Xiao Lan stood in the middle of Zhao Mei's room and stared.
She looked at the chandelier. The curtains. The vanity. The carpet.
Her mouth opened and closed.
"Mei," she said. "This place is insane."
Zhao Mei smiled a little. "I said the same thing."
Xiao Lan walked to the bed and pushed on the mattress. "This is softer than my whole apartment."
She turned around, eyes wide. "You know those dramas where the poor girl ends up in a place like this? I've watched a hundred of them."
"I still feel like I'm in one," Zhao Mei said.
Xiao Lan laughed and shook her head. "This is unreal."
She walked to the closet and touched a coat on a hanger. "Even the hangers look expensive."
"That one probably cost more than my old phone," Zhao Mei said.
Xiao Lan's head turned fast. "Your phone."
Everything got quiet.
She walked back and sat on the bed. The smile was gone. "Mei, I've been calling you. Texting. I thought you blocked me. Then I thought you couldn't answer."
"I couldn't," Zhao Mei said. "I lost it that day. Someone knocked it out of my hand."
Xiao Lan's jaw went tight. "I knew it."
"But look." Zhao Mei picked up the phone from the nightstand.
Xiao Lan's eyes got huge. "No way."
"Yes."
She took it carefully. "This is the newest one."
"I know."
She looked up. "He bought this?"
Zhao Mei nodded. "He said I needed I needed a phone to communicate with him when he is not home."
Xiao Lan stared at the phone, then at her. "From his face, I thought he'd give you some cheap phone and a bunch of rules."
Zhao Mei laughed for real. "Me too."
Xiao Lan gave it back. "That's kind of nice actually."
She looked at Zhao Mei's face hard. "You don't look miserable."
"I'm not happy," Zhao Mei said. "But I'm okay."
Xiao Lan let out a breath. "Good."
Then quieter, "He didn't force you, right?"
"No," Zhao Mei said fast. "It was messy. But he gave me a choice when I didn't have one."
Xiao Lan put her head on Zhao Mei's shoulder. "I hate that we have to be grateful for basic decency."
Zhao Mei closed her eyes. "Me too."
They sat like that for a minute.
Then someone laughed in the hallway. A guy. Relaxed.
Xiao Lan lifted her head. "Please don't tell me that's another rich guy."
Zhao Mei smiled. "Worse."
Zhang Jun filled the doorway.
He leaned against it, hands in his pockets. "Wow. I knew you'd be dramatic, but this is fast."
Xiao Lan crossed her arms. "Do you just walk into rooms like this?"
"Only when I'm being charming," he said. "Which is always."
She rolled her eyes. "You're annoying."
He grinned. "That's how it starts."
Zhao Mei shook her head.
Jun walked in and looked around. "Nice room. Wei has bad taste, but at least he spends money."
"He can hear you," Zhao Mei said.
Jun waved his hand. "Only when he wants to yell at me."
He looked at Xiao Lan. "So you're the one who almost caused a fight at the gate."
"I would've finished it," she said.
His eyes got brighter. "Scary and bold. I like it."
She rolled her eyes again, but Zhao Mei saw her almost smile.
Jun sat in the chair and stretched out. "This house hasn't sounded like this in a long time."
"Like what?" Zhao Mei asked.
"Alive," he said.
That hit different.
For the next hour, everything felt lighter.
Jun told stories. Missing flights in Paris. Getting locked out of his hotel in Milan. Flirting with the wrong person's wife.
Xiao Lan laughed until she had tears.
She asked him questions. "Does this family ever eat together? Does your cousin smile? Is everyone here cold?"
Jun answered. "No. Rarely. Yes."
Even Zhao Mei laughed.
Xiao Lan kicked off her shoes and lay on the bed.
"This place feels less scary now," she said. "Still scary. But better."
Jun looked at Zhao Mei. Something shifted in his face. "You made it better."
She didn't know what to say.
Later, Jun left. Said he was hungry and wanted to bother the kitchen staff.
Xiao Lan stretched out on the bed. "I'm staying tonight."
Zhao Mei blinked. "You can't just..."
"I already am," she said.
Zhao Mei laughed. It felt good.
Xiao Lan turned on her side. "You're still you, Mei. Don't forget that."
Zhao Mei lay next to her.
She squeezed her hand. "I won't."
Zhang Wei's phone buzzed as he walked to his office.
Assistant Qin.
He answered. "Speak."
"Chen Rong's father is at the family estate in Haidian. He has security, but we can get in. He knows we're looking."
Zhang Wei stopped. "The bellboy and the maid?"
"We have them. Separate places. They're scared. Ready when you are."
Pause.
"The hotel manager talked after we pushed a little. He confirmed the room mix-up, gave us staff schedules, admitted he destroyed footage. Someone paid him."
Zhang Wei started walking again. "Good."
"Orders?"
"Keep the bellboy and maid separate. I need them for evidence."
"And Chen Bo?"
He got to his office door. "I'll deal with him myself."
He hung up.
Chen Rong's father. The guy who made money by cutting corners and knowing people. The guy who raised a son who thought drugging girls was fine.
He'd visit the estate. Force his way in if he had to.
Zhang Wei opened his door.
But first...
He looked back toward the east wing.
Laughter came from that direction. Real. Loud.
Zhao Mei's.
He stopped.
Let them have this.
He almost smiled.
********