The Player's Gambit

Summary

After making a birthday cake for my son while burning up with a fever, I overheard him whispering with my husband.

"Dad, when can we go live with Auntie Liu Yan? I don't want to call this woman 'Mom' anymore."

My husband, Chen Chen, soothed him in a low voice. "Patience, son. We just have to cooperate with her mission to win us over. Once she gets her reward, we can convince her to use it to cure Yan-yan."

"In return," he added, "I'll let her keep her status as Mrs. Chen. But she can forget about anything else."

I let out a silent sigh of relief.