The sun was already blazing through the tall windows when Lu Yanzhou stirred.
A sharp throb split through his skull.
He groaned, one arm draped over his eyes, the other dangling off the bed as the relentless ringing of a phone echoed through the room. It took him a moment—too long—to realize it was his, buzzing insistently from the floor.
The room was unfamiliar.
The scent in the air was not.
That hit him first. Then the silence. And the absence.
He blinked at the ceiling, then slowly turned his head—and froze.
Last night.
It returned in fragments. Blurred. Incomplete. But enough.
Skin. Breathless whispers. Her voice.
Her eyes.
The hunger. The desperation. The way he had clung to her like she was the only thing anchoring him to reality.
Lu Yanzhou sat up sharply.
The blanket slipped off his body, revealing faint red trails across his chest and back—marks from a night that had shattered lines he swore he'd never cross. They adorned him like cursed jewels, each one pulsing with a memory he hadn't meant to keep.
The phone buzzed again.
He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, ignoring the cold against his bare feet, and picked it up.
Ji Wen.
His secretary.
He answered, voice flat. "What?"
On the other end, Ji Wen's tone was tight, urgent. "Sir! Where are you? You didn't come home. There's a meeting in less than an hour—Chairman Lu has been calling non-stop and—"
"Bring my clothes," Lu Yanzhou cut in, voice like ice. "Now."
A pause. "Yes, sir. Where?"
His gaze shifted to the glass table, where a key card lay. He picked it up, fingers curling around the plastic.
The window reflected him faintly—tall, bare, marked by the night. A figure sculpted in rage and morning light.
"Hotel Meridian. Room 1806."
Ji Wen inhaled sharply. "Understood. I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Do you need—"
Lu Yanzhou ended the call.
For a long moment, he didn't move.
Silence stretched—filled only by the ringing in his skull and the whisper of something that refused to be forgotten.
He looked toward the window again.
At the man staring back at him—disheveled, naked, his jaw clenched, fury simmering just beneath the surface.
His fingers tightened around the key card.
His mind raced.
How did he end up here?
And more importantly—
Who was she?
A stranger. Faceless now under the harsh light of day—yet her touch lingered on his skin like fire.
Was it a mistake?
Or something more deliberate?
His eyes darkened, his expression turning glacial.
If this had been a setup—if someone had dared to use him while he was vulnerable—
He stepped toward the window, the sea stretching wide and bright before him.
He hated not knowing.
The key card dug into his palm, as he stared back at his reflection— haunted, raw, barely recognizable.
He would find out. He would uncover who was behind it.
And if this was a conspiracy?
They had made the gravest mistake of their lives.
***
Lin Shuyin was rushing toward the airport.
Her breaths came fast and uneven, each step jarring her sore body. She grit her teeth, trying to block out the pain radiating through her limbs.
She had to leave.
There was no choice.
The taxi screeched to a halt in front of the departure terminal. She flung a few crumpled bills at the driver, murmured a distracted thanks, and dashed toward the entrance.
Just as she passed through the sliding glass doors, her phone buzzed.
[Song Liying]—her roommate.
Lin Shuyin almost ignored it. But instinctively, she swiped to answer, pressing the phone to her ear.
"Yinyin? How are you?" Song Liying's cheerful voice chirped.
"Liying, I'm in a rush. I'll call you later," Lin Shuyin muttered, already lowering the phone to end the call.
"Wait—what's with the attitude?" Song Liying's voice grew sharp. "After everything I did for you last night, this is how you thank me?"
Lin Shuyin froze mid-step.
Her heart sank, dread pooling in her stomach.
She slowly raised the phone back to her ear. "What… what did you do?" she asked, voice tight with restrained fury.
"I saw Senior Yanzhou drunk and helpless at the party," Song Liying said, as if explaining a harmless prank. "So I helped. I sent him to your room."
Lin Shuyin stopped breathing.
The blood drained from her face.
"You… what?" she whispered harshly.
"I mean, come on," Song Liying giggled, "you've had the biggest crush on him since forever. I thought—why not help you get a little closer, hmm?"
Lin Shuyin's breath caught. Her mind reeled.
How did she—how did Liying know?
That secret had never left the walls of her own heart.
But shock quickly gave way to fury.
"Are you insane?" she hissed, rage simmering under every syllable. "Do you have any idea what you've done?! Reckless. You had no right—!"
"Oh, calm down, Yinyin! I did it because today's your birthday, remember? You finally turned eighteen. Now you are an adult." Song Liying's tone was proud and happy. "So… happy birthday, babe."
Before Lin Shuyin could respond, Song Liying's voice turned brisk. "Anyway, I'm heading out of town for a few weeks. Let's catch up when I'm back, okay? Love you!"
There was a click.
The line went dead.
Lin Shuyin stood there in the middle of the terminal, staring at her phone like it had burned her.
What happened last night…
Shouldn't have happened.
It wasn't supposed to happen.
Tears welled in her eyes as she rapidly blinked them away.
But this wasn't the time to dwell on that.
She had to leave. Now.
Sweat beaded on her forehead. Her legs trembled as she slipped the phone into her pocket with unsteady hands.
She moved swiftly toward the check-in counter—
Then the floor seemed to sway beneath her.
Her vision swam.
The overhead lights blurred.
She blinked hard, trying to focus, willing herself to take another step—
But the world tilted.
Everything went black.
She collapsed.
***