The low hum of the city filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Ji Yanluo's penthouse, casting slanted golden light across the polished floors. Ji Lanxue leaned against the armrest of the sleek leather sofa, sipping her lemon water with a raised brow, while Xiao Lin sat cross-legged on the floor, scrolling absently through her phone—until Ji Yanluo's voice broke the quiet.
"She wants to go public," he said.
Both heads turned toward him at once. Ji Yanluo stood near the window, one hand in his pocket, the other loosely holding a folder of media briefings. His voice was even, but the weight in it stilled the room.
"Public?" Ji Lanxue repeated, blinking. "You mean—at the gala?"
"She's attending as herself," he confirmed, meeting his sister's gaze. "Not as the veiled musician. As Bai Zhiqi."
The silence stretched, brittle.
Xiao Lin was the first to speak. "That's... bold," she said, slowly. "And dangerous."
"She's aware," Ji Yanluo replied.
"She's not the only one who needs to be aware," Ji Lanxue cut in, rising from her seat. Her stilettos clicked sharply as she paced to the middle of the room. "Do you know what will happen when the press connects the dots? When they realize the veiled musician is the same Bai Zhiqi they spent five years dragging through hell?"
"She's not hiding anymore."
"She doesn't have to light herself on fire to prove a point either," Lanxue snapped, then paused, inhaling deeply. "Sorry. But this isn't just a reveal—it's a declaration. In public. On Bai Lanyue's stage. That's not courage, that's a war cry."
Xiao Lin nodded in agreement, her voice softer. "If it were just the music world, maybe it'd work. But Lanyue won't let her steal the spotlight. Not quietly."
Ji Yanluo said nothing at first. He walked to the small bar counter and poured himself a glass of water, swirling it absently.
"It's her decision," he said at last. "But I won't let her do it alone."
Xiao Lin exchanged a glance with Ji Lanxue.
"So what—you'll announce your involvement too?" Lanxue asked, her tone laced with disbelief. "Ji Yanluo, the cleanest CEO in the industry suddenly backing a woman accused of attempted murder?"
"She was never guilty," he said sharply, eyes glinting. "And I'm done letting silence shape her truth."
The tension rippled through the room like static.
Xiao Lin stood slowly. "I believe in her, I do," she said. "But this isn't about truth alone. This is about power. And the people she's challenging… they don't fight fair."
"She knows that better than anyone," Ji Yanluo said.
Lanxue folded her arms, voice quieter now. "You care about her."
Ji Yanluo didn't deny it.
"She's not the same woman who walked into prison five years ago," he said. "And I'm not the same man who watched her be taken away without lifting a finger."
A beat of silence.
Then, finally, Lanxue sighed, rubbing her temples. "God, I hate how poetic you make it sound."
Xiao Lin chuckled under her breath. "He's always been annoyingly dramatic."
Ji Yanluo allowed a faint smirk, but it faded quickly.
"You don't have to support this," he said. "But you do need to be ready. When she steps onto that stage, everything changes. For her. For me. For Lingfeng."
Lanxue met his eyes, her tone clipped but honest. "You're asking us to walk into chaos blind."
"No," he replied. "I'm asking you to trust her."
Xiao Lin exhaled. "We already do. That's the problem."
Lanxue finally sat down again, more carefully this time, her posture stiff. "Then we prepare. And we pray Bai Lanyue doesn't have another trick waiting."
Ji Yanluo raised his glass slightly. "She'll try. But so will we."
They all looked at one another, the shared weight of the storm gathering pressing into their bones.
No one said it, but they all knew—
This wasn't just a comeback.
It was a reckoning.