The corridor was quiet, dark, and still.
Aidan slowed his steps as he approached the study. Two men were speaking inside, their voices low and measured, the way businessmen spoke when the subject involved money or reputation.
He stopped beside the doorframe, leaning lightly against it, unnoticed.
The faint smell of tea and sandalwood incense drifted through the half-closed door.
Inside, William Zhao sat with a porcelain cup in his hand, slowly swirling the tea as though the motion might calm his irritation.
"I invested money, time, and patience to raise her," he said. "And now that she is finally capable of being profitable, her mother insists we find her a husband."
"That is expected," Evan replied calmly.
William glanced at him sharply.
"She always said she didn't want to marry," he continued. "Now suddenly she agrees. It feels like betrayal." He paused, his fingers tightening slightly around the cup. "Like handing over an asset."
"A good marriage alliance will benefit you more," Evan said, lifting his tea to his lips. "Believe me."
William scoffed softly.
"No good family would accept her."
For a moment the room fell quiet.
Evan raised his head.
Only then did he notice the figure standing outside the doorway. Aidan's head was lowered slightly, as though he had been studying the floor the entire time.
"You're late," Evan said.
Aidan pushed the door open and stepped inside.
William set his cup down on the wooden table with a soft click and looked him over.
"Oh? The heir is here," he said with mild amusement. "How are you, young man?"
Aidan reached for the small bowl of almonds on the table, grabbing a handful and stuffing them into his mouth.
"I don't think my father has any plan to pass down an inheritance," he said dryly, forcing a laugh he didn't entirely feel. It was safer to sound careless than bitter.
William chuckled.
"Then work hard. I will support you."
Aidan didn't respond.
The two older men soon returned to their discussion as if his presence had become irrelevant again. They spoke about the market, about political tensions that might influence the next financial year, about shares that would rise or fall depending on the alliances made in the coming months.
Both of them needed a powerful investor.
Someone like the infamous Master Azure.
A man whose backing could provide the protection necessary for their company to expand.
After several minutes, Aidan straightened.
"I have to be somewhere," he said, preparing to leave.
William looked up.
"Oh? Aidan, can you pick up Raven from the airport?" he asked casually. "Bring her straight to the conference tonight."
Aidan frowned slightly.
"I'm not planning to atten—"
"So, William," Evan interrupted smoothly, turning back toward his partner, "do you plan to join the Shahs? They are quite reputable."
The two men continued talking as if Aidan had not spoken at all.
Left with little choice, Aidan turned and walked out.
—
"Fat, short, ugly."
William Zhao had once described his daughter with those words, dismissing her existence with the casual cruelty of a man evaluating a failed investment.
The last time Aidan had seen Raven Zhao, they had been in ninth grade. Even then, their meetings had been brief and infrequent. In truth, they had only crossed paths three times in their lives, despite their fathers maintaining a friendship that stretched over three decades.
Aidan leaned against a pillar near the airport exit, scanning the stream of arriving passengers.
Suitcases rolled across the polished floor. Voices echoed under the high glass ceiling. Every few seconds the sliding doors opened, releasing another wave of travelers.
He waited.
And waited.
Then he saw her.
She was walking toward him slowly, pushing a luggage cart with both hands.
Raven Zhao was shorter than he remembered. Much shorter. Her head barely reached the shoulders of the people walking past her.
Her body was soft and heavy, the kind that carried weight easily and unapologetically. The loose fabric of her shirt draped over a full chest and rounded stomach, the curves settling into the gentle slope of a body that had long since abandoned any interest in appearing delicate.
Her hips were broad, her arms thick with softness. When she walked, there was a quiet steadiness to her steps, as if she had grown accustomed to moving through spaces built for smaller frames.
Nearly a head shorter than most of the crowd, she looked compact beside the tall travelers flowing around her. Plain clothes. Plain face. Hair pulled back without much care. Nothing about her tried to demand attention.
Yet she moved with a calm that felt oddly self-contained, as though the murmuring airport and its rushing strangers existed somewhere far outside her concerns. For a moment Aidan simply stared. William Zhao's words echoed faintly in his memory.
Fat. Short. Ugly.
He studied her again. The first two, perhaps. The last one… he wasn't entirely certain. Raven stopped a few steps away from him.
"Aidan?"
"Ahem…yes?" His eyes widened, shocked to see her after such a long time. She used to be cheerful and talkative. She always cradled a glow in her eyes and sweetness in her deep voice. But the girl before had changed. She didn't smile at him like she used to. It was uncomfortable.
He looked at her and then at his watch. "The conference is in a few hours. Let's go to the hotel first. You can rest and change."
"This is what I am wearing to the conference." She replied innocently.
"That is not…wait you are not serious, are you?" He asked, hands placed at his waist.
She didn't respond, just looked away, ashamed to see people staring at her.
Aidan realized, and instantly apologized, and said, "Come with me."
He opened the trunk of his black Audi and reached for her suitcase, but she stepped back and lifted it herself and said, "Thanks." After refusing his help.
Then a voice echoed in his mind like an old recording.
You can help me once, but the burden is mine to bear forever.
The memory surfaced so suddenly that Aidan almost missed the moment Raven reached for the passenger-side back door.