The cold had stopped feeling like cold hours ago.
It had turned into a dull, constant pressure in Xiao Lan's bones, the kind that made every breath feel like a small victory. She'd been standing outside the Zhang estate gates long enough for her toes to go numb inside her worn sneakers and for the winter sun to crawl higher in the gray sky.
The guards had told her to leave at least five times.
She hadn't moved. Not an inch.
She kept her eyes fixed on the massive iron gate, the high walls, the cameras that tracked her every shift. Her hands were buried deep in her coat pockets, clenched into fists to stop the shaking.
If she walked away now, Mei would stay trapped behind those walls. Alone.
She couldn't let that happen.
She'd seen the headlines. The video. that somehow still managed to show Mei's face clearly enough for the entire internet to tear her apart.
And she'd seen him. Zhang Wei.
His face had been everywhere. Cold. Perfect. The kind of handsome that looked airbrushed in magazines, distant and unreachable.
Xiao Lan had built an image in her head: arrogant, cruel, older than he probably was, someone who bought people like accessories.
She was ready to hate him on sight.
Then the low hum of an engine cut through the quiet.
A sleek black Cybertruck approached the gate and slowed. The tinted window stayed up.
Xiao Lan's stomach flipped.
The door opened. He stepped out.
And every expectation she had shattered.
He was taller than she'd imagined, lean and broad shouldered under a dark wool coat. His face was sharper in person. High cheekbones. A jawline that looked carved. Eyes so dark they seemed to absorb light. His hair was neatly styled but slightly windswept, as if even the Beijing winter bowed to him.
He moved with quiet control. No wasted motion. No hurry.
He was beautiful. Dangerously, unfairly beautiful.
The kind of looks that stopped thoughts mid-sentence.
Xiao Lan hated how her breath caught. Hated how, for one humiliating second, her mind went blank.
She'd seen his face a hundred times on screens. But in real life, standing ten feet away, he was something else entirely. Like power had a physical weight, and he carried it effortlessly.
He didn't look at her right away. He took in the scene first. The guards. The gate. The frozen tension. Like he was reading a situation report.
Then his gaze settled on her.
Dark. Unreadable. Measuring.
Her heart slammed against her ribs so hard she was sure he could hear it.
"Situation?" he asked the nearest guard, voice low and calm.
The guard straightened. "She's been here over an hour, sir. Says she knows the Young Madam. Won't leave."
Zhang Wei's eyes returned to Xiao Lan.
She forced herself to hold his stare, even as her knees threatened to buckle.
He studied her for a long moment.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"Xiao Lan," she said, proud that her voice only shook a little. "Zhao Mei's best friend."
Something flickered in his expression. Subtle. Gone in an instant.
"I don't recall her mentioning visitors," he said coolly. "How do I know you're telling the truth?"
The question was logical. Fair, even.
It still felt like ice water down her spine.
"Because if you bring her out," Xiao Lan said, lifting her chin higher, "she'll tell you herself."
One of the guards shifted impatiently. "Sir, we can escort her off the property."
Zhang Wei raised one hand.
Everything stopped. The guard froze mid-sentence.
Zhang Wei kept his eyes on Xiao Lan.
"Get Zhao Mei," he said quietly.
Xiao Lan's pulse roared in her ears.
The gate didn't open yet. Time dragged, thin and sharp.
She stared at the ground because looking at him felt too intense, like staring at something too bright.
Every worst fear crashed in. What if Mei didn't come? What if this place had changed her? What if she didn't want to see her anymore?
Then, footsteps. Soft. Hesitant.
Xiao Lan looked up.
Mei.
She stood just inside the gate, flanked by a guard, looking smaller than Xiao Lan remembered. Paler. Dressed in clothes that didn't belong to their old life. Soft cream sweater. Tailored coat. Her hair was neat. Her posture careful.
But her eyes. Her eyes were still Mei.
They found Xiao Lan across the space and widened.
Her lips parted.
"Xiao Lan?" she whispered, voice cracking.
Everything inside Xiao Lan broke open.
"Mei," she choked out, tears flooding her vision.
Zhao Mei took a step forward. Then another. Her hands shook at her sides.
"You came," she said, tears spilling fast down her cheeks.
Xiao Lan nodded, unable to speak.
Zhao Mei made a small, broken sound, half sob, half laugh, and covered her mouth as her shoulders shook.
Zhang Wei watched Zhao Mei's face for a long, silent moment.
Then he turned to the guard.
"Let her in."
The gate slid open with a low hum.
Xiao Lan stepped through, crossing the line into his world.
Zhao Mei didn't wait. She ran the last few steps and crashed into Xiao Lan, arms wrapping around her so tightly it hurt.
Xiao Lan held her back just as hard.
She was warm. Real. Trembling.
Still her Mei.
Whatever this place was, whatever he was, Xiao Lan knew one thing with absolute certainty.
She wasn't leaving her again.
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