The “Talk”
Some context/lore:
After back wakes up from his 3 month nap, he finally had to talk to Wukong.
At that point in time, Macaque doesn't trust Wukong and Wukong is very aware of this.
Macaque had things he would like to keep to himself like, A) His deal with lbd, B)how he got Lihua.
Wukong as much as he wants to know about Lihua and how Macaque came back, he also knows that to much happened between them that asking would only push Macaque away.
Apart from both of them still wants the closeness they had shared for thousands of years and that could have happened if they were able to effectively communicate with each other and be honest. But with the guilt, pride and shame both are still holding on to (heavy on Macaque), in their perspective it seemed better to ignore the "elephant in the room".
In a way Lihua being there helped them ignore the tension between them.
That was until the Jade Emperor and by extension
Tao had their attention on Lihua.
The peaceful life Wukong, Macaque and Lihua had crumbled instantly after Lihua gets taken to the Celestial Realm by Nezha.
I'll get deep into that part later but just know the aftermath of that incident, Macaque takes Lihua and leaves FFM.]
Sidenote:
Lihua being a baby/toddler only have vivid memories of that life and the incident in the celestial realm.