As the night stretched over Country C, the dinner at the Wang Mansion soon ended. Wang Zi Rui returned to his bedroom, his eyes falling on the document resting on his desk.
It was the file Si Qi had handed to him earlier that morning—about Song Meiqi.
His gaze lingered for a moment before shifting to the phone beside it. After a brief pause, he reached out, picked it up, and dialled Si Qi's number.
"Boss," Si Qi answered almost immediately.
"Check the Lin family," Zi Rui commanded. "I want everything by morning." His voice was low, controlled.
"Understood," Si Qi answered, and Zi Rui ended the call.
Silence soon filled the dimly lit room as his eyes returned to the file, lamplight flickering across the rim of his glasses. He paused, fingers lingering on the edge, hand tightening almost imperceptibly, and with a slow, measured breath, opened it.
…
Meanwhile, in Province A, heavy rain poured over the Han Residence, droplets gliding down the glass windows.
Song Meiqi sat on the couch across from her uncle, Han Yichen, the warm aroma of lemon juice drifting between them.
"Little Qi," Yichen began, breaking the silence, "Oscar was overreacting. You didn't really need to come all the way here."
Meiqi narrowed her eyes. "Then… where were you? and why weren't you answering your phone?" she asked, suspicion threading her voice.
"Well…" Yichen paused, choosing his words carefully. "I was meeting someone important, but unexpectedly… he suffered a heart attack."
Meiqi blinked.
"I took him to the hospital," Yichen continued. "He had no one to look after him, so I stayed until he was stable. As for my phone… I must have dropped it while helping him."
Meiqi raised an eyebrow. Could it really be such a coincidence?
Catching the disbelief in her expression, Yichen cleared his throat. "It's true," he added quietly.
Meiqi studied him for a moment before letting out a sigh, choosing to believe him. "Uncle, next time at least let someone know," she said. "At least tell Linlong."
Her tone was sharp, threaded with worry.
"I understand," Yichen replied. "I'm sorry for making you worry. It won't happen again."
Meiqi pressed her lips together, weighing his words, before her gaze drifted to the glass of lemon juice. Her hand hovered over it, and in a low voice she said,
"Uncle, you're the only family I have left. I don't want to lose you."
Yichen's eyes widened for a moment, surprised by her words, before settling back into their usual brightness.
Chuckling, he said, "Little Qi, didn't your 23rd birthday just pass? Aren't you a little old to be saying things like that?"
Meiqi's cheeks flushed slightly. "I mean it," she said, then took a sip of the lemon juice.
Yichen let out a soft laugh, though something flickered briefly in his eyes before disappearing.
…
As night deepened, rain poured over H. City, violent winds lashing against the windows of the high-rise buildings. A man hurried into a shabby apartment tucked away from the city's buzzing traffic.
The door clicked open as he stepped inside, the dim room coming into view—trash scattered across the floor, and near the desk, another man stared at the glowing computer screen.
His jaw tightened as he scrolled through the comments beneath Star Entertainment's official post, denying the rumoured relationship between Si Haoran and Zheng Mengyao.
The man looked up as he heard the other enter, his eyes sweeping over him—the familiar gaze, the pointed nose, and thin lips—it was all too similar to his own. His twin brother, Xiao Zhu, stood before him.
"Xiao Zhu, how is it? Did Meiqi break up with that bastard, Haoran?" he asked, urgency threading his voice.
The other man looked back at him and nodded, his gaze drifting down to his pale, scarred legs resting in the wheelchair before returning to meet his eyes once more.
His twin brother, sitting in the wheelchair, curled a satisfied smile, clearly pleased with the answer, but he didn't notice Xiao Zhu's eyes flicker slightly.
Behind his back, Xiao Zhu clenched his hand into a fist, his face still calm, though his mind lingered on the memory of Meiqi crying into the arms of a man he didn't recognize when he had been about to give her the stuffed dog.
He couldn't show it—he mustn't—not while his twin brother waited for this moment to ruin Meiqi's relationship.
"Listen, Xiao Zhu, next week at Everbloom's fan sign event, I'll confess to Meiqi," his twin brother said suddenly, eyes widening with excitement.
He could hardly contain himself at the thought of Meiqi finally being his; Si Haoran was already exposed—now she would have no choice but to feel grateful, and she would belong to him.
Xiao Zhu masked his surprise with a nod, then bent down to gather the trash scattered across the floor, his gaze growing darker with each passing second, a storm of anger and helplessness brewing behind his calm facade.
"Then I'll help you…" he added.
"I'll go back to Willow Park after the rain is over and get ready."
…
Back at the Han Residence, rain pounded against the windows, and thunder cracked loudly across the sky. Meiqi lay on her bed, sweat gathering at her temples, brows drawn tight, eyes shut as if trying to hold herself together.
Shadows stretched across the room, the only light coming from the lamplight on the nightstand and the flashes of lightning outside.
Her body began to shake, and moments later, her eyes shot open.