"President Yuan, it's Mu Sen on the line."
The assistant looked uneasy as he handed over the phone.
Axin took it. On the other end, Mu Sen's voice came cold and deliberate:
"Lin Siya is with me."
"What do you want?"
Her tone was calm—too calm. The assistant, standing nearby, felt a chill crawl down his spine. President Yuan was always gentle, soft-spoken, but now… though her lips still curved in a smile, that smile was more terrifying than a blank stare. The air around her seemed to freeze.
"President Yuan is much more sensible than Lin Siya," Mu Sen sneered. "I want the full research data on Regeneration. If you give me that, I'll let her go."
"I agree."
He blinked, caught off guard. The salty sea breeze whipped across his face as he processed what he'd just heard. "Didn't expect that. To think President Yuan would give up everything—for a woman. Listen, don't involve the police. If I see any interference, I can't guarantee Lin Siya's safety. Come alone, with the data. No tricks."
"Fine," Axin replied evenly. "But one condition—don't touch her. Not even a scratch."
Her voice dropped, silky and deadly. "Otherwise, you won't be able to afford what happens next. You're not in local jurisdiction, are you? Good. Then I don't need the police anyway."
Her composure made Mu Sen uneasy, but he brushed it off. She was just one woman. He had men—mercenaries, foreigners. She wouldn't stand a chance.
"Keep your phone on. I'll contact you for directions," he said, ending the call.
He turned, squatting on the deck beside the unconscious Lin Siya. The sea breeze carried the stink of salt and rust as he smirked. Then, suddenly, he slapped her hard across the face.
The sharp crack echoed across the boat. Lin Siya's head snapped to the side as pain shot through her cheek. She gasped, realizing she couldn't move—her wrists and ankles were bound. When her eyes focused on Mu Sen's twisted face, terror rose up her throat.
"Ya-ya," Mu Sen said with a smile that used to be boyish—but now looked monstrous. "You can't blame me for this. If you'd just agreed to be with me, I wouldn't have had to do it."
"Mu Sen, what are you going to do?"
He crouched in front of her, gripping her chin. "You're still beautiful, but I'm not interested anymore. President Yuan agreed to trade Regeneration for you."
"You…" her voice shook. "You want Regeneration?"
"Who doesn't?" He laughed hoarsely. "It's shaken the world. Every nation wants it. It's more seductive than any woman."
He leaned closer, voice trembling with a mad sort of bitterness. "If you'd just chosen me, it wouldn't have come to this. I gave up everything for you—my position, my inheritance—and what did I get? Nothing! That bastard illegitimate son took my place! My father said I'd wasted my time chasing you overseas, came back with nothing, no skills, no status. But if I had you, if I'd claimed you, the Mu family would be mine. He'd hand it all over. You ruined that!"
His fingers clutched her collar, shaking her violently. "I loved you so much! I lost everything because of you! You owe me, Lin Siya!"
But Lin Siya didn't fight back. Not this time. She kept her eyes down, letting him rant, letting him pull and shove her.
She'd changed. The impulsive girl who fought at the slightest provocation was gone. Mu Sen was unhinged—one wrong word could mean death. She couldn't die here. Not before she saw Axin again.
When he finally tired himself out, she slumped, pretending to faint. As expected, he let her go, tossing her aside like a broken doll.
Her heart pounded painfully as she forced her breathing steady. The bruises burned, her neck ached, but she was alive. Just stay alive, she told herself. Axin will come.
The next two days were endless. Mu Sen alternated between boasting and beating her—ranting about what he'd lost, striking her when he got worked up. Every time his hand cracked across her cheek, she bit her tongue and endured.
By the fourth day, they reached a deserted island. He threw her a towel. "Clean yourself up," he ordered.
She obeyed without a word. He seemed pleased.
"Smart girl," he said, his tone mocking. "The proud Lin Siya of old would've scratched my eyes out by now. Guess you've learned to grovel like the rest of them."
She froze.
He grinned, pulling something from his pocket—a gun. "Don't worry. When President Yuan gets here, you two can stay together. Forever."
Her blood ran cold. He twirled the gun once, mimicking a shooting gesture toward her before walking out, whistling. The chains around her ankles clinked softly.
He wouldn't let either of them live—that much was clear.
When Axin arrived two days later, she was led ashore by several tall, foreign mercenaries. She carried a single silver case.
Mu Sen's gaze locked onto it instantly. "You came. Good. Let me see it."
"I want to see her first."
He smirked. "Fine. This way."
He led her into a small wooden hut. Inside, Lin Siya was huddled on the floor, wrists bound, clothes torn, head bowed. At the sound of footsteps, she looked up—and when she saw Axin, the tears broke free.
Ten days of pain crashed down all at once. She stumbled forward, throwing herself into Axin's arms, sobbing.
To Mu Sen, it just looked like emotional relief. He didn't hear the whisper between them.
"Gun," Lin Siya choked out against Axin's shoulder.
Axin's eyes flicked once, almost imperceptibly.
"Now," Mu Sen said, voice casual. "Hand over the case."
"Keys first."
He tossed them carelessly on the floor. Axin tossed the case in return. He caught it, tore it open, flipping through the papers feverishly.
His laughter echoed through the hut. "It's real! It's Regeneration! Hahaha!"
Meanwhile, Axin knelt to unlock the chains and gently took Lin Siya's hand. "It's alright," she whispered.
"Axin," she trembled, pale as snow. "Can we get out of here?"
"Yes."
Mu Sen snorted. "Still naïve, aren't you, Ya-ya?" He drew the gun, eyes gleaming with madness. "Letting you walk away? That would make me stupid."
The gun fired.
In an instant, Axin pulled Lin Siya down, rolling them both aside. The bullet buried itself in the wall. Mu Sen fired again—and missed again.
Her movements were too fast. Too precise.
He cursed, grabbed the case, and bolted out the door, shouting in English to the mercenaries outside. They nodded and stormed in.
Moments later, the hut erupted in chaos—gunfire, shouts, the sound of fists meeting flesh.
Then silence.
When Mu Sen woke up, the blue sky was gone. Above him was a wooden ceiling. His arms and legs were bound. His mouth was taped. Panic clawed up his throat.
He looked around—the mercenaries were sprawled beside him, beaten bloody, unconscious. Their weapons were scattered in pieces.
A quiet voice drifted above him.
"How does it feel?"
He lifted his head with effort. Axin stood over him, eyes calm, expression unreadable.
"I told you," she said softly, "not to touch her."
She turned to Lin Siya, brushing a thumb across her bruised cheek. "He hit you."
"He also grabbed me and strangled me," Lin Siya added immediately, unbuttoning her collar to show the dark red marks. "And he yanked my hair. Hard. My head still hurts."
She lifted her bangs, revealing the scrape on her forehead. Her voice wavered between anger and pride. "He's a psycho, Axin. Beat him up."
"Alright."
The word was simple—but deadly.
Axin stepped forward and slapped him. Once. Twice. Again and again until her palm ached. By the time she stopped, Mu Sen's face was swollen beyond recognition.
Then she grabbed his hair, slammed his head against the wall—once, twice, ten times—until his eyes rolled back and his breath came in wheezes.
Finally, she lifted him by his collar, turned to Lin Siya, and smiled sweetly. "He also grabbed your clothes, didn't he?"
"Yes," Lin Siya said, almost cheerfully. "Right here—pulled hard too." She demonstrated, indignant.
Axin nodded once. Then, without a word, dragged him around the hut by the collar ten full laps before tossing him to the ground like a rag doll.
"Axin, wash your hands," Lin Siya said, wrinkling her nose. "You touched something filthy."
She fetched a towel, gently wiping Axin's hands clean. Her eyes glowed with admiration—and love.
"Axin, what now?"
"Go home," Axin said simply, squeezing her hand. Her gaze dropped to the bruises. "We'll treat these first."
"It's fine, really. It just hurts a little." Lin Siya didn't let go of her hand. Not for a second.
The yacht they'd arrived on—damaged by Axin herself—was fixed easily. As they set sail, Lin Siya looked back at the island.
"Someone will handle them?"
"Yes."
Her tone was flat, but her eyes glinted coldly.
"Good," Lin Siya muttered. "They deserve to rot in there for years."
Axin didn't reply. Her gaze was distant, sharp as frost. Years? That's far too kind.
The sea breeze was cool against their faces.
Lin Siya's heart thudded wildly. She glanced sideways, took a deep breath, and said, "Axin, look at me."
When Axin turned, Lin Siya grabbed her—and kissed her.
It was deep. Desperate. Real.
Axin didn't push her away. That strange, familiar warmth unfurled in her chest, and she couldn't reject it.
"Axin, I love you," Lin Siya whispered, resting her head on her shoulder. "Not the way friends do—the way lovers do. You love me too, don't you?"
"...I think so."
She met Axin's gaze and saw it—gentleness, and something deeper. Something unmistakably love.
"That's enough," she said softly, smiling through her tears. "Even if you don't know how to say it, I can feel it."
"So… can we be together?"
"Alright."
Axin smiled faintly. She liked that radiant joy on Lin Siya's face.
A month later, they married.
Half a year after that, Lin Siya saw a news report: an uninhabited island had mysteriously exploded six months ago—completely sunk.
She only smiled, closed the page, and never spoke of it again.
Ten years later, while cleaning the house, she found an old photograph—teenage punks and delinquents posing together. And there, among them, was a familiar face.
She gasped, running to the kitchen. "Axin, this is you?!"
"Yes."
"You—you beat me up back then!"
Axin thought for a moment, then said carefully, "That wasn't exactly intentional."
"I don't care! You still did it!"
Axin plated the food, smiling. "Then what does Siya want me to do?"
Lin Siya hugged her from behind, kissing her cheek. "Promise me you'll find me in our next life, okay?"
"Okay."
That simple answer made her heart overflow.
"Don't—!"
A woman's cry echoed in Axin's chest. She jolted awake.
She was lying on a bed of warm jade, surrounded by darkness. Her hand pressed over her heart—it ached like something had been torn out.
"Yuan, you're awake again?"
A small glowing silver flower floated nearby, landing on her shoulder.
"Yinling, I have to go there," she said quietly.
Before the little spirit could answer, Axin vanished.
"Again…" it sighed, curling on the jade. "When will it ever end?"
When Axin opened her eyes again, she was somewhere else—an icy palace chamber, the smell of decay thick in the air. Her once-elegant court robes were old, color long faded.
A muffled sob echoed nearby. She didn't hesitate—she ran toward it.
"What are you doing?!"
Inside, a woman clung weakly to a table, tears streaking her face. Two burly men with flushed, lustful eyes loomed over her.
"Why?" she cried, voice raw. "I've already been cast into the Cold Palace—why won't you let me go?"
At the door, a sneering maid named Hongyan laughed. "That's fate, Your Grace. You blocked the wrong person's path."
"Whose path?" The woman—Ning Zhiqing, once a favored consort—let out a broken laugh. "The Emperor's pet concubine, Xi Fei? The man who never once touched me?"
She remembered all too well—the Emperor's gentle smile, the first night he stayed in her quarters but slept in the side room, warning her not to speak of it. She'd been nothing more than a shield.
"Do it," Hongyan ordered coldly. "Our dear Noble Consort deserves some company tonight. Serve her well, boys."
The men stepped forward.
The door slammed open.
A calm-faced woman in worn robes entered—Lin Guiren, quiet and unremarkable, someone no one paid attention to.
Hongyan frowned. "Lin Guiren? This isn't your place. Leave—unless you'd like to join them."
Axin shut the door behind her.
"Oh? Interested after all?" Hongyan taunted. "A pity—your pretty face still has that scar. But who cares? You might even enjoy it."
Her mocking laughter cut off when Axin grabbed her wrist and, in one smooth motion, poured the drugged wine down her throat.
Before Hongyan could recover, Axin threw her into the two drugged men.
"One night worth a thousand gold," she said lightly. "We'll leave you to it."
"Y–You! Lin Guiren, do you want to die?!" Hongyan screamed, already flushed, trembling with heat. The men were beyond reason.
By the time Axin helped Ning Zhiqing out and shut the door, the only sounds left inside were frantic gasps and muffled moans.
End of Arc One: I Beat Her Up.
Next Arc: The Cold Palace Neighbor.