frequency. Not about Silent Hands directly—none of them dared—but the implications were unmistakable.
A history teacher "forgot" to close a tab displaying an article about a prestigious capital-tech mentorship program funded by a First Branch–affiliated corporation.
The mathematics teacher mentioned—far too casually—that "promising Longhai students have been scouted before graduation," all through organizations whose ties to Li Group's PR network weren't exactly secrets.
A P.E. instructor stopped Li Feng by the bleachers just to remark,
"Brilliant kids sometimes need the right guidance to reach the top."
He walked away before Li Feng could reply.
Students mirrored the adults' behavior, though far clumsier.
Some approached Xue with hesitant smiles, fidgeting with their sleeves as they spoke.
Others cornered Li Feng between classes with vague, careful questions:
"What if Silent Hands gets a medical partnership?"
"My uncle says legal protection matters—his company helps students sometimes."
"Have you thought about letting a big group back you? No one would mess with you then."
It wasn't aggressive.
It wasn't even annoying.
Just a gentle pressure—an invisible hand trying to steer, nudge, or suggest the "right" direction.
A slow encirclement disguised as kindness.
And none of it came from the Li family.
Not directly.
Li Feng listened to every word, responded to none, and quietly recorded each pattern and name.
A reminder:
The Li family wasn't the only force preparing to move.
---
Noon — Longhai No. 1 Highschool
Classes ended with the usual chime of the afternoon bell, and the corridor outside Li Xue's classroom erupted into its normal end-of-day chatter.
Li Xue was packing her books when her phone buzzed softly.
She didn't pay it much attention at first—notifications had been nonstop since the Expo.
But then she saw the sender.
She froze.
***
[Bright Horizon Technologies — Official Notice]
To: Miss Li Xue
Subject: Collaborative Innovation Invitation — Silent Hands
***
Her breath caught.
She opened it with trembling fingers.
["Dear Miss Li Xue,
Bright Horizon Technologies respectfully invites you to collaborate as the lead conceptual designer for the continued development of Silent Hands."]
Her heart raced as she scrolled.
[Joint development framework.
Patent registration under Li Xue & Li Feng.
Full creative decision rights.
Transparent oversight.]
Her vision blurred for a moment.
"…Gege…"
She didn't even realize she'd said it.
But her feet were already moving—fast—across the courtyard toward the Third-Year building.
Li Feng stood where he always waited for her after school, leaning casually against a column, completely unbothered by the world.
Xue hurried up to him, still breathless.
"Gege—look…"
She held out her phone with both hands.
Li Feng read the notice once.
Calm.
Steady.
Unmoved.
Then he handed it back.
"Accept it."
Xue blinked rapidly.
"R-Really…? It's… okay?"
"It protects your rights before anyone else moves."
Her lips parted slightly—hope and disbelief mixing in her eyes.
"Dad… he really did this so fast?"
"Mm."
She looked down at the message again.
Her name.
Li Feng's name.
Acknowledgement.
Protection.
Legitimacy.
Her chest warmed.
"…Gege… does this mean Silent Hands is really ours? That no one can take it?"
Li Feng rested a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"It means," he said quietly, "you're protected."
Her eyes glistened.
She pressed ACCEPT with steady determination.
A confirmation popped up:
[Agreement Received — Legal Team Will Contact You Soon]
She exhaled, smiling softly.
"…Thank you, Gege."
Li Feng shook his head mildly.
"Thank Dad."
But the faint pride in his eyes told her everything.
Silent Hands was no longer slipping away.
It was becoming real.
Becoming safe.
Becoming theirs.
---
Capital City — Wen Family Private Lab Wing
The glass doors slid open with a soft chime as Wen Yuning stepped inside, suitcase wheels whispering against polished floors. She had returned to the capital only a few hours ago—yet she was here already, still in travel clothes, a quiet intensity in her eyes.
Her assistant, Zhou Qi, hurried behind her.
"Miss Wen, you haven't even rested—"
"No need," she replied without slowing. "Did you prepare what I asked for?"
"Yes," Zhou Qi said, passing her a tablet. "All available clips from the Longhai Expo. Articles. Student forum posts. A few partial analyses. But… information on the creators is limited."
"That's fine."
Wen Yuning tapped the screen once, opening a clip of Silent Hands in action.
The moment Li Xue lifted her hand and the synthesized voice translated her signs, something shifted in Wen Yuning's expression.
A spark of genuine interest.
Not admiration.
Curiosity. Sharp and analytical.
"This interface…" she murmured. "Not commercial. Not borrowed. And not amateur."
She scrolled further, paused on Li Feng adjusting one of the glove's settings, his face half-hidden from the camera angle.
Zhou Qi hesitated behind her.
"Miss… shall I reach out to them? Or notify the Research Institute?"
"No."
Yuning's reply was soft, but carried the weight of a decision already made.
"I only want information for now."
She flicked through another clip, expression unreadable.
Zhou Qi swallowed.
"Then… what should I tell the Institute?"
"Tell them to prepare a file," she said. "Technical analysis only. No contact. No interference."
A small pause.
Her eyes never left the screen.
"…And find everything you can about the programmer."
Zhou Qi blinked. "The boy?"
Wen Yuning finally lifted her gaze.
There was a faint, almost imperceptible pull at the corner of her lips—neither a smile nor approval.
Just interest.
"The boy," she repeated softly.
She turned off the tablet.
"Let's see... what kind of mind built this."
With that, she walked forward, heels clicking quietly across the marble floor as automatic lights lit her path deeper into the research wing.
No announcements were made.
No orders to act were given.
Just a single, silent shift in attention—
one that would ripple far beyond the capital.
---
Hello, Author here,
Thanks for reading — Leave a comment to tell me what you think about this chapter, and drop a Power Stone if you're enjoying Li Feng's story so far! Let's grow this story together.