The applause was thunderous, echoing off the marble walls like waves crashing against a forgotten shore.
Su Jinyi stood on stage, every camera flashing, every eye pinned to her as if she were a star meant to shine alone.
But in her heart, a storm churned.
Her lips curved in the perfect PR smile she'd mastered years ago. Elegant, poised, admired. But her fingers, hidden behind the bouquet in her hands, trembled faintly.
Across the room, hidden in the crowd behind the corporate sponsors and luxury press, Li Zeyan leaned against the pillar with a glass of untouched champagne. His gaze never left her—not even once.
She knew it.
She could feel it like the burn of sunlight on skin too long hidden in the dark.
Their eyes met—briefly, sharply—and her breath caught in her throat.
Why is he here?
She turned away before her mask slipped.
Before the past clawed its way up her throat.
---
Backstage, she escaped under the pretense of a phone call. The silence behind the curtain was a relief, like sinking into cold water after burning heat.
Her hand rested on her chest.
Li Zeyan.
Three years ago, he'd been the man who offered her the world and ripped it away with the same hands.
Three years ago, she had loved him with a desperation only a woman on the brink of ruin could understand.
And now?
Now, he was back, looking at her like nothing had changed. Like he could still undo her carefully rebuilt life with a single glance.
"Still running away, Jinyi?"
Her spine straightened at the voice.
She didn't need to turn. That voice—it was velvet and steel, warmth layered over cold memory.
She turned anyway.
Li Zeyan stood at the edge of the stage light, his tailored black suit blending into shadow. His tie slightly loosened, like he didn't care he was ruining perfection.
Just like he didn't care he had once ruined her.
"Still showing up uninvited?" she replied, tone even, sharp as glass. "Or is crashing my award ceremony your new hobby?"
"I was invited," he said simply. "By your father."
Jinyi laughed. It was short. Bitter.
"Of course. Because when blood speaks, betrayal follows."
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
The silence was louder than the noise from the stage.
Then—
"You've changed," he said.
"So have you," she whispered, her voice a knife.
But he only took a step closer, his presence pressing in like heat.
"Did you miss me, Jinyi?"
She smiled.
It was beautiful.
It was deadly.
"Like one misses a wound that never healed."
---