Zheng Mengyao slowly lifted her eyes, swallowing hard as she searched for the right words. After a pause, her lips parted.
"Xiao Qi… it's been a while since… you left your birthday party. How have you been?" Her voice was soft, tinged with concern and uncertainty; even to her own ears, the question sounded awkward.
Song Meiqi turned to her, disbelief flashing in her eyes. Slowly, her lips curved into a mocking smile that clashed sharply with her usually gentle appearance.
"I… am very… fine," she said.
"I hid it for a long time. Now that everything is out in the open… what reason do I have not to be fine?" Her words, low and tender, felt colder than ice.
Mengyao's gaze wavered, guilt gnawing at her. "Meiqi…" she whispered. "Would you believe me if I said it was an accident?"
Silence hung for a few moments before a soft, humourless chuckle escaped Meiqi's lips.
"Tell me—did you stumble and fall into my ex-boyfriend's bed?"
"An accident?" Meiqi repeated the word, her eyes sharpening.
"Zheng Mengyao… don't lie to me. It has already come to this—what's the point of lying now?"
Her voice trembled for the first time.
"Why…?" Her eyes reddened as they locked onto Mengyao. "Why would you do this to me? How could you?"
Her words struck like needles, piercing Mengyao's heart until it felt shattered, until she could no longer pretend. Her hand began to tremble, brows knitting together as she met Meiqi's pained gaze.
"I… I'm sorry," she whispered. It was all she could manage.
Meiqi's eyes flicked to the tears threatening to spill, but none fell, and with a slight shift in her posture, she regained her calm.
"You've already hurt me. Your apologies won't change that. I just… need to know why you did this to me."
Mengyao let out a trembling breath. Her shoulders slumped as the calm, collected eyes she usually wore softened with shame and pain. A single tear traced down her rosy cheek. She looked like a wilted flower—fragile and trembling, stripped bare by the weight of her own guilt.
"I realized too late…" Her words quivered. "I love Haoran. I love him more than I thought." Her fingers pressed tightly against her palm.
"That night… I wasn't thinking about anything else. I didn't think about you—I…" Her voice faltered. "I never meant to hurt you."
Song Meiqi fell silent.
When she finally looked up, her gaze had gone cold and empty, completely indifferent.
"If love can justify every wrong thing in this world," she said quietly, "then who can you trust?" A bitter smile tugged at her lips. "If your love for him mattered more to you than the friendship we had… then so be it."
Meiqi rose from her seat.
"We're still part of Everbloom, but don't worry—there's only one year left on our contract." Her voice was calm, almost detached. "So I want us to remain professional."
"In public, I'll still play the part of your closest sister." Her midnight eyes met Mengyao's, the familiar gentleness in them stripped of all the warmth they once carried. "But in private… don't expect me to ever treat you the same again."
With that, Song Meiqi turned and walked away. Her face betrayed no hesitation, only quiet, resolute calm.
Mengyao watched her go, and with each step, it felt as if all the memories they had shared were being carried away too. Tears streamed down her cheeks, unstoppable. This was what she had feared most, losing her. But at that moment, she couldn't find a single word to make Meiqi stay.
Zheng Mengyao tilted her head down, letting her hair fall forward to hide her face as she sobbed silently in her seat. Unbeknownst to her, someone had been watching them the entire time.
A man dressed in all black sat two tables away from Mengyao, idly stirring the coffee in his hand. His face was half-concealed by the high collar of his turtleneck, yet his eyes gleamed with a quiet, knowing satisfaction.
The moment he saw Song Meiqi step out of Puff and Bean, he stood as well and quietly followed her. He entered the Star Entertainment building, his eyes never leaving her shadow.
And as she stepped inside the elevator, he followed as well.
Song Meiqi leaned against the metallic walls of the elevator, her eyes lazily tracking the numbers as the floors rose one by one, each soft chime fading into the background. Lost in thought, her mind drifted far away, so distant that she didn't even notice there was another person standing beside her.
Then the doors slid open, and a low voice echoed beside her.
"Excuse me."
Only then did Meiqi realize someone was next to her. She quickly moved aside to make way for him, her eyes flicking toward his face—but with how much taller he was, she couldn't fully see it.
The elevator doors chimed shut behind him.
"Oh… Xiao Zhu, you're here," one of the employees said upon seeing the man step out of the elevator. Xiao Zhu gave a slight nod in return.
"Coordinator Yuan was looking for you just moments ago. He seemed pretty stressed—looks like it'll be a rough day for you." The man lowered his voice as he spoke, as if afraid someone else might overhear.
But Xiao Zhu remained unfazed. His calm expression carried the poised, gentle temperament of a scholar from ancient times.
"I know now," he said softly. "I'll buy you some coffee later."
The other employee laughed lightly, clearly pleased. "Okay."
Xiao Zhu then organized the documents on his table, a soft smile still resting on his face. Just then, his fingers brushed over one of the files.
A label was affixed to the folder.
"Everbloom."
And his smile deepened.
…
The next day…
"1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and—Stop!" the choreographer exclaimed, frowning as the girls messed up the choreography yet again despite having practiced it dozens of times.
He turned to them, frustration evident in his eyes. "What's wrong with all of you? Did none of you eat? It's not just one person—you're all missing the beat."
Panting, Xiuying glanced at the rest of her members. Every one of them looked distracted. It was the same as yesterday, when they had gathered for practice for the first time since Meiqi returned.
"Teacher, how about we take a break?" she suggested.
The choreographer sighed before shaking his head. "Okay. Five minutes."
As he left the room, the rest of Everbloom slowly dispersed. Mengyao and Lina remained on the right side of the practice room, while Meiqi and Si Yu stayed in the left corner—neither side moving, neither side speaking.
Xiuying stood in the middle, hands on her waist, her gaze sweeping across the suffocating silence. The tension in the air pressed down on her until her brows knitted tightly together.
"Now what?!" she suddenly snapped, her voice echoing sharply through the room. The members all turned toward her.
Her chest rose and fell as she looked between them.
"Do we continue as a group…" her voice dropped slightly, "…or should we just disband?!"